Test Shots
Posted by Martyn Hollinshead | Labels: Planning | Posted On Thursday, 2 February 2012 at 13:44
My test shots comprised of a multitude of various camera angles, poses and locations so that I could get an idea as to what sort of photos I wanted to include in my magazine. This photo (above) represents the kind of shot that I would like to use for my front cover. The placement of the person is directly in the centre of the photo. They are facing forwards and are staring directly at the camera. This makes for a striking image, and one that will hopefully draw the attention of passers-by. Another advantage is that there is an even amount of space on either side of the person to add text, meaning that plenty of cover lines can be used whilst maintaining a sense of symmetry.
Whilst this image may be cluttered with background people and objects, the point of this photo was to see how a side-on shot of the person sitting down would look. I am thinking of using a photo similar to this on my contents page, where I will (hopefully) place them on top of the 'Contents' heading as if they were literally sitting on it. This would give the page a look of realism and may help to make the photo stand out on the page. The side-on shot not only makes it easier to place the person atop the heading, but also conveys hidden meanings and ideas about the person. Because you can only see one side of them, it suggests that they may have a darker side that they don't want people to see, and that would portray the personality of my fake artist suitably.
This rather blurry shot of a person leaping into the air was taken to see how an action shot would look. The shot was taken as the person was in mid-air and tries to express a 'freestyle' look in the way that they are jumping. As I said earlier, the image came out blurry; this was down to the camera on my phone not having a fast shutter speed, meaning the image wasn't sharp. I think that if I were to use a better camera in my real shots, I may be able to get a much better result.
In this photo we can see a person leaning against a wall from a side-on view. This photo has an informal feel to it, as the pose is casual; the right leg is pressing against the wall, which is commonly seen in these kind of photos where the person featured is either younger or of a lower class. When combined with the solemn expression, this photo has the look of 'grunge', and expresses connotations of non-conformity and sorrow, suiting the genre and making for a good possible contents photo. The reason why i believe it would be suitable for a contents page is that the person doesn't take up much width, however they do take the majority of the photo's height, so the text would fit nicely down the right hand side of the person.
Taken from a high angle, this test shot allowed me to see how I could make a group photo look more interesting than simply taking a front-on mid shot. In this photo the people are looking up at the camera, and are distanced slightly from one another, with the centre person placed towards the rear of the group. Both the centre and left members of the group have their arms crossed, however the person on the right (who is also positioned at the front of the group) has his hands in his pocket. The placement and pose of him make it seem as if he is the frontman of the group, as stereotypically the frontman of a band usually looks and acts differently to his peers. Although my artist isn't part of a group, I may use a group photo to add realism and content to the magazine, and, should it be used, it would be placed in the contents page.
To take this photo I had to lie on the floor so that I would have a suitable position at which to take a low angle shot. I decided to take a low angle shot because it is a good way to show someone as having power; they are looking down on the camera, or more literally the reader. This makes them look as if they have a higher position than others, and also shows connotations of aggression and anger when an appropriate facial expression is used.
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