Week 4--Food

For this photo I really enjoyed the oblong shapes of the eggs, and I decided that turning the photo black and white in photoshops would be the best way to emphasize the shape. When taking the initial photo, I turned the flash on my camera in order to achieve a gradient of light. 

For this photo, I wanted to focus on perspective, so I kept the foreground slightly blurred, while the background itself was more in focus. I used the flash on my camera to create a highlight on the fruit. And in photoshop, I increased the saturation levels of the fruit to make it look more appetizing. 

Line and contrast were two important aspects of this photo's composition. For example, the lines of the pot handle helped to move the viewer's eye through space. And there was contrast between the light red color of the tomato soup, against the dark black plastic of the spoon. I adjusted my camera settings so it recognized florescent light, making the photo look more realistic. 

Week 3--Technology

I played with natural lighting in this photo in order to bring out the highlights of the stereo buttons. I found the shape of volume dial, as well as the control buttons to be interspersed nicely through the photo, so they lead the viewer's eye throughout the piece.

I loved the contrast of the black numbers and hands of the clock with the white face, and in photoshop I tried to bring that out as much as I could. I think space is an important element in this piece; there isn't an overload of positive or negative space what with the hands and numerals, so overall the piece feels balanced.

Color saturation was key to the success of this photo; the green screen and power button helped differentiate the focal points from the rest of the photograph. Pattern and repetition are the main elements used; the pattern of the key pad and repetition of circular buttons gives the picture a sense of unity. 

This photo was basically a study in monochrome; except for a few whites and reds, it is almost entirely black. And I really liked the perspective I took it, so the cassette player almost looks foreshortened. I believe this unique perspective adds more depth to the photo than otherwise would be possible.

Again, contrast was a huge part of this photo; the black against the white. Also, the yellow circle juxtaposed with the whiteish silver power button added a sense of movement to the piece. Rule of thirds was applied in the composition, to make it more interesting. 

Week 2--Shoes

I set up the subject in the light box I had constructed, using a florescent lamp as the light source. I intentionally underexposed the photo while taking it in raw, and then increased the brightness in photoshop. Probably the prevalent principle of design is shape; the shape of the laces, as well as the patterns stitched in the sides of the shoe. 

With this pair of sandals, I chose to shoot them from the side in order to emphasize both the buckles and the straps, which lend a sense of movement to the photo because the viewer's eye can follow the lines from left to right. Again, I placed the shoes in the light box in order to create a softer lighting effect. 

The contrast between the goldenish inside of the slipper and the stark black outline was very appealing to me, and I wanted to try and bring that out more in the photograph. Thus, I positioned the two slippers in such a way so the dichotomy between the two colors would be most apparent. So, it goes without saying the principle I focused on in this photograph was color contrast. Besides that, my process was the same; I still photographed the shoe in the cardboard light box.

Tonal value, the slow shift from light to dark, was an important aspect to this photograph. I purposefully underexposed the photo while shooting, so I would have a wider range of tones to play with in photoshop. I especially liked the highlights on the buckles, something that could only be achieved because I was using a florescent lamp in combination with a light box. 

I only slightly edited this picture in photoshop (increasing the color saturation fiddling with the hue and color balance, and a little bit with the color contrast) but the picture actually came out like this on my camera. I had too slow a shutter speed, coupled with a wide-open aperture, that consequently let in far too much light, overexposing the picture. But I really liked the result, the exposure added a surreal quality to an everyday subject. And the color scheme worked well, they were all analogous colors. 

Week 1-Jewelry

I used the florescent lights of the classroom to light this photograph. Contrast was the main principle of art I chose to employ; color contrast between the black leather jacket and the peachy skin tone. Compositionally, the zipper on the jacket was meant to lead the viewer's eye down to the bracelet, and then the ring. In photoshop, I heightened the contrast and corrected the photographs hue.

With the florescent lights as the key lighting, I focused on shape as the element of design for the second photograph. Specifically, the shape of her hands, the circles stitched on the sleeves, the circles printed on the backpack, and the shape of the phone. The lines of her arms and the phone chord lead the viewer's eye to the bracelets on her wrist and the ring. I fixed the tone and contrast in photoshop. 

I liked the texture of the sweater, and of the jean fabric, contrasted against the smoother texture of the skin. The florescent lighting helped to emphasize the jewelry, since it caught the light. I underexposed the photo when I took it in the classroom, then increased the brightness in photoshop. In addition, I altered the hue of the photograph, so there was more blue in the subject than red. 

The florescent lights created a highlight on the ring, the main focal point. I focused on line as the main element of art, because the lines of the hand and fingers causes the viewer's eye to travel up from the bottom left corner of the photo to the middle. In photoshop, I increased the contrast, cropped the photo slightly, and played with the color saturation. 

