Lighting Final

Artificial

Artificial

Existing

Natural

My little sister Katy Anne is such a wonderful part of my life.  She is constantly sweet, patient, and ready to help someone.  She is involved in many activities, such as piano, karate, and gymnastics.  Another large part of her life is being outdoors.  She often goes for walks in the woods and explores.  I purposely photographed her in a skirt and rain boots.  When my mom once asked her why she was outside in a skirt and cape, to which she replied, "It's more magical this way".  Her rain boots help to show her carefree, adventurous nature, and she is always prepared for anything.  Katy Anne loves all animals, but elephants are her favorite.  She has amassed a large collection, which she keeps tidy at all times.  She also adores our cat, Nutmeg.  I photographed her in her pajamas because I love how cute they are.  I often see her and Mark (my younger brother) running around in their pajamas before bed.  One of my favorite things to do when I have free time is braid her hair.  Her hair is thick and straight so I can absent-mindedly experiment different braids on her.  In the photograph with existing light, she was reading.  She loves to read, and is currently reading Peter Pan, which was one of my favorite books as a child.  I also like the lighting best in this picture, because I personally favor existing light.  I tried to pick settings with an ample amount of light though, because Katy Anne has a scintillating personality.  She is incredibly cheerful, however, she is also calm and thoughtful.  Often, she will will sit somewhere and simply think.  She isn't chatty, however, what she says is worth listening to.  As a result, in her portraits I tried to show both sides of her.  This unit has showed me a lot about how the lighting of a photograph can change the mood of a picture.  I know now that artificial light makes the subject look more dramatic, and this is why I love the lighting in the last picture.  I feel that the dramatic effect of the lighting emphasizes the seriousness of Katy Anne's attitude towards music.  And if I use more natural light, then the subject will look more natural.  Since I am an optimistic person as well, I usually like to photograph with more light.        

Lighting Final Project Contact Sheet

Silhouettes

I love this style of photography so much.  I much prefer it to taking portrait shots.  I've never really been talented with technology or photoshop so it was really nice to be able to learn something new like this.  I loved learning how to use the layers.  I had no idea that this kind of editing was possible on a regular computer, let alone that I could learn how to do it.  However, I was pleasantly surprised by the outcomes.  I wasn't a huge fan of the solid or patterned backgrounds, and my favorite is the custom shape one.

Lighting Project

Butterfly

Loop

Rembrant

Split

Silhouette

Sunlight

Shade

Front

45 Degree

Side

Back

Direct Light

Shade (soft)

Multiple (hard)

Multiple (soft)

Multiple (board)

I learned how different sources of light and different kinds of light can make people look different.  I personally like the more natural light, but my favorite is probably existing or shade because not only does it look natural but it is softer and more flattering than direct sunlight.  I wish that we could have taken more pictures with the softer kind of light.  My suggestion is to have a partner who is willing to make different expressions.  I took some pictures with my friends in the morning, but it was in the beginning so I did them wrong and couldn't use them.  However, their facial expressions were much more interesting since they were comfortable with me.

Final Project Composition

These pictures especially show the way I view the world.  I often think that I look at life with a unique perspective.  The use of unrealistic colors emphasize how I see life either extremely bright and interesting or dark and intimidating.  Everything is larger than life and highly exaggerated.  The picture of the car is taken from a worm's eye view because I am incredibly scared of driving.  To me, cars have so much power, and can easily lead to destruction if not used carefully.  Also, getting my license was an overbearing pressure that my parents put on me.  The picture below is a view of my driveway from the roof of my house.  I often go up and climb on my roof, mostly if the day is beautiful.  The roof is steep and its probably dangerous, but that's why I like it.  I took the picture from a bird's eye view not only because the roof is a special place for me, but also because when I see the road leading away from home I think of my future.  I generally view my future as an upward flight, so when I dream about what I will do and where I will go, I think of it from a high point of view.  Below is a picture of my exchange student, Eva.  She is really nice, but also a challenge.  I wanted to take a picture of her using the rule of thirds, but I also liked the strong horizontal lines and slight worm's eye view.  I had the camera looking up at her because she can be slightly intimidating.  This is a picture of how she sits every morning.  She wasn't posing for this picture.  She isn't happy here, and I know she is trying hard but she is struggling.  I want to help her, and so when she becomes frustrated, I think of her like this, and I realize that she is just sad and needs compassion.  The picture of the window frames the hill and trees, but there also are horizontal and vertical lines throughout the composition.  This picture is because I love windows.  I often stare out windows and think of flying into the sky.  Also, I come to school when it is dark, and I leave when it's dark, so I often love the fleeting glances of the daylight that I take from windows in the hallway at school.  I also relate to this picture because the horizontal and vertical lines kind of give the window an imprisoning feel.  While I love learning and challenging myself, I sometimes feel trapped beneath all the pressure of school.  I like to relax by swinging, as soon in my last picture.  I have swung since I was a little kid, and I still swing for a little bit every day.  It helps me to take my mind off of trouble, and I love being outside.  My little sister also likes swinging, but I feel as if I took this picture to represent myself as a young child.  I used the rule of thirds and leading lines in this picture.        

