On my first day of Digital Photography class, I never expected it to be what it ended up being. Even when signing up for classes, I expected a class where we simply take random pictures everyday and turn in a few every once in a while. Looking back on my trimester, I would have to say that I have thoroughly enjoyed learning about the computer and technological aspect of taking pictures.Living in our day and age, photography takes up such a large portion of our lives. Personally, when I pick out a phone the first thing I look at is camera quality. So, it was good to be able to appreciate what actually goes into photography.
When we first took out the cameras in class, I had some idea as to how to use the old style cameras, but I still had a lot to learn. I knew a little bit about the basic three parts of the exposure triangle, but I really didn't know how to use them in a camera for my advantage. I learned a lot on the exposure triangle and how to use different camera settings in order to give me a good final product. I also learned about several new functions on a camera I had never heard of. I definitely see a progression in my pictures when looking at all the pictures that I have taken throughout the Trimester. There is progression not only the quality, but the actual composition of the pictures I was taking. Prior to this class, I had no knowledge what so ever about Photoshop or any of the other Adobe programs on a computer. The only Photoshop I had seen was the apps on cellphones that I've seen people use for Instagram and other social medias. When I first approached Photoshop, I was slightly intimidated by all the features and how complicated it looked. But, after some looking around and playing with features I realized its not that hard once you understand the concept of it. Now, looking back, I don't think of Photoshop as some super hard application that only computer geniuses know how to use. In conclusion, I am happy I got the chance to take this class. I like how I learned a lot about computers, I feel that these skills can benefit me in the future. I think that no matter what career anyone chooses to pursue in the future, they need some sort of basic understanding of computers to be successful.
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For the Photoshop assignment, we were required to create a picture with motion blur. The technique we used to do this was to start by setting a longer shutter speed then to focus the camera on the ground, and we used a panning technique to get the motion blur effect. We started the panning when the subject was moving and once they reached the center we began the photo and moved the camera with the subject to the end. This was a good technique to end on with the class as it was the hardest in my opinion.
For this Photoshop assignment, we were required to take two portraits, one in the studio setting and one using the window lighting setup we learned about. Then we put the two completed pictures in Photoshop on one Picture and were given the challenge to figure out how to add a white border on our own with no instructions. I think this assignment gave us the chance to see the different ways sources of light change a photo. We also learned how to apply and look around different tools in Photoshop we have learned about throughout this trimester.
For my final independent photo assignment, I chose to do still life. I find still life photography very interesting because it allows you to focus on inanimate objects and give them a story in the picture. I did a few objects in still life, I did a basket with a tea set, which was my favorite. Then I did a bunch of flowers and a game board I found in my house. I think that the hardest part of Still Life Photography is getting the proper setup to take the photo, and that is what took me the longest time. The way I set it up was very interesting to say the least. In the end I got the best result when I took a square folding table and put it my shower then put the thing I wanted to photograph on the table, then used a lamp over the object as the only light source and turned of all other lights. The biggest issue I an into was that since I only had a lamp, when I saw them on the computer, my photos were very grainy with a lot of digital noise. Shutter Speed: 1/20 sec. Aperture: f 4.5 ISO: 500
In this photo I used the filter in light room that reduces digital noise then I added back the details. Then I used the de-haze filter on the picture. For my photo assignment #5, I chose to do light painting. Of all the options given to us for photo assignments, I was most excited to do this one. I really like this form of photography because of how cool it looks, and how no matter what you do the lights are still going to look good. You make these photos by taking a picture by turning of the light and making a really long shutter speed. Then you take any light sources available and paint the scene with them. I chose the photo below because of all the different colors it featured. I did this one by using an electric candle that changes colors. Then for the rest I used a disco light, christmas lights, a flashlight, and the electric candle. Shutter Speed: 30 sec Aperture: f 8 ISO: 100
For this picture I made it the background darker and the lights brighter, by adjusting the whites and blacks. in this photoshop assignment to take a picture of ourselves or someone else and put multiple versions in one picture. I really like this assignment because the pictures were really funny since there could be more than one of someone . In this project we worked a little bit more with layers . But what we really got to work with was grouping and editing photos, the same way as Lightroom, but in photoshop. I really liked editing in photoshop rather than Lightroom because sometimes a photo only needs certain editing in one part of it and you can chose where tou want your edits to apply.
In this photoshop assignment, we took pictures of the school then changed the pictures in photoshop. The theme for this assignment was spooky in honor of it being around the time of Halloween. Our assignment was to use various techniques and tools from photoshop in order to change the context of the school. I had a lot of fun with this project because I got to be creative and pretty much do whatever I want. My favorite part of my final photo was the sky, I think it looks really cool and spooky, my favorite part was the colors in it. I think that this project allowed me to get a better understanding of layers and layer masking then coloring out what I want and don’t want
For this independent photo assignment, I chose to do animals. This past week had to be the worst week for taking pictures, there wasn't any days that had any really good sunlight to work with. Throughout the week, we were working on the school context assignment in class, and when we went outside I saw the geese at the pond, so I decided to take pictures of them. I quickly realize that geese are the worst animals to shoot because they like to run away and not stay still. I had to stand far away and zoom in on the geese, and as a result of that, a lot of those pictures were blurry. Then over the weekend I went to my friends house and decided to take photos of her dog to continue to do the animals assignment. I then realized that taking pictures inside was not going to give me the results I wanted. So, when the rain finally stopped for a bit I got the chance to take a picture of her dog outside for a second before the dog started moving. The main picture I chose below was taken outside, and it is my favorite because it has really nice depth of field and it focuses on just the dog. Shutter Speed: 1/50 sec. Aperture: f 3.5 ISO: 100
For this picture, I really liked how it looked originally. The only thing I really wanted to do was brighten it up, since the day was so gloomy. I added some vibrance and saturation. Then to exaggerate the details I played around with the highlights and shadows. For this photo shop assignment, we got the chance to do panoramics. Of all the Photoshop assignments, this one has to be my favorite by far. I liked how all the photos came together by just putting them in Adobe Photoshop. I liked it because it was easy but still taught us new skills to use in photo shop. The new tools were automate and photo merge. This assignment really showed me from where the panorama feature comes that is on the iPhone camera and how it works. I remember a few years ago when it first came out on iPhone and how it was a big deal, but turns out its always been something you can do if you put a little more effort to make it.
For my fourth independent photo assignment, I chose to do black and white. My gallery doesn't really have any consistent theme other than them being black and white. For this week I didn't know what I wanted to do, and as the week progressed I just kept taking random pictures throughout the school while we were working on the panoramic assignment, and a bunch of photos outside my house. On Sunday, I had still not known what I wanted to do, so I just chose black and white to be able to put all my random pictures in. I think at this point in the trimester I am much more comfortable with my camera and its settings, I definitely see myself continuing to get better. For my main photo, I chose it because it was really nicely exposed and not blurry. I also liked it because it is from a lower angle and shows the picture from the grass up. Shutter Speed: 1/800 sec Aperture: f 4.5 ISO: 100
The first thing I did was switch it to black and white. Then for editing, I exaggerated the highlights and shadows, and the blacks and whites in the photo. |