Final Five Photos
For Project 1, I was supposed to choose two subjects and take at least 30 pictures of each subject. While shooting I began to play around with my camera, and was tried to discover what things I liked and didn't like. I was required to use a variety of different angles, apertures, and scene modes. Afterward I played around with editing techniques in Lightroom, a photo editing program. The two subjects I chose were my friend, Sam Flecker, and an old desk full of nick-nacks in my living room.
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| A Hard Day's Work - This was my absolute favorite photo out of the final five that I chose. This picture was of Sam Flecker's hands. While in Lightroom, I cropped the photo so that his two thumbs would be the main focus. After cropping, I changed the image to black and white. Following that change, I played around with the exposure and contrast, making his hands appear grungy and dirty. I then made his fingerprints and the pores on his skin clearer. This clarity also added a grungier and dirtier effect. Finally, I used the duo tone setting in Lightroom to make the image a lighter grey. Overall, my editing was aiming at making the hands looked used and tired, hence the title "A Hard Day's Work." |
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| Radiant Smile - This is a picture of my friend, Sam Flecker. I chose this photo because it embodied Sam's lively and wonderful personality. The photo seemed to radiate a happiness, which made it a joy to shoot and edit. Although this photo already seemed wonderful to me, I added a few, minor, changes. To begin, I cropped the photo, making it follow the rule of thirds as much as I could. Then, I clarified the edges of Sam's silhouette, making him appear to come forward in the photo. Afterwards, I made the background a tad blurrier, to enhance the depth of field in the photo. To top off the photo, I played around with the contrast and brightness to make the colors in the photo pop. Overall, I really enjoyed this photo. |
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| The Key To My Thoughts - This photo was taken on an interesting desk in my living room, full of nick nacks and interesting items my family has accumulated over the years. I chose this photo because I felt it had a mysterious feel to it. I thought the journal was symbolic of my thoughts, that only I can see, and the key resting in the notebook embodied the access to those thoughts. In order to convey this idea, I thought the photo needed a warm and intriguing lighting. I first began by cropping the photo, making the top of the journal follow the rule of thirds on the horizon line. I then played with the contrast, brightness, highlights, and shadows, making sure that the details were visible and that the photo was somewhat dark. Finally I made the top left corner brighter using the gradient tool in Lightroom. This allowed me to make it appear as if there was a lamp, or light in the corner of the photo, and that the light was shining upon the journal. |
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| The Crime Scene - While shooting this photo, I could not stop thinking that it resembled a crime scene under investigation. The book looks as if it was just being read, and in the photo, the letter opener resembles a magnifying glass. In order to make this photo seem more crime scene like, I cropped it to focus on the two components that were most important: the book and the letter opener. I then changed it to black and white. To make it a tad darker and spookier, I added a black vignette around the photo and made the pixels more grainy. The editing techniques I used in this photo had an important role in portraying the message I wanted to convey. |
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| Looking Through My Lense - This is a picture of an old pair of binoculars on the desk in my living room. While shooting, the lighting in the room was a tad dark, making my photos appear granier. This graniness made me think of old fashioned black and white film. To begin editing, I cropped the photo so that it would follow the rule of thirds, and focus on a more abstract view of the binoculars. Then, I changed the photo to black and white and played around with the contrast, highlights, darks, and shadows until I got to a setting I liked. Finally, I added a blue-grey duo tone over the entire picture, giving that old fashioned feel. |
