F.R.I.E.N.D.S Shoot.
For this shoot i used a Canon macro lens on my Canon EOS 4000D to experiment with different ways in which i can photograph these small Lego figures. I also wanted to maximise my control over the camera's aperture to use Samsofy's 'Legographie' style of a very shallow depth of field, as inspiration. I first began to take my images in a studio light box with a blank white background - however I found that, during taking these images, that the background was too plain, whereaas Samsofy uses different landscaped and backgrounds and scenarios in his images, so I decided to take a spontaneous change in the location of my shoot. I looked around for inspiration and decided to resume my shoot on the inside of a shelved cupboard, using random items as backgrounds and possibly the subjects of my image – along with the Lego figure. There was dim lighting conditions, so I had to use a slower shutter speed to allow for more light - despite this making the shoot very difficult to gain perfect quality photos each time, along with the heavy lens causing my hands to shake. Many images came out blurry, however the ones that turned out well were very successful and executed well. I took the photos using a Canon EOS 4000d DSLR camera with a Canon macro lens, changing the settings dependent on the angle.
Original Image.
I took this image in some shelves, containig random household items. Using the macro lens, it helped me gain the look i wanted to achieve - with the life-sized items appearing gigantic next to the tiny Lego figure. I also chose this lego figure of the character 'Janice' from the sitcom 'F.R.I.E.N.D.S' because in most of her screen time she was clutching a purse and had usually been shopping in 'Bloomingdale's'. I found this perfect for my shoot. It appears, in the image, that Janice had been shopping inside the shelving unit, with the life-sized items showing next to her. I found that the pink colour of her handbag gave a pop of colour, and the expression on her face portrayed the character's famous catchphrase "Oh...my...god!", which gave the entire image a reference to 'F.R.I.E.N.D.S' which only fans of this particular sitcom, would understand. I shot this image in portrait, to exhibit the shelving units more, which created a parallelogram shape with the lines, which framed the image and focused onto the subject of the image (the Lego character).
Developments:
Adobe Photoshop Editing:
Imported image.
Used Heal tool, to blur out the area.
Used a clone stamp for a natural edit to the image.
Final Image.
For the developments of this image, I began by importing the image into Adobe Lightroom and cropping the image in slightly and flipping it lengthways (portrait). I did this to put 'Janice's' (the Lego figure's) left eye on the corner of a rule of thirds line to cause the photo to look more natural, which is a look I wanted to achieve in this image because the concept 'Legographie' is about bringing the Lego figures 'to life' and giving them human attributes – which results in my attemp to develop, edit and photograph these figures in the most natural way, as close as I would to the way in which I'd photograph a human model. Next, I imported this new this geometrically altered image into Adobe Photoshop and removed the patch of the white shelving unit, using the clone stamp tool. This created a shallower depth of field and cleaned up the image a little. Finally, I adjusted contrast, to increase the deepness of the shadows and I also adjusted and increased the vibrancy and the saturation to maket he colours of the handbag brighter and pinker, which added an attractive pop of colour to the photograph.
Original Image.
For this image, I took the Lego character 'Chandler' from the sitcom 'F.R.I.E.N.D.S' and placed him on a Lego living area. I chose the expression on his face to be laughing, which which was one of the classic expressions of Matthew Perry's 'Chandler' in the tv show. The Lego charachter is placed looking past the camera, at something that one would assume to be a tv screen which draws in the natural eye, questioning the what it is that the character looking at. However, if you look close enough into the blurred background of the image you can notice the batteries, which subtly reveals the location of the image. Similarly, to the photograph of Janice, it also exhibits the small size of the character, although the macro lens causes the figure and lego to appear life-like and larger than it is in reality.
1/60, f/4, ISO800
Developments:
Final Image.
For the developments of this image, I didn't crop the photograph at all. Instead, I just adjusted factors which could subtly improve the image. Such as, I slightly decreased the shadows and the exposure, whilst increasing the contrast to create a shadow in and around the Lego and the 'Chandler' figure. I increased the temperature to allow for more warmth within the image and I also increased the vibrancy to make the colours of the pillows and small details pop, however I didn't adjust the saturation at all because I still wanted to maintain that natural and realistic look. I added more texture to emphasise the details of the Lego bricks. Finally, I added a vignette to add a slight shadow – to highlight the location and settings (the cupboard), which i found to be intriguing.