Final Evaluation

Final Evaluation

How has your research and preparatory shoots influenced the final series of images that you have created?

I feel that the research has influenced my final series of images that I have created by giving me ideas and teaching me new techniques to use in my photography. One technique that I learnt and used in almost all of my Crystal ball images is Bokeh. This technique has, in my opinion, made my images much better, as the image is not just of a glass ball, but is focused on the distortion that is made by it instead. I have learnt that this techniques works especially well when lines are involved. This is because the lines distorted inside the ball are sharp and clean, however the same lines that are in the background of the ball, are blurred and out of focus, this leads the eye to the ball and makes for a very eye catching image. I did find however, using this technique with the mirror was not so successful. The brightness of the mirror, in a good proportion of the images, was facing the sky, meaning that it was much brighter than the backdrop, this made it hard for me to get the camera to focus on the mirror in order to me to use this technique as many images, when loaded onto the computer, were not focused on the reflection on the mirror.

How has your work developed?

I feel that my work has developed throughout the preparatory shoots and into the final shoots. I feel a lot more confidant whilst using the camera and am not afraid to play around with the camera settings in order to capture the best image. I also feel that I am more equipped to cope with the changing of weather conditions and am coming back with more and more images that are suitable for editing.

Not only do I feel more confident whilst out on shoots, but I also feel that whilst editing I am experimenting with changing the exposures, saturation, highlights etc. and experimenting with different filters and tools to create my images. Because of this I feel that my final images are better than those from the first preparatory shoot I did.  

What have you learnt as a result of this project?

I think that from completing this project I have learnt many things, one being the fact that I have become more equipped to dealing with different situations out on a shoot.


I personally think that between the two, the crystal ball or the mirror, my preference would be the crystal ball. This is because not only do I prefer the final outcomes of the crystal ball, but I also find the crystal ball more interesting to work with. I feel that I have become adapted to looking for different situations in which the ball would look good in, compared tot he mirror which I found difficult to incorporate into my work.


From this project I feel that I have developed my own style of using the crystal ball. The images that I like the most are the images where that ball is placed on top or next to something compared to those where the ball is being held. I think that this is because the images look more natural and it means that in my images I have a variation of how close to the ball I am when I take the images, I can be close up and focus on what is happening from inside the ball, or I can be further away, and look at what is surrounding the ball.


For this project I used to ball in natural places, looking at landscapes. I feel that, during this project, I have solidified my thoughts about what I prefer to photograph, and it is definitely the more natural side of the world compared to the more urban, rough side. 

How successful were you in responding to the exam paper?

I think that I have responded well to the exam paper. My initial plan was to explore different ways of creating distortion through using Circles and Curves. I did this by using the Crystal ball, the Circular mirror and the Bendable mirror.

During my preparatory shoots and exam shoots I experimented with different ways whilst using these:

• Whilst using the crystal ball, I experimented with different ways that I can add it into my photography, free standing or hand held.
• Whilst using the circular mirror I experimented with whether the mirror would work, lent up against another object, such as a tree or rock, or laying flat on the floor. Whilst experimenting with these different methods, I had to adapt my way of thinking so that neither the camera nor I would be seen in the reflection.
• However, when I used the bendable mirror, I found that it was very difficult to use. It was very big and thin. Sadly, when I did the shoot, it was very high winds. This caused the mirror to snap which then meant that the images in my preparatory shoot were definitely not how I wanted them to be. In the future, I would like to redo this shoot, to see the possible outcomes, as when this shoot took place, I could not exploit it to it's full potential.

I think that where I focused on the incorporating and showing circles and curves in all of my images, I have created some good images that are compositionally correct and pleasing to the eye.