Sequencing technique (Definition,Image bank,Work diary,Straight images)

Definition-

A sequence is a serial arrangement in which things follow in logical order or a recurrent pattern. Photo sequencing is actually stitching multiple images together and its a form of time-lapse photography. A change in an objects position over time is being displayed and it only works when the object moves across a static background. When you’re creating a sequence photo make sure you get all the action you need. This can be done by choosing shooting a moving. Make sure you have a camera that able to do high shutter speeds. A DSLR that can shoot 3-5fps can get you great results. Then set the camera up on a sturdy tripod so displacement between frames. Then determine the exposure and multiply by the quantity of frames you are going to shoot. Another way would be to quickly shoot a series of separate frames and merged them all together later with the help of Photoshop. 

Description of the technique( camera settings, lighting setup, equipment used and theory)-

1. Tripod is needed to keep camera still for a steady and consistent background in every photo
2. Fast shutter speed(burst mode) to capture the most movement of subject over short period of time
3. Manual camera settings so the settings are consistent for all of the photos
4. Manual focus to keep a consistent focus in stead of auto focus changing every time the subject moves
5. No camera shake( Be careful when pressing the button)
6. Direct the shoot (composition/framing and where the moving elements will move from and to are important)
7. Photo editing software to put all of the photos together to make the sequence

Image bank-

I choose this photo for my image bank because I liked how the camera is taking the photo from a side view of the subject which is in the distance, so the photo has quite a deep depth of field, but the front of the photo is still in focus at the same time. Also, as its taken from the side of the hurdles, the hurdles act as a leading line to the child jumping and because of the lowness of the cameras position it also shows a couple of the lane lines also leading up to child. The photo is also over exposed in the sky so its really bright instead of there being a vibrant blue colour, this then lets the child jumping seen more as the blues would be similar colours and the over exposure ends just above the child's head. I really like this photo because its vey summery as the colours in the photo are all bright and vibrant so the photo gives off a happy and innocent effect too as there's a child in it as well. The sequence of the child isn't too clustered or too sparse and it shows the perfect amount of the sequence as its short and shows the steps instead of the photo just being full of every single movement the child did, which would have ended up in the photo being overly clustered. To improve the photo I just probably would not have included the person in the white top as it take away the attention from the child, but it makes the photo look more natural instead of set-up. 

I added this photo to my image bank because I liked the fact that instead of just having the sequence of the airplanes flying, it also has the people looking up at the plane from below. I also think that this sequence was done every well because of the lamp posts that are near the plane would have made it harder when editing the photos together. This sequence is also different to the others as each of the plans are quite far away from each other instead of overlapping each other which would have shown the whole sequence. I think that this way was better suited for the sequence of planes as it allows the viewers to see how the plane is gradually increasing in size, whereas if it was quite a clustered sequence with a lot of photos this effect wouldn't have been as easy to see, as it would be more of a continuous line. The photo also has a sepia type effect on it that's getting gradually brighter in colour towards the inside of the photo, so it makes the edges darker which increases the attention on the centre of the photo. T o improve this photo I would put a black and white effect on the photo instead of sepia just so it looks more classic and then the viewers really focus on the plane, I still would keep the darker edges too. 

I choose to include this photo sequence in the image bank because I thought that the way the sequence of the skier looked really good because its formed as s line in the centre of the photo, with slightly visible ski tracks also making lines around the skier. This photo was taken from an elevated angle so that the whole manoeuvre/S shape could actually be visible, if the photo was taken from a normal point of view the shape wouldn't be seen as well because the previous photos in front would get in the way of the later photos so it would end up looking quite messy. Also because of the elevated angle its made the other ski tracks visible giving a natural unstaged effect to the photograph and its allowed the photo to have a clear white background, whereas from a normal view the background could have had other skiers in it or trees, taking the attention away from this skier. To improve this photo I would just edit the photo so that the contrast is a bit higher and so the shadows from the skier are more visible, just so that there's a bit more to look at in the photo. 

This sequence is slightly different to the other photos I have here, except the plane, as there's only a small amount of sequence so the photo isn't too clustered. For this one there's only 4 sequences in total, I prefer it this way with this particular photograph because it allows the viewers to see each sequence n great detail, you can see all of the different movements that the bird is showing.  This photo is somewhat of a close up with a shallow depth of field, which allows all of the bird to be seen in good detail, while the background is out of focus as there's nothing going on in the background. The photo also gives the illusion of there being two birds, one sitting on the feeder and the other one preying on it, as the second to last bird appears as if its preying on another bird. Also both of the last birds almost make the shape of a heart, which could be a deeper meaning of how peaceful and loving birds are. To improve this photo, I would've tried to have captured more of a colourful bird so that the photo would be more eye-catching, as I find the photo quite dull in colour. Or I would just edit it to black and white so that all of the attention is on the bird.

