Evaluation:
I am very happy with the majority of my outcomes for this project. I have really enjoyed experimenting with different techniques and styles and it has been a definite learning curve for me. If i was to redo this project what i think i would do would be to take more photos in more obscure locations. I felt that the locations i shot my pictures in could have been more interesting. For example: if i had shot a photo in an abandoned warehouse then it might have made the photo look much more dramatic as opposed to a forest. Saying this i am pleased with the photos that i took as they most of them look quite realistic.




FIRST PHOTO SHOOT

This is the first shot from my photo shoot you will notice a reoccurring theme which incorporates a 'concealed identity'. All of these photos are taken with the subject facing away from the camera, this adds to the obscure atmosphere these pictures have. Most of the locations in this photo shoot were on the edge of steep hills which gives them a sense of height and perspective.

 I wanted to try using a strong depth of field with a branch out of focus and the subject and background in focus. Im undecided on how it looks but it definitely adds variety to my photos which is important.

I tried it where the picture had less branch in it to see if the effect looked any better. i prefer it looking like this, with less branch in the image. I also prefer this pose as it looks more flamboyant and elegant. 

I enlarged this image because i thought the pose looked quite surreal. The angle the subject is at makes it look like hes just hanging in the air. Im not happy about where this photo was taken i should make taken it following the road as the picture would have been better framed. 

I saw this opening in the trees that looked like a walkway so i decided to take a photo there. This photo reminds me of somebody hanging from a noose. Just the way the feet look as if they are hanging not floating. It was getting dark at this point so i had to boost the ISO to 2000 so my images started to become a bit noisy.

 These are the last couple of photos that i took from my photo shoot and as it was getting dark and i was running out of ideas i decided to add a camera effect called 'forest' . It enhances the colour green in the photograph and adds a post crop vignette. You can see that the photo is slightly noisy but thats because it was getting dark. I do like this effect as it works in conjunction with the trees and shrubbery.

 This is another similar photo with the same effect. I think that this pose isn't quite as good as the previous photo but feel this photo still has a certain ambience that could not be achieved without the camera effect.

FIRST PHOTO SHOOT  CONTINUED

I tried lots of different poses in this shoot to see if i could find the ones most realistic. This 'Christ' looking pose gives it a religious aspect which differs from most levitation photos.

I have enlarged this photo as i feel it is one of the more realistic levitation images i took from this shoot. This is definitely an 'upward' style of floating as the subject looks as if he is rising up.

 This is an example of an unsuccessful photo. I had the shutter speed set too low so you my photo contains motion blur which really spoils the image.

 I changed the white balance for this photo to get some variety in my photos. It gives it a brighter yet cooler feel to it however, i am not sure wether I prefer it to the previous colour scheme.

 Another similar style

I think this photo has too much movement in the sense that the subjects jumper looks misshaped. I think i captured the photo when he was falling as apposed to rising which is why it looks as it does.

 I experimented with using 'the rule of thirds' to see what results i could get. im not sure of this result as the background does not suit this style of photo.

I really like this floating photo. I think the pose is very realistic and i am pleased with this result. The steep hill edge provides a scenic background which fits in really well for this floating photograph. I didnt really feel the need to edit this photo as i liked the result straight out the camera. I did add a negative exposure gradient to the clouds to make them more defined and prominent and small amounts of retouching.  

Taken from the same position this floating photo has a different pose. Its as if the subject is reaching up for something and gradually lifting himself upwards. I did the same thing to the clouds to increase the contrast in them.

I decided to take a portrait in this location as i wanted to capture more of the sky as apposed to the landscape. I still has the same effect which i really like so i am very happy with the outcome. 

https://www.dropbox.com/s/2xysjsft3tk2tze/Floating.pptx

Above is a link for a power point presentation I did to brainstorm and research some ideas for this project.

TYPES OF LEVITATION

Montage:

This is an example of a levitation montage. The multiple subjects create a complex, extravagant photo. Without the floating objects the picture would just be an ordinary everyday scene (not the most interesting of photos). By adding this crazy combination of floating objects it completely changes the tone of the image from being very boring and ordinary to having a mystical obscure atmosphere. It is a very clever illusion that is obviously processed through Photoshop or similar editing software. Every item is layered on top of the background image and the lighting and colours are matched to blend them all together. 

https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRPZvYe5YktCzv08yb2EsRxj6HmChRDlxuUFzNOK9KHRJh-qHI

Upward:

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglRqi8Uyr89phGfRIfNGsiZjbkOfR3BBkKDF7xr_V4KftTuQt_7kGWANiLUqiUQ9WEED_GF3t8zbvN4JSI-McSpZtUbzidjvGynm_9bs-LPJpWYk2K1pklg_QUXadAxgAei_QkjwxE8Lc/s1600/flying+without+wings.jpg

This one of my favourite type of floating/levitation. As opposed to just hovering or floating in mid air this type of photo shows the subject actually rising upwards. Most of these types of photos are done either jumping or  leaping such as the one above. This photo was done against the light so the subject is only a silhouette which looks really nice against the vibrant sunset. No serious editing has been done to this photograph maybe just some retouching like contrast, saturation etc. 

