Research
There are some really powerful campaigns to support different views and organisations. Campaign photography is different to the rest, in order to produce a decent photograph you need to plan . There needs to be more to the photos than just good exposure and focus points! The photos need to speak for themselves, when you look at campaign photography you would see that each photo has a powerful message which is pretty obvious, there has to be a meaning behind each photo. I have done some research and found some great photographs which were taken for different campaigns.
Domestic Violence
This photograph was taken as part of a campaign against Domestic Violence. I think this a really powerful photo because the message which is given from this is very strong. The colours are used express the emotion, I think the black background is used to create a sad atmosphere which is relevant considering the fact that it's to represent domestic violence, the colours in the photo give you the impression that the boy is in the shadows and alone, which is where this type of violence takes place. Another reason why the photographer has used dark colours is to draw attention to the boy, you can see the emotion on his face pretty clearly as his face stands out. The words written in the middle are as powerful as the picture itself. The whole point of using a young boy is to show people that it's not just women who go through domestic violence but children as well, the word support this. The message suggests that it's not just his mother who has black eyes but even him, so they are both victims of domestic violence. The exposure used is perfect considering the topic, you would expect to see bright flash colours but dark, gloomy ones.
Homophobia
This photograph was taken to support a campaign against homophobia. This doesn't show that much emotion. The background colour is very dull and pale but this makes the man stand out more. The message that is given from this photo is that everyone is equal and whether you are lesbian,gay,bisexual or transgender you still have the same rights as any other human. The man in the middle of the photo is making direct eye contact with the viewer, which suggests that this applies to everyone. The google search box in the middle gives a really powerful message, nearly everyone uses google for doing some research, but some people even search horrid things.
Racism
This photo was taken to support a campaign against racism. Both boys are looking directly at the camera,they are dressed as any normal boy would, but the pictures in their hands show some really strong stereotypes which they are labelled by. The colours of their clothes are very dull along with the background however the colours in the pictures they are holding are much stronger and bold so they stand out more. They have used a different colours for the text so somethings really jump at you. From their facial expressions you can tell that they are serious. There's a variety of different colours coming from this photo, I think the main reason for them to be wearing normal clothes is to say they are like everyone else. The boy on the left is probably Muslim because he is wearing a hat and the picture he's holding suggests that, but the boy on the right looks Mexican, this is trying to tell us that it isn't just religions that are targeted by racism but also cultures and ethnicity.
Alcohol
This photo was taken to support the "Stop it Before it Gets Ugly" campaign. This was taken to show the public the consequences of drinking too much. I think that this is a powerful photo because when people look at this they don't want to be in that situation. The man in the photo isn't looking directly into the camera but down at the ground, this suggests that there's a feeling of guilt, you can also tell by his facial expression that he has done something he regretted. The way he is dressed suggests he is in a hospital, he has stitches on his head which would make the viewers cringe. There isn't a big variety of colours, which is probably because they are in hospital. The text is put in bold writing and is black with some red to help key bits stand out even more. The writing actually tells a little story which will answer the viewers questions. It basically tells us that his man drank too much and had 1 stupid fight which lead to 8 hours in surgery , 32 stitches, 6 days in hospital and 10 months in recovery. I guess that explains his guilty expression!
Domestic Violence:
Planning:
For campaign photography I will focus on Abuse, I have chosen this because it's a very strong topic. Whilst taking photos I need to focus on portraying messages and emotions, this is how I will make my photographs effective.
Take 1
Plan;
Where? - In a Classroom or somewhere dark.
What?- I will create a scenario where there's evidence of domestic violence.
How? I will do this by using face paints to create a black eye on the face of the model/helper, the text written on the photo will tell viewers that it's domestic violence. I will insert the text on Photoshop. The emotion will convey the message that obviously the person is upset.
What?- I will create a scenario where there's evidence of domestic violence.
How? I will do this by using face paints to create a black eye on the face of the model/helper, the text written on the photo will tell viewers that it's domestic violence. I will insert the text on Photoshop. The emotion will convey the message that obviously the person is upset.
Worst:
This is over exposed due to natural light. You can't see the photo in detail, the bruise isn't visible and it looks blurry. Next time I will control the light by setting the exposure below perfect and changing the white balance.
Best:
This photo is good because the face is clear and you can see the bruise clearly, it shows lots of emotion. I have used the perfect exposure and depth of field for this. The writing is bold and the main points and in red, this is so the audience notices it. Next time I will try and get the reflection in the glass to make it look better.
This photo shows a lot of emotion, I like the way the face is towards the left. The facial expression give the impression that the person is lost in thoughts or nervous and this supports the writing. The lighting is perfect due to the exposure. The writing is bold and stands out, this make it visible.
Take 2:
Plan:
Where? -Outside
What?- I am trying to portray racism with tug of war.
How?- I will do this by getting an Asian person and a white person to have a tug of war between them.
What?- I am trying to portray racism with tug of war.
How?- I will do this by getting an Asian person and a white person to have a tug of war between them.
Worst:
This is the worst because of the angle at which this was taken, you can't see the hands as clearly as you can in the photo above, and because of this the whole point is lost. The attention and focus isn't just on the tug of war but also on the cars in the background which isn't great as they aren't relevant to the photo itself, next time I will make sure I pick a suitable setting for my photographs.
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Best:
Take 3:
Plan:
For this shoot I will focus on bullying.
WORST:
This photo is too bright, there's no editing which has been done.
BEST:
Take 4;
Plan:
Where? - Against a black background.
What?- I will take a photo of a face and add some text.
How?- Using a small depth of field I will take a photo of a face and add text on Photoshop.
What?- I will take a photo of a face and add some text.
How?- Using a small depth of field I will take a photo of a face and add text on Photoshop.
Step one; Firstly I cropped out the face and pasted it onto the black background and neatened up any edges.
Step two: I used the blemish tool to get rid of the mouth.
Step three; I experimented with different fonts and text colours and finally I found the correct one.
Step two: I used the blemish tool to get rid of the mouth.
Step three; I experimented with different fonts and text colours and finally I found the correct one.
Worst:
This photo didn't work as well, mainly because of the font and colour of the text, the yellow doesn't seem to go well with the whole situation and the font is a bit too bold. There wasn't much editing involved with this, I don't think it's as effective as the others, the ideas don't fit together as well in this photo so people won't understand it.
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Best:
This photo was taken by Lucas Rozada, a Spanish photographer. I think this photo is very effective because of the boy, I like the way his hair and clothes camouflage with the black background and the lighting on his face really makes the bruise stand out. The writing is in white, I think this was done to make it stand out...
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My shoot is done in the style of Lucas Rozada, I really liked the way he portrayed a strong message indirectly by using his photography skills. This is the best photo because it portrayed the message I wanted it to. I used a low exposure to give it more effect and so the writing will stand out. I used Arial text so that the photo remains simple. There was a lot of Photoshop editing skills involved when creating this.
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Take 5:
Plan:
For this I am focusing on bullying again, I will use a knife and Photoshop to create the image I want.
Worst:
This photo is the worst because of the exposure, the white balance isn't set on the right setting.
Best:
These photos are the best because on the editing done on Photoshop, I have used two different colours for the writing on the knife to make it stand out. The font used is perfect for the photo. The exposure and focus point is fine, I've focused on the blade of the knife deliberately to make the photo look more effective and to get the point across.
Evaluation:
Campaign photography was amazing, as well as making some really effective photographs I also got the chance to develop my Photoshop skills, it allowed me to be creative. It was a little bit hard as my final outcome for each separate shoot had to covey a certain messages but overall I think I did a good job.