I choose this photo because it reminded me of the paramount pictures logo of the stars over the mountain. This photo was shot from quite far away and has quite a wide angle too so that the whole manoeuvre of the snowboarder could be captured. This photo is more about the sequence that the snowboarder makes and the background in comparison to the photo of the birds, as that was close up so you could see the detail in the photo. With this photo it shows every single move that the snowboarder made as the shutter would've have been on a continuous shutter and the shutter speed would have been fast. The lighting in this photo is quite interesting as well because certain sequences of the snowboarder  is high lighted and others are in shadows, but the floor is consistently a shadow. To improve this photo I wouldn't have inserted or used as many of the sequences as this photographer has, as the right side of the photo is quite clustered. However because of there being so many sequences in the photo, it has produced a good steady line throughout the whole photo, and if there wasn't so many sequences in it then the line wouldn't be so steady it would be a lot more sparse, and so the photo wouldn't have the same effect.

Work diary-

To create my sequenced photos, first i needed a tripod to keep the camera still so that the background will be consistent throughout the photo, and my camera. For this shoot i used my nikon D3100 and i used the standard 18-55mm lens that came with it, as i would just be shooting normal angles, no macro or wide angles for this shoot. I then went to a park near my college with some friends who are the models in my photo, because a park would be a great place to create a sequence as theres objects at the park to use and put into a sequence, like the slide. I then took the images and opened up each photo in photoshop, and then layered them onto one single document. The next stage was to then add masks to the images, and I began to mask the parts of the image that didn't need to be seen so the subjects in each photograph would be seen as clearly as possible.

 

This sequence was the second one i did. For this sequence i had more than enough photos and a lot the photos overlapped each other but not in a good way, so it looked very crowded when i did the sequence with the majority of the photos, as my friend turned in the middle but it never really flowed well so i couldn't have that in or my friend getting off the bench either. For some of the photos i had originally i couldn't put them into the sequence because whilst i was taking the photos even though i used a tripod, somehow the photos got tilted so i couldn't line up the layers correctly, i think it was from when i was clicking the shutter. To improve this sequence i did want to have quite a few sections of the sequence so thats why i took a lot of photos, but as my friend dint really just walk across the flow was too stop start so i never bothered. However i could just go back and do it agin to try and get a nice steady flow for when I'm editing them together into a whole sequence.

Straight images-

This was the first sequence that i had done of my sequencing technique photography. For this sequence i asked my friend to go down the slide, whist i use a tripod to take the photographs, i had my camera in quick burst mode, so that within the couple of seconds i could easily take a few photos just by holding down the clicker. However when i did this i got a lot of photos of my friend at the top and then a lot of her at the bottom of the slide, so annoyingly i could only have a sequence of two different positions, however this didn't stop me from producing the sequence because, i still think its good in the way that it gives off the illusion of another person pushing themselves down the slide, whereas its still the same friend. so if you dint know it was a sequence photograph the audience could just misperceive it for a photo with two people in it. However whilst i was in the process of making this sequence, because of the shadow of my friend sitting at the bottom its made the photo quite hard to line up on top of each other, so i spent a while trying to fix the jagged slide at the bottom but it wouldn't line up so i left it. To improve this sequence i would try to get rid of the jagged section on the slide either by using the eraser tool or by merging the ground closer to the slide. Or i would go back to the park and re-take the sequence and try to get every spilt second by having a fast shutter speed,and i would sequence the photos in a way that the all kind of morphed together so that it shows the speed and creates a line. Almost like the photo of the skier or the snowboarded photo in my image bank, as this sequence was a continuous fast movement like both of those photos. 

This photo was my second sequence, the objective of this photo was to get the smooth transition of someone walking across a bench, so all of the sequence photos were quite close together, showing the flow of the person walking. However my friend walked across the bench a bit too fast and not so smoothly as she turned around for a couple of seconds are changed directions. The outcome i anted to achieve was showing all of the manoeuvres as if it was taken in slow-motion. However this photo sequence still come out quite well, however i do prefer the above sequence. The framing of the photo isn't how it should be either because i think that its too small and the framing needed to be larger and maybe if had the tripod slightly lower so that some grass was shown and not so much cloud because the clouds look quite ugly and as a background it draws quite a lot of attention away from the foreground. I should have had a shallow depth of field so that the background could be slightly out of focus, however my friend would have had to stay in quite a straight line so she wouldn't end up going out of focus depending on how shallow the depth is. Overall i think that the sequence is still okay for my second time, i do wish to use this technique in my project so i will improve on the timing of taking my photos and position of the camera on the tripod.