Feedback: Test shoot

I've received some feedback from my initial tests:

The comments regarding Tests 4 and 5 were to be expected as the grain and vignette were slightly exaggerated for effect. I rarely add a vignette and never add grain to my images, but I felt compelled to at least test them on this occasion. I was pleasantly surprised with how effective the addition of the grain in Test 6 creates visual as well as metaphorical texture to the image.

The general consensus is that Test 6 is the preferred option, which is actually my personal preference as well. Regarding the composition, though Test 6 gives more of a sense of space, the tight crop in Test 1 represents the claustrophobic, intense feeling of life under lockdown.

In response to Dan’s feedback, I took a further two photographs to examine what effect the size of the image has on the narrative and also how it will affect my post-processing options. The image size was set in camera, again, to ensure consistency with the dimensions and the size of the image file.

I opted for a simple, thin black border, which would evoke being constrained within the same four walls for weeks at a time; the larger borders distracted from the composition within the frame, so this idea was discarded.

Test A - 3:2 ratio

Test B - 1:1 ratio

I created an action in Photoshop in order to speed-up my workflow

Only basic edits – colour, exposure and toning, for example – have been factored into the action. Any other processing, like the patch tool will be completed manually.

Publishing

Further research will be undertaken regarding the final layout of the work. Considerations with have to be made as to how to present the work online and how it will look in book form. I have some basic ideas regarding the book – the image will be centrally located on the page, surrounded by negative space – but this is an ongoing process, as the research may provide fresh inspiration. A final decision will be made before the end of the shoot in readiness for the work to be displayed.