Project One: Polaroid Collage

From the beginning of this project, I had difficulties with the composition and subject. Originally I intended to use myself as the subject, but seeing as I had no usable pictures of myself, I resorted to using my cat instead. Even after that was settled though, I still had issues with the composition. I had heard that I was supposed to "avoid the middle", but that went against my personal affinity for symmetry. I tried to break that resort though. The result was this, a composition that was constantly pushed around and became one that I do not enjoy. Thus, I feel the composition is the worst part of the finished image. I wish I had taken the time to settle on a more inspired layout. Regardless of this problem, I do like how this turned out. I especially enjoy the Polaroids themselves, as they have an interesting arrangement. And, of course, I really like my cat. Cutting him and everything else out from their original photos was rather easy.

I used several tools in the creation of this piece, some of which I don't remember. What sticks out to me are the ones I used most: the polygonal lasso, the layer effects and the healing tool. At some point I probably also used the brush and eraser tools. Typically happens whenever I make something in Photoshop. I used the lasso to cut everything out, and the layer effects to give everything a drop shadow, with the exception of one Polaroid for which I had to manually make one. The healing tool was used to smooth out textures, like with the fish, or to fill in space that I accidentally cut off. However, I managed to include a foreground, mid-ground, and background. The essence of my cat was also captured in eight Polaroids, and the calligraphy I scanned in was included on his ribbon.

If I could start this over, I'd definitely sit down and decide upon a composition. The whole mess with shuffling things around was a headache. Similarly, I'd also decide upon my subject at the very beginning. The same reason applies for that. Because of the early onset headache, I'd say my motivation was low, effecting my effort. While I did pick up my efforts near the end, I'd have to give myself a 6/10.