Animated GIF - Technique Work Diary

Animated GIF - Techniques Work Diary

For my animated GIF, I used a series of images captured during my shoot for the technique of sequencing. I like the outcome and I feel it shows the technique well. I think the fact that the GIF shows someone moving on a zip-line makes the image much more interesting and therefore makes it more eye-catching to the audience and portrays a fun mood. The images were taken using 1/125, F11 and ISO 400.

To create my GIF, I used Photoshop. Firstly, I resized my images to 900 X 599 pixels and set the dpi to 72. I then placed the images one on top of another. I then selected 'window' and then 'timeline' from the drop down list. Once I had clicked this, I chose 'create video timeline'. Then, I set each photo to 5 frames and then continued to stagger each frame for the creation of the animation. I then then clicked the settings symbol and selected loop playback and set the resolution to 100%. When I came to save my GIF, I set the looping to 'forever'.

Progression

If I were to create another GIF, I would again look at doing something which involved interesting images. I liked the fact that my chosen images were fun and attracted attention as they were eye-catching. If I were to do it again though I would be interested to experiment with different amounts of photos. I feel as though a GIF made of many images would look extremely effective, although it would take a very long time to create!

Although I feel the technique was successful and the final result was effective, I do not feel as though this is a technique which I am likely to use in my personal investigation. I do not feel that the technique would compliment my possible idea of documentary photography very well and feel as though it would look out of place. I think that it does look very effective but feel it would not work very well for my potential topic area. However, if I were to explore movement or time, I feel that this technique would be very useful and would allow me to present a series of images in a slightly alternative way.

My Animated GIF

My Animated GIF

I really like this outcome. I like that the GIF is interesting and more eye-catching due to the slightly strange activity which has been photographed. Overall, I think the GIF was very effective and was successful, despite the fact that I found it rather challenging to create.

Animated GIF

Animated GIF Technique

An animated GIF is a series of images which are part of a single file. The frames are presented in a specific order to convey animation. The images are encoded in graphics interchange format.

I carried out this technique using Photoshop using images from the session when we went out to shoot for the technique of sequencing.

Focal Length Experimentation - Techniques Work Diary

Focal Length Experimentation - Techniques Work Diary

Overall, I liked both my series for this shoot, as well as the extra experimentations which I carried out for the 70mm focal length. I had my camera on ISO 100, the shutter speed ranging between 1/60 and 1/160 and the f/stop at around 9. I like the outcomes and feel they worked well to show differing focal lengths. To carry out this exercise, I used a tripod to ensure the framing of my images remained the same.

For this shoot, as I only produced two series, I did not have a least favourite as they were both successful. However, I do have a favourite series which are shown below.

I like the way that this series allows you to clearly see how the images change in respect to distortion, field of view and depth of field with varying focal length. As the focal length increases, the distortion becomes less noticeable and is more obvious at the 18mm focal length which uses wide angle. Also, with a shorter focal length, there is a wider depth of field as the majority of the image is in focus in comparison to the 70mm focal length when only the person is in focus and the background is blurred. Also, the field of view becomes much narrower as the focal length increases.

Progression

If I were to try to carry out this investigation again, I would look into extending my study and using a long telephoto lens to try a wider range of focal lengths including 300mm. However, I still think that the smaller range on my camera was successful at helping me understand and develop my technique involving differing focal lengths. I would also try to photograph a wider range of subjects and not just focus on portraits.
From carrying out a shoot based on this technique, I feel as though it is something I would naturally use in my personal investigation. However, I would not create a series like I have done in this shoot. Nevertheless, I feel the session and shoot on this technique has been useful in aiding my understanding as to how a change in focal length can change the distortion, depth of field and field of view of an image. This would therefore be the aspect of this technique which I would apply to my shoots for my personal investigation.

Focal Length Experimentation - Straight Images

Focal Length Experimentation - Straight Images

Series 1


18mm


24mm


28mm


35mm


50mm


70mm

Series 2


18mm


24mm


28mm


35mm


50mm


70mm

Further Experimentation with 70mm Focal Length -


70mm

70mm

70mm

Focal Length Experimentation Image Bank

Focal Length - Image Bank

Focal Length Experimentation

Focal Length Experimentation

• Focal Lenth - the distance between the centre of a lens or the curved mirror and its focus.
• Field of View - What can be seen. This is determined by the angle of view from the lens to the scene. It can be measured either horizontally or vertically.
• Wide Angle - Involves having a short focal length and therefore a field covering a wide angle.
• Standard Lens - a camera lens with a focal length which is around equal to the diagonal of the negative. This will give a field of view which is similar to real life for the naked eye. In 35mm photography, lenses with a focal length of 50mm are seen as normal as they work without reducing or magnifying.
• Telephoto - a lens with a longer focal length than standard, gives a narrow field of view and a magnified final image.