Final Project Evaluation

Overall I think this project went quite well. I produced some good shoots with good individual
photographs in that mostly conveyed my meaning well and linked back to my stimuli well. I chose the
stimuli spatial because I think its very interesting how we can manipulate the space surrounding us to
be either larger or smaller. I personally think it’s fascinating how our minds can play tricks on us to
make us believe the space we live in is different to what it actually is. For example, people with
claustrophobia might be in a fairly large space for example, an elevator, yet their mind makes them
believe they are trapped in a very small, confined space that freaks them out. For someone without
this phobia, they believe the elevator is a big enough space for them to relax. It varies from person to
person, but what if I could manipulate all people to believe that all space is spacious. I decided to try
and make all of my images feel super spacious and from here decided on using a looking up
perspective to give my audience a new viewpoint/perspective of architecture in a spacious way. This
is the meaning I conveyed throughout the entirety of the project.

Throughout the project I used many different compositional techniques such as leading lines, rule of
thirds, symmetry, balance, viewpoints, perspectives , etc. All of these different compositional
techniques helped my photographs to be unique and intriguing for the audience. They also help to
make the images appealing in looks as balance and symmetry are two elements to my images that
the human eye would really appreciate. I also used a wide variety of shot types within this project
however my favourite is the close u shots because when framed correctly they look the most
spacious out of all of them.

I used the same digital camera for each shoot in the project which was the canon eos 750d. Although
this camera has automatic settings and focus, I decided to use manual camera settings and manual
focus to make my images the best they could be. Sometimes automatic camera settings don’t look
as good as they down you use the manual function and so this is why I chose to do it manually. I used
a fast shutter speed and low aperture for all of my images because I always shot in good weather,
meaning it was very bright and sunny. The fast shutter speed and low aperture is necessary in the
sunny weather because it means less light can enter the camera lens making the photographs have
he right amount of exposure whilst also allowing the subject matter to be crisp clear. This was really
important for this project because I was shooting architecture and I wanted the viewers to be able to
pick out details within the structures so it was apparent what type of architecture it was, whether that
be modern, old or industrial.

I decided to edit the colours in a couple of shoots because I thought it would suit the type of
architecture I was shooting, however it made the images feel confined and not very spacious at all
which was not so good. These shoots were three and four where I photographed an old building in
Reading. When I think of old architecture it reminds me of a time when film cameras were a big thing
and so I decided to take my images on a digital camera and edit them to be black and white in
photoshop, like they would be from a film camera. Although this seemed like a good idea at the time,
it was actually a really bad idea because the images felt small and not spacious at all meaning my fully
meaning could not be conveyed or understood by the audience. After this shoot I actually wanted to
shoot the same old building using a film camera however due to the circumstances, I ended up not
having access to the darkroom to develop any images and no longer was able to travel to photograph
the building either, so I moved on from this idea, which I think was for the best.

I started to really get into the project around shoot five and six where I found a passion for shooting
modern architecture however I also could then no longer travel to any modern architecture to continue
this idea. I worked with what I have got in walking distance from my house which was an old church
and an industrial boathouse. Although not ideal because it was no longer modern architecture I could
shoot, I made do with what I had and I think I produced some nice images that convey my meaning
well. Because the last time I shot old architecture I found them boring due to the black and white
colour scheme being confining, I decided to incorporate the elements I used within my modern
architecture shoots into those that now focused on old architecture. I incorporated the blue sky that I
love so much about my images as it’s brightness opens up the space making it feel super spacious. I
also experimented with different angles, although sticking with the base looking up perspective. I
actually really enjoy the way that the shoots of the old church turned out. I shot it once, in shoot
seven, but once I came home and evaluated the images I realised there was a lot of improvement that
could be done so I shot it one more time, in shoot eight, and I am super happy with the images from
the shoot. They convey my meaning really well as they use a looking up perspective whilst also being
spacious which is key.

The final shoot I have done is shoot nine where I photographed an industrial boathouse near my
house. Its industrial architecture because it uses plain grey steel to structure itself with barely any
windows at all. I’m not a massive fan of the industrial architecture however I do like the final images I
produced in this shoot and I think that they convey my meaning well so I have actually decided to use
one of the images from the shoot within my final piece plan.

I also did some experimentation within this project using images from shoot five. I imported images
from this shoot into photoshop and played around with reflections and symmetry to make the final
experimental images feel spacious. I really like the third experimental image within this experimentation
aspect of the project because I think the diamond shape with the empty centre is very interesting and
draws the viewers attention to the open space making it feel super spacious. If I could continue
shooting modern architecture I would have experimented with photoshop a lot more but it didn’t feel
suitable with the images I produced in the shoots focusing on different architecture.

To summarise, I think this project was successful in that I accurately represented my stimuli
throughout the project by making architecture feel spacious through using a looking up perspective.