Lighting Assignment

Technique

-Picture 1: For this picture I stood a few feet back from my mom and adjusted the lense to bring her face closer, and tweaked the focus and shot the picture. When it came down to editing, I added a surface blur, cleared up a couple of scars from my mom's face using the spot healing brush.

-Picture 2: Just a standard close up shot, and for the editing I added a photo filter

-Picture 3: A tripod was used to keep the image steady. Frontal lighting was used, and the image seems to be reflected. For editing I used a surface blur, and I lightened up the eyes and face to enhance the photo.

Relfection

-Picture 1: This is by far my favorite picture I've taken this semester. I think it projects the real personality of my mom, and how sweet she can be.

-Picture 2: Shows how silly my mom is, she actually dances with the peace sign movement.

-Picture 3: Is again, the direct relfection of my friends personality.

Weaknesses-I should have spent a bit more time with each of the assignments, I could have gotten stronger photos for the assignment.

White Balance Project

White Balance Project.

2.While taking the picture of the Valentine's Day bag, I leaned somewhat backward and zoomed in a lot, then leaned forward and adjusted my focus somemore. After a little while I was able to find the satisfying angle for the picture. And for the picture of the heel I layed on the ground and lifted the camera a couple of inches to get the picture, before snapping the picture I bent to the side a little more. When it came to editing, I edited the hue and color of the picture to make it more red to fit the color of the bag. Then I added a red tinted vignette to top the picture all off. For the picture of the heel, I covered the black shadow in the background because it took attention away from the shoe. And I brightened up the picture of the heel to make it pop more.

3. Things that worked for these photos were: The color choices for the editing, and they both ended up well. However, I feel like overall I could have chosen better things to take pictures of. More exciting angles, more depth, more variety is what I really needed I feel like. So I struggled to put something together for this project.

Reflection: A Day in The Life.

Well, When I started figuring out how I wanted to capture this image, I decided to take it from a different angle. Originally I wanted to face these painted pictures and show them upfront, however I realized that it wasn't enough. So I stood upon a chair and faced the camera a smidge to the left and zoomed up really close on the artwork. I decided to focus on the painting closest to myself because it had the longest canvas of all the rest and took the shot. Afterward when I began editing, I realized that there wasn't enough emphasis on the color in the picture. The purple paint with the black canvas wasn't poping as much as it should have been, so then I tweaked the vibrance and the brightness of the image. To make the purple pop a lot.

I think that the angling could have been more generous in the fact that more of the painted pictures could have been shown, to show more diversity in the image. However, I appreciate the color in the picture. It was the first image I'd taken at my job, I knew exactly how I wanted to excute the picture and I did better than I thought. It came out way better than expected.I could have however, taken the image further back and gotten more out of it I feel like. Overall, I was very pleased with it. Next time I need to keep some of the background out, it takes away from the image.

Artist Statement

For me, art allows me to express myself when simply speaking does suffice. Art, also allows me to show things that I can't explain. When I write, I feel almost out of body. Photography allows me to extend my views of things, and play around with images to capture something better than simply staring at the image. Art means a lot to me. A lot of my family are artists, and the type of art varies. Exposure to art allows people to remove themselves from reality and see things differently. In general, art is an alternate language for me. Music tends to be my inspiration for my artwork. When I'm feeling a certain way, I turn to music to amplify that emotion, to allow myself to deliver the best that I possibly can. Outside of music, my friends and family inspire me. They all affect how I express myself artistically. My inspiration definitely comes through in my writing, when I feel a certain way it can definitely be seen in my words. In photography, I tend to shoot what ever is inspiring me. So far, I've written poetry, stories and done a little photography. I'd like to hope that this semester I can improve in all of them, using the techniques I learn in Digi Photo, to help me overall as an artist.




This is an image taken by James Kenny, a photographer at Venture Photography.

At Venture Photography in Minnesota, there are 3 photographers, and they tend to take pictures of weddings, and families. However they also take senior pictures, and pictures of babies as well. Most of their images are taken with plain white backgrounds, to emphasize color on the subjects. However they use special lighting devices, and some of their images are edited with editing tools. I really like the fact that they don't use a background to take away from their subjects in their images, to me it makes the pictures more natural and allows them to really focus on the subject, not what's around them. It's organic.

