Piecing Together the Testing Puzzle

[jmadigan]

Here's one that I had fun doing. Finished shot:

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/229/499973659_c47476809b.jpg (http://flickr.com/photos/hjmadigan/499973659/)

In case you don't recognize what that is, it's a standardized "fill in the bubbles with a No. 2 pencil" test. Like the SAT, GRE, or what you may have to take to get some jobs.

Since it's not a popular subject for jigsaw puzzles, I made it myself. I started by going to a children's resale shop and finding a puzzle that was about the right size. Cost me about a dollar. Finding the right size puzzle was actually the hardest part since most were too big. But once I had it my daughter and I put it together:

http://img525.imageshack.us/img525/3895/puzzleassembleqx7.jpg

Then I took a blank answer sheet like this one:

http://img501.imageshack.us/img501/2381/answersheetec1.jpg

And then I married the two together by flipping the puzzle over, smearing some "Mod Podge Matte-Mat" on it, and laying the answer sheet down. I think regular craft glue would work just as well. I pressed it as flat as I could, rubbed out all the wrinkles and bubbles, then let it dry.

When it was dry I took an exacto knife and, working from the bottom up started to cut out the puzzle pieces:

http://img525.imageshack.us/img525/7761/puzzleslicewf8.jpg

This was tedious, but I quickly realized that I didn't need to cut out ALL of the pieces, just the ones I wanted lose for the final shot.

Speaking of which, I arranged the pieces and took the final pic in a DYI light box using two halogen shop lights and a tripod. Focal Length 73mm, Manual mode, f/22 aperture , .5 second shutter speed, ISO 100. Tweaked in Photoshop.

I'm still not 100% happy with it and may play around with it some more (maybe try adding a hand holding one of the puzzle pieces to the shot), but it was fun. I also may try doing it with some other kinds of documents (color pie charts, etc.) to create something more generic.

[Denear]

Jmadigan,

Get job. I to am a junior member, love what you did. The beauty of photography, especialy when we judge our own work is that we always feel there is room for improvement. It just motivates us to keep going and producing more.
Keep up the good work, and look forward to seeing more of your creativity.
:)

[Teewinot]

jmadigan,

It looks like you have a real sense for creativity and brainstorming fresh ideas. I can easily imagine this shot in a professional ad. Thanks for sharing your whole creative process and for inspiring me to think outside the box more. :)

As far as the actual shot goes, I think it's a great composition. The white background seems perfect, as does the perspective angle.

Well done!

[purplepixie]

Nice work! One suggestion if you do shoot more of these - try scoring the edges of the uncut puzzle pieces with a pointy, blunt object so they look 'cut'.

[spazoid1965]

Hey jmadigan, great idea. That's one I'm gonna have to try.

[Darren Rowse]

very creative - thanks for sharing.

[jmadigan]

Thanks, all.

[jalenaaron]

Great shoot! Also a great idea maybe instead of a document u could do a person. Next time if you are taking a shot of a test use a natural background like a wood desk with a pencil and etc.