Review of Final Piece.

Review of Final Piece

My final piece has come out well. You can see both the ghosts in the photos and the colours look both old and tattered. While editing on Photoshop I have had complications with both of the ghosts and trying to make sure they can be seen and have the effect I was going for. This meant making sure the figures aren't too light or too dark when placing them in the windows. Photoshop has been the main source of editing these photos and I have been able to create the old effect I wanted and I am pleased with the outcome. When editing the photos I had to keep going back to old photos and remind myself what different styles they had and what would work best in my own work. Being able to analyse photos from years ago has helped a lot in what has shaped my own final piece. The main focus was making sure the photos look old and not modern but also that they have the ghostly feel many of the famous ghost photos have.

Plan of Final Piece.

For my final piece I am going to create two old ghost photos. The two photos I will use will be of old looking buildings and will have a ghost in one of the windows. The ghost will be easily seen and will look like it is standing in the window looking at the camera. To create these photos I will use Photoshop and edit the photos to look old. I have taken two photos, one is a close up of a window from a church and the other is a house. For the house photo I will put a shaded figure in one of the top windows so that it looks like a ghost. For the second image I will put an image of a man starring down in the window so that it looks like someone is in the church looking back at you. These two photos will also hopefully look like old photos taken years ago, with marks and brown, black and white colours used. I have tested out different ways of making a photo look old and placing a ghost in a photo and found the best outcome thanks to my experimentations.

Review of Experimentations.

                    Review of Experimentations.

My experiments have helped me get a better idea of what I will be able to do for my final piece. By editing on Photoshop and trying out different effects such as Contre-jour I have a much better idea of what technique I will use in my final piece. The main focus of my experimentations was to see if I could re-create the ghost effect used in many famous photos. By doing this I can see what will work and what will not for my ghost themed final piece.

Editing my photos on Photoshop has been a big part when creating my ghost style experiments. This is because Photoshop offers the best way to edit the photos to look black and white or old and then changing the person to look like a ghost in the window. I am pleased with some of the outcomes, for example having someones face in the window works but looks better when it has the dissolve effect on Photoshop. Being able to change the colour of the photo was also a lot easier on Photoshop as you can get the right tone for the old style or just go black and white easily.

Looking at different camera techniques such as Contre-jour has helped bring more meaning and story into my experimentations. This means when working on my final piece I will be able to incorporate many of the techniques I have experimented with.

Contre-jour Contact Sheet.

Contre-jour experiments.

These are my Contre-jour experiments. Some have worked well however there are some which you can still see details of the face and body when it should be just black. I like the effect and the on the hand photos especially the Contre-jour has worked well.

Old Style - Experiments.

By editing on Photoshop I was able to create photographs with an old style. Changing the hue/saturation helps create this effect and the outcome looks like something I could use in my final piece. For this first photo I used the black and white photo of the window. The colours have worked well together and it looks like the photo has been taken a long time ago.

This photo is the first experiment I have done with the ghost effect. I have taken a photo of small child from the internet and placed her over the window. By using Photoshop I was able to make the photo look like it is a ghost. After placing the girl in the photo I lowered the vibrance which made the photo black and white. Then I raised the brightness so that the girl looks distorted and more ghost like. I then used the soft light tool to make the girl barely visible and to make it look like she is inside the window.

Old Style.

Old photos have a unique and similar look. The mix of browns and black white is a running theme throughout. As you can see from these photos there is a large difference between the brown coloured photo and the black and white. The brown and yellow's in the first photo do fit in well with the ghost style because the photo in a whole looks a lot more creepy and ghost like. For my final piece I will try to re-create this effect with windows and ghost like figures.

Bubbles and Milk.

Bubbles
As an experiment I have taken photos of water pouring into a container of water. This is because you can see many small bubbles and the effect looks good. Each bubble can be easily seen and they look slightly surreal. Having this type of surreal effect could be something I incorporate into my final piece.

Milk

By pouring a small amount of milk into a container of water, it gives the impression of smoke or fog. The first thing you think of when looking at these photos are smoke or fog. I am pleased with the outcome of the photos, however you had to time it right when taking a photo and some of the photos weren't in focus. This was because when you focus the camera at a certain distance from the water it will then lose the focus if you move and become slightly blurred.

Figures In Windows. - contre-jour.

Lauren Turton does window photography with contre-jour. This fits in well with the figures in windows topic I have chosen. The photo itself has a lot of mystery because you can't see the people's features or who they are. You can't see what is outside the window because of how bright and white it is which adds more mystery. The inside of the house is very dark and the outside is very bright. This could show sadness and loneliness inside the house and hope and happiness outside the window in the open world.

Another photographer who uses contre-jour in their photography is Victoria Jane. Their photos seem to have stories and look like part of a film. This has a very romantic feel because of the two people kissing. The photo reminds me of something from a fairytale or a romantic film. The outside of the photo looks very light and could once again mean there is hope outside the window. The two people inside the room could show hope and love inside the darkness.

Black and White Window.

Using a black and white disposable camera I was able to take a black and white photo. Having a photo in black and white helps emphaise the old style many other ghost photos have. This is something I could use in my final piece.

This is part of the film used when taking the black and white photos. Just the film also looks like something from a ghost photo and it looks like an old photo. However the second picture is from when I scanned the film in. This picture of the film has come out very dark and you can't see the photos.

