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.