Photography Mock Exam - Double Exposure

Photography Mock Exam 

- Double Exposure 

Artist images

My first artist image which I have been exploring as inspiration for my mock exam involves an almost ballet like figure, with a intense sky background merged within the photograph.  I like the fact that the artist gives the billowing clouds a strong focus within the image as it creates good drama and a dark feel to the photograph. I found this image a striking shot as the silhouette of the lady is a very bold shape and although the clouds help to provide good contrast with this shape, they also focus our attention to the outline of the woman more, giving it primary focus.  The clouds have a similar outline to a human brain which could be the intention of the artist to have a play with the imagery within the photograph.

My second artist image was used as inspiration due to it being taken from a different angel.  I liked how the image was solely of the subjects face and we are able to see all the details of the woman's features clearly.  This double exposure uses part of the tree's shape as the rear of the facial image and I think this works very well to ensure that bothmerged images are given high focus within the shot.  Again being a monochrome photograph, the detail is very clear and I liked this effect as I felt it made the photo more interesting.

My final artist image shows once again another technique used within double exposure.  With this third piece, I liked how the artist had kept the sharp lines
with the second exposure image very obvious. The silhouette is very bold and the use of a white background in this image is clever as we are able to focus completely on the darker strong subject without being distracted by other shapes or colours. I also thought it was interesting how he had almost faded the image towards the man's face creating an ombre effect to the piece.
By looking at these double exposures, I began to understand that the selection of shape for my silhouette was of high importance as this will determine how bold the overall effect of my piece will be.  Texture and pattern within the second image was also of great importance as it will be these details which will create a more dramatic double exposure shot.



My Mock Images

This is my main piece which I worked on throughout the given time frame in the exam.  It was also the piece which I was most happy with. By exploring artists images of double exposure, I began by selecting a strong human image on which to then experiment with overlaying different textural shots. The girls silhouette which I selected was a strong shape which had a balanced feel to it.  I liked the added interest of the raised elbows and hoped this would give me a little more width to work with when overlaying my second shot.
 I loved the way the final resulting image has an almost ombre effect which I created using levels on Photoshop, and then removing areas which were either too dark or too light.  The horizon of the landscape is not lost and the treeline is very much a focal point within the frame which I liked as my theme of Man & Nature was very clear within the photograph.

My second image involved the same double exposure technique, however, I have tried to create a more complex image by having gaps running through the second exposure image. I have done this to create a more interesting effect and so that the viewer only sees certain parts of the second image rather than a full landscape image.  I think that the tree branches do almost replicate the human fingers and this is further enhanced by the shadows that are cast of the white wall used as a backdrop.  I think, in this instance, perhaps added colour could enhance this image further, perhaps by either using a filter or possibly using a torch to enhance the shadows formed.

My third and final image again concentrates on a human outline, however, this time, I asked the model to put their hands in front of their face to draw the viewers eye to the centre of the shot.  This was partly successful, however, did not give enough detail and the human silhouette was not a strong. The landscape image was also not as striking as those used previously which left the overall effect weaker than some of my other experimental pieces.



Contact Sheets