Selfie Photography

In this photo, Maddie and I placed ourselves on the opposite side of a rail. In order to successfully capture most of our torsos, faces, and the railings, I had to put the camera around to the other side. We wanted to use these rails in a way that positively adds to the overall photo, so we decided on having ourselves positioned in the middle of the rails so that they frame Maddie specifically. Then, because Maddie is pointing at me with her hand, I'm the next object the viewer's eye goes to. We intended on having a smooth and interesting transition for the eyes that are looking at our selfie. With that said, the composition within this picture is pretty well thought out.

Creative Portraits

Although orange juice is notorious for simply being a breakfast beverage, in the Torres household, it is nothing less than a dinner necessity. OJ goes with pretty much any dinner entrée you can think of; however, the ideal companion to this juice are my mom's hotdogs. Sure, the hotdogs themselves are ineffable, but what's even better is the grilled bun. Slopped in butter and then placed on the pan, the hotdog buns cook to perfection. Nothing is better than a Sunday night hotdog and OJ meal.

My friend, Maddie Mitchell, going on an excursion. 

Portrait Techniques

Experiment With Lighting

Photo by Bukutgirl

This portrait is simply incredible. I keep staring and staring at the subject wondering so many things– what makes her have this sad and weak expression upon her face? is she trapped in something somewhere? how is the light hitting her face like that? I could just wonder for hours on end what made this photograph come to be, and that's exactly what makes it great.

Framing The Subject

Image by darkmatter

What I love about this portrait, first of all, are the colors that devour the page; the browns and oranges all go together so perfectly. His face, specifically his eyes, is the first thing the the viewer's eyes will go to because they are framed by these two bars of some sort. The eyes are framed even more by his hair cut that cuts right across his forehead. 

Rule of Thirds

Photo by reportergimmiâ„¢

What's unique about this photo compared to a good amount of other ones I have seen, is that this one is simple. Not only is only a portion of the subject's face in the frame and the background is blurred, but the photo itself is processed as black and white. I love black and white photos. I also love how this photographer placed his/her subject and how she is looking off into the distance with an expression of determination and hope. 

Play With Eye Contact- Looking off Camera

Photo by monicutza80

I don't think I can pinpoint exactly what it is about this photo that I'm drawn to; however, if I were to try, I'd say that it's the fact that the woman who is photographed is looking away from the camera. Because of this slight action, there is a little mystery left to the viewers. I'm sure I don't speak for just myself here when I say that I'm curious as to what she's looking at and what she's doing. 

Famous Portraits

Richard Avion

Roberto Lopez, 1980

What I'm really drawn to about this portrait is the expression on the person's face. One can tell just looking at the photo even briefly that he is hardworking and tired; there is dirt on his face and his hair is messy probably due to the wind as he is doing physical labor in the fields. I also really like how his eyes are toward the camera but looking down a little bit. Because of this slight action, I now am curious as to what he is looking at or thinking about. 

Arnold Newman

Jean Dubuffet, 1956

The thing that interests me most about this photograph is simply that I've been looking at it for a couple minutes just trying to figure out what Newman is trying to get across. At first, I was contemplating what the black is that outlines the face of the man. When I look at the photograph with a little distance, I see the profile of an ape as the black image. I wonder if Newman was trying to make a connection between the human and the ape. 

Annie Leibovitz

Obama Family Portrait

This portrait of Obama and his family is beautiful. I really love the way Annie Leibovitz positioned the people. Because Obama is leaning down and kissing the head of one of his girls as his body wraps around both of them, it shows he is fully invested into his children. His wife is connected to the family in this picture mostly because her arm positioned against the grass in the same location as Obama's right arm; it is assumed that they are holding hands and are simply a loving family. 

History of Photography

Through doing this project, numerous insights arose for me. I realized the impact that certain photographers had on the world around them. For example, there was that one photographer that shot the little kids working in the factories; it was a sad sight to see, but it was reality and was for the public to get a good idea as to what is really happening to those kids. Similarly, from my own project, the name Berenice Abbott will always stay with me. I really loved the photos she took of New York as it endured the 1920’s. The book Changing New York, that has those pictures compiled, is something that I would love to see. I also thought it was good to learn what looks visually appealing to the eye when constructing our poster. We had to match specific colors to either images, text, or title. Another learning that I had gained by doing this project is learning the value of teamwork and how it can be a little stressful or challenging at times.

Shadows

Pacific Ocean waves crash upon the innumerable gains of sand on a nearby shore; they go in and out continuously. Bordering the blue coast of California, a line of bikes devour the sidewalk– bike after bike for miles. The sun casts down an undeniable light that hits the surfaces of these bicycles resulting in blatant shadows. The clean-cut lines of the rubber tires, wires, and air valves have never been so worthy of a photo. The girl walking by to get a hotdog at the hotdog stand just couldn't resist to capture such a moment when nature meets geometry.

Energy • Passion • Fresh

Purpose:

• To strengthen your creative problem-solving skills so that you are looking at things in a different way;
• To find letters of the alphabet in everyday objects to create a word;
• To become familiar with basic photoshop tools.

As I reflect back to this project, I realize all of the new insights I gained. First, I figured the importance of working with a partner. Working collaboratively toward a common goal played a huge role in this project. Maddie and I had to voice our own personal opinions and take into consideration the other's regarding what we wanted to use for our words, what to photo, and what to use for our final piece. Also, pertaining more to the skills of photography, I learned how to look at objects in a different way. For example, it would be difficult to look at a telephone cord from afar and know that that object would make a perfect S. Instead, I figured out that you really have to get up close to the object and take it from an angle that makes sense. Another learning would be how to navigate and use Photoshop. Before this, I never learned how to edit photos using this application– let alone even open it up on my computer. This program is very useful and will be majorly beneficial in the future.