For this project, we focused on contrast. For subject contrast, we had to take a picture of things in which were kind of opposite. So for mine, I did things you normally would not see and things that were polar-opposites. For contrast, we had to make sure that our colors popped in a way that you could tell what the subject actually was. At first, I struggled with the subject contrast, but eventually I got it.
Contrast // Color
For color contrast, we had to pick colors that stood out. And by doing that, we learned how to actually make that work. The struggles that I faced throughout the color contrast was finding things around the school that I thought actually looked like color contrast. Things I did to enhance the brightness of the color I was focused on was really messing with the brightness and contrast on Photoshop.
Contrast // Composite
For our composite photo, we had to take two images and create one composite image. By that I mean we had to put two odd things together. So for my composite photo, I put a bus on clouds. The first few images I took there were no clouds in the sky. I googled clouds to use to put into my image.
The first few images I took there were no clouds in the sky. I googled clouds to use to put into my image.
Leading Lines // Subject
For this project, we had to use leading lines to focus on a subject. For the leading lines with a subject we had to use leading lines which meant we had to use a leading line to draw your eye to a subject. Using leading lines helps enhance the photo by creating depth and drawing your eye to the central focus of the image.
Leading Lines // No Subject
Again for this project we had to use leading lines but not to focus on anything specific. For the leading lines without a subject was pretty simple. Using these leading lines creates depth and more visual interest within the image. The only difference here was that we were not using them to focus on one specific object, but to create depth and simply see all of the different leading lines.
Angles Subject 1
For this project, we had to take the same image from five different angles. Each angle can effect the way someone views the subject, ensure the background is less distracting, and it can make our subject look better. I thought this project was fairly easy once I figured out the different angles to use. This is my dog Taco and he actually sat still while I took the images so it was not too difficult.
Angles Subject 2
Again, taking the same image from different angles tells a different story for each image. It puts more visual interest in the image. I thought taking these images of the Cactus were sort of complicated because it was hard to focus on it. It was difficult to focus on it because the cactus is already fuzzy from the spines.
Golden Ratio
We learned about how to frame our photos. The first method I used was Golden Ratio. For golden ratio we had to focus on an object, and then another to where the eye would travel. On this, I struggled to find objects that I thought would work. After I started figuring out a few objects, it became easier to find objects that would work.
Rule of Thirds
Again, we learned how to frame our photos. The second method we used was The Rule of Thirds. For the rule of thirds, we had to focus on one subject and off-center it so that it was in one of the crosses. This was a lot easier than the Golden Ratio because this was just focusing on one subject and putting it to one side.
Subject
The point of this project was to make sure we had a clear subject in the photo, and to make sure it does not take away from the subject. I thought this project helped me learn how to take a picture and blur the background and focus more on one subject rather than having so many distractions and not knowing what my subject is. I used a shallow depth of field so that my subject was in focus and the background did not take away from my subject.
Cheat Sheets
Foreground
The biggest change between the first and the last photo is the blurriness of the background in the last image. In the first image, the shutter speed was very slow, it was 1/1.6. I had to change the ISO to 800 since we were inside the cafeteria so the I needed the sensitivity to light to be slightly high. Since the f-stop was a large number, the depth of field was really deep and it did not focus on mainly the foreground. In the second image, the shutter speed was a little faster but also slow, it was 1/5. The ISO did not change because the cafeteria lighting was still the same. In the third photo, the shutter speed was getting higher so that was the only thing that really changed. The lighting in the cafeteria was still the same, which meant an ISO of 800 still. In the fourth photo, the shutter speed was 1/40 which was getting better and the image was beginning to focus on the foreground a little better. However, the lighting (ISO) did not change still. In the fifth and final photo of foreground, the shutter speed was doubling so it was faster and it was 1/80. With the f-stop being 5.6, that meant that it was a shallow depth of field and it was beginning to focus more on just the foreground.
