Tone Work Diary

Planning

  My subject topic was Tone. I focused on how to photograph different tones and tried to explore different objects which held a variety of tones. For example, I looked at portraits and using different lightings that were conceived as 'masculine' or 'feminine'. 

Evaluation and Progression

Evaluation

  I chose this image as one which I wanted to explore and improve because I really like it. However, although this picture worked really well with the subject topic, I think that it needs some improving because it does not show many light tones. The minimal and husky lighting that I used was reflected onto her face, which created a darkness which only shadows half of her face. It is easy to pick out different tones that contrast with the dark shadows such as the illuminating white within the jumper and the blonde colour of her hair. A dark background was used to reflect the look that I was trying to create. The lighting and different harsh tones used could be conceived as masculine because it does not create elegancy and makes the face look harsh. The 'poker' face that she is pulling works well with the effect we were trying to perceive because it works even better within the idea of this lighting being 'harsh'. In this case, the white in her jumper stands out well against the dark background because there are two opposites - her jumper is literally bright white and the background is pure black. 

Progression

  Although the picture already worked really well with the subject topic, I felt like it needed to be improved because there were minimal light tones in the picture. The first adjustments that I had done which was working towards more bright tones, came out too overpowering (as shown on the right). Her forehead was too white and the jumper had been illuminated in colour despite it being bright white already. Therefore, I need to make other adjustments to get a perfect balance of light and dark tones.

Furthermore, I deleted the 'curves' filter that I had originally used to adjust the tones and took a different approach. I adjusted the brightness and contrast, making it brighter but also more contrasted at the same time. This provided a better outcome and I think that it has created a good balance between the different white and black tones in the picture. Lastly, I zoomed in on the picture so that you could see the face and therefore, the different tones within it more clearly. If I were to take this photo again, I would turn the camera sideways so that the image was portrait instead of landscape. I would also take a few images while moving the lighting to different positions and pick the best ones from these. This would avoid making mistakes and having to use Photoshop to improve it. 

Evaluation

   

   I chose this photo as one of my best because I think it has potential. It would be a great representative of tones if I edit it on Photoshop and adjust the contrast. I like it because the angle I have taken it, focuses on the core of the tree, right out to the edges. The bright sky shining through the tree creates a bright white tone which contrasts with the dark tones of brown on the branches. I think that this is interesting because by looking at nature, you can look at what different tones different parts of a plant/tree/flower (example) hold. They have grown this way naturally and formed this specific tone of colour naturally. Trees help us to survive which makes it more interesting to look at how each individual segment of the tree grows and how the trees change within seasons etc. 

Progression

  To edit this photograph, I used Photoshop to change it into black and white. It is important to be able to differ from different extremes and I felt as if in black and white, it showed up the different tones better. I adjusted the brightness, contrast and the vibrance of the picture because although it worked better now i black and white, it was still quite hard to point out the extreme differences between tones. I then used the curves option to adjust the dark, harsh tones within the image. It make the less visible dark tones, more visible and darker and which created an even balance of dark and light tones. If I wanted to create an image which the dark tones were dominant, I would use curves to make the harsh tones intense. However, I think in this instance, a level balance of the two opposites works best. Lastly, I zoomed in on and cropped out some of the picture because I didm;t want too much of the bright background which was shining through the trees to show in the end result because it was too bright and overpowering. If I were to take thous picture again, I would ensure that I took different pictures of the same object, but at different angles and distances. For example, I could look closer at the leaves and the different tones they hold individually.

Evaluation


   I chose this image because it explores soft lighting which could be classed as more 'feminine'. Her skin tones is smooth and there are little shadows presented on her face, unlike the picture shown above. Shadows reflected from her body are not shown on the background due to soft lighting being pointed directly at her face/body. The extra lighting means that there is little room left for shadows to be reflected. I did not complete any progression with this photo because I felt as if I had achieved the outcome in which I wanted, in relation to presenting soft lighting.

Evaluation

  I chose this picture as one which I wanted to look at and progress further because I think that by photographing the sky, you can show a variety of different tones, but in a simplistic way. I like this picture because it looks as if the sky fades from dark to light, which once edited, will clearly show two opposite tones. It shows how the weather can be temperamental - going from dark to light sky/clouds.












Progression






 To improve this picture, I used Photoshop to make some adjustments. I changed the picture into black and white, adjusted the brightness/contrast and the levels of colour. In my opinion, the black and white filter works best when looking at tone photography because it shows the variety of tones the best. The final outcome presents greatly contrasted tones- there are some really bright white tones and some dark tones. The trees add extra dark tones to the picture which were required due to lack of them. If I were to take this picture again, I would try to include more trees to add further dark tones. I could have also waited for a period of time (e.g. 10 minutes) to pass before taking another series of pictures to see if there was any differences to the tones within the sky.



Progression

 
  I chose this as one of the pictures that needed some improvements made to it. I think that this is a interesting photograph and I like how I have captured the rainbow. However, the sky does not consist of many different tones, as they are all many dark ones. I tried making improvements via Photoshop however, it was fairly hard using the black and white filter, to make any appearance of contrasted tones which is why I think that this picture does not work well with tone photography. I could possibly save this picture and use it for a future project because I do not feel like it is bad enough to discard of.