Evidence of Research

Throughout this project I have done a lot of research into different areas of photography to ensure that my final submission will be of a high standard. I am creating this post towards the end to show what resources I have found helpful.

Books & Magazines

I read a couple of photography books to help me get a better understanding of photography on both artistic and technical levels. The books are both by Henry Carroll, and are called Read This If You Want to Take Great Photographs and Read This If You Want to Take Great Photographs of People. The first one really helped with things such as composition, lighting, manual camera settings, and lenses. The second book was particularly helpful for portrait photography.

I purchased and read through a few different existing magazines to see examples of other people’s photography and design work. These magazines include Huck, Kingpin, Black & White Photography, Route One Magazine, and Computer Arts. Not only was I able to get inspiration for photography work, but I got to see a lot of different magazine layouts. I learned a lot about typefaces and other graphic design subjects.

Websites

I visited a variety of websites to learn more about the things I wanted to know. I did some research on the specific cameras I would be using by visiting these sites:

Digital Photography Review

Canon

CNET

I also looked at my core subjects before taking my own photos by visiting these sites:

Digital Photography School

Digital Camera World

Workshops

I attended a few lectures & workshops held at the university that focused on photography. I learned about things such as lighting, framing, lenses and camera settings. One workshop that was particularly helpful was the one that focused on a one light setup. I was able to use the knowledge to get a good quality portrait for my final 30 images.

Experimenting

I learned a lot by going out and taking test photographs. I went on a photography walk with the tutors and other people from the course to capture textures in Portsmouth. Trips like this really helped as I learned what works well and what doesn’t, so I knew what to do when it came to taking my final photos.

Online Videos

I watched a series of videos on YouTube that helped with the technical aspects of my project. Some of these focused on photography, and some focused on magazine & print design. Here is a selection: