Experimentation in class - Different ways of portraying one subject

Today in class we were given a task to present one subject in many ways. I chose the bouquet of tulips and tried photographing it in as many different approaches as I could think of.

Below you can see all the photographs with a short commentary to each of them.


Sony alpha a7RII 50mm F22, SS3s, ISO50

I started with very typical photograph in studio style with clear, white backdrop. Long exposure time made the light and shadows very soft, and closed aperture made the whole subject in focus. This combined with very low ISO created a very sharp, clear and beautiful image.


Sony alpha a7RII 50mm F1.8, SS1/1250, ISO50

Here we can see a more typical composition, with flowers covering left three thirds of the image. What makes this image interesting is that the light is coming from behind the flowers, which makes them backlit. It defines the silhouette more. Using selective mask in Lightroom I added a little more definition and light to the underexposed flowers in order to separate them more from the background.

Sony alpha a7RII 50mm F1.8, SS1/160, ISO50

Here we can see a typical subject focus photo. Here instead of focusing on the entire bouquet, we are focused on only one flower. I used here central composition to give the flower feel of being in centre of attention.

Sony alpha a7RII 50mm F1.8, SS1/160, ISO50

The top down shot is a little less typical one, but I really like this type of photos. This unusual angle gives new perspective to the entire composition. I also added here a strong S curve in order to enrich the colours in the image.

Sony alpha a7RII 50mm F1.8, SS1/80, ISO50

On the contrary to the previous one, here we can see the shot from the below of the flowers. It gives the entire subject a feel of empowerment. It feels grand and important. I also applied strong S curve in here.

Sony alpha a7RII 50mm F1.8, SS1/80, ISO50

Here we can see similar composition to the previous photo, here however we have black and white image. After last term's project I started shooting more in black and white and I find it fascinating how the most colourful objects look in monochrome. 

Sony alpha a7RII 50mm F1.8, SS1/80, ISO50

Similarly to the third photo, here we have the singular subject with central composition. Here however we have clear separation in foreground, midground, and background. Additionally I once again applied here strong S curve on all of the channels in order to enrich the colours. I also desaturated all of colour channels which were not present in the flowers in order to separate them even further from the background.

Sony alpha a7RII 50mm F22, SS4s, ISO50

Here I shot a singular flower in close-up and applied one of my favourite colour corrections - flat S curve. It lifts up the shadows and lowers the highlights, while making colours more vivid. It also gives the photographs a bit of analog look with these rich yet not oversaturated colours. I also added a very fine grain to complete the look.

Sony alpha a7RII 50mm F22, SS10s, ISO50

Similarly to the first image I decided to shoot this photograph with closed aperture and long exposure time. It gave the photograph this studio like quality. Contrary to the first photograph I decided to shoot this one in closeup and of only one flower, so you could admire details not only the whole composition.


I think that this kind of experimentation was good for me since I often only shoot things the way I imagined them in my head instead of trying to find different, maybe more interesting angles. I will definitely try to do that more during actual photoshoots. 

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