Falling: 

The is the opposite to upward levitation as the subject is falling down instead of rising upwards. Sometimes its hard to work out the movement of the subject which is why the subjects are usually female and have long hair. The movement of the subject can be easily determined by the way the hair falls or is moving in a picture. In the is case the hair is blown upwards so you can tell the woman is falling towards the sofa. I can only assume that the woman jumped from the right side of the image onto the sofa and the camera captured her in this pose. There are other "cheat" ways of achieving a falling effect by playing with perspectives. The picture on the right may look like the subject is falling because of his pose. However, if you rotate the photo to the right you can see it is just a man jumping and pulling of a certain pose to create the illusion that he is falling. 

http://www.smashingapps.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/im-falling.jpg

Hovering:

http://fc03.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2012/281/6/c/ash_levitation_2_by_rick_nadal-d5h6ti3.jpg

hovering photography  is the most common type of floating photos that I stumbled upon doing my research. The subject should look as if it is dormant whilst in mid air so to not look like it is moving at all. One of the easiest ways to achieve this type of floating photo is by using a chair. Take a photo of the subject perched on a chair and another with out the subject or chair and on Photoshop erase the chair leaving a hovering subject.

I really like this leviation photo it looks very sereal as well as naturalistic. The shadow under the subject defines it as being a floating photograph as you can clearly see that the girl is above the ground. When creating levitation photos its always important to identify where the light source/source's are coming from so you can create the drop shadow and put it in the correct position. You can see in this photo that the main light source is coming directly above the subejct as there is a circle of light on the floor, this means the shaodw must be underneath the subejct for it to look realistic. Some photographers incorporate intense detailed background which could potentially distract you from the floating subject. One of the reasons i like this photo is that is uses a very simple background which adds to the effect this picture has. This photo has a lot of leading lines in both the girl and the background. The angle that the photo was taken excentcuates the shape of the corridor, the foregorund is much wider than the background which draws your eyes towards the subject which is positioned slightly to left. The subjects hair is the thing that shows the audience the type of leviation effect being achieved. The fact that her hair looks as if its being blown by a strong wind could sugegst that she is falling as apposed to levitating. This can be achieved by wafting a large piece of card to give the wind illusion.

I really do like this photo and i plan to replicate this effect in a similar manner. I think the easiest way to replicate this effect is to take two photos, one with the model perched on a stool (in a similar pose), and the second with just the background. I will then run it through photoshop and delete the stool. This is the main way i achieve my levitation effect as it relativley simple and effective method
http://www.flickr.com/photos/somewherelovely/4884288165/in/photostream

This photo was done in the same manner as the previous photo I uploaded to this blog. The beam of light was made with a custom white brush to give it a light ray effect. The birds were inserted into this photo to give the background more detail as it is a very plain background. I tried lightening the top half of the body to match the fake light ray to make it look more realistic. I didn't shoot the subject photo with a high enough shutter speed as there is a small amount of motion blur on his feet.

These photos illustrate how I developed and manipulated a combination of photos to create my final outcome.
1. untouched background image
2. crop to this size,photo filter and colour balance
3. add light rays
4. add birds
5. add drop shadow matching light direction

This is my second "floating photo". For the background, I took a photo in the daylight of a road just outside my house at around mid day and it was quite a cloudy day so the image came out quite dark. I changed the hue of the line on the road to a yellow to make it slightly more interesting. With a very large black brush on Photoshop i covered the majority of the image missing out a circular area, creating a spotlight effect. After playing around with the contrast and colour balance settings I started on the subject. As you can see I took the photo of the person in the studio perched on a small stool. After outlining the person in this photo you can delete the rest of the image leaving you with just the subject and no background. You then place this image on top of the road photo and blend it in using low opacity brushes and the dodge and burn tool. I am quite happy with the result of this photo, it has a dramatic atmosphere to it and the large amount of black empty space helps you focus on the subject and lighting.

These are the original pictures before i started editing. The sun disappeared just as i took the second photo so its more underexposed than the first photo with the car in it. To compensate for this i had to match the brigthness and colour settings so that when i layered the two photos together they matched.


This is my first floating photograph for this project, it may not be THE most convincing or realistic floating photograph but that's what makes it a unique photo. The balloons lifting up the car give it the illusion that the car and people in it are weightless. I experimented a lot with different sized balloons and different angles for the car to be in for the position I liked most. After re-positioning the car i created a drop shadow on the floor   so that the lighting effects in the photo looked more realistic. The original image had a very plain cloudless sky so I went out another day and retook a photo of the sky when it was cloudy, which I then layered back on top of the image. I only needed one photo of a balloon against a white background I then altered the hue to make them different colours. I added some light reflection on the balloons with a white brush because without it the balloons looked quite flat. Using a large brush and the dodge tool I create a semi circle of light on the gravek in the foreground of the image which is in contrast to the drop shadow. This may not be the best floating photo but this is the early stages and I am pleased with the result.

I have done some research into floating photohgraphy and these are some examples that I found to be really interesting. I will be using these photos as inspiration for my work and hopefully produce some photos to a similar standard.

 

                                                              photo source:    www.flikr.com 

This is my blog for the photography project "floating" i will be uploading my research and photos over the next few weeks.I will also be posting work from other photographers to use as inspiration for my work. Please give constructive criticism on all my work i need to know how to improve!

The reason why i chose this project brief was because i had already been experimenting with floating and levitation in a previous projects. This gave me a head start into the techniques required to make a good floating photo. For example. The camera settings (aperture and shutter speed) About finding the balance between a fast enough shutter speed and having a photo that has minimal noise. I will also need to know about how to achieve the different styles of levitation which is something i have been experimenting with. At the end of this project i hope to have a greater understanding about the development of a levitation photo. Even if my final outcomes are not perfect i want to at least have improved from the beginning of the project.