Writing Assignments

Fashion Photography 

The Photographic Alphabet: Z is for ZHANG JINGNA — Musée Magazine

What I really love about this picture would be the gracefulness aspect of it, she looks so peaceful yet I’m aware how hard this must’ve been to do underwater.

Beyonce is the Cover Star of British Vogue December 2020 Issue

I would say I’m bias because I love Beyonce, but I love the unique posing and the other elements like outfit, hair styling, and the darker lighting.

Robert Pattinson on His "Nihilistic" Batman and the Character's Real Origin  Story | GQ

I love this whole issue, it has an extreme edge to it which you don’t really see in fashion photography.

Georgia O’ Keefe critique 

I think this painting is interesting, it has that floral look to it but just as Mrs. Cauchon described it has that sexual element of it. It resembles a flower. But along with resembling a vagina. I think that’s what makes it so interesting because her pieces are up to interpretation.

Nat Geo Covers

This picture is my favorite because its just so beautiful to look at. The tiger is almost hidden by these vibrant green leaves yet this hiddeness of the picture adds to it, it makes it look like this tiger is about to hunt its prey. The lighting is amazing to the beam of light hitting the tigers eye makes it pop too. I like how the two colors flow together as well they look very nice and I like how even though there’s leaves to try to hide this tiger, it doesn’t take from the tiger along with the empty spaces being black.

The reason why I really liked this picture was the vibrancy it is a very vibrant and unique planet but yet it is shrouded by this complete utter darkness of space. I also like the contrast of the more non vibrant tone of the rings.

I really thought this cover was interesting because of the contrast of this blue green and then there’s a deer with this neutral tone a warm brown. I think the fact this deer is standing in a space of nothingness it looks like it intrigues viewers to take a double take to observe what exactly is this deer standing on.

Synopsis Silhouette 

What I understood from the reading is that silhouette can come off as cartoony in some way but in reality silhouettes are something talented. This is because in silhouette you have to use it to convey emotions which is hard when it’s a dark figure. I also learned that silhouettes are constantly present to the human eye because of the sunrise early in the morning and in the afternoon that creates this natural silhouette of trees and buildings depending on where you live.

Cultural Photography 

After reading this article title I was intrigued, however after reading the article I was actually surprised as to what I learned and read. The first surprising thing I read about was “cultural” photography not really being a concept. And to my surprise the author of the article was right. Cultural photography is shown to be almost this weird “exotic” thing where they only show tribal things. Although I think culture can be found in every are there is, culture doesn’t have to be tribal.

Another Interesting thing I found out after reading this article was the Nat geo graphic part of this article. Once Marelli wrote upon his expierence with Nat Geo Wild it was shocking to me because in a way It was something I never thought about. All Nat Geo Wild things are in color which I never noticed they never do black and white, and although doing nature photography in color captures the lively like of it, I think Marelli being able to challenge himself in only doing black and white but yet produces great work that has that lively aspect of it shows skill.

I think a surprising aspect in this article that was the most intriguing was Marelli’s patience and dedication. Him as a culture photographer talks about doing these cultural photographs but understanding it first. And he made a strong point, before photographing it I think it’s important to research just what exactly you’re photographing. And the fact he became a Zen Buddhist for 7 years shows how much a photographer can love their craft.

Double exposure 20 sentences

I learned multiple things when shooting this double exposure assignment and more like life lessons as well. The life lesson being to have patience, especially in photography. There was points where you had to be patience as a model. For example you had to stay still as a model in order to not have a blurry picture. In a way the photographer has to have patience with the models in order to produce a good picture. Another thing I learned was the more technical aspect of the double exposure work. Like working with flash and knowing when to flash it at the models. Also having a tripod was helpful so using it was kind of like another way you could use it. I think this assignment was a good teaching example of how to use all elements of photography accessories. Just like we utilized a dark room and background in order to make these pictures work. I think as the model of this assignment it was also a learning expierences. I had to stay still for a longish time which was harder than I thought.

 

The capitol raid photography reflection

On January 6th of 2021 the US capitol was raided by angry republicans, this event is an event in the US that will now go down in history. Luckily, we had brave photographers who went out to go photograph this event for people to see and get an insight as to what was going on that day they stormed the capitol. I think the photographers captured he events well because it shows the outside viewers as to how things were going down this day. And all though some of the images look blurred in motion I feel like that adds to the events that were happening that day since everything was so fast paced. I think the photographer also did an amazing job capturing emotions, as the photographer explains in the article once everyone was in the capitol they didn’t know what exactly to do and you can clearly see that captured on the faces of the people who raided the capitol. My only critique of these photographs is that they look grainy in a way so I think the iso was too high or something.

