I have learned many interesting things in this class. Settings on the camera like aperture, shutter speed, and ISO all expanded my knowledge on how one could take a well exposed photo. The Rule of Thirds and spacing, lines, shapes, and color showed me that there are many ideas that go into a well composed photo. The first days I thought I knew more about the camera than I truly did, now I feel confident in my abilities. I am now able to set up and take good photos in many different environments of many different subjects. My first photo assignment was both rushed and of a bad subject. There were many problems to address here. The only thing I was happy with for this photo assignment was the interesting lighting and use of depth of field. After this assignment I went on to take over 1000 more photos for this class. In that time I took photos of many different subjects. Some of my favorites were of nature. Then finally for the last photo assignment I uploaded photos of people I knew that were spectating the special olympics event at the highschool. I believe these were some of my best photos because they really captured a lot of emotions and character of the subject. They were also in focus and usually well light, and if not still well exposed. I believe that photo of Julius Burtell was the best photo I took in the entire class. There were so many aspects of the image that were captured just right, and it turned out extremely well.
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For this assignment we had to take a pun and visualize it with a couple of photos. After we had to use images to inform understanding of a word that we would also define. At first I found it hard to find what words or phrases I wanted to use for the puns, but eventually I found some that I was happy with. The same was not true of the dictionary assignment because I knew the words I wanted to use quite quickly. I felt that my efficiency of images in puns wasn't quite what I wanted but they still turned out well.
For this assignment I chose to take photos of people. This one was interesting because it was quite hard to take photos of people when they had genuine smiles. It was also hard to keep their attention while I tried to keep them in focus. I'm somewhat happy with them but wish I had taken more of different people. 70mm Focal Length, 1/1000sec, f/4.5, ISO 200. Slightly Cropped. Overall taking I think taking photos of people was the most interesting. Especially with how well I got these in focus they turned out well and captured a lot of details about the face. These details were even more prevalent when I got closer which was only possible with a longer focal length.
For this assignment we were in the studio. In the studio we used 3 lights and a white background to take a nice shot of our subject. Each light had a different job; one was to be the main light, one was a softer light on the other side, and the last was a light behind the subject. After taking photos in the studio we had to contrast it with photos that had natural lighting. I learned that although studio lighting can do a very good job in accurately lighting the subject it sometimes doesn't have the better results over natural lighting. Especially if you don't take the time you need to still take a good shot.
For this assignment we were tasked with stitching together multiple photos from the same location. This was interesting because we were able to place multiple of the same object in the frame then later put them all into the same photo. From assignment I learned that there are many interesting effects that photoshop is able to achieve. I also learned that some of these effects can take a good deal of time to pull off.
For this assignment we were tasked with following photoshop tutorials. This assignment was meant to increase our understanding and ease of use of photoshop. I found my own tutorial and decided to use that because the end product seemed much more interesting than the other options. LINK The next tutorial I did was the TV pop effect. I matched this with my tiger because I could not think of a better photo to use. From this assignment I learned that mixing and matching effects can create an unending amount of possibilities. I also learned that following tutorials but adding your own changes (like finding a similar but different photo) can really create a unique output.
For this assignment I chose to take pictures from the Special Olympics event. It was a nice break for the day and good to see all the participants try their best. 70mm, 1/1250sec, f/4.5, ISO 20. The lighting on this day helped me to take nice in focus photos especially of slightly moving targets. I learned that it can be quite hard to take good photos of targets with short notice.
For this assignment we were tasked with creating panoramas. We needed to take multiple photos and then to stitch them together to create a much wider more expansive photo. First we had to find a location that would work for such a photo: something with a wide space that could be captured only by a panoramic shot. Then after taking the photos we had to put them in photoshop and stitch them together. From this assignment I learned that panaromic shots can give interesting perspectives on different settings.
For this photo assignment I wanted to choose Nature again because this tree in my backyard recently bloomed. Unfortunately we are only allowed one use of each "genre" of photo so I had to use up my Open genre. This tree had really pretty colors that I chose to boost even higher for my best photo. Above is my best photo. 70mm, 1/400 sec, f/4.5, ISO 200. Below is my unedited best photo. From this assignment I learned it's really important to use some kind of stand or tripod to stay steady on darker shots. These shots were taken later in the afternoon and on a cloudy day. Even the slight movements I made created blur in the photo. Soon I will try and go back to take better photos of this tree.
