Ellie House GCSE Photography
Personal Investigation
Optical Illusion
Something that deceives the eye by appearing to be other than it is. An experience of seeming to see something which does not exist or is other than it appears. An optical illusion is something which is caused by the eye and created through visually perceived images that differ from objective reality. Information which is gathered by the eye is then processed in the brain to give a perception which doesn't make sense against physical measurement of the stimulus source.
My personal investigation is focusing on optical illusions. More specifically size. This will incorporate mainly people and objects which comes across as unusual compared to reality. This project took my interest quickly as there are endless ideas you can incorporate into the topic of "optical illusions". To do this you need to use the technique forced perspective. This is where optical illusion is used to make an object appear farther away, closer, larger or smaller than it actually is. Forced perspective isn't only used in photography, it is also used in film making and architecture. I think doing this project will help my photography skills and I will be introducing new techniques to my work for example forced perspective. It will also help me realise how a camera can change the size of an object from how it actually is.
Forced perspective is a technique that employs optical illusion to make an object appear farther away, closer, larger or smaller than it actually is. It is used primarily in photography, filmmaking and architecture.
Forced perspective is a technique that employs optical illusion to make an object appear farther away, closer, larger or smaller than it actually is. It is used primarily in photography, filmmaking and architecture.
Mood board and popplet
An artist I'm inspired by..
Pejac is a spanish artist, his art, often silhouette based, bleeds out of frames and into the real world. Back in 2011, when he was living in Valencia, surrounded by surveillance cameras and without curtains to protect his privacy, Pejac started experimenting with paper and acrylic works on glass. He shared a couple of these earlier works with a magazine. Feeling exposed and trapped inside his home, he started creating these as a way of fighting this lack of privacy. By using the view from his house as a backdrop for these miniature works, he created little urban art pieces in privacy of his living room. Over the past couple of years Pejac has been getting recognition for his simple, clever public art and gallery work. Using brushes, pencils, acrylic paint and sand paper, he creates works that blend into their surroundings using existing elements and textures. Often socially and politically engaged, his works vary from small interventions such as glass ones, to large mural-like pieces, like the ones he recently painted in Paris.
Even though these photographs are not the same as how my photographs are going to be, the artist does use forced perspective in his work which my photographs will also have. I like Pejacs work a lot because of its simplicity and uniqueness I also like the background of his work because it makes the drawings stand out even more because they're black. I would like to take his work and make my work similar but also very different in style and idea.
This is a picture that I am interested in as it is a use of forced perspective. This is because in the photograph the helicopter and ant are the same size. In the photograph it looks as though the helicopter is just about to land onto the cup which is where the ant is. I enjoy looking at this photograph because of its uniqueness. The photograph was taken perfectly so that the helicopter was in the perfect
position to create an optical illusion. I also like how simplistic they've made it, not clustered. Also i like the extreme difference in size between the ant and the helicopter which makes the viewer automatically notice that it is an optical illusion. I am aiming to make my photographs look at this level by the end of the project because this is an
example of a very good optical illusion.
Shoot 1 - try and balance
My photograph plan for shoot 1. This photograph work was created on the 2nd of August. My overall plan for this shoot (1) is to have Will look as though he is standing on a cup. This is the use of forced perspective which makes the cup look bigger than it actually is. I will attempt to make it look as though he is standing on the cup and not stood behind it.
These photographs were taken during a holiday in Devon. In this photograph my brother Will is seen "standing on a cup" and trying to balance. To do this I had to have Will stood on the ground behind the cup which was placed on the floor. I struggled at first trying to make Will look as though he was stood on the cardboard cup and not stood on the grass behind (which would not be an illusion). Will had to stand a few metres behind the cup for him to look small enough for the photo to work. I had to lie on the ground and make the camera lower facing upwards to get the right angle. After the first photograph taken (which I will place underneath), I realised that Will should look like he is struggling for balance instead of looking like he is just standing on the cup. After I had told him to look like he was struggling for balance, he did and I think improved the photographs well. As this was my first photograph, I was not worried about the surroundings the photograph was taken in however by shoot 4, I would like the surroundings to fit the photograph subject.
This picture looks similar to the ones above however there are some parts which i prefer and dislike about this photograph. One thing I prefer about this photograph as a technique is that the cup isn't central. This is called rule of third. The rule of thirds is applied by aligning a subject with the guide lines and their intersection points, placing the horizon on the top or bottom line, or allowing linear features in the image to flow from section to section. This makes the photograph become more interesting. One thing that I dislike more about this photograph than the ones above is because it didn't show the story or image I wanted to express. The photographs above showed Will struggling for balance however this photograph doesn't show this accurately enough. |
Final shoot one piece
Analysis of shoot 1 - I chose this photograph as my final shoot one piece because I feel as though it clearly represents what I am trying to create in the photograph. I would like to create another set of photographs focusing on the balancing topic. My idea for my next set of photographs for shoot 2 is for Will to be "balancing on books" which is the optical illusion (seeing as he isn't actually standing on the books). Also I feel as though to some people this could not be obvious that it is an optical illusion. Next time I need to use objects that would make the optical illusion more obvious.
