Canon 550d SLR:

I used a Canon 550d SLR to shoot for my photo-essay and saved the images in RAW (.CR2) so that I could have the highest pixel quality to edit with, thus producing immaculate and smooth images. The Canon 550d’s are almost professional cameras and are used all around the world, taking high quality pictures which can be edited using Canon’s .CR2 processing software, RAW. The only negative side to a Canon 550d is that the video function lacks great sound quality, but overall, it is an extremely decent camera to start shooting on. 

 Raw Processing:

               I found the RAW editing package extremely useful, especially with the function that I could change the exposure of my pictures if I had originally shot them overexposed by carelessness. Another function I used a lot in my final twelve photos was colour balancing and saturation. I thought by saturating an image’s colours so they become less vibrant it would give it a lifeless, almost timeless feel, which fitted well with my overall theme of hopelessness.

The RAW processing software allowed me to amend and enhance by pictures, giving it a professional finish by adding a bit more depth to the image as well as touching up any errors or blemishes on the image.

               Another useful feature in RAW editing was playing around with the highlights, lights, darks and shadows to create a great contrast between the blacks and whites of the photographs, which I used quite a bit in my photos for stronger detail.

Original .CR2 image in RAW 

Experimenting with Depth of Field

In this particular photo I put a heavy contrast on the image as well as make the red berries stand out by changing the adjusting the saturation, hue and luminance levels. I did this to enhance the depth of field, and show how strong the image looked and how clearer the depth of field was after the image was taken.

Experimenting with Shutter Speed

Experimenting with the ISO and shutter speed can give different technical effects for the camera. You can either create a blurred reality, or capture a stunning image of frozen life. Popular with Henri-Cartier Bresson, he used this technique to capture his decisive moments, images immortalised in history forever.

In the image to the right, I experimented with the shutter speed and ISO in order to capture 'frozen' water. The image was taken with an extremely fast shutter shutter speed, in which the exposure time was around 1/200 - 1/600.

The slower the shutter speed, the more blurred the motion with become. If i had used a shutter speed of 3", then the water would have looked more liquified or gassy. Both techniques are great to use in order to get the desired image you want. 

Experimenting with Bulb Settings

An extremely slow shutter speed was used in order to capture moving light, to form either symbols, letters or words. Here is the subject, Brittany Jade, using this technique to create her initials. The technique in simple, yet the effect is mesmerising.