Portrait Lighting

1) Placing the key light 90 degrees to the left or right of a subject's face yields a dramatic contrast: one side of the subject's face is brightly illuminated, while the opposite side is lost in shadow. Of course, the effects can be lessened by using a fill light to soften the highlights. The lighting technique is wonderful for portraits where the photographer wants a strong emotion portrayed; perhaps anger, sadness,  regret, or mystery.

2) Usually, when the key light is placed directly behind the subject, the effect is rather unflattering. The subject's face is cast in shadow, and only the top portion of their hair is highlighted. While usually not suitable for normal portraits, this type of lighting would be excellent for portraying "evil" or "malevolent" characters, because of the deep shadows and lack of highlights. Unless, of course, the  lighting is so bright that only the silhouette of the subject is rendered.

3) If the light is positioned directly in front of the subject, the subject's face is fully illuminated. Usually, this type of lighting lends a youthful, happy, or excited mood to the photograph as a whole, because unflattering shadows beneath the subjects' eyes or around their mouths are eliminated. As a result, most professional portrait photographs choose to employ the full-face lighting technique.

4) Adjusting the light stand height so it stands above the subject's head is another useful technique for commercial portrait photographers. To be sure, there are more shadowed areas than with the light positioned directly in front of the subject; however the subject's faces do not appear as flat. Furthermore, part of the subject's face can be cast in soft shadow, albeit not as dramatically as with moving the light right or left.

5) Granted, if the light stand height is adjusted so that is below the subject's chin, then the subjects' face is illuminated in a ghostly fashion. Similar to young children who hold flashlights beneath their chins to appear monstrous, this particular lighting technique yields dramatic highlights on the subject's forehead, cheek, mouth, nose, and chin. In the absence of shadows, the subject's face appears pale and washed out. This technique is probably best utilized for cinematic lighting; such as with models posing for movie posters.

Weekly Photo Post #16

I loved the shape of the play blocks; especially how the lighting made them appear three dimensional in form. I feel like the photograph is separated into two different sides (the black board one the left and the yellow blocks to the right) yet the two sides are ultimately unified by the yellow color in each.    

When taking the photograph, I purposefully shifted the camera so that the green metal bar was placed almost in the center. By doing this, the viewer's eye follows the bar partway down, branches off to follow the contours of the first yellow board, then branches off in the opposite direction to follow the yellow blocks downward.  Including the swings in the background made the photo more aesthetically pleasing. 

Texture and pattern were the two most important principles I chose to employ in this photograph. Though the texture of the cement beneath the pine cone is blurred, it nevertheless lends an interesting background that emphasizes the pinecone. And secondly, the texture of the sand grains on the subject   make the pattern of the pinecone stand out clearly. 

Initially, the colors of the photograph had distracted from the implicit lines and tonal value of it. So when I turned the photo black and white, the whites, grays, and blacks popped out. I loved how crisp the shadows looked; in addition to how the shape of the chain link fence stood out so clearly against the grayish white color of the fence. 

In this photograph, my eye was immediately drawn to how the bright yellow color of the slide stood out against the dun color of the playground sand. This, in addition to the bluish white color of the snow juxtaposed to black shadows, added a nice bit of contrast to the photo. 

Weekly Photo Post #15

In this photograph, I chose to focus primarily on contrast. First, a contrast between color; the light green of the plant, juxtaposed to the dull orange of the fallen trash can. These complementary colors make the subject pop out more to the viewer. Secondly, I chose to include a contrast of shapes; the rod-like shape of the plant, as opposed to the circular-shaped trash can wheel. I believe the contrast in shape made the photo more visually stimulating. 

I explored depth of field in this image; by experimenting with which parts of the photo are in focus, and which are out of focus. By blurring the foreground and making the background clear, I tried to make it seem as though more space existed between the viewer and subject than a mere two-dimensional viewpoint could allow. 

Pattern, repetition, and color contrast were the most important principles I employed in this photograph. The repeating pattern of the dark red posts extending into the distance engages the viewer's eye. The background of repeating cinderblock bricks helps to emphasize the posts, making them stand more than they would against a plain background. 

I liked the symmetry and overall balance of this photograph; two circular subjects just a few inches away from each other. However, I tried playing with the angle of the photograph so the subjects wouldn't seem so flat as if I had taken the photo straight on. To bring out more of the rust color, I increased the vibrance and saturation levels in photoshop. 

To me, the stalks of the flowers added much-needed line and movement to the piece--also, it helped to balance out the negative space. The stalks, studded here and there with seed pods and leaves, help to add a sense of symmetry to what would be an otherwise  disorganized composition.