Fine Art Experiments - Filter experiments

In these experiments, I decided to experiment with different filters using Photoshop. I wanted to incorporate more than just decreasing saturation and increasing contrast in digital into my photography because I felt the experiments I had used in my work made it seem flat, even with the added layering on top with the acrylic, scratching and paint. As well as this, I wanted the photographs to have an added meaning with colour connotations done by using filters of that colour on top of the black and white photograph. I have used all black and white photographs due to the connotation of old memories, and because it also makes much more contrast between the tones in the piece. 

For my experiments, I have used a photograph of my 6 month old niece, who I feel is a good subject for displaying emotions based on memories. As a baby, most memories are nostalgic and happy, which is why I have used the colour pink. The colour pink also is what baby girls are represented by, so it conveys the memories that one would get back as a child. 

In these photographs, I have used the colour burn layering effect and photo filter. This filter still gives the unsaturated effect, but with a hint of pink overlaying onto the piece. I feel it is effective because the colour isn't too obvious with an opacity of 30%. However, the contrast between the image and the colour doesn't show enough, so it does not convey the meaning of emotions in memories as emotions are more vibrant. To improve, I will try over layering effects and filters to see what will fir my meaning the most. 

Darken produces a similar effect at 84%, however it only affects the lighter areas of the image. This makes the subject unaffected by the layering effect. However, this doesn't give the meaning I wish to convey in my piece. To move forward, I will aim to affect the subject's face rather than the background. This is because the subject is the one who feels the emotion so I feel the colour should affect them instead. To do this, I will experiment with more filters.

In these photographs, I experimented with the filers colour dodge and hard light. Compared to the last filters, they display the colour much more vividly, but without the tones of the original grey scale photograph. 

Colour dodge makes the photograph have an overlay of pink, but with a brighter effect and less of the contrast in tones. If I used this filter with the mixed media technique I have experimented with previously, the paint or ink wont contrast to the image enough so this filter is not effective. I have used opacity 38% and 40% so the colour does not hide the image but still changes the hue of the image enough for there to be a difference in tone. 

This filter, difference makes the image seem older and more worn due to the loss of contrast in the image. This could be used as a way of conveying how old the image and memory is by making it seem more timeworn. In addition to this, the colour appears as a way of keeping the colour connotation in the piece. However, I feel this also takes away some of the contrast that is needed in my image when used with the mixed media techniques I have experimented with previously. I have used opacity of 27% so the colour doesn't take away too much of the image but it also covers some of it. 

Exclusion creates a similar effect, but instead, the pink only effects the darker tones of the piece rather than the lighter tones. This makes more contrast in this filter compared to difference. This makes it more effective, however I still feel even at 39% opacity the image will not contrast enough if I add the mixed media technique in with the image, therefore the filter is not effective in the way I wish to use it. 

The filter divide changes the colour of the pink layer completely. It makes the hue opposite, making it green instead of pink. However, it does not alter the image underneath other than making the contrast in the piece bolder with the opposite colour. I have made the opacity 39%, so the colour doesn't hide too much of the image while it still changes the hue. This filter is effective with making the contrast bolder, but it changes the original colour which changes the connotation, therefore it is not effective. 

This filter, Linear Dodge(Add) makes the photograph much lighter compared to the other filters. It ignores the lighter tones of the original image while changing the darker tones of the image and making it slightly pink. Compared to the other filters, it makes the piece much brighter. However, this takes away the contrast by removing the darker tones of the image. This makes the filter not effective as I need it to display the contrast with both tone inside of the image and mixed media that I will apply onto the image itself. 

Overlay is a filter that does the opposite to Linear Dodge(Add), instead of making the image lighter, it makes all of the tones in the piece darker and the pink much bolder. While the increase in contrast makes the filter effective, the pink in the piece is too bold, meaning that the contrast between the image and mixed media techniques would not create the contrast I want, therefore making the filter ineffective. 

The photo filter option is not a layering effect but it is a filter that you can apply onto the image itself. It allows you to change the hue of the image to make it a certain colour. The colour I have used is the magenta filter. While I feel it makes the piece much more vibrant and displays the colour well it can only work on coloured images. The images I use are greyscale only to give the old effect I want in my photographs. This takes away that meaning and takes away the contrast therefore it is not effective.  

The filter I have used here is the soft light filter. Soft light keeps all of the tones in the original image so it maintains the contrast, however the colour turns much more dull as a result of the filter when it overlays onto the image. Furthermore, it will ruin the original meaning the greyscale image had and takes away from the contrast if I added mixed media techniques on top of the image. Therefore this filter is not effective in conveying my meaning. 

From the subject filters, I can see that none of the filters are effective. This is because I believe that covering the entire image in a filter will take away the meaning I wish to convey in my piece. However, the added colour also creates more contrast if compared to the original greyscale image, and it creates colour connotations of emotions from the memories that I also wish to keep in my work as well as the greyscale and mixed media techniques I have experimented with. To move forward from this, I will develop my effect so that only parts of my image is covered by colour and the rest is greyscale. This will help me keep the connotation and contrast, while creating a new meaning. I will experiment and develop this in my sketchbook. 

In my piece, the main background is a brick background. I will need to find a filter that will make as much contrast and tone as possible for my pieces. The two filters I experimented with are dissolve and soft light. Dissolve creates this dotty effect of which I do not want in my work as it stands out too much as well as doesn't have a meaning to it. However, the soft light makes each brick tone stand out much further, so I feel out of both of the filters this will be the most effective. However, I will experiment with how the filters look with subjects to see if it is appropriate or creates too much contrast. This will then allow me to develop a concrete technique for editing my photographs in a way that they will convey all of the meanings, effects and connotations I want in my work.