Motion Blur tips 

Five different tips I learned from this article is just different ways to shoot motion blur. One that caught my eye was shooting costal areas, this is because of the constant moving tide and touring people. A second tip which is useful would-be Birds, this is because their constant movement of the wings a clear example of this would be humming birds. A third tip learned from this article would be escalators which is an interesting take because I would’ve never though about it yet escalators and the people on them are constantly moving. A fourth tip learned was an umbrella where the subject opens an umbrella and twirls it slowly. And a final tip which caught my interest would be Street views which would be a good shot especially at night because of the moving lights of car headlights.

Sandy Skoglund Critique

Sandy Skoglund art, an Interview: "Mywork is a mirror"

I appreciate Sandy Skoglund’s work. I think it is very unique and it sets her apart from others. This is my personal favorite piece of hers because im bias and like cats. I think the cat’s color is almost like radio active. I also appreciate that Skoglund makes every piece of her photo and creates these sculptures. I think it adds to her level of skill. I enjoy that these images have a level of surrealism to them.

Wassily Kandinsky Critique 

Wassily Kandinsky Abstract Art - Wassily Kandinsky Abstract Art - Sticker | TeePublic

This was one of my favorite Wassily pieces. I have mixed feelings about Wassily’s art its very VERY abstract. Some of his art I enjoy the coloring and how the flow of the painting goes however others I cant say the same. For this piece I like the limited color pallet and how it all flows. I also like the variation of saturation and the dark lines. But there’s some art of his where I feel like it looks too messy and they clash and its not favorable.

Ted Talk

From this video I learned valuable lessons and quotes that will stick with me. He summarized using the camera as something ends when you press the trigger. However, he wanted it to be something where the process starts as you press the trigger. Photos that will leave a moment to think. More of capturing an idea then a moment.

What creates the illusion, Johansson explains it’s multiple things. That being perspectives, or how it can be realized on a two-dimensional surface. Its not what is realistic but what we think is realistic. Johannsson explains it as a puzzle of reality. Combining parts of other reality’s and combining them.

Things that make a photograph realistic are the things we don’t even think about things in our daily lives. He explains the three different rules to make this surreal version of photography realistic. First is photos combined that have the same perspectives. Second is they should have the same type of light. And the third is to distinguish where an image begins and ends. I think overall the things I learned in the ted talk were useful because in a way I could take this way of thinking and rules and apply them next time I go shooting.

Fill flash 

By definition fill flash would be going outside on a sunny day with nice lighting, taking a picture but with the assistance of camera flash as well. Fill flash is used so that your subject is nicely lit as well. Typically with a camera the camera will usually focus on the well lit sunny background but with fill flash you can avoid that. In summary Fill flash is perfect when you want to get a perfectly lit picture. It adds a nice lit background but a nicely lit subject too, fill flash helps avoid your subject becoming too dark to the point where you cant see their defining features.

What HDR is 

HDR means, high dynamic range photography. Photographers use this type of photography and editing technique in order to create an all round perfectly exposed edited picture. You would need to take 5 to 3 of the same exact subject just differently exposed. Then you would go on a editing platform like photoshop and combine all pictures to get the perfectly exposed picture. This technique creates a surreal feel to pictures and makes them look saturated and bright.

Indeeds Jobs

  • Assistant – Trainee Photographer Graduation Events – Riverside, CA

I don’t meet much of the qualifications, it asks for driver license which I don’t have, underage. Th job also requires a year of DLSR and Customer Service which I also don’t have, I think This would be a helpful job after more years of working in the industry and more years of work under my belt, but even then it wouldn’t hurt to work under the wing of an elder photographer to learn more. I would need to have more DSLR expierence so maybe after this second year of photographer I’m qualified.

  • Sports Photographer

I would meet the qualifications by the end of this photo 2 year which is a year of photography required. I also meet qualifications like being able to work in a fast pace and having a positive attitude which I obtain as well. It requires to be able to lift 20lbs which I can do as well. The only requirement I am unsure about is a reliable way of transportation, however I would apply to photography jobs at age of 18 for reasons like these.

