Midterm Self-Evaluation

My goal for the midterm was to seamlessly incorporate my manikin (in various poses) into my photographs of random TCNJ locations. I came up with this idea because I wanted to do something simple but also interesting, and I believe this idea fit that criteria.

I tried using both old and new photoshop techniques. Some of the older techniques were simple size transformations and movements. The newer techniques included the distortion and warp transformation tools, which I used when I created the shadows and reflections, the dodge and burn tools, which I used heavily on the manikin itself, and layer masks and color adjustments. I made sure to have a non-destructive work flow and I accomplished this by duplicating my original images and then modifying the duplicates.

Through the course of the project, I learned that poor photographic lighting can be a challenge. Instead of taking a poorly photographed picture and trying to edit and modify it in photoshop (post-production), I learned that modifying the way the initial picture was taken (pre-production) can be much simpler.

Because I have limited experience with Photoshop and I have a heavy scientific rather than artistic background, I had some trouble figuring out how to incorporate the manikin naturally. However, I believe I accomplished my goal for the midterm. Overall, I enjoyed working on the project and I was particularly proud of the image containing the manikin and the purple pixel.

Midterm

In this picture, the manikin is in a pose reminiscent of Singing in the Rain. I used an adjustment layer mask to brighten the entire manikin because the image is overexposed in certain areas. The shadow was created by duplicating the manikin, filling it black, and distorting it. I used the dodge and burn effects to give the manikin depth.



This image was taken in front of the social sciences building. Because the traffic cones were originally bright orange, I decreased their saturation. The shadow was created by duplicating the manikin and filling it black. It was then distorted and transformed so that it matched the shadows of the traffic cones. The opacity was decreased and a Gaussian blur effect was added. Dodge and burn tools were used to give the manikin depth.

In this image, I decided to take a picture of the purple pixel and placed the manikin (in a pondering pose) in front of the pixel. The manikin's shadow was created by duplicating the original image and filling it black. I then used the transform tool to distort the shadow and position it at the manikin's feet. I also decreased the opacity and added a Gaussian blur. The shadow mimics the pixel's shadow due to light coming from the right side of the image. The manikin's reflection was a separate picture of the manikin. It was incorporated into the image and the lower torso was removed. The reflection was distorted slightly to give it a rounded look and lastly, the opacity was decreased.

Midterm Proposal

For my midterm, I will be taking pictures of various TCNJ locations. I will also take pictures of an art manikin in different poses. I will then incorporate the manikin into my TCNJ pictures so that it looks like it is in each scene. For example, one picture may have the manikin looking at one of the pixels.

About Me

My name is Ryan Chung. I am a sophomore biology major. I live in Marlboro, NJ and recently, there have been reports of a mountain lion loose somewhere between my town and the next town.