Shoot 2 - balance
Idea for shoot 2 - I also want this shoot to be focusing on balance. Will (portrait) will be standing on a pile of books. I want Will to look as though he is falling off the books. To make this photograph work I will have to have Will standing far away from me. He will be standing on the grass however in the photograph it will look as thought he is balancing on books (which are placed right in front of me).
This photography set was similar to the other as it focuses on size (forced perspective). I took this the same day as I did with my first shoot because I wanted to focus on the balancing photos on the same day. I chose objects that people knew the size of. This was so that they were able to identify that it was an optical illusion because the size of Will and the books are not how they should be. I like this set of photographs for that reason. This took around 20 minutes to arrange and photograph with my camera as again I took time trying to get the angle perfect. The angle needed to be perfect to do this so that the book became bigger than Will. I enjoy taking these as I think I am able to create photographs that could be unique.
This is the photograph I have chosen to be my best piece for shoot 2. The reason I prefer this one rather than the others mainly because of Wills stance and "acting" in the photograph. Even though there is an importance in the photograph quality. There is also a very high important in what the photograph is trying to say and show and also how the photograph is (how it holds an
interest). I think in this photograph the positioning of Wills foot makes him look as though he is actually stood on the book and not just stood behind it for the photo to be taken.
shoot 3 - flower optical illusion
This was taken outside. I decided to do it outside because the topic is Will smelling a flower which is where flowers normally are. This took me 15 minutes to prepare the shoot and make it. However it did take me a lot longer to come up with the idea for the shoot. This is because my first three shoots are nit inspired by other photographers or photographs which means I have to come up with my own idea. I think these sets of photographs went well and portrays my idea. In the photograph Will is seen smelling the flower however the flower is bigger than Will.
shoot 4
In these sets of photographs I attempt to make Will look as though he is being blow away by a fan. To do this I had to bring the fan outside because inside there wasn't enough space for Will to look small enough in the photo for it to be an optical illusion. I came up with this idea from a photograph of someone being blown away by a "big" person blowing into them. I liked the uniqueness of the photograph so decided to do a similar photograph style. I think this photograph went well however the photograph brightness could have been improved because (especially in the far right), the light is to bright which effects the photograph. when I took this photograph I asked Will to act as though he is being blown away and I feel as though he took to this well.
I have chosen this to be my best piece for shoot 4 because it engaged me the most. Wills acting is the best in it which helps tell the story of what the fan is doing to him. The lighting is also good in this piece which makes the whole photograph look a lot better than the others.
Shoot 5
This piece of work was taken just outside my house on the pavement. In this photograph I was trying to make Will look as though he was drinking a massive glass of water through a straw. I found this photograph difficult to position correctly. This is because for half of these sets of photographs, I used m iPad which made it more difficult due to its size. I do like the idea of this photograph however to some people it could be seen as boring and dull. To make it more interesting I could use a different coloured drink (purple, yellow pink, blue) a colour which would make the whole picture brighter.
Shoot 6
These two pictures were taken during the time I was on the beach. These two photographs (especially the left) look as though Odin (the dog) is looking at Will out of the corner of his eye in an evil or dangerous manner. The optical illusion in this photograph is that Will looks much smaller than the dog does. Will looks scared that the dog is looking at him and seems as thought there is a chance he may get hurt because of his size. I like this photograph as the quality is clear and the background is simple and doesn't distract the viewer from what the photograph is about. I also like how you don't see Will instantly and that it takes a while for you to see him.
shoot 7
I found this photograph at the beginning of my project idea finding. This photograph of the
the women and child about to get crushed by a giant bucket automatically drew me in. I liked
this because it was very different to other photographs I had seen. I liked how it showed a
dark but jokey way of optical illusions. It also showed me that an easy concept for a photograph
can actually create a really good looking photograph. This inspired me because I usually try and
create difficult pieces of work with very complex ideas when maybe simple photographs are
much more effective and interesting to look at.
I am really proud of this piece of work and I would happily use it for my piece. I think my set of photographs were very well inspired by the one above but didn't copy it. These photographs were taken during my holiday in Devon. While I was on the beach I realised it was a perfect setting to experiment with some photograph taking, so I did. I used my brother Will in this photograph again so that my work has become a use of portrait work. My sister is holding the bucket just in front of the camera to make the bucket look bigger than Will. In the first 2 photographs I experimented with having my sisters hands in the photograph so that the people looking at the photograph can see there is someone holding the bucket. I think the beach background behind is also really good and works well with what is happening in the photograph. I would like this to be my final piece in this project because I feel as though it funky shows the progress I have made during this project. During this project I have learnt more about how easily a photograph can change when the camera is pointing in a slightly different direction.