Artist Statment

You will find a lot of expressive pictures that express how I feel. When I take photographs I try to express my feelings and thoughts at that very point in time. I feel that my portfolio came together very well and I would love for you to see it for yourself.

Some of my influences have been my friends in this class. I struggle in some parts and they help me fix what I’ve done wrong. At first I wasn’t that good but I see growth and improvement in the pictures that I take. When I used to take pictures they were non thought of and not enough time and thought were put into them. But as the times pass by I get better and better.

I struggled with the metaphor. I think that was the hardest project of them all. I really didn’t know what to do and when I found out what I wanted to do it was hard for me to figure out where to place everything. I think in the future I could learn how to blend things a little better and just take my time with everything.

This semester while taking this course I learned that there’s a lot of things that people struggle with but once you’ve got everything understood it’s easy to do. As long as you keep focused and put your mind to it you could do anything. I feel I was most successful improving my artwork. I feel that I made a success in trying to make things different and not always the same.

My art work is something that expresses how I feel. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Adjusment Layer

Self Portraits

When I was taking my photographs I was trying to capture a moment that I have never thought to capture. I wanted to capture something like a once in a life time moment. My ideas never really changed I just kind of went with the flow of whatever I got out of what I was trying to do. The picture that I think is most creative would have to be the light because it’s something that I had to really think of and try to put together. The thing that was most difficult was trying to figure out how you’re going to place yourself in a way that you know is unique. The creativity that plays into my success was the hard work that I had put into this. I tried my hardest to do something different and unique.

The pictures that I set up were set up specifically but not all of them. Some of them were just thought of as we were taking the pictures. The things that I did to compositionally set up the picture was going for anything that came to mind. As long as it made me happy I did it. When the picture was taken and I liked it I kept it. I don’t think I did anything to weaken my pictures. I think I did a pretty good job. The picture that I would say has the strongest composition is the element, because it really was not thought of, the one that was thought of I did not like, but the one that was not thought of I liked and it came out good. The picture that I would change the composition on would be the personal prop and I would place myself around a whole bunch of gum and CD’s.

None of the pictures were too bright. I turned down some of the levels because I wanted the picture to be a little dark. None of the pictures were too dark either. One picture was blurry but we retook it. None of the pictures were pixilated. I used ISO and shutter speed for my pictures. I understood most of what we had to do so lack of understanding did not hinder my craftsmanship. The strength of my craftsmanship is well put together. I think I could have done a little better but I think I did well enough. I really don’t think I have any weaknesses in my pictures.

My overall opinions on my portraits are good. I think I did well at thinking of how to organize myself and make the pictures work. The things I would do differently if I had to do the same assignment over again would be to make the settings a little more exciting and extreme. My favorite shot is the rule of thirds, because I set myself up in a position that made it look like a snap shot but can still pass as not being one. Overall I think I did a really good job and I enjoyed myself.

Shutter Speed

The two things that shutter speed effects is light and movement. Shutter speed is represented by seconds and seconds of fractions. The modes on our camera that allow for shutter speed manipulation are the up and down arrows to change speed. Some modes are to make the shutter time longer which are fractions of a second. You would want to control the shutter speed when you are trying to take pictures that are moving to capture a still moment. I took the blurry picture while she was walking away and I took the sitting picture in an angle to capture a good lighting.

ISO

The first picture is flash. It takes brighter pictures when needed. When you use flash you should use it while indoors. The second picture is ISO 50. It is darker than all the other pictures because its taken inside. ISO 50 should be taken outside. The third picture was taken in ISO 5000. Its lighter and this is perfect for indoor pictures.

Light Metering

I took the first picture in light metering. I focused on the computer screen first and then I took the picture of both, the and the computer. Everything in the picture turned out dark and unclear except the computer because that was the object that I had focused on.

In the second picture it is also light metering. But I focused on the object and not the computer. So there for the subject would show more clearly than the computer itself.

Personal Metaphor

I chose this simile because it expressed how I felt. I chose this picture because it explained my mood and feelings. I wanted to capture an out spoken mood, a mood that meant strong and courageous. I placed the things were i did because i thought it fit well and and went good together. I think my strong focal area is my facial expression because it goes well with the moment. I think I did the blending pretty good. I tried my hardest to get everything to go together. The difficult thing was trying to figure out what to do and how to do it. I think I could have done the blending a little better but it works. I would probably change the whole simile because this one was way to hard.

The Aesthetic Expeirence

The green food coloring slowly drips to the bottom of the lifeless cup. It slowly swifts its way to the bottom performing its curves and angles. A lot of commotion is going through the cup such as my life. The green is playing with the clear trying to befriend it but over powering the clear water because its too weak.

Hybrid

An exercise borrowed from “I’ve Got a Human in My Throat” by Chris Johnson.
In preparation for our PERSONAL METAPHOR project we brushed up our skills combining objects together. Using layer masks and the clone stamp we blended this dog and bird together.

Movie Moments

Inspired by Cindy Sherman, a contemporary photographer who took photos of herself starring in movies that never existed.
Movie Tittle: For the love of dance
Genre: Drama/Comedy

This is the scene where Star(me) is getting ready to audition for the part that she had been practicing for months. She discussing with her friend how she doesn't want this to get in the way of there friend ship and may the best win.

My film is about two girls wanting to make it big as choreographers. They practice day and night just to get the spot. They are best friends and have to compete against each other. They both are very creative and can dance. Who will make it towards being the next dance choreographer!

Chocolate Frog

For Valentines Day we turned a frog into chocolate. I thought this project was a very creative way to change something slimy and nasty into something that mostly everyone loves. I learned that it's not easy trying to make a frog chocolate.

Reflection And Shadow

In these exercises we learned how to create shadows and reflections to help us create more realistic artwork. A new tool we used was layer masks. The things we learned here can help me in the future by allowing me to make an allusion .It can also allow me to bring my imagination to life.

Program Covers

This is my Graduation Cover and Si Se Puede for my digital photo class.

Aged Photo

In this project we used one of our frame photographs to practice using Photoshop to create specific effects.

Balance with Frames

We were given a frame and told we had to be in our composition, it had to be black and white and it had to have balance. I created balance by leveling the image and making the picture equal on all sides.

Random Object

We were each assigned a random object to photograph. We could choose to have it in color or black and white. We were to focus on "The Three C's"

According to my peers, one thing I did well was black and white and how the shoes were placed. And one thing they suggested I work on was to crop the picture so the station lights wouldn't have been showing at the top of the picture.

I agree with what my peers said about the contrast and the picture being black and white. But I disagree with what they said about the station lights being in the background because it kind of brings out the picture a little. The reflections make the picture look more creative looking.

Egg Challenge

In this project each student was given an egg to photograph. We were to take a photo in both color and black-and-white. We were supposed to exemplify one or more of the following: Creativity, Craftsmanship or Composition. I believe my color egg was the most successful because it looks smooth and creamy. It makes the environment feel soft and homey.

My Favorite Project From Last Semester

My favorite project from last semester was the social issue. We had to create an image that was an issue with everyone not just one person. I liked it the most because it made me think about what most teens go through as they grow up. Teens want everyone one to like them so they try to be like the people in magazines and on t.v. and I think everyone should love themselves for who they are. You see your own beauty.

Last Semester