1. Take photos with action figures near some form of water(stream, river, puddle, etc.) positioned in a way that seems natural 2. Edit photo to make the action figures seem fitting within the environment.
Research
These pictures of Star Wars action figures are taken near a body of water and with the reflective nature of the water, it creates a really cool image. The one on the left is of a figure on a rock overlooking what seems to be a lake/ocean and with the almost perfect reflection of the figure and the rock, it captures a tranquil scene. The one on the right has two stormtroopers in a river/stream and the pose the figures are in make it seem that they're walking and the sun as the source of light. The lighting and the figures all reflect of the water and with the water having multiple ripples, it creates a moving photo.
After looking at these photos, paying attention to how they're composed and how the figures cooperate with the water gave me ideas to do the same. The main ideas I have are having the figures in the water or have the river be the backdrop of the photo. The photo on the right is the bigger influence because of it's cinematic nature and it's use of the natural lighting and the moving water.
New Photos
For the river picture with my action figures, I had the figures in the water. This added a level of immersion because they were actually interacting with the water rather than having the river as a backdrop. I posed the figures in a way to make it seem that they're observing rather than having them in a moving pose. Because they were set in the river, it was hard to set them in dynamic poses because the moving water could easily knock them over. It was a cloudy day I took the pictures so that offered a somewhat desaturated environment and that helped me in editing as well.
Final Edits
For two of the photos, I "created" my own filter by making them cool and having the shadows seem darker. By using the selective color tool in photoshop, I used it to add different shades of cyan, magenta, yellow, and blue to the blacks/shadows of the photo. By doing that, it added another level to the contrast between light and shadow. For the two other photos, I made them black and white first. For one of them, I added a brown tint to it, a little noise, and played with the brightness and contrast to give it an old time feel to two storm troopers. For the other black and white photo, I added a desaturated cyan/blue tint to it with darker shadow. The end result gives off a cold and dark feel to it.
Printed/Matted Photo
(Date not part of printed/matted photo)
5 Step Critique
Observe: The photo is a side profile portrait of a Star Wars clone trooper. Describe: The clone trooper fills the middle vertical third of the photo and on the other two thirds are the blurry backdrop. The pre edited photo had natural colors filling the back with browns, greens, etc. The clone trooper stood out because of its red and bright white. The overall photo also felt desaturated with low contrast between some elements of the photo and the photo was slightly high in terms of brightness. Other figures were in the picture as well but post edit, they were cropped out because they weren't in focus and I felt like they weren't very important in the overall composition of the photo. In photoshop, I made the photo black and white so I could create the contrasting shadows and light. I slightly lowered the brightness so the highlights could be reduced. Then, I added a cyan tint to the photo and desaturated it a little bit to add the dry and cold feel to it. I then used the selective color tool to edit the blacks/shadows so they can have some color to it. Analyze: The shape of the clone trooper has emphasis because of the blurry backdrop. Because the clone trooper is the only thing in focus, it creates a silhouette with a strong shape and that provides emphasis because everything else have less defined lines. This relation between shape and emphasis is important because viewers tend to look at in focus things in photos and because the clone trooper is the main subject of the photo, the viewer knows that because it's the only thing with a defined shape. Another relation in the photo is color and balance. The photo has an overall cold, dry, cyan look to it and that somewhat connects the light and shadow because they both share the cyan tint. This is important because although light and shadow have very different appearances, the use of one color is able to connect. There's the idea that light needs shadow to be connected and vice versa, but the addition of color allows the overall photo to appear balanced. Interpret: The mood of the photo could be interpreted as somber or loneliness because of the combination of color and framing. Cool colors usually associate with sad feelings and the photo has a desaturated cyan tint which adds to the somber feeling because it creates a dry, cold aesthetic. The mood of loneliness is also existent because of the way the photo is cropped. Two other figures were featured in the lower part of the whole photo but it felt better to crop them out because having the one clone trooper created more impact. With the blurry backdrop and having the clone trooper be the central point of the photo, it shows he's the only one in that environment. This leads to the potential story/idea of the photo. The blurry background is a hillside but the viewer doesn't know that so it could easily mean the unknown. The environment the clone trooper is unknown to him and because the figure's the only thing in focus, it could refer to the idea that the clone trooper only knows himself in the area he's in. And because he's the only thing in focus, it adds the idea that he's alone. Evaluate: The photo successfully captures a story or an idea with its use of the clear and blurry elements. The photo also meets the second objective of the assignment which was to make the figure seem natural within the environment. Rather than appearing as a plastic figure, the way the photo is edited creates the illusion that the photo is of a real clone trooper. It's use of photoshop is good because it uses the tools to create an identifiable mood and that adds to the impact of the overall photo. One thing the photo could do better is to incorporate more of the first objective which was to have the figure near some form of water. The final printed/matted photo did have a river behind the figures but after cropping, the water element is missing. The photo greatly executes the second objective of the assignment but could be better at accomplishing the first objective.