UX & Colour Research

Colour & UX research is vital, it will change the way the app is perceived by it’s user. I will need to use;

– Cool blues that relax and inspire the user
– Light pinks on the the blue for contrast
– Black & white for the augmented reality

The images below make a good use of depth within their experiences. This is something that is going to be vital in creating my experience, as an entirely flat design in this instance will make the experience bored due to the stripped back abilities the user has to their disposal. Great Depth can be seen in there designs below.

Augmented Reality is a challenge because users are not used to using this technology, therefore it needs to be kept as simple as possible. The first two images show simply how easy it to overlay information in a camera, while the third shows how by using the camera you are able to offer a variety of different information for the user.

Displaying relevant information needs to be visually appealing in a way that they “don’t compete for information” or “fill the screen with unrelated information” (http://thenextweb.com/uxdesign/2015/07/07/10-dos-and-donts-of-ui-and-ux-design/). Therefore finding methods of laying out the content is of the most importance, and you can see some examples of how this can be done below. Both the layout and colours have been taken into consideration

The route through the museum is of great importance, and is something the user will see the most, this needs to be easy to follow and understand, there are a couple of examples below.

Placards to show the results of searching for information would be the most user friendly way of showing data to the user, this is a great example of this.

Social element within the museum should be strong as it helps the museum create footfall, below are great examples of how the social interaction elements I can use.

The editable video at very end of the exhibition should show the user the previous edits along with the video and the ability to scrub through the video. You can see examples of this done below.

References:
https://dribbble.com/shots/2298656-Day-004-Dial-Pad
https://dribbble.com/shots/2297657-DailyUI-003-Landing-Page-Above-the-fold
https://dribbble.com/shots/2297797-Calories-Statistics/attachments/434542
https://dribbble.com/shots/2293458-Product-section/attachments/433225
https://dribbble.com/shots/1069421-Augmented-Tourist
https://dribbble.com/shots/1101044-Anipedia
https://dribbble.com/shots/1107593-Anipedia
https://dribbble.com/shots/1346175-Indoor-Location-Map
https://dribbble.com/shots/1050752-Iapp
https://dribbble.com/shots/1013895-Fantasy-Soccer-Stats
https://dribbble.com/shots/1338727-Youtube-Redesign
https://dribbble.com/shots/1862236-Room-share-results

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Researching Artists

There are four artists that I came across in my research stage and I thought it was important to look at their work before I went out and took my own images.

The criteria of my brief? A collection of images that equally promoted the old and the new around Hull. Something that could be used in marketing of thew freedom festival in 2017. I was interested in black and white photography of architecture because by removing the colour there is instantly more focus on situations, sceneries, objects and people.

Ellen Fisch was the first person I came across during my research. Her compositions are interesting as they use leading lines to make the user look at the focus of the image, which was generally not shown in the image, this was interesting as it attracted the viewer to something that isn’t visible in the image. You can see this in these three images below. This is something I believed was worthwhile noting for my photo shoots.

Joel Tjintjelaar images are really good, I found them a very helpful part of my research and you will see very clearly how he has effected my work. The images were shot in a way that they became abstract due to the fact that they have been taken in an unusual way. Joel is also another photographer who presents his images in a square format. So the lessons I have learn’t from Joel is that taking abstract and unusual images using depth of field and leading lines pays off, and that presenting your images in a square format works well.

David Gutierrez was next with a mix of styles. While choosing not to create square photos, there are clear depths of field in these images. Two of the images use leading lines to create interest while the other focuses more on framing the image. You can see them below.

Kelly McCann chose to mix between landscape and square format images, she uses framing in the shot of chapel, and she also uses the rule of thirds in the images to allow the viewer to get a sense of perspective when looking at the images. These images work really well and will influence my work.

Cameron Nielson has an interesting take on his architecture which he has branded as ‘straight up’ where his signature is that he just points the camera straight up and shoots. He ends up getting some interesting photos that show the the skyline of the building whilst also capturing the sense of scale with field of depth and leading lines, as we all stand street side look up, this is something every viewer can relate too.

I believe using leading lines to draw attention to the focus point of the image works well, so I will be using this technique, I also like the images being square as I think it allows for a constant size, which is the same for all images, making it more about the content than the shape.

References:

http://www.kellymccann.co.uk

Joel Tjintjelaar – http://www.bwvision.com/

David Gutierrez – http://www.davidgutierrez.co.uk/london-photographer–black-and-white-photography.html

http://www.ellenfisch.com

http://straightup.co/portfolio/san-francisco/

Exposure and Field of depth

The aim of this experiment was to put what I had learn’t about aperture and field of depth into practise. I took a few photos to practise using the techniques needed and here is the contact sheet for the shoot:

CONTACT SHEET

The aperture is the main focus of what I was doing in this shoot. The bigger the aperture the more light is let in and the more the background is blurred while the opposite is also possible where the smaller the aperture, the less light meaning more in focus the image is. Here you see two images, one is with a smaller aperture and the other with a large aperture.

Behind the Lens

To truly be able to understand how to use a camera, I started to learn the different parts of a camera, and what they do.

There are a few key elements that are needed to be understood to be able to use the manual setting of a camera, I researched a little and these are some of the important elements that all fit in with each other to create the perfect image.