To see more of their work, you can go here.

Accidental Lessons

Two years ago I began taking up photography as a hobby. After taking photography in school, I continued loving the art of photography afterward, and I find myself to be very passionate about it. Outside of snapping pictures, and capturing moments in life, I've learned a few things about myself and the outside world because of my love for photography.





Accidental Lesson #1: Finding the edge of beauty


After starting up photography, I have realized there are many things one wouldn't assume to be beautiful, or even interesting. However, I have realized these things are the greatest to take pictures of. To take an uncommon object, or a place and make it worth looking at. To make someone stop and look at something they once wouldn't pay attention to, that is something that I've learned. Beauty isn't just an apperance of soomething attractive, or a person with the perfect features and just the right amount of make up. Beauty is something that can change in each person's eyes, everyone looks at the same objects, people, scences differently. So in all honesty there isn't one depiction of beauty, because essentially it's everywhere.





Accidental Lesson #2: Looking at things in depth


I also have noticed that everything should be looked at in more than one way. A photographer I know of takes his subjects, and asks them for their life story, asks them about what makes them who they are, then he takes their picture. However, the difference is that the pictures contain objects or backdrops that apply to the identity of the person. Photography's purpose is to capture the inside of someone, or an idea, or to freeze a moment in time because of it's importance. After hearing that I realized myself that I could be paying more attention to my subjects, getting more out of the photo than just getting a shot. I could piece together stories if I took more time studying what I'm shooting. I feel that all I do is take a shot and move on, instead of actually paying attention to my surroundings. I feel that if I study my surroundings more, I'd be able to take better pictures, and get more emotion out of them.





Accidental Lesson #3: My Future


After many prints, and many days of developing. I realized that this hobby became more of a passion for me. I have almost made it a necessity to study photography in college. Although I want to Major in Psychology, I would always love to continue with photography onward. There's always more to learn, more models of cameras. I feel that there is always more room to grow. I have more that I can accomplish, more subjects for me to shoot, more places for me to travel for a variety of shots in different areas. I can't promise that I will for a fact, study photography in my future, however I do feel that as much time I spend on it, and how important I view it. I can always get better, and learn more. I will not stop.





Accidental Lesson #4: Your mind is a blank slate


I've also learned to never assume something will turn out the way you expect it to, or the way you want it for that matter. I will see something, and in my mind I think "This will be an epic shot". Then I go to take the shot, and when I develop it, it'll come out crappy. But I don't beat myself up (well most of the time atleast). It's a great hobby, but sometimes you never know what you're gonna get. I've had a good amount of rolls of film not develop because they've been exposed to light, some how. I then temporarily get angry, and then move on. Even if I have the best shots I've ever taken, I tell myself that there's always a better shot that I can find. I have realized that photography has taught me the idea of Tabula Rosa which states that the mind is a blank slate in which experience writes upon. My experiences while shooting pictures have taught me to move on. Although we sometimes anticipate things to end up a certain way, and for the most part they don't. It's all a learning experience, and it's up to you to either embrace it or go through life being disappointed.



Accidental Lesson #5: The ability to smile



Never set unatainable goals. We have to take the time to smile at our mistakes and move on. We as humans have the ability to constantly grow, and change, and allow life to shape us. But if we spend our lives unhappy, because we can't reach our potential, because we're too busy trying to be something we aren't, it'll all become a waist. Sometimes, we have to just sit back, look at what we've done, and smile. Know, that everything we've done so far hasn't been a waist of time, or truly unimportant. If something makes you happy, even if it isn't perfection, or it isn't on the same level of someone else. You have to appreciate yourself. People can only learn to appreciate you, and what you can do, if you try to keep yourself happy. What I'm trying to say is, take a step back, look at what you've accomplished, and allow yourself to be happy. I look back at my past photos and film, and look at my work now, and I have grown so much. At first I'd beat myself up because other people would take better pictures, or their pictures seemed so much better than my own. I realize that it isn't because their pictures were better than mine, it was because I wasn't appreciating my own work, and how I'd began growing. It's all a process of constant growth, we just have to know that sometimes we should reflect on this growth, in order to keep on the path.