  • Restaurant photographer

The only main requirements for this job would be 2 years of photography and being able to edit your own work. I would need more work on the year of expierence category, this would mean I would have to shoot for another year as a side hobby. And as for the editing aspect I excel because I favor editing so I have no problem with that.

10,000 shopping spree

Budget 10,000

Canon EOS 5D Mark IV DSLR Camera (Body Only) Price: $2,699.00

I chose this camera body because I’ve heard plenty of good things for this camera, being considered a friendly beginner camera for fashion photographers.

SanDisk 128GB Extreme PRO UHS-I SDXC Memory Card $39.94

Of course with every camera, a memory card is needed. This would be used for my camera to withhold all the pictures I’ll be taking.

Watson LP-E6NH Lithium-Ion Battery Pack (7.2V, 2250mAh) Price $59.00

Well to charge my camera I would need to charge my camera, this battery is compatible with my chosen camera.

Canon BG-E20 Battery Grip for EOS 5D Mark IV Price $299.99

I decided to buy a battery grip to double my shooting time, for example when you need to be on the go but your ce4amera might be low on battery this helps you out.

Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM Lens $1,899.00

As a beginner fashion photographer, I thought this would be a fitting lens to use as a starting point.

Raya Portable Studio Kit $99.50

If I want to be shooting people, I think this would come in handy since it would create great lighting on the models face, also I like that its portable, this would allow me to take it anywhere I’d like.

Raya 5-in-1 Collapsible Reflector Disc (42″) $23.95

I chose that having reflectors would be a good idea, I’ve worked with them before and I like the idea of shooting in natural light but with the help of reflectors it makes faces and harsh shadows pop more.

Savage Widetone Seamless Background Paper (#01 Super White, 107″ x 36′)  $64.99

Savage Widetone Seamless Background Paper (#20 Black, 107″ x 36′)

As a fashion photographer backdrops are very important I think a classic white and black backdrop is good for interesting pieces of clothing or colorful clothing I might be shooting.

Rosco Glame – 48″x 30′ Roll – Silver/Diffraction $98.95

I think when it comes to backdrops it’s fun to mess around with them, I would want my clients to have a variety to choose from.

Impact Remnversible Crushed Muslin Background (10 x 12′, Charcoal/Smoke Gray) $75.55

I chosehk this backdrop for variety once again, but this is a fabric backdrop thats seamless as well this is also useful for still photography.

Westcott X-Drop Lightweight 5 x 7′ Canvas Backdrop (Grunge Concrete) $149.90

This backdrop I found interesting because it looks textured, I could get some good pictures from this. The size is suitable for portraits or headshots.

Impact BGS-S12-V2 Background Support System (12′) $104.95

With all the backdrops I chose It is obvious I need something to hold all of them.

Magnus PV-3330G Photo/Video Tripod with Geared Center Column with Smartphone Adapter and GoPro Mount $27.95

I want to buy a tripod as well so when shooting portraits I want them to be as still as possible, could be also used for uneven ground areas.

Luxli Barndoors for Timpani 1X1 LED Panel $99.0

I would use this for the same reason as previous studio lights, for portraits, I just felt like this light was harsher which can work for various skin tones.

Impact Turtle Base C-Stand Kit (10.75′, Black) $168.95

This would be for the light panel I bought previously.

Kingston USB 3.0 High-Speed Media Reader $20.49

I plan to edit pictures on a laptop so I would use this to upload pictures instead of a pc.

Impact ABS 3.75″ Small Spring Clamp (6-Pack) $5.40

For every backdrop I bought before these would be used for that.

Impact PS Posing Stool (20-30″) $68.95

I would like my models to be sitting sometimes so this looked like a nice simple stool.

Apple Macbook Pro $1,299

I plan to edit on laptop because its more convenient and portable, I like how its less bulky then a pc.

8,065.35 Grand total

Photo Expierences write up

When I had first looked at the article options I was definitely interested in what the photographers had to say about their expierences. One of the ones that piqued my interest more was wildlife photography expierence. I think what made it so interesting was the fact that in my opinion wildlife is one of the hardest things to shoot. For example animals are constantly moving never in place, and mostly I feel like when it comes to wildlife photography the problem is many things have already been done before. However Ralph Lee Hopkins proved me wrong. I found it interesting that Hopkins uses a zoom lens not for the zoom effect but because he constantly on the move, it can also help make backgrounds more dramatic. I also felt like the fact that photographer Hopkin talked about landscape photography because I think when someone uses the word nature photography I usually think of animals and not landscapes despite both being in the same category. Hopkins also described the inspiration he gets from nature and picturing it. Along with a good point of knowing your places geographically. Which is a good point because if you want to shoot something specific it would be important to know where that thing is located.

