Photo Assignment 4: Composition

I decided to take photos in the quad. I also took photos of one of the flower boxes by Mills and the stones by the Physical Science building. I was interested in seeing the shapes the objects were and the colors, textures, and shadows the objects casted. The pillars were lined up in a way so that they all created triangles. I think my photographs help viewers see what interested me because I took a few close-ups and focused on the way the pillars were in relation to each other, color, and texture. 

Photo Assignment 1: Photograph a Partner

1. Make a photo about one part of your partner's body.

The background is light and blurry, so she stands out more.

2. Photograph your partner in motion.

She started jogging in place - the blurriness in her arm is interesting.

3. Take a posed portrait of your partner.

I'm happy with the fact that I figured out how to get her face in focus and make the background look blurry.

4. Take an unposed documentary photo of your partner.

I like how you can see the guy in the background - it looks like he is moving quickly.

5. Photograph your subject in any way you want. Be creative.

I like this one because I decided to take it at a different angle than all of the other ones.

1.     I didn’t feel uncomfortable being photographed at all. I think it’s because I worked with my partner a couple times in class, so I already kind of knew her. It helped that I knew what kinds of photos she had to take of me. The hardest part of being photographed this time was trying to figure out how to pose for the “unposed documentary photo.” I think some people might be uncomfortable with being photographed up close because the photographer/camera gets into their personal space.  

2.     I think if you’re taking pictures of someone and he/she feels uncomfortable, you should explain to him/her what project/assignment you are working on so he/she can understand what you’re doing and why. You could also talk to him/her before you take photographs so he/she can become acquainted with you. It also might be helpful if you show him/her what shots you took so he/she can see your progress and work. It would be a good idea to see if he/she is uncomfortable with posing a certain way.  

Photo Assignment 2: Fruit

1. For my first series of photos, I decided I wanted to capture the curves in the apple.

2. For the second series, I focused on lighting and the shadows that this lighting made.

3. I started taking pictures with the orange and wrapped both pieces of fruit in a scarf. I thought it would be interesting to see what they looked like against a patterned, textured fabric.

4. For the last set, I decided to hold a mirror up against the fruit and placed the fruit on the mirror so I could look at the reflections my objects casted. I also played around with lighting and aperture. 

There are a few ways you could draw a viewer's attention to your photos. For example, you could play around with shutter speed to make certain objects look blurry. You could also experiment with how your photo would turn out if it was in color and black and white to see what would make your picture look best. It's good if your photo's composition is strong - that way your viewer's eyes constantly move throughout the photo. Having contrast (color, lines, brightness) can help make things interesting.

Photo Assignment 3: Contrast

Close and far: The first photo is a close-up of my scarf; you get a good look at its colors, design, and texture. In the second photo, the cup is at a distance from the lens. I think by adding the book in the foreground, you get a sense of how far away the cup is. 

High and low: For this pair of photos, I played around with high and low exposure. The first photo has too much light in it; the second one is too dark.

Disorder and balance: The first photo illustrates disorder because the pig is on its side and the mug is placed upside down. The second photo is balanced because the book is in between the mug and piggy bank; since the mug and piggy bank are about the same size, they carry the same weight visually.

Hard and soft: For the last set of photos, I decided to play around with lighting. The object in the first photo casts a hard shadow; the object in the second photo casts a soft shadow.