27 COMBINATION OF DIGITAL AND STENCIL PHOTOGRAPHIC PRINT TO ENHANCE COMMUNICATION AND COUNSELLING

 

Abstract

This exploratory study, examined the combination of digital and stencil photographic print to enhance communication and counseling in a borderless world. This study is a creative medium of expression using social life as case study. Digital photographic print is used to describe all print processes of transferring a document (images or text) on a personal computer or order storage device to be printed by device that accepts text and graphic output. Stencil photographic prints is the act of cutting open drawn/snaps images or text on any flat surface or material like paper to be registered on another permanent surface. The photographic illustrations that were created using the stencil and digital photographic technique separately for communication and counseling were not quite beautiful and presentable as an artwork. People appreciate printings that are manually produced for communicationand modeling counselling. This study therefore showcases the creative strength of photography as an art form. The study as well studied man and his environment as well as his challenges as he goes about his daily activities thesewere used to create the photographic illustrations. The images that were printed digitally were separated from the images that were printed with stencil printing process. The digital parts were printed first while the stencil parts were later processed and printed on space created for it on the digital hard copy to create the complete illustration.The study has proved the combination of stencil and digital photographic print process as a new character which will inspire a new wave of scholarship in picture communication and counselling in a borderless world.

INTRODUCTION

Background Of The Study/ Works Cited

Man in his nature has always strived for new and a better way of doing things in unique style and technique to improve his living and comfort since the creation of the earth. Chukueggu (2000) noted that “man has always been in need of comfort. Since the creation of man, he has never rested in the quest to seek easier ways of doing things to improve his living condition”(Obonyano, 2003). Man expresses his ideas in the form of words and images in diverse ways. Whichever method or style employed could persuade his audience. Consequently, every creative artist creates his or her work in a unique way, so as to be appreciated and possibly stand out of the crowd.

Photography

The word photography is derived from the Greek word,“photos” (light) and “graphos” (writing) which means drawing with light (Adewummi and Onuora, 2006:1). Photography as previously defined, is essentially the production of a permanent record of an image by the combined action of light and chemical processing (Encyclopedia Americana International, 1995:306). Photography has been defined by different scholars in different ways. The fundamental issue is the use of light and chemical action in image recording and printing.

Photography started in the ancient times with the artist as the photographer. This photographic work he does by way of sketching/drawing when he is called upon to record an event or ceremony. Later, it evolved into the Pin-hole camera, which is the earliest known camera. The pin- hole camera is a light-tight box fitted with a pin-hole at one end. The pin-hole camera was followed by the Camera obscura- a dark chamber or room with a hole at one end of the wall through which images of object outside the room were projected on the opposite wall. This principle was described in the manuscript of Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) over one thousand years(Irivwieri, 2010).

Digital Photography Print

Dontigney (2014) stated that Digital printing is a relatively recent phenomenon in the century-old printing tradition. It’s rise has come about largely as a result of the rapid improvement in computer technology and explosion in the use of personal computer. Thus, digital printing involves taking digital images and printing them onto a surface.

Freeman (2014) stated that digital photography needs a very large number of units so that it can appear as a continuous tone image to the eye. When it is displayed, these are in the form of pixels. Digital photographic printings are all the printed works that are printed directly from the computer and other devices that accept data in a digital format like the memory card, flash drive, hard disc, scanner and DVD to the printer. These digital printed works include home pictures, calendars and printed works on cans, plastics and billboards.

Digital photographic print consequently is used to describe all photographic prints that pass through the computer and other digital images/text accepting devices like flash drive, memory cards, compound disc directly to the printer.

Stencil Print

The Free Encyclopedia(2011) defined stencil as a thin sheet of material, such as paper, plastic, wood or metal, with letters or a design cut from it, used to produce the letters or design on an underlying surface by applying pigment through the cut-out holes in the material. The key advantage of a stencil is that it can be reused repeatedly and rapidly to produce the same letter or design. A stencil is used to reproduce design or letter cut into a thin sheet of material, such as paper, plastic, wood or metal. Ink or pigment is forced through the cut space and registered on the surface beneath.

Modelling counselling

Modelling is a method used in certain cognitive behavioural techniques of Psychotherapy whereby the client learns by imitation alone, without any specific verbal direction by the therapist. It is a general process in which persons serve as models for others exhibiting the behaviour to be initiated by the others. This process is most commonly discussed with respect to children in developmental Psychology. (Modelling P. 2021). It is on this note that the researchers tend to use images as a model to enhance counseling and visual communication in the borderless world.

