Creative Portraits

The girl with the top hat,

asked me,

"Take a picture of me in front of that!"

I told her to strike a pose,

and that she did.

She couldn't quite hold it together,

but, being the amazing photographer that I am,

I got the shot

and it looks amazing.

Selfie

The goal of this project was to create the perfect selfie. We had props we could use and different places to go so that we could take the perfect selfie. I think this is an excellent selfie because my partner and I are wearing sunglasses which makes the picture slightly more interesting. I am holding the camera at an interesting angle as well. I tilted it ever so slightly so that it would look more like a casual photo instead of one for an art project.

Portrait Techniques

Introduce a Prop: adding a prop can enhance the photo by creating another point of interest. It allows you to photograph an extra layer of depth.

Obscure Part of Your Subject: by not showing all there is to show about your subject, the viewer can use some imagination, but can also help the viewer focus on the part that isn't obscured.

Take Unfocused Shots: lack of focus can create photographs with emotion, mood, and interest.

Frame Your Subject: by framing, you can draw attention to one element of an image, and it gives an image depth as well as draws the eye to the subject and not what's around it.

Famous Portraits

Richard Avedon photographed portraits. He took pictures that brought us closer to the great and famous. He normally has them in front of a white backdrop with no props or anything. I chose this photograph because this man's gaze is so piercing and attention-getting. His head is also at an angle that makes you think about what he is looking at and his emotions.

Arnold Newman developed an approach of portrait photography that is widely influential today. I chose this photograph because I liked how the man was off-center and his face has an interesting expression on it. It made me think about who he is/was and where he is/was. It was just a really interesting photograph that caught my attention.

Annie Leibovitz worked for several different magazines. She photographed many things including portraits. I chose this photograph because it was extremely eye-catching. Her facial features are so sharp and defined that it makes it look like she's posing when she's in a casual position. I just really loved this photograph because she looks so perfect.

History of Photography

I learned many things from doing this project. One thing I learned was that photography goes all the way back to the 5th century when the idea of camera obscura was first developed. It amazes me that people were thinking of that kind of thing so early in time. Another thing I learned about was the Lumiere Brothers. They were very interesting in that they developed the first color film with their invention called the Cinematographe. I also learned about Eadweard Muybridge. He was the first person to capture movement in a photograph. He proved that all four of a horse’s legs are off the ground at the same time. He was a really interesting person to research. All in all, I learned lots from these presentations and I hope to learn even more about the history of photography.

Shadow

I was having some trouble finding shadows in my house when I found this. I have walked past this sign at least 500 times and never really noticed it. I saw the shape of the sign which made me think the shadow would be a good one if I got it just right. I turned off one of the lights, and I got the shadow I had been thinking about, the perfect heart. It made me appreciate this sign instead of regarding it as "just another thing my mom hung on the wall." The sign is a decoration, a comfort for the people that walk in my home, and now a sign that has helped me on a school assignment.

Stay Stong

The purpose of this project was 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, and to become familiar with basic photoshop tools.

One of the things I learned as a result of doing this project was if you look at things in a certain way you will find interesting subjects to photograph. Some of those interesting things could include letters so that you can spell words. Another thing I learned as a result of doing this project was that literally anything can be interesting to photograph, it's the angle that matters. For example, some of my letters were ladders or door frames. That proves my point that everything anything can be interesting to photograph no matter what it is. The final thing I learned as a result of doing this project was that photoshop can either really enhance your image or really destroy your image. We learned about different tools that make our photographs better, but if we went too overboard, then the photographs would look bad. Photoshop is a great tool, but you have to know how to use it for it to be effective. Overall, I really liked this project, and as you can see, I learned a lot.