Projects In Term 3Self, Family, Emulation, and People Portraits
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Assignment 9: In School Portraits
The portrait that I am going to write about is the photo of Abby holding her ballet shoes (bottom row, middle photo). I took this photo with the light shining down from the upper-right side of the photo. It highlighted her entire body and made the photo very bright and contrasting because of the bright figure against the dark background. There is only a slight shadow in this photo which was the right side (left side when looking at the photo) of her face. It's slightly dimmer than the side of her face being hit directly by the light and adds a bit of depth and interest. I had Abby sit on the stool upright and had her hold up her shoes and look down at them. I took the photo of her entire upper body because the shoes dangled downward and I wanted them to be a center point of the shot. I had Abby look down because I wanted to show the connection that there was between her and her shoes. Because I had Abby sitting upright and had to include her entire upper body, I took the shot vertically. If it was horizontal, important pieces of the photo would have gotten cut off, which is what I did not want to happen. I shot from pretty much straight on and far enough away that I could get her entire upper body but not too close that I would also get her legs and the floor. I think the position of the model and the pose that she is making shows that she has a connection with this object. It's emotional and looks like there is a lot of thought behind her expression. It shows a serious, dedicated side to her.
The photo of Abby with her shoes is very different from the photo of me holding an umbrella (top row, far left). In the photo of me, it's more playful, even though it has the same lighting and background. What makes it more playful is my pose and the expression of my face. I look amused and humored by the umbrella, not serious and thoughtful like Abby's expression in the photo of her. The impact of Abby's makes viewers connect with something they're passionate about and tells them a lot about the model in the photo. With my photo, instead of getting to know me, the photo really hits the viewers lightly and doesn't settle on them like a more serious photo would. Abby was also holding a prop that has meaning that you can interpret as having a story behind it, such as her being a dancer. An umbrella is something that you wouldn't expect to see unless it was raining out, and in this photo it's indoors and clearly - there's no rain. Overall my photo is just a fun, playful photo, and the expression on my face and the fact that the prop is an umbrella really emphasizes that and contrasts it with Abby's more serious photo.
The photo of Abby with her shoes is very different from the photo of me holding an umbrella (top row, far left). In the photo of me, it's more playful, even though it has the same lighting and background. What makes it more playful is my pose and the expression of my face. I look amused and humored by the umbrella, not serious and thoughtful like Abby's expression in the photo of her. The impact of Abby's makes viewers connect with something they're passionate about and tells them a lot about the model in the photo. With my photo, instead of getting to know me, the photo really hits the viewers lightly and doesn't settle on them like a more serious photo would. Abby was also holding a prop that has meaning that you can interpret as having a story behind it, such as her being a dancer. An umbrella is something that you wouldn't expect to see unless it was raining out, and in this photo it's indoors and clearly - there's no rain. Overall my photo is just a fun, playful photo, and the expression on my face and the fact that the prop is an umbrella really emphasizes that and contrasts it with Abby's more serious photo.
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Assignment 10: Photographs of the Family
In these photographs, I showcased my 2 brothers. The younger of the 2, Sean, is a soccer player, and so I chose to capture him outside in the yard practicing. In the 3 photos (1,3,5) I captured him first standing on his ball, doing a backwards kick, and running across a peer. To capture his age I tried to capture the energy he had when out playing. In the first photo I shot it close up so that the viewer could see the wear and tear of the ball and the logo on his cleats. In the third photo I took it from a bit farther away so that I could capture the ball up in the air and him getting into position to jump up and kick it backwards. In the fifth photo I chose to take him running on a peer from a distance to show movement and to include the shadow and the distance he was running. I did not ask him to do any certain poses or facial expressions because I wanted the photos to look natural and in the moment. I purposely chose to include the fence and the soccer net in the background. The fence gave a lot of wear and interest to the photo, as did the net. It emphasized the fact that this yard has been used as a soccer field. I think these photos were all successful because it captured the passion he has about soccer and the dedication he has to it. My other brother, Dan, is very into computer gaming, and so I captured him in his room on his computer. In his 3 photos (2,4,6) I captured him up close right in front of the computer. All 3 photos are very similar but I liked them all too much to only choose 1. I wanted to include a bit of the computer desk and the mouse in the photo because it helps viewers understand what Dan is doing and what his interests are. I chose to keep only 1 of the 3 photos in color because it popped more, whereas the other 2 looked a lot more dramatic in black and white. These worked up close because it, in my opinion, added to the drama and interest of the photo and focused on him and his concentration on the game. His facial expression looks very serious and determined, showing that he is really focusing on what he is doing. It adds an element of seriousness to the photo. There really wasn't much of a background to this photo other than the small bits of desk I included. I think these photos of Dan were really successful because they really captured his attitude; reserved, concentrated, and serious.
