D2: Apply editing Techniques to Enhance the Visual Impact of the Photographic Images

In this report, I will demonstrate how I have used different editing techniques to create my intended cinematic photography look. I will use screenshots to show my editing process.

 

 

 

                                Raw Photos Before Editing

 

Here are my original photographs. As you can see my photos look very bland and boring. The photos are under-exposed, the colours look very muted and they don't correspond to the intended genres. By editing, I want my audience to be able to tell me what genre each photo is replicating. I chose to take photos of cinematic photography. This means that my photos will look as if they are part of a movie scene. First I am going to talk about the pure editing aspect of my photos and then later I will talk about the effect this has on my photos.

 

Romance

 Each genre has different conventions. In romance movies the lighting is bright and warm. They sometimes use a haze effect or a blurred background (you can achieve this with low aperture while taking your photos). I will be following these conventions for my romance photos.

This is the photo before I started editing it. You can see that I have used aperture to create a shallow depth of field. I kept the conventions in mind while taking my photos too. The photo is too dark and doesn't look romantic at all.

 

 

To edit this photo, I increased the whites to make the photo a little brighter. I also increased the colours of the photo to make the colours warm and pop. I added a vignette to make the corners of the photo white. This adds a haze effect.

I wanted to make all of my photos unique, even though they are in the same genre. I decided I wanted to do selective colour for this photo. To do this, I had to create a mask of the background (which you can see in red). I then desaturated the background to remove the colour. As a result, my grandparents and their bright coats stand out more. I sharpened the background by using dehaze.

I slightly reduced the highlights of the photograph and created a warm effect by changing the colour settings. I once again used the vignette tool to make the corners of the photo darker.

 

The original photo is very dark. My idea for this photo was to make the lights create a warm, romantic ambience in the photo. I majorly increased the whites of the photograph to make the lights look illuminous. I changed the colour settings again. To create that hazy effect that lots of romance movies use, I used the dehaze tool and also the vignette tool to create a white glow around the cornrs of the photo.

      I brightened the colours for this photo using the colour pannel. I once again used the dehaze effect.

Horror

The horror genre is famously known for using minimal lighting or no lighting at all. Scary/strange, isolated environments such as graveyards are a staple of the genre. I will make sure my photos follow this.

I wanted to experiment with the colours in this photo in paticular since I used no lighting. I did this by making the shadows and blacks darker. I reduced the temperature of the photo to create the blue effect. I used the dehaze effect and also created dark corners with the vignette tool.

I used a white light to create the lighting in this photo. So when it came to editing, I could decide what colour to make it. I have greatly increased the temperature, tint and vibrance of my photo to create the red lighting. I also used the red colour mixer to make the photo even more red. I used the vignette tool to create the dark corners.

Action

Action movies usually have the characters fighting, runnning etc. They may use motion blur to create the cinematic effect as well as slightly reduce the colours. 

 

For all of these photos, I have increased the texture nd clarity of the image to create the intended cinematic effect.

Final Photos

Here you can see my final, edited photos. I will now explain why I have edited my photos the way I have to meet genre conventions. Steve Neale's repetition and difference theory (I learnt this in unit 1) states that all genres have instances of repetition and also differences. FOor example, horror movies are usually set at night in locations such as an abandoned asylum, forest, graveyard... Hwover, in horror movies they may choose to switch things up. The fihoerror film Midsommar is set in daylight instead of in the dark which is a difference, making it unique to typical horrors while still following most conventions.

 

I also learnt how to reach my target audience. My photos relate more to mainstreamers of all genders who love movies and media. The age range I am targeting are teenagers to old adults.

These photos are related to the action genre. My idea for these photos was to make them look like they are in a training action montage. The photos look very gritty and you can see every little detail. The photos have motion blur since action includes lots of stunts etc. The colours connote how the subjects are hyper focused on their training. These photos show how strong we are as humans and how we can acheive anything we want if we put our minds to it. Men are more likely going to like this photo since they will think they are cool.

   

These are my horror genre photos. In the first photo, The red light connotes danger. You can see a teenager scared alone in the dark. You can denote how scared they are from the photo and their body language. The graveyard is a conventional horror environment. The blue symbolises how cold and lifeless the environment is. The trees in this photo look very ominous, the branches are twisted.

All of  these photos are related to the romance genre. You can see that I have used bright, warm colours and haze effects to match the conventions of this genre. The warm colours connote how we feel about love, we think it is a wonderful thing. These two groups of photos connote old, familiar love and new, exciting love. The older couple are walking down a path. You can tell that the couple have been on the journey of life together. I don't believe romance media shows this enough. They are forever together until the end. The colour selective photo specifically shows how the couple will always be each other's light in this dark world.

 

The younger couple represents what more conventional romance media is. The couple are wearing elegant clothing as they are on a date. I decided to use flowers as a prop for one of these photos since flowers represent respect and love. These romance photos show how love is everlasting. 

The target audience for these photos are teenagers to older adults, mainly women since they prefer watching rom coms and romance movies.