Amini-Evan+Texture



= Texture Combine 3 Project = Throughout the texture combine-three project, I shot a series of images that were used in combination to form one uniform piece of artwork. The concept of my digital photography project was man unified with nature, showing the hidden connection that nature has with humans and how we relate through our features. I brought out this concept through the different textures that I found outside in nature and brought them onto a human face to connect nature with man. I used a digital DSLR camera to shoot photos outside at a graveyard, prairie, forest, and inside the classroom. I shot photos that contained many different textures and elements of photography. In order to achieve my final work of art, I used the photo editing software Photoshop and made a vast amount of changes. The first change I did was the retouching of her face with the spot healing tool and the spot patch tool. I did this in order to smooth out her face and reduce any awkward shadowing and mild scars. This allowed me to make changes to her face without the marks and shadows causing an unprofessional finished product. Secondly, I reduced the size of the background image through the cropping tool in order to bring greater focus to Lauren’s face. This helped emphasized her face filling the frame. Next, I brought in another of a tree bark and layered it on top of the background image of Lauren in order to change the skin of Lauren. After layering that image, I changed the opacity down to 52% in order to keep Lauren’s facial features and shadows visible, but still change the texture of her face. I also used the smudge tool on the tree bark layer in order to blend the image into Lauren’s hairline and allow for a smooth and less distinguishable line between her hair and face. Next, I brought in an image of an apple to use on her lips and used the eraser tool to outline her lips and change her lips into the color of the apple. Like I did with the tree layer, I decided to reduce the opacity of the apple lips in order to reduce the strong color and keep the shadowing that her lips had. Then, I used the smudge tool in order to blend the outline of her lips with her face. This allowed me to tie her lips and face all into one natural state. I also imported a picture of purple flower and used the blur tool in order to reduce the contrast that it had on the photo. This prevented the viewer from being distracted by Lauren’s eyes. Lastly, I used the eraser tool on the leaves for the teeth in order to change the texture of the teeth. Overall, I probably made a meer 50 changes in order to create this project, but this were just some of them. In order to achieve an overall appealing project, I made sure to keep the compositional techniques in mind. First off, I used fill the frame to really emphasize the whole photograph onto Lauren’s face. This allowed for a much more detailed image and prevented the background from distracting the viewer and letting it take away from the main focus. Finally, I used focus and depth of field to make the background fade away. After adjusting the aperture settings on the camera, I was able to blur out the background trees and remain focused on Lauren’s face. For my project, I made sure to use a variety of textures that the viewer can feel with her eyes. Some of these include the smooth texture of the leaves (teeth), the rough and hard texture of the tree (face), the smooth and shiny texture of the apple (lips), the moist and soft texture of the mushroom (gum line), the rough texture of the stone child (sclera/white part of eye), and the light and soft feeling of the flower (iris/colored part of eye). All of these textures brought out the concept of my project through the face transforming into naturalistic textures. When it comes to the art elements and principles, I used contrast on Lauren’s face with the bright purple eyes and glossy red lips. This brought a pop of color to the image, but still used a natural palette that went along with the overall concept. I also used color through the bright red lips, soft white gumline, and toning green teeth. This brought out the colors that are found in nature and brought them onto her face. There was also a vast amount of value used th rough the shadowing of Lauren’s face that brought a natural feeling. I made sure to have a consistent value around her face and had the shadowing seamlessly flow around the image. All these art elements and compositional techniques brought unity and interest to my photograph. My composition focused on Lauren's face and blurred out the backround. Overall, I felt that I did a great job with my art project considering my current skill level with using DSLR cameras and Adobe Photoshop. I felt that my final project was neat and made sense with my concept. I had great composition and felt that the overall use of the filling the frame fit well with my project. I also felt that I used my time well and made sure to include all the details that I wanted, using my photoshop skills in an advanced mannor. If I could change anything, however, I would want to make her hair into grass, but my current skills with photoshop would not allow; and if attempted, my project would lose appeal and become worse. In the end, I am pleased with my overall concept and felt that my project is an advanced work of art.
 * Evan Amini **