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Assignment 11: Self Portraits
For the two nature photos in my self portrait collection, I chose to go to a waterfront point in Rhode Island, near Little Compton, during the middle of the day when the sun was very bright. In the first photo, I was standing on one of the various rocks and the sunlight was creating a really interesting shadow of my legs. In the photo my feet are pointing to the right and the shadow is going down to the bottom left. The viewers eye travels to the right, down my leg, pointing towards the toe, and then moves down to the bottom left. It's a very interesting eye pattern to follow. There is a lot of texture in this photo from the wrinkles on my skinny jeans to the rocky texture of the stone I was on. To take this shot I just held the camera and tilted it down at my feet. In the second photo, I was also standing on the rocks but this time the photo was taken of my entire body and included the water front behind me. This photo was me trying to emulate another photo, but it really wasn't a great emulation so I decided to use it for a self portrait instead. Before taking the camera I walked around with my camera trying to find the spot that I wanted the picture to be taken from. Once I decided where I wanted it taken from, I had my dad stand in the same spot and shoot the photo from where I took it. I think this is a really great photo because the colors in it are so strong. The water seems to go on forever and it's so blue and textured. The rocks add a contrasting color and texture to the waves. This photo also followed the rule of thirds, because the rocks made up the bottom third, the water the middle, and the sky on the top. Both of these photos show the adventurous side of me, and the part of me that goes exploring and likes to be outdoors. The sneakers add to that idea of adventure because they aren't really fancy shoes; they're more casual and down to earth.
For the 2 photos of me in a skirt from the head down with red and green solid backgrounds, I was in my cousins backyard. It was the middle of the day so the lighting was really bright and direct. I chose to do one background on the trees and another with their red trailer in the background because they both made me really pop. These photos are also both very striking and have strong colors. They fill the frame. I had the photos taken from far enough away that most of my body was in the photo but not all of my body. I posed playfully and was wearing a playful outfit, which gave the photos a fun feeling. I wanted to include these photos in the set because I think they portray the more girly, silly side of my personality. I'm not always super adventurous and going out places, or always wearing jeans and sneakers: sometimes I just hang out.
For the 2 photos of me in a skirt from the head down with red and green solid backgrounds, I was in my cousins backyard. It was the middle of the day so the lighting was really bright and direct. I chose to do one background on the trees and another with their red trailer in the background because they both made me really pop. These photos are also both very striking and have strong colors. They fill the frame. I had the photos taken from far enough away that most of my body was in the photo but not all of my body. I posed playfully and was wearing a playful outfit, which gave the photos a fun feeling. I wanted to include these photos in the set because I think they portray the more girly, silly side of my personality. I'm not always super adventurous and going out places, or always wearing jeans and sneakers: sometimes I just hang out.
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Assignment 12: Photo Emulation of Ben Baker
For my photo emulation I decided to emulate Ben Baker's photo of Paul Krugman, an American economist who is a professor at Princeton University, holding a coffee cup with political phrases all over it. Ben Baker is a photographer who tends to photograph a lot of famous, influential people in the world, such as this photo of Paul. Ben has a strong background in photography, working for major companies such as The Sunday Times, New York, ESPN The Magazine, Time, Elle, Fortune, and many other smaller scale magazines. His work is commercial work and he is signed with Redux Pictures. He makes a point to add some humor into the many portraits that he shoots, because in his opinion photos of important people don't always have to be boring because everyone started out as an awkward teenager or a young silly kid. I chose to do Ben as the photographer I would emulate because I really enjoyed his overall collections. All his work was bright, funny, interesting, and I wished that there were more photos to go through than just the ones on his website. In the original photo there were many technical aspects that I had to try and replicate. Due to the black and white effect and the contrast, the photo contains both highlights and shadows. I think the exposure of the photo was right where it needed to be. It wasn't too bright or too dark. The photograph is in focus because it is an up close portrait and the only thing in the photo is Paul, the subject, and it wouldn't make sense to put the subject out of focus. Ben really could not have used any shutter sped or depth of field in this photo because it was so up close. He took the shot straight on, which helped to make the photograph really symmetrical and balanced. This photo really kind of goes against the rule of thirds because Paul was so centered, but I don't think that hurt the photo at all. The photo really is interesting because you wonder who the man in the photo is, what he is drinking, and what the message behind the photo is. The point of view is pretty common for a portrait but I think it works because it focuses on Paul and the words on the coffee cup, which give clues to who he is. I think what worked the best was that the photo, even though so simple, is still able to grab the attention of a viewer. It shows that a photo doesn't have to be over the top to be interesting.
When I saw this coffee cup photo I knew that it would be a great one for me to emulate because I am a huge coffee/tea drinker. To go and copy this photo, I first started by finding a mug that looked similar, which was kind of hard because most of the mugs that we have in our house are Christmas printed and white. When I finally found a mug that I thought matched closely, I took a photo of my face up close holding it in the same position that Paul Krugman did. Afterwards, I went into photoshop and changed the colors to black and white because that was how the original one was colored. Making the photo black and white also helped to really make my eyes and the coffee cup pop, which I think were two really important features in the original photo. I tried to follow all the same technical aspects Ben did when shooting the photo. I took it straight on and up close. I kept the photo in focus and in lighting that wasn't too varying. I also chose to keep myself dead in the center of the photo and ignore the rule of thirds. Ultimately I think I did a pretty good job of emulating this photo.
When I saw this coffee cup photo I knew that it would be a great one for me to emulate because I am a huge coffee/tea drinker. To go and copy this photo, I first started by finding a mug that looked similar, which was kind of hard because most of the mugs that we have in our house are Christmas printed and white. When I finally found a mug that I thought matched closely, I took a photo of my face up close holding it in the same position that Paul Krugman did. Afterwards, I went into photoshop and changed the colors to black and white because that was how the original one was colored. Making the photo black and white also helped to really make my eyes and the coffee cup pop, which I think were two really important features in the original photo. I tried to follow all the same technical aspects Ben did when shooting the photo. I took it straight on and up close. I kept the photo in focus and in lighting that wasn't too varying. I also chose to keep myself dead in the center of the photo and ignore the rule of thirds. Ultimately I think I did a pretty good job of emulating this photo.