Rules 3 and 4

Continuing in our lesson of the top ten tips for composition, our Photojournalism class went over rules 3 and 4 today.

Rule #3: Use Flash Outdoors. This rule only applies under certain conditions (i.e. if there is more light behind your subject than in front of it, if your subject is outside and it is a really bright day, and if you are within 8-9 feet of your subject), but when the conditions are present, using a flash makes your photo look much better than if it were taken without a flash. The picture to the right is of my friend Laurel taken without a flash, but the above picture of her is taken using a flash and looks much better than the one without flash.

Rule #4: Move In Close. That is, move your body and your lens closer to your subject in order to capture a "deeper" or more "artsy" photo. You can also "fill the frame" in order to draw attention solely to your subject. The picture to the left was taken of Mr. Biles' cacti plants.

Rules of Composition

A few days ago we began to go over the top ten rules of composition for photojournalism. Most of us are pretty new to photography, so these rules help us think about how our picture will look to our audience and whether or not our message will be properly interpreted.

Rule #1: Get down on your subject's level. One would think this rule would be easy to follow, but that is not necessarily true. Say you wanted to photograph a person or object lying on the ground or maybe something that is at an awkward angle or position. When applying this rule to my photography, I learned that sometimes it is difficult to capture a photo at eye level, but when you do the shot turns out much better than it would have from a bird's eye view. This picture is of a car used in my physics class for a lab we did.

Rule #2: Use a plain background in order to emphasis the subject. Sometimes when I'm about to take a picture I won't even realize that the background is so distracting that my audience will not be able to appreciate the shot i wanted to capture. Our eyes can see in 3D and can therefore distinguish between objects, colors, and patterns, but a picture is taken in 2D and images can sometimes be misconstrued. I found this above dandelion around some vegetation at my school and thought that the blurred green background would contrast and highlight the stark white of the dandelion.

All About Me!

This is a little collage I made using Photoshop; I learned how to navigate the basics of Photoshop, such as the tint of the photo, color balances, saturation, re-touching, edge blurring or sharpening, among other things. I included pictures that I felt really represented who I am. Naturally, I had to include pictures with my favorite foods, Crave Cupcakes being first and foremost in that category, along with chocolate covered strawberries from none other than the infamous Godiva Chocolatier. Dylan's Candy Bar also made into into my collage, and since I worked at Berripop over the summer, I included a picture of one of their cups as well. My favorite shoes, although somewhat contradictory of one another, are heels (Christian Louboutins are the ones I photographed) and Vans. I also included a picture of two animals i adore: my beloved dog Libby and a statue of an elephant. The slogans on the little boxes containing oddly shaped necklaces represent some aspects of my life; 'addicted' to coffee and tea; just 'hangin with my gnomies;' and  'life is a journey.' I also have a sticker on my mirror that says "Pray. 'I'm Third,'" meaning that God comes first, others second, and yourself third. It's a saying I learned at Kanakuk Kamps quite a long time ago, and I try to live by it every day, along with the lamented bookmark I received from an old Kamp counselor reminding me to "be joyful always." Under my name you will see an lopsided bottle; that is my perfume, "Alien" by Thiery Mugler. This perfume is AMAZING, and all of my friends know that it is my 'scent,' if you will. I felt compelled to include a picture my 'fabbers' from lacrosse; we were the five sophomores to make varsity last year, and we became best friends because of it. Lastly, and probably my favorite picture on this entire collage, I have an old picture from my gymnastics days with some fellow teammates. I sadly had to quit gymnastics, both because I was growing far to tall and at a rapid rate and because I wanted to have a life outside of the gym. Even though I no longer compete, I still hold the years I did gymnastics close to my heart, and my teammates and I remain good friends.

New Blog!

Just finished making my very first blog; so excited! Yay for a great semester in PhotoJ!