Exposure

Exposure is the amount of light that hits the camera sensor, this can be adjusted using the aperture controls, to do this you will look through your cameras viewfinder, and find the light meter, it usually has zero in the middle to indicate the exposure is just right, minus zero means the is insufficient light and plus zero means there is too much light.  There are two parts to take note of when looking at the exposure these are;

Available light when taking the photo should be something that should be accounted for when adjusting the aperture, if there is too much or too little light, you would change the aperture, ISO and the shutter speed accordingly.

Aperture

The aperture is an opening within the lens, its diameter is adjustable which controls the amount of light that gets through to the camera sensor, matching this with the right ISO and shutter speed will allow you to get the correct exposure.

F stops is what aperture is measured in, it tends to run in a f/1.2, f/1.4, f/1.8, f/2, f/2.4, f/2.8, f/4 format, the bigger the number the narrower the aperture. The narrower the aperture the less light it can let in, and the wider the aperture the more light it can let in. Shutter speed needs be slowed down to counter the fact there is less light entering the lens therefore more time is needed for the lens to capture the image. So to recap f/1.2 would require a fast shutter speed while f/4 would require a much slower shutter speed.

Wider apertures create a shallow depth of field by blurring out a lot of the background, this would be useful when taking a photo of something small. Meanwhile the opposite occurs when there is a narrow aperture as it creates a deep depth of field which is better for taking photos of things like landscapes.

ISO

ISO stands for image sensor, and basically it means how sensitive the camera is to available light, the lower the number, the less sensitive it is, the higher the number, the higher the sensitivity is. The advantages of a high ISO is that it can compete images in low-light conditions without a flash, but this come with noise on the images. Most cameras have a base ISO which is the optimised iso level for that camera, it is usually around 200. The numbers double as they go up, but they also double in sensitivity, so they start at 200 and carry on to 400,800,1600,3200,6400. This also mean it takes less time to take the image, i found this great scale;

ISO Speed Example:

ISO 100 – 1 second

ISO 200 – 1/2 of a second

ISO 400 – 1/4 of a second

ISO 800 – 1/8 of a second

ISO 1600 – 1/16 of a second

ISO 3200 – 1/32 of a second

Therefore a focus that is moving fast can be shot with a high ISO, whereas on that is still can be shot as a low one.

Shutter Speed

A shutter can block out light from the camera sensor, this can be controlled to create different effects within an image, for example if the shutter speed is slow, the longer the cameras sensor is open to light, therefore creating blurred images meanwhile a shutter speed that is fast will catch an image in a quick snapshot almost making the focus look frozen. There are a few different methods that take advantage of shutter speed.

Having spoken about the most important elements to sum up everything I have just discussed there is the exposure triangle which is something that should be considered when taking a photo.

References:

http://digitalphotographylive.com/aperture/

http://digitalphotographylive.com/exposure/

http://digitalphotographylive.com/shutter-speed/

http://www.picturecorrect.com/tips/photography-exposure-basics/

http://www.slrphotographyguide.com/camera/settings/images/exposure-examples.jpg

http://photographylife.com/what-is-iso-in-photography#ixzz3HLo1Xsp8

http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials/camera-exposure.htm

https://maryelizabethhudson.files.wordpress.com/2014/09/iso-exposure.jpg

http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2011/12/aperture.jpg

(http://www.exposureguide.com/images/exposure/shutter-speed.jpg)

Composition rules of Photography

There are many composition rules within photography that help look an image look professional, you always need to consider these when taking photographs.

The rule of thirds

This is basic photography and can even be seen in modern smartphones, a grid is placed onto the screen consisting of two horizontal and vertical lines meaning there are 9 equal sized sections. The aim of the rule of thirds is to get the important element of thew image either on the lines or where they cross.

Balancing Elements

When taking a photo using the rule of thirds you will sometimes realise that there is a large portion of the image that looks empty, if you fill that space with something else, it will make the photo seem more interesting.

Leading Lines

Lines within images are great because we are naturally drawn to them, so as a photographer you can use this to your advantage by allowing the lines to lead to the focus of the image.

Symmetry & Patterns

As human beings we find beauty in symmetry, as found in a New Mexico State University study which “utilises a program called FacePrints, which shows viewers facial images of variable attractiveness. The viewers then rate the pictures on a beauty scale from one to nine. In what is akin to digital Darwinism, the pictures with the best ratings are merged together, while the less attractive photos are weeded out. Each trial ends when a viewer deems the composite a 10. All the perfect 10s are super-symmetric.” By taking advantage of this in photography, you can create beautiful images.

Viewpoint

Placing importance on the angles we take our images from is a good skill to learn as it can lead to some more abstract pictures. When taking an image I should take note of what angles I could take the shots at, be that with height, distance etc.

Background

If an image has a background that has a lot going going on, it will distract from the focus of the image,simply changing an angle and getting a plain background can help the focus of the image stand out.

Depth of Field

To create an image with a great sense of depth, you must understand the elements of a foreground, mid ground and background. These can create a feel of scale and depth by itself. By using objects in each section for the depth, it will allow the viewer to understand the scale much better. You can also create an element of depth by blurring the background, this can be done by

Framing

You can create a natural frame within an image, placing certain objects around the edge of the image you create a focused image which will draw the attention to the part of the image with most importance.

Cropping

Cropping is a very important tool to use as a photographer as it allows you to delete unwanted details to reduce noise, making sure the focus of the image is all the viewer can see.

References:

http://www.photographymad.com/pages/view/10-top-photography-composition-rules

http://legacy.jyi.org/volumes/volume6/issue6/features/feng.html

Featured Image -http://designyoutrust.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/photography-rules-are-made-to-be-broken-1.jpg