Assignment 4: Tutor Feedback

Once again I am very grateful for the constructive feedback from my tutor.  One comment made that surprised me was that I had chosen to work with a single subject for this brief.  The assignment was quite clear in the requirement to sue a single subject and then photograph it to bring out the different properties required.  If I could have worked with more than 1 still life subject I would have chosen a mixture of the 3 plants that I developed ideas for in this blog.

On my shot selection:

1. Form: Both images received good feedback, however, a good comment was made that the very simple head-on shot (Left) could have been more 3D had I angled the object.

2. Shape: The Left image was criticized for too little shape definition in the back lighting.  When shooting I struggled with this, as the lack of any transparency in the object meant that pure back lighting was very ineffective as I could not get the type of diffuse edges that a softer subject might have produced.

3. Texture: The left side image worked well, however my tutor was less sure about the right side image as I used a very shallow depth of field.  My idea was to reveal an element of texture isolated from the others, a single segment of the pineapple.  However, this does not really convey the concept of texture, so I take on board the criticism.

The following 3 images would have worked better as each presents more detail of the fine texture of the object

4. Colour: Both images were well received

On the whole this was a rewarding assignment and the one I was most looking forward to.  I really enjoy lighting and still life imagery.  I only wish that there was a module in the OCA curriculum dedicated to still life, product photography and lighting.  All very useful skills for a photographer hoping to make  a living from their passion.