For my final shoot, I took pictures of myself using the self-timer feature on the camera. I chose to do this at a time when the sun was setting to capture light shining through the trees, similar to how Amy Friend has light shining through her photos, just in a different way. I really like how this created a sort of hazy effect on many of my photos as I think this can illustrate how some memories can be cloudy and unclear.
After the shoot in the woods, I used a studio to take photos of objects which are sentimental to me. I chose to use a studio for this because I needed the pictures to be as clear as possible with minimal shadows- making the background behind the objects completely white. This was so it would be easier for me to remove the background so I could add the objects to my other photos I have taken.
My plan was to digitally cut out my silhouette from one of the pictures taken in the woods to use as the first layer of my final piece. The second layer is going to include trees, and the third layer is going to have the objects on it. I have chosen to place quite a bit of my focus on trees for my final piece, reason being that they can be used as a record for the passing of time. A tree’s rings can act as a visual record of a tree’s life, which can symbolize memory in nature as well.
For the first layer I used the Quick Selection tool to cut my silhouette out of the image and used the Eraser tool to do the smaller parts (like hair) and clean up the edges of the whole silhouette. I used a photo I look looking through the tress above from my Idea 3 Developmemt shoot for the second layer and made some Color Balance adjustments to give it a more yellow hue, as the colour yellow can be associated with happiness and positive experiences in memories. I used that same picture to flip and mirror before using it as a base for the objects I photographed in the studio. I used the Quick Selection tool to copy and paste the objects onto the tree layer and positioned them using the Free Transform tool. I used the Darken blending mode, to make it look like the objects were hidden in the trees.
I have decided that the size of my final piece is going to be A2, with the images I have taken being mounted on foamboard. Most of the centre of the top two images will be cut out, using a craft knife, to reveal the photos underneath. To add a little bit more depth to my final piece, I may choose to carefully layer cardboard between the layers so they aren’t completely flat against one another.
Final Piece Result:
