Corporate Identity

For our Professional and Business Practice assignment, we are required to create a logo for ourselves as photographers. I played around with a variety of possible fonts, sizes and juxtapositions, below are a few that I have created to potentially use for my corporate identity:

On Location Shoot

 I was required to create a series of images for my client intended for promotional use. My client is was a Pakistani woman who is setting up a food catering business, specialising in Indian Cuisine. As this is usually unheard of in her community, I wanted to explore the social documentary side of the photo shoot.

The location for this shoot was at my client’s home in Derby. After discussing with my client, we decided that the images would convey a stronger message if some of her friends and family were present to sell both the homemade element of her business as well as display the social ways that her food can be enjoyed. I am required to photograph her and guests in her home environment preparing and eating the food she intends to sell.
As well as creating images that fit with my client’s brief I also want to explore the social aspects of her business and the culture of Pakistan. For this reason, I asked my client and the guests to dress in their traditional clothing; Shalwar Karmeez (loose trousers and long shirts), Dupatta (long scarfs, usually wrapped over the head) and Saris (a garment that is wrapped around the body, often embroidered and made with rich fabrics). This would also help to reinforce to the viewer the type of food that my client specialises in.

Some of the images I produced for this shoot:

College Prospectus

During this session we were required, in groups of four, to photograph in the Land Based Centre of Solihull College, Birmingham for publication of images to be used in the college prospectus. These booklets are designed to give a good first impression of the college to a prospective student or parent, so it was vital that the photographs we took for this task presented the values and character of the college - they should show the course to be fun, informative and professional. We had to make sure that the lighting and set up was sufficient to create successful images that were well composed.

For our first shoot, we were taken to the Veterinary Lab in Land Based and were asked to photograph two students using the microscopes. Firstly, we took test shots to experiment with the composition of the shot, including props, and the lighting we needed. The equipment we used included; a soft box which we positioned to the right of the camera and this worked as the key light to illuminate the front of the subjects. An umbrella that we placed to the left of the camera and this worked as a fill light to bring brightness to the back of the subject's heads and the background of the shot as it was important that the photographs had context. After setting up the lighting, composition and camera settings, we then photographed our models in place. We chose to place different items from this Lab, including a stethoscope and various solutions in glass bottles in the shot to further add context to the image. Below it the outcome of the first shoot:



For our second shoot, we were taken to the x-ray room where we were asked to photograph a student evaluating an x-ray. The lighting we used for this photograph included; the light box used to view an x-ray as after experimenting seemed the best way to light the subject as it was bright and provided the student with a well exposed face. We also used natural lighting from the window next to the x-ray - this produced adequate illumination from the back of the subject. The camera settings we used for this shot were ISO 400, f/10, 1/150. Below is the outcome of this shoot:

We then experimented with this shot as we were not 100% happy with the lighting - we tried to photograph the x-ray against the window and used natural light to see the dog's skeleton. As well as natural light, we used a soft box to light behind the subject. The camera settings we used for this shot were ISO 200, f/10 and 1/150. I think this shot works better than the other one as it shows the student being more interactive with the x-ray and I feel it is lit better. Below is the outcome of this shoot:



For our third shoot, we were taken to the reptile room and were asked to photograph a student holding a lizard. There were also lots of other reptiles in cages in this room which proved a challenge when it came to lighting as the cages were made of glass and reflected any flash we used. The equipment we used in this shot included; a soft box to light the subject and the reptile, two standard lights which we positioned to point up to the ceiling corners and this bounced the light around the room which illuminated the other areas and helped to prevent the reflection of the lighting on the glass. We used a wide angle lens for this shot to capture the environment of the animal to add context and depth to the image. Below is the outcome of this shoot:



I enjoyed this task as I found myself challenged by the different scenes and environments we were put into - the lighting had to be carefully thought out and I think it helped to develop my knowledge of lighting. I did think that we could have produced more interesting photographs had we had more time to experiment.