Another article I found interesting was John R Haris’s report on photographer Gregory Heisler and his work with portrait photography. I think portraits is one of the hardest yet easiest subjects to shoot. Easy because unlike other things you can tell a human what to do, and obviously they would comply or follow along as compared to an object or an animal. But its tricky at the same time because portraits you have to come up with a interesting or creative idea because to a person, simple portraits can get boring because we see humans everyday of our life, It’s also hard to capture the personality of a person in a single frame. Heisler brings up a point about taking your time to shoot portraits, because you want the natural nature of the person to relax and come out. Heisler also gives advice on picking one shot, he explains that when you know you have the shot you disregard all the other ones and I would agree, mainly because sometimes looking at the same subject over and over again can be boring.

Studio portraits- 20 word critique 

  • Nice studio light reflection on glasses.
  • low lighting
  • Good choice of background
  • Blends in with back
  • Nice skin complexion
  • Good skin editing
  • Not much saturation
  • Focal point
  • Harsh shadows
  • Dim highlights

5 Ways to make your composition better

  • A way you can improve your composition is by having a focal point, when you have a focal point it draws attention to the eye, it can also sets a theme for your picture as well.
  • Following the rule of thirds can also improve composition, rule of thirds being where your main object or person is at the four points where the lines intersect, this also draws the eyes attention.
  • A third way to better your composition is shooting at a lower angle, this not only makes a picture more interesting but it draws attention because humans normally don’t crouch on their knees to look at stuff so when you provide that angle in your photos the human is inclined to look at the image in a new perspective.
  • A fourth way to improve your composition is including leading lines not only does it draw attention but its almost like a grid to your picture for you to use.
  • A fifth and final way to improve composition is by filling the frame this gives a picture an abstract look to it which can also pull attention.

Raw Vs Jpeg photos

When shooting you have lots of different photo formats, with much to bring to the table. For example each have cons and pros! When shooting RAW you have the benefit of having more shades and colors unlike jpeg where its a 8 bit image with less colors RAW is a 12 bit. Although there is a downside to this, being that RAW images take up more space which can be a problem if you’re limited to computer and file space. But another pro to shooting RAW would be the control of adjusting the color space after taking a picture.

Now for JPEG it also has it’s pros and cons. A pro being it’s already processed taking less time to edit. Another pro would be JPEG images are more compatible with devices so you’ll most likely have less trouble transporting images when its a JPEG. Not to mention JPEG’s are easier to backup, as compared to RAW which would take more time. A downside to JPEG would be the limited recovery options so if you happen to overexpose an image, there’s a good chance the image is done for unlike a RAW image where you can still save overexposed images.

What I learned about Exposure and Camera Modes

Exposure will determine how light or dark an image is. This is determined by just three camera settings aperture, ISO, and your shutter speed. When taking pictures you want to make sure your photo isn’t too under exposed or too over exposed. Although sometimes things you may photograph sometimes is out of your control you still can manage with three things which is once again the aperture, ISO, and shutter speed. In photography there’s also something known as a ‘Exposure Triangle’. Aperture affects the depth of field. Shutter speed affects the motion speed. ISO affects the motion speed. Each controls exposure is different for example Aperture controls the area which light can enter your camera. Shutter Speed controls of the duration of the exposure. While ISO controls the sensitivity of your camera sensors to a given amount of light.

Camera’s shutter determines when the camera sensor will be open or closed to incoming light from the camera lens.  Shutter speed and exposure time have the same concept. The faster a shutter speed would mean shorter exposure time. It correlates exactly 1:1 with the amount of light entering the camera. It’s a powerful tool for exaggeration or appearance of motion.

Aperture controls the area where light passes over. Light can pass through your camera lens. When a photographer says they’re stopping down or opening up their lens it means they’re increasing or decreasing their f stop. If the F stop value halves the light collecting area quadruples. Most photographers memorize the f stop numbers that correspond to each doubling of light.

The ISO speed determines how sensitive the camera is to incoming light. This also correlates to 1:1 and it can increase image noise. Common ISO speeds include 100, 200, 400 and 800, although many cameras also permit lower or higher values. ISO and shutter speed are chosen for a given exposure. Exposure helps determine how bright and dark a picture is.