After developing the black and white photo, by using felt tip pens I could colour different parts of the photo. I decided to colour just the different parts of the window and give it this colourful effect. The only problem was when you starting colouring in the ink will dry very quickly. This meant there isn't a lot of time to correct anywhere you go wrong.

To create this effect I used food dye and a tissue to put the food colour onto the photo. By using a circular motion this meant the colour went onto the photo without and smudge marks or lines. I am pleased with the outcome, however I did expect the colour of the bricks to be brown. However it came out pink. The food colouring also dried very fast, so once the food colour was on the photo you have to be quick. 

This is my first attempt at adding colour to the black and white photo on Photoshop. I went for a different style and this photo looks a lot more messy as I just coloured random parts of the photo instead of details.

This is my second attempt at applying colour to my black and white photo. By changing the hue/saturation I was able to create an old looking photo inside the window. After finding out how to do this effect I will try to experiment with it in other photos and create photos with an old style.

Church Windows.

After looking at different window effects, I have taken some photos of church windows. The styles of these windows don't have the typical pictures of people or religious connotations however they do look very old and have a style which would fit the types of stereotypical ghost pictures. These photos would also work well in Photoshop, if I edited a picture of someone to look like a ghost and put them into one of these photos so that it looks like an old ghost picture.

Ghost Conventions - Mist and Fog.

From different films and photographs there are now many conventions used which link to horror or ghosts. Scenes which are foggy or misty give the impression of a horror film. I have taken photographs of this fog filled field which looks like something from a horror film. In many of these photos you can see the faint outline of an object. In the first photo you can see a few trees and a bush. The footsteps also help link to the horror genre as it looks like someone has walked into the unknown. Then the other two photos you can slightly see a building.

Ghosts - Experiments.

To start my experimentations I will see if I can create ghosts like photographs and apply the old effect used in many of the ghost photos. To do this I will change the shutter speed on the camera so that it will take the photo for a certain amount of seconds. Then by standing in front of the camera and moving the outcome should look blurred or distorted. I could also try standing in the front of the camera still then move out of the way while the camera carries on taking the photo. This should leave a blurred outline a figure.

For these photos I change the shutter speed and shook my head and moved. This made the photo look blurred and slightly surreal. I also found that the faster and more I moved the more blurred and distorted the photo looked.

I then took photos with me standing in front of the camera. The photo took for about 8 seconds, so I stood in front of the camera for about 4 seconds and then moved away. However the first photo I took I only stood in front for about 2 seconds to see if this gave a more ghost effect. But you can hardly see me and the 4 second photo has worked better.

4 seconds:

2 seconds:

I then went on to take photos down a hall way with a women wearing a dressing gown to see if I could get a similar ghost look, instead of just casual clothes. Since taking these photos I have found that a tripod is needed to make sure the photo isn't blurred. However the women does look ghost like, the photo is just too blurred as my hands aren't as steady as a tripod.

 This photo has also come out very dark. This means more lighting is needed to be able to see the ghost image. However, the faint outline of a figure does look good. Having a darker figure may look better in a window if I want a darker atmosphere.

All three of these photos didn't use a tripod, so they look very blurred. However the figure can just about be seen and the effect I wanted has worked well.

Figures in windows - Effects.

These are photos which I have analysed and hope to be able to experiment using my own photos.

When experimenting with photos of windows different effects will change the final outcome. Effects such as this rain on the window could have a good effect when mixed with a photograph of someone or  some sort of figure. The colours are also distorted and you can't tell what is behind the window.

Church windows such as this one have a nice effect and most churches will have them. The artwork looks very old and the colours are vibrant. Most of these types of windows have connotations with religion, so when you see a window with this sort of design you will almost always think of a church or religion. The style is also very clear and isn't too complicated or over crowed.

The broken glass in this window has a nice effect and makes the area of the photo look run down or derelict. The crack is the main focus of the photo and you concentrate your attention on that area of the photo.

Figures In Windows - Ghosts.

I have started looking at photos of ghosts. This example here is a great photo of a ghost inside a window which fits in well with my chosen topic. The photo is from the film Women In Black and has a very creepy atmosphere. Because of how the photo has been edited it looks like the women is in the room with the character, however the face does not look human, giving the impression it is a ghost. The photo also looks very old which helps add the creepy atmosphere to the photo. However with this photo you know it is fake because it has been edited for the film. The picture has a very dark atmosphere and even the character stood in the window looks slightly ghost like and there is a slight tint of white around him and the curtain.

This is a supposedly a real photo of a ghost in Wem, Shropshire. Because the photo is black and white it looks a lot more believable and the photo looks a lot more creepy. The girl is almost not noticeable because of the black and white as she blends in with the white background. Not much detail is seen on the photo because of how dark it is and the only detail seen is on the windows. Having a small child as the ghost is a convention of many ghost films or photographs and helps make the photo a lot more creepy.

This is one of the most famous ghost photos, however there is a lot more mystery to the photo. The image of the person is very unclear and the only detail seen is what looks like a cloak or dress. Because the photo is black and white this makes it look very old, it is also very grainy which adds to the old aspect of the photo. In my opinion the photo looks like it has been edited. This is because the photo looks very staged and has been cropped to include just the person. The photo could have also been edited to look like an old picture, by making it look black and white and adding the grain effect.

This photo is very distorted, however you can notice a small child in the window. The photo also looks like it has been zoomed in or cropped from another photo. It could have come from a full house photo then cropped and zoomed into the window to reveal the child. The photo also looks black and white, so it could be an old photo took a long time ago, or been edited to look black and white.