Contact Sheet #001

A new and regular feature is being introduced with today's post at The iPhone Arts will be a series called ‘Contact Sheet,’ which will feature examples of a number of exposures required in obtaining the desired image, illustrating the various steps needed to achieve the desired photograph.

The various sixteen images in today’s contact sheet #001, are of three different sets using scissors as the main prop for a friendly weekly challenge #stilllifelounge, managed by Anna Cox and Ikebana Jen, who post on Sunday’s the following weeks theme.

Having numerous different styles of scissors, along with a good passion for creating still-life sets, I just had to see what I could come up with.

Contact Sheet #001 - click to view full size version

Though I still have all my studio lights, I now prefer to photograph using natural northern light and using fill cards and gobo’s to correct the light needed to illuminate the set.

As you can see by the contact sheet, the first row shows two exposures with a pair of brass scissors and a carpenters ruler, two elements that do not work and so another approach was called for. The next eight frames make use of an old magazine, Coronet from 1949, a tailors measuring tape and scissor.

In the ‘good old days,’ back in the studio, I would set up a tripod and move the elements for the still-life in front of the camera until the preferred composition was achieved. Even now when using a DSLR camera, I would have the camera on a tripod and styling in front of the lens. However as I am using the iPhone 4S to capture the scene, a tripod is not necessary and I can explore a variety of different angles, which we can clearly see in the second set of eight frames. From holding the camera above the set at an angle and then moving in very tight and a little back again, while maintaing the same approach to the set. 

Final image and ready for post production edit 

Though I had the image I wanted for the still-life challenge, I still had that itch that needed to be scratched and so a third attempt was made and this time I would strive for the a simpler and yet more complex approach in which only scissors would be used and no other props. This would allow me to focus on the various designs scissors come in, including feature my favorite scissor with brass handles.

Since the brass scissor was the larges one, all other scissors being employed in the shot would build on the larger on, focusing on the various handles, with the exception of the tailor’s scissor used in the previous set, it was meant to be a counter point, especially since it picked up the light so beautifully.

Final image and ready for post production edit 

It is important to note that during the photographic session, one must have a final vision in mind for each photograph, so that the post production edit enhances the images and not distracts from it.

The post production edits would mean that the photograph would undergo a few corrections within PhotoShop CS5, applying Levels, Curves and Black and White settings before introducing the images to Stage Two post production edit using Snapseed.

In closing, there are plans on the drawing board for another regular feature in which I share details to my post production edits. In the meantime, the remaining two images are as they finally appeared in my IG gallery, with the first one desaturated in order to compliment the older magazine from August 1949. While the scissors only shot, was made more nostalgic, focusing on the different metal textures and their reflective properties.

Version one - final appearance

Version two - final appearance

Names mentioned in the article and their respective Instagram gallery tag:

          Diane, #cforstyle

          Diana Parks, #roobydooby

          Anna Cox, #annacox

          Ikebana Jen, #ikebana_jen