Digital Photography and Imaging Task 4 - Project 2C (Photo Manipulation)

19/05/2022 - 02/06/2022 (Week 8 - Week 10)
WONG JUN ZHE / 0353613
Digital Photography and Imaging / B' Creative Media / Taylor's University
Task 4 - Project 2C 

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INSTRUCTIONS

MIB: 

Task 2 - Project 2C - Photo Manipulation

Week 8 Ideas

Below are all my ideas and inspirations from Pinterest. As I scroll through Pinterest, I see many interesting ideas and decided to save them for later. 

Fig. 1.1 Initial Idea 1

Fig. 1.2 Initial Idea 2

Fig. 1.3 Initial Idea 3

Fig. 1.4 Initial Idea 4

Fig. 1.5 Initial Idea 5

Fig. 1.6 Initial Idea 6

Fig. 1.7 Initial Idea 7

Fig. 1.8 Initial Idea 8

Fig. 1.9 Initial Idea 9

Fig. 1.10 Initial Idea 10

Fig. 1.11 Initial Idea 11

Ultimately, I like the idea as shown in Fig. x best, as the camera lens effect looks very cool and unique to me. I also really like how the fact that the artist edited a photo of a train track that leads into the lens. Therefore, I decided to take inspiration from this design. From there I did some further research to find more similar photos. 

Fig. 1.12 Final Idea 1

Fig. 1.13 Final Idea 2

Fig. 1.14 Final Idea 3

Fig. 1.15 Final Idea 4

Week 8: Rough Sketches

At this stage, I was thinking about what objects I can use other than the camera. I was looking for something round in shape, so that it suits the shape of the lens. So, I came up with several ideas: an eye, the sun, and a clock. I then began to sketch out different compositions using those four objects.

Fig. 2.1 Initial rough sketches 1

Fig. 2.2 Initial rough sketches 2

Fig. 2.3 Final sketch

Week 8 - Week 10: Process

Step 1: Take photos of all my objects.

*For the camera, I used the reflection method. I used a mirror and took the photo using the same camera. 

*As for the clock, I did not expect the lighting to be like this. It sort of creates more contrast. 

*I also tried and use sunset pictures that I had before. However, Mr Martin and I agreed that it is not necessary. 

Fig. 3.1 All pictures

Fig. 3.2 Clock

Fig. 3.3 Camera

Fig. 3.4 Sunset

Step 2: I started by importing the images into photoshop to begin my editing. 

Step 3: Then, I started making a selection using the elliptical marquee tool and masking it. 

Fig 3.5 Editing in Photoshop 1

Step 4: The masked layer of the clock is then placed into the lens of the camera. 

Fig 3.5 Editing in Photoshop 2

Step 5: Set blending mode to divide. This gives out a blue light effect similar to a lightsaber (I guess, idk. But it sure does look nice).

Fig 3.5 Editing in Photoshop 3

Step 6: I applied a new Hue/Saturation adjustment layer to change the colour from blue to orange. 

Fig 3.5 Hue/Saturation adjustment layer

Step 7: I added a finishing touch of shadow around the artwork. This allows the image to be more emphasised and focused on the clock and camera. 

Fig. 3.6 Final static artwork

After completing the static artwork, I feel like it doesn't quite fit the surrealism theme. So, Mr Martin gave me a great idea of making a short animation out of it in After Effects. A simple animation of the hands of the clock would make it look more interesting. 

Step 8: First and foremost, I had to separate the hands from the base of the clock. This requires me to select and mask out the individual hands one by one and remove them from the base image. 

Step 9: Next, I lowered the opacity of the hands and give them some texture. 

Fig. 3.7 Separating object into different layers

Step 10: I took the finished static artwork into After Effects and did a short animation of the clock turning.

Final Outcome - Photo Manipulation

Concept

In this photo manipulation project, I decided to use a camera and a clock as my 2 main objects. As we all know, a camera is a tool that helps us capture an important moment and to be kept as a memory. The clock, on the other hand, explicitly represents time. In my opinion, the combination of these two objects is almost like telling us to ‘capture the moment’. Personally, I like to look at my photos that I took, or childhood photos of myself taken by others. It reminds me of the pure, happy, and stress-free life as a child. 

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REFLECTION

Throughout this project, it doesn't only challenge my Photoshop editing skills, but also photography skills and animation skills in After Effects. I would say this is quite a challenging task. I have had the most struggle at the beginning, as I am very afraid that I cannot achieve that sort of surrealistic look. However, I'd say it kind of worked out at the very end, thanks to Mr Martin's idea of animating it. The added movement really made it more believable. When preparing the image for After Effects, I had to separate the clock into different layers: the base, as well as the individual hands. This was quite a challenge as well as I had to use the brush tool and colour match colours of the clock. 

Nevertheless, I am happy with the end product! If there is something that I'd like to change/improve, it would be to make the animation more interesting. However, with the given time constrains, I think I did a relatively great job already. 

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FEEDBACK

Week 9

General feedback: What does the clock and the camera mean to you?

Specific feedback: You may experiment with  editing the final photo in Photoshop first, to see if it works. 

Week 10

General feedback: It actually works visually. What you can do to make it look more surrealistic is to animate it in After Effects, since you just learnt how to use After Effects. 

Specific feedback: Regarding to the animation, the initial one looks quite stiff. The zooming in action has to stop after 3secs, and apply ease in and ease out for all actions.