Throughout most of my projects both in University and beforehand in college I would create my own composition in a studio set up or location and edit the photos in Adobe Photoshop afterwards. This would then enable me to manipulate the composition, adjust the lighting, remove unwanted elements, and more importantly, add symbols or images for the narrative. This is, therefore, a brief run-through of the processes used when editing this composition:
^ This is the original photograph.
I wanted this composition to remain as simple as possible to contrast to the busy claustrophobic room portrayed in 'Prey'. I, therefore, felt there was no need to keep this section of the room in view and decided to simplify it by expanding the wall behind the figure. I also felt the yellow hue in that section of the wall did not compliment the cooler tones in the image, with my intention of creating a cool-toned image. This would, therefore, add to the sterile environment portrayed through the unsettling, clean, tidy space. Using the paintbrush tool enabled me to add a shadow to the wall which would have been created by the figure had the wall been real.
I contemplated on placing the gloves in the scene for a while as I didn't want to create a blindingly obvious link between the paintings, but felt I could obscurely portray the bright yellow colour more than the shape. I, therefore, changed the original to a slightly more obscure, smaller view of the gloves whilst adding the mug introduces a commonplace object into the scene.
I had no appropriate physical image to place in the frame when shooting so digitally placed one in. To do this I selected the chosen image, adjusted the brightness, contrast, levels, and other elements to match the general tone of the photo. I was then able to use the perspective warp tool to match the image to the angle of the photo frame for a realistic outcome.
Unfortunately, the physical display of polaroids was impacted by Covid-19. I ordered some online and the shipment either got lost in the post or delayed forcing me to contact the company to get them redelivered. This, however, meant there were late arriving, ironically, being delivered the day after I moved out of my university home for the lockdown. Typical! I, therefore, had to
digitally recreate them using the original photographs and a google image of a polaroid pinned to a wall.
I first removed the background of the
polaroid image and manipulated my photographs to fit. I also adjusted the brightness and levels, etc on the photographs to suit the overall tone of the composition. I was then able to use the perspective warp tool again to adjust the angle to suit the perspective of the wall. I won't lie, this took a while to get right! Once perfected, I used the paint tool to place freehand shadows behind each polaroid to add dimension. They turned out much better than I had expected!
The last major edit in terms of the narrative was the placement of the killer's symbol (displaying male domination) on the lid of the box. The placement of the carving into the box represents the importance of the object whilst resembling the carvings from 'Prey'. This was largely created by taking a google image and manipulating it in various ways, such as transparency, to achieve the right effect.
^ This was the result of the edits in comparison to the original.
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