For this assignment we had to take a photo inside the school and then add elements that we wanted to it. This was to practice different parts of photoshop, some of these tools included inserting photos and creating shadows for them. For this assignment I quickly took a photo of this hall then added a couple of characters from Scooby Doo. The method to add shadows that we were taught did not match the lighting I had in my scene so I decided to use the brush tool to add in my own custom shadows. I also added a highlight that was placed on the central side of the characters. From this assignment I learned that there are many possibilities when using photoshop. I also learned that it can get very subtle and take a great amount of skill to create certain illusions. I thought this assignment was helpful to work on some of the tool as well as ways to add elements to a scene.
For this photo assignment I chose to do Black and White. I took these photos on a very nice day and it was sad to throw away these colors to show the black and white effect but the comparison between them is interesting. The image comparison also shows different small changes I made to the photos. 24mm, 1/800 sec, f/4.0, ISO 200. This assignment helped me to learn the power of a black and white photo. It also taught me that strong darks and lights in a photo can bring different interest to different areas of the photo.
For this assignment we were tasked with photo shopping a photo an old student took of this car at a car show. The process was fairly simple, first we cropped the subject, then we changed colors and contrast. Afterwards we needed to remove some of the reflections of lights that were on the car. Finally we needed to darken the background and tint the windshield and windows. From this assignment I learned that photo shop can be a powerful tool to drastically change an image. I also learned that small tasks can sometimes still take a lot of work and time. Another idea that I obtained was that a high quality photo makes the end product much nicer, you can see this in my second photo where it looks much worse because of the photo quality.
For this photo assignment I chose to do Nature. When I took these photos it was a very pretty day and one of the first where we started to see these pretty greens coming to life for the first time this year. I took these photos in the garden in my backyard. When taking these photos I decided to take them an hour or two before sunset so that the sunlight could give an interesting angle on the subject. Photo Information: 70mm, 1/320 sec, f/4.5, ISO 200. I learned that using lighting in this way can change based on the direction and angle the photo was taken from. For example if I the lighting stayed the same the different sides of the plant received the light differently and this could be shown through different angles when taking the photo. I liked how these came out and I was lucky to have the end of such a nice day to take these.
In this assignment we were tasked to create pop art from a photo. This was a simple process of following the directions. First we had to find a photo we wanted to use, then we cropped it into a square aspect ratio. After this we changed the threshold of the photo which gave us an interesting black and white effect. After this we duplicated the photo four times and then applied different colors to each copy. This gave us an effect similar to some of Andy Warhol's work. I learned there are many application of photoshop. It can not only be used to cover up things in a photo but can also be used to create art on its own. Beyond that it can also do many different things to a photo which could be extremely important for a creator.
In this assignment we were tasked with choosing a photo that fell under a certain category. For this assignment I chose macro because it looked to be the most interesting. I took photos of this 3D printed moon that I have. It was chosen to show off its texture. I used my phone's flashlight to light the subject and display the texture. Focal Length: 34mm. Shutter Speed: 1/15sec. F-Stop:4.2. ISO:200. I learned that it is quite hard to keep steady when taking a photo with a longer shutter speed. I also learned that lighting a subject can help to accentuate texture and it will also guide the audience's sight. Using light from different angles can change both a subject looks and how a viewer looks at it.
For Photo 1 I am choosing Macro. Macro seems to be one of the most interesting and will be more accessible for me over the weekend. These were the photos that inspired me the most to choose Macro.
Rule of ThirdsPatternSymmetryTextureDepth of FieldLinesFramingPerspectiveSpaceBalanceColor The only sport I participate in is bowling, I've been bowling for 2 years and have about a 160 average. Outside of school or sports I play video games competitively. The below photo is from a charity gaming event called Gamers for Giving. I took this class so I would be able to take photos like this one. I was also interested in it because my mother takes a lot of photos. During her time with photography I have hand her camera in my hands occasionally and would like to be able to take good photos. Other than using my moms camera somewhat often I don't have much experience with photography.
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Gus DotyDigital Photography |