Counselling is a form of ‘talk therapy’ it is a process where an individual meet with a trained professional counsellor to talk about issues and problems that they are facing in their live. Counselling helps people to gain clarity surrounding issues. Vision C. (2021).

Counseling is the process that occurs when a client and counsellor set aside time to explore difficulties which may include the stressful or emotionally feelings of the client. Skillsyouneed.com (2021).

 

Statement Of The Problem

There are various printing processes by which an artist can reproduce his illustrations. The processes vary from manual or traditional print to digital print. The traditional processes include stencil print, silk screen printing and photomontage while the digital process includes prints that pass through the computer to the printer and scanner.The photographic prints produced using Stencil do not show good appeal and the digital photography print are good but do not show artistic appeal as well. In the other hand, most student don’t understand counselling by mere speech. This study thereby combines the Digital and Stencil Photographic printing techniques and use images as a model to create a better and beautiful photographic print using social life for communication and counseling.

The Objective Of The Study

This study intends to:

1. Produce a combined Stencil and Digital photography print to create a better and beautiful picture for communication and counseling.
2. Create a unique style in photography using social life for counseling and communication in a borderless world.
3. Produce a good image from social life style that will be used as an art form and model for visual communication and modelling counselling.

Research Questions

1. How can the combination of Stencil and Digital Photographic Print be used to create a better picture for communication and counselling?
2. What social life style should be used to make the style or technique stand out?
3. What image should be used as art form for communication and modelling counselling.

The Scope Of The Study

This study is essentially exploratory using a combination of digital and Stencil photographic printing processes for visual communication and modelling counselling. Three different works were used for this studies exploration.

Significance Of The Study

This study provides a unique template in photographic illustration and modelling counselling. it also promotes the combination of digital andstencil photographic print for communication and modelling counselling as well as showcasing social life style that are vile to the society in the borderless world.

Research Method

This is a studio-based exploratory research involving threeexperimentations, integrating stencil and digital media of photographic production. Library research was conducted whereby a number of books, journal articles among others were reviewed to elicit information on the subject matter under investigation. The works were analysed from the technical and conceptual / thematic point of view.

Creating Photographic Illustration.

The researcher studied, analyzed man and his environment as well as his challenges as he goes about his daily activities. These were used to create the photographic illustrations for this study. The researcher moved round the town/village to capture scene that depict his illustrations as seen in the picture. The researcher then positioned the models in different poses and snapped. The researcher also looked for animals that project his creative illustration and snapped. The researcher then made some sketches and merged the images with the snapped background and foreground to create the pictorial composition. The images were transferred from the digital camera to Corel Draw window environment in the computer and this was used to edit the images. The images that were printed digitally were printed first in A3 size of paper and the images printed in stencil were later processed and printed on the space created for it to complete the combination of stencil and digital printing process for visual communication and modelling counselling in the borderless world.

Bullying is a photographic print of students playing on the field. The student at the foreground with a lion’s head and legs and hands raised up in the air as if he wants bounced on somebody. The next to him on the foreground looks at the other students at the background having a lion’s head. On the left hand side of the print is another student at the foreground with a lion head roaring while other students at the background are shouting.

Bullying is used for artistic communication and modeling counseling to showcase the wild character of some students in the school system. Most of the students have this wild character. They bully the weak junior students with no regards for the teachers and the school authority. In modeling counseling this image is marked bad (X) enlightening student pictorial representation of their character as well as informing them the implication thereof.

The researcher posed the models in action, snapped and downloaded the images into the computer. The lion image was drawn, CorelDraw was used to compose and edit the images. The images that were printed digitally were separated from the images that were printed traditionally Stencil. The images that were printed traditionally were then traced into a brown paper and stenciled. The stencil was placed on the digitally printed part and ink was forced to register on the digital hardcopy through the stencil on the space created for it to complete the combination of digital and Stencil Photographic Printing process to be framed and used in counselling.

The trumpeter on top of the world is a photographic print that denotes a trumpeter at the center of the coconut tree blowing a trumpet with his hand on his mouth. From the level he is on the trunk, two other neighboring villages were seen on the background.

The trumpeter on top of the world is used by the researcher to connote the joyous feelings in music. Music is one of the limited activities that constrain one’s sorrow at a particular moment. When singing or playing the musical instrument, you feel on top of the world and above all your challenges.