This set of pictures show the little things that mean a lot to me, and show different parts of my personality.  The long picture with the bumps is a close up shot of my treadmill.  I love running, but I have cold induced asthma so I can't run outside in the winter.  I use my treadmill every day to relieve stress and stay healthy.  I emphasized the texture of treadmill because since I run on it, it stands out to me.  I used the unity of the colors in my picture of my clothes, and some repetition.  This is because I usually really care about my appearance, and I love shopping, and putting effort into choosing what I will wear.  Also, the unity and repetition was poking a little bit of fun at my wardrobe, because I have a soft spot for pink, so I have a lot of shirts and sweaters in varying shades.  The picture below it is a mixture of objects that showcase my love for Chinese culture.  I have fans, jewelry, traditional medicine, and chinese candy.  I used variety, because all of the pieces are unique and different but come together and have a certain look.  In the picture next to it is my schoolbooks.  I used horizontal lines in this picture.  Schoolwork, grades, and the SAT are so important in my life right now, I think this is what my life mostly revolves around right now.  I know that if I work hard, I can dream to be anything that I want.  Finally, school is shown again in my last picture.  The symmetry is used to convey the feeling that I sometimes get that school tries to conform the mass of its students to a certain mold.  The uniformity can be a little overbearing, and at times I wish that our differences were celebrated a little more.    

Final Project Composition Shooting Assignment

Final Composition Project

I will probably use pictures from my house, the landscape around my house, and school because right now, that is where most of my life takes place.  I interact with a lot of people each day, but the people are pretty unchanging.  I will incorporate a shot of my friends, because they help me each day.  Right now, I am mostly focused on going to college, getting good grades, and being active.  Most of my pictures will be in bright colors with high contrast, mostly realistic, but just a bit more colorful than reality.  This is because many people tell me that I live in a fairytale, similar to the world but everything is prettier, happier, and lighter.  A lot of my pictures will be from a worm's eye view, because that is another way I view the world.  I usually think of the world as my own sort of wonderland, but I am Alice when she is small.  Everything is fascinating and new, but also a little intimidating.  I always think of my future as flying, so there also will be a few pictures that use bird's eye view, but they will probably pertain to my future.

Photo #1- I am about the get my license, but I don't like driving.  I have to drive to help my family, because we have a lot of people who need help getting to many different places.  I find driving as a terrifying necessary evil, but stress on the evil.  I want to take it from a worm's eye view that will show the car as extremely powerful and foreboding.

Photo#2-  I want a picture of my treadmill, because I look working out my stress in the evening.  One of the things I always notice is how the tread feels beneath my feet, so I will probably try to incorporate the texture into my picture.

Photo#3- My exchange student Eva is another extremely important part of my life.  I will try to incorporate the rule of thirds in this picture, but also slightly angled up at her because if we ever have to compromise, I usually just indulge her.

Photo#4- I will take shots with windows, or maybe even make the windows a focal point, but I often stare out of them while I daydream.  I hope to incorporate vertical, diagonal, or horizontal lines in this picture.

Photo#5- I have a picture of a classroom, because a good portion of my day is spent in school.  I used symmetry because every school day is identical, and yet unique in its own way.

Photo#6- I want a picture of my school supplies, because a lot of my life revolves around my schoolwork, and all of my future dreams also hinge on my performance at school.  I want to use horizontal lines for this picture.

Photo#7- I love being outside, especially swinging on a tree swing, so I would like a picture that has asymmetrical balance with the swing and the tree.

Photo#8- I really enjoy picking out what I am going to wear, and finding the perfect outfit for a certain occasion.  I want to take a picture that includes variety in the composition.

Photo#9- I want to framing or leading lines in a picture of my driveway because even though I am really happy at home, I cannot wait to go out in the world and see how I stretch my wings.

Photo#10- I want to take a picture of a lot of my Chinese trinkets and cultural artifacts because Chinese is such a large part of my life.  I will probably use variety to show the different colors and qualities.