Middle Ground
From the first photo to the last photo, the main change is the the fuzziness of the foreground begins to increase so that the focus is more among the middle ground. It is kind of hard to see that the background was blurring since there was not that many objects around it. In the first photo, it is kind of blurry but at the same time focused on the middle ground. It was a little hard to blur out the foreground since it was so close to where I was standing. The shutter speed was pretty slow (1/2), however the ISO still did not change. In the second photo, the shutter speed was still slow at (1/4), and I did not notice much difference between the 1st and 2nd photo. In the third photo, I started noticing a difference since the first photo. The shutter speed was faster (1/13) than the the last two pictures and made things a little more clear and more focused. In the fourth photo, the image's focus on middle ground has gotten much more clear. The shutter speed was a lot faster at 1/30. However, the image appears to look a little darker from the first image. Although, the ISO is still 800. In the fifth photo, the shutter speed doubled from the last so it is now 1/60. This image is also a lot darker since the first image. Again, the ISO is still at 800. Now, middle ground is a lot more clear than it was in any other image.
Background
As you can see, the biggest change is how the background becomes more clear and everything else gets blurry. In the first photo, the shutter speed was still slow. It was set at 1 however, the ISO was still the same since the lighting in the cafeteria did not change. In the second photo, the shutter speed was a bit faster, it was 1/2.5 but still really slow and not much changed between these two pictures. In the third photo, the focus has changed a little bit and the shutter speed has definitely gotten faster, 1/6. In the fourth photo, the shutter speed is way faster it is now 1/20. Also, the focus on background has become more clear while blurring out the rest. In the fifth photo, the shutter speed is now 1/30 with the same ISO 800. The image obviously appears more clear and more focused on background than it was in the beginning. Everything else appears more blurred since the depth of field is now very shallow focusing more on just one object.
Aperture
The biggest change throughout these photos is obviously the lighting of the photo. As the f-stop number gets smaller the amount of light let in increases because the size of the aperture gets larger and larger. In the first image, it is very dark because the size of the aperture is very small with a large f-stop number. The image is extremely dark with a shutter speed of 1/50 which is very quick, and an ISO of 1600. In the second photo, the image gets brighter but not by much. the shutter speed has not changed but the f-stop has went down which increases the amount of light coming in. In the third photo, it has gotten much brighter since the first image. Objects are beginning to become more clear and the amount of light is increasing since the f-stop is decreasing. In the fourth photo, the image is bright and everything is clear on the image. The f-stop is decreasing so again the amount of light that is coming in is increasing. The ISO has not changed and neither has the shutter speed. In the fifth photo, the image is extremely clear and it is focused and bright. The difference between the first and the last image is that the size of the aperture is really big in the last photo so the needed amount of light is completely in.
Stationary Subject
The biggest change within these photos is that they get darker and darker which is the oposite as the last set. This is because the shutter speed gets slower and slower for each image. For this set the ISO will be 400 and the f-stop will be 5.6 Image 1- the image is extrememly bright, Too bright to see each object. Image 2- the image is much more clear. Image 3- the image appears more dark than the last two and that is because the shutter speed is 1/30. Image 4- the image is too dark to see anything and there is very little light. Image 5- the image is unclear and there is almost no light what so ever.
Moving Subject
The biggest change I noticed throughout this set is how much more clear the movement is and how much more visible Christina's body appears. She waved her arms at a medium motion. In the first image, she appears to not have any hands. The ISO is 400, the shutter speed is 1/4 and the f-stop is 10. The amount of visibility changes due to the changes in the shutter speed. In the second image her hands are still hard to see and now the shutter speed is 1/10 the f-stop is 7.1 and the ISO is still 400. In the third image, her hands appear more clear than before as the shutter speed is now 1/20. The ISO is still 400 and the f-stop is 5.6. She appears more visible and the motion has appeared to have slowed down. In the fourth photo, the ISO has changed to 800, the f-stop is 4.5 and the shutter speed is now 1/50 . These changes have made Christina's movement less crazy and more visible. In the fifth photo, her movement appears almost completely stopped, and more clear. The ISO is now 1600 and the shutter speed is now 1/100 and the f-stop is still 4.5. In the sixth and last image, christinas hand motion has completely stopped. The ISO is now Hi-1, the f-stop is 5 and the shutter speed is 1/200. The image appears more clear and there is no blurriness from her movement.
First Project
For our first project, we had to take 5 pictures with the camera. We took these pictures without knowing anything about the camera or how to change any settings. We had to do this project to help Mrs. Fiedler establish our prior photography skills. This will also help us see at the end of the semester see the progress we made throughout the class. Without any direction or camera education, I just turned on the camera and snapped these pictures.