The Counsellor uses this as a modelling counseling tool informing the student to engage in positive and moral activities in their leisure time. The researcher drew the models in action, snapped the bush/ the sky and downloaded the images onto the computer. CorelDraw was used to compose and edit the images. The images that were printed digitally were separated from the images that were printed traditionally. The images that were printed with Stencil were then traced into a brown paper and cut into stencil. The stencil was placed on the digitally printed part and ink is forced to register it on the digital hardcopy through the stencil on the space created for it. This process completes the combination of digital and Stencil Photographic Printing.

 

This is a photographic print that shows a man and a woman kissing on the street in semi-nude. On the background are two other kissing by the fence of a building.

Teach us the way is a social commentary used for communication and a modeling counseling tool that highlights the source of sexual immorality in our society today. Most youths and some parents go naked and commit adultery and fornication in the presence of their children. The media presents obscene events on air. As a result, the children practice what they see their parents and elderly ones do. It is also used to alert the parents to stop some of the acts in the presence of their children that their children are copying what they see them do.

The researcher used the CorelDraw software to draw the images in the computer. The researcher posed the models in actions and snapped the images. The background and the foreground were also snapped. The images were downloaded into the computer, composed and edited with the CorelDraw. The composition was printed out in digital format. The parts that were printed traditionally (Stencil) were traced into a brown paper and stenciled. The traditional parts were then forced to register on the digital hardcopy through the opening of the stencil to create the complete combination of Stencil and digital photographic print to be framed and used as a decorative piece in a counseling room.

FINDING AND CONCLUSION

Findings

From the works produced in the studio, it is clearly observed that good photographic prints can be produced from the combination of digital and Stencil photographic printing process. It also proven that images could be used for communication and counseling in the borderless world.

Conclusion

The study had proved the combination of digital and Stencil photographic print process as a new character which will inspire a new wave scholarship in picture communication and counseling in a borderless world.

From the works using this photographic print Fig 1, Bulling has been used as a social life style and had made the combination of Stencil and Digital Photographic Prints to stand out as an art form for communication and a model for modelling counseling.

Digital photographic print and Stencil photographic prints were successfully combined in this study and had proven a new photography print style. From the work produced it was found out that digital parts of the work are to be printed first before the Stencil parts, making it look like super imposition on the digital parts. This is because the Stencil parts when printed first will damage the printer’s cartridge while passing through the printer.

CONTRIBUTION TO KNOWLEDGE

The combination of Digital and Stencil PhotographicPrint stand out as a unique style and technique in photographic communication arising from its high beautiful outlook.

This study has in no small measure added to the volume of literature in photographic practice and communication. The combination of Digital and Stencil photographic print has proven that images could be used in communication and counseling in the borderless world.

REFERENCES

Adewunmi, A. and Onuora, A. (2006). Basic Photography: Digital and Creative Photography, Enugu: Rock Communications Nigeria.

Chukueggu, C.C. (2000). “TheTraditional Weaving TechnologyInNigeria – TheCaseStudyOfAkwete” Journal of Creative Art Volume 1 No 1 University Of Port Harcourt, Nigeria.

Digital, P. (2014). Wikipedia The Free Encyclopedia Digital PrintingRetrieved From http://www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/digital-printing15th February, 2014.

Dontigney, E. (2014), What Is Digital Printing?Retrieved Fromhttp://www.ehow.com/facts5030309digital-printing.15th July, 2015.

Freeman, M. (2014). The Complete Guide To Digital Photography,New York: Lark Books, A Division Of Sterling Publishing Co., Inc.

Irivwieri, G. O. (2010). The Impact of Photography In A Developing Economy, International Journal of Current Research In The Humanities, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana, No.7, pp 80-96.

Obonyano, J. U. (2003).“The Use of Aqua Mono Print Technique as Design Inspiration For Fabric Decoration” An MFA Project, Delta State UniversityAbraka.

Vision, C. (2021) What is Counselling?Retrieved from www.visioncounselling.com.all/what is counselling 17 May, 2021

Modelling, P. (2021).Modelling Psychology Retrieved from https//.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/modelling psychology 15 May, 2021.

Skillsyouneed.com (2021).What is Counselling? Retrieved from https//www.skillyouneed.com/learn/councelling.htm 15 May, 2021.