Have you had that dream where you can fly? Have you ever had one of those days where you feel like you're floating? Can love elevate you? While many dream about being able to fly, it's not every day we have the opportunity to feel absolutely weightless in mid-air. In this photo series called Levitation, you will get to see what it might look like if humans were able to lift their feet off the ground, take to the air and stay there.
Part 1 | TUTORIAL
Part 2 | TECHNICAL
TIMING
We will be leaving the classroom to practice the techniques necessary for this completion task. To maximize our time you should spend some time watching videos and searching for inspiration. Watch the videos below before class so you have an understanding of how to produce the results we are going for.
The keys to levitation photography are timing and instructing your model accurately. Use a fast shutter speed to avoid any motion blur. Experiment with 3 or 4 different speeds and include your trials in your body of work. Remember you’re capturing levitation, not jumping.
Watch the short below and set yourself up for success.
HW
SHUTTERSPEED
This is a shutter speed exercise, and although the wrong settings are going to make it difficult to be successful, this is really a pretty basic setup. We are trying to stop time and stop motion with no blur. This will require a fast shutter speed.
For the purposes of photography, we can divide shutter speeds into fast and slow. Fast: quicker than 1/60th of a second (1/60, 1/125 1/250 of a second and up). Slow: slower than 1/60th of a second (...1/4, 1/8, 1/15, 1/30).
Some things to consider are that if you jump, or throw something up in the air, at the very top of the arc, the object is essencially stopped, and is reversing direction. This is the point at which you will be most successful in reducing or eliminating motion blur, since this is the point at which almost nothing should be in motion.
Part 3 | ASSIGNMENT
Go do it.
Your assignment is to use the camera to create the illusion of levitation. Think about the red balloon assignment. You could have been given any prop. Why were you given a balloon? What other props might help support the concept of floating or levitation? Look at some of the props that have been used successfully in some of the exemplars.
OUTLINE
Using techniques outlined on the website and in class, and building your ideas based on examples we have discussed, take a series of photos that demonstrates levitation.
FLICKR / BODY OF WORK + SUBMISSION
You must create 2 albums on Flickr. The first, called 'Levitation: Body of Work' should be a number of photos taken for this assignment. This should include trials, tests and experiments, and should demonstrate your creativity, approach and planning. This album should contain a minimum of 20 photos. These photos will contribute to your thinking and inquiry mark. Excessive repetition and lack of variety will not result in a strong thinking and inquiry mark.
You should also create an album called 'Levitation: Submission' which should be a series of 4 – 6 photos that demonstrate levitation. These are the photos that will contribute to both your knowledge and your application mark. These may be, but do not have to be connected to each other stylistically.
Copy and paste the links to these albums in the Group Discussion in Flickr
DESCRIPTION
Write a reflection on your experience with this assignment (between 300-500 words).
Try to write authentically about your process. Include notes on technique, settings and your own process. Explain what helped you to be successful, and what you might keep in mind for your next assignment.
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Include an explanation of the relationship between shutter speed, and ISO. Discuss how the settings are affected by available light, and the speed of the movement you are trying to capture. Relate your final work to the Capturing Motion completion task. Include notes about locations, angles and composition.
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Submit your written work as a Google Doc in Brightspace. Include photos from your body of work to augment your written work. Think of this like it's a 'how to website' and you're a photography blogger.
You must follow written conventions and proofread your written work.
BRIGHTSPACE / SUBMISSION
Submit your assignment to Brightspace:
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The link to your body of work album on Flickr
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The link to your submission album on Flickr
Part 4 | ASSESSMENT
HOW IS IT MARKED?
Review the images and feedback to get a better understanding of what I had to say about submitted work for this submission
Excellent work S--------. This is a really strong submission. There is lots of variety in the photos, both in terms of location and subject, while keeping the style consistent. All of your photos are well executed - you have instructed your models to achieve the look you were going for and timed your shutter release perfectly in every shot. Your use of props, clothing, dramatic colours in combination with some of the principles and elements of design (which we haven't yet learned in this class) are excellent. I also really like how you have managed to created depth in your photos by placing elements into the foreground and background. Very nice work.
Very nice N----. I think your photos are good. The idea is solid and your execution is strong. So how can you improve? I'd suggest varying the shots a little. Take a look at this exemplar: https://flic.kr/s/aHskdcAiV8 It's a similar concept, but by varying the composition, the images don't get repetitive but still tell the story.
That said, your compositions are good. Notice how you instinctively placed your subject in the frame allowing her breathing room in front of her, allowing her space to move? Nice. We covered that in class just the other day, and you are already doing it. Well done.
Good work A------. This is a nice submission with some good photos. I agree that these don't particularly tell a story, but the photos themselves work. As a set they almost look like an ad campaign. Your selections for submission are good. You chose the strongest images, and those submitted all demonstrate a good understanding of the process and the technique. One note: it looks as if some of these photos are taken at as low as 1/100th and 1/125th of a second. That's actually quite slow for something moving. In broad daylight, you could afford to bump the speed up to as much as 1/250 or more. That said, none of your submissions are blurry, so you managed to capture the jumps at the height of their arc, as we discussed in class, which I'm happy to see. Well done.