final evaluation post

     Looking back on this trimester and this class I feel like I've grown dramatically. The quality in my photos have improved, the way I set up my pictures have improved and the way I edit my pictures. I learned how to use photoshop, before this class I would have never been able to use photoshop to make my pictures even more appealing to the viewers. I've also learned so so much about cameras and how to set them up to be able to take great photos.

     I feel like this class has really helped me grow as a photographer, and an editor. I remember at first I really didn't like this class because there were a lot of notes and to be honest I thought this blog was a dumb idea. But in the end I've realized that its helped me reflect on the photos I took this trimester. And now that I understand how to use photoshop I don't hate photoshop assignment, they're actually somewhat enjoyable.

      Personally I plan to continue photography, not as a career but as a hobby. I enjoy capturing images and having those memories to look back on. To reflect on my life and the changes that have happened over the years. I want to continue learning about how I can become a great photographer and improve to quality of my pictures. I've put together a small slide show of some pictures I've taken throughout the trimester and added it below. I've also put some of my pictures in this post. The good and the not so good ones.

panoramic photoshop assignment

During this weeks assignment we took several pictures and used photo merge to get them to turn out to be panoramic. We used tripods to make sure we didn't shake so that the pictures would merge together properly.

my best pictures:

This weeks assignment was difficult because you had to line up the pictures just right so that they would merge together in photoshop. Overall it was quite challenging but also really fun.

Photo assignment six, black and white

This week I decided to use pictures I took earlier this trimester, and turn them black and white.

This is my best photo before I made it black and white:

This is my edited black and white version:

Tech information:

   *shutter speed: 1/60

   *aperture: 5.6

   * ISO: 800

my five next best:

This week I didn't really learn too much I basically took a picture, edited it a little, and made it black and white. Thats about it.

portraits assignment

For this assignment we got to use professional lighting but we also used nature lighting with a reflector.

These are the two best photos I took:

This is what I turned in as my finished product.

Personally I had a lot of fun with this assignment we learned about lighting(key light, hair light and the fill light) and how the lighting effects the lighting and shadows on the person you're taking pictures of.

photo assignment five, nature

This weekend we had a long weekend and it was warmer than it has been in awhile, so I took advantage of that and went outside to take some pictures. I love the way these photos turned out, looking up at the tree branches with the bare sky in the back ground.


my best photo this week:

  *shutter speed: 1/250

  *aperture:10.0

  *ISO:100

my next five best: 

During this weeks assignment I learned that timing is key. I wanted to get some great shots of the trees with the sunset in the back ground but I went outside too late and so the lighting was really weird. I do think these photos turned out great even with weird lighting.

photo assignment four, food

This week I decided I was going to take pictures of food, I had a really nice spaghetti meal made for my family that I was going to take pictures of but my brothers got into it before I could, so instead I took pictures of what I had for breakfast on sunday.

The best photo I was able to take:

  * shutter speed: 1/40

  * aperture: 4.0

  * ISO: 320

The next best five:

What I learned this week is that when you make a nice meal don't leave the house to go get something you forgot because in my house by the time you get back it will be almost completely gone. I also learned that when you take pictures by a window you have to be careful about how much light you let into the picture.

school context assignment

For this assignment we were suppose to take a picture from anywhere around the school and edit it to make it look as unrealistic yet as realistic as we could, if that makes sense. The one requirement for this assignment was there had to be a shadow in the picture. I personally had a lot of fun doing this assignment because it was kind of funny to edit cartoons into a real picture.

Original Image:

Edited Image:

What I learned during this assignment is that there are many different ways to edit and image using photoshop. I used quick select a lot this week to take an image from one picture to copy and paste it into the image I was working on. I also worked with the opacity of images. To create the shadow in the image I had to flip and rotate the image and lower it's opacity.

photo assignment three, still life/product

During this weeks assignment I had absolutely no idea what I was going to take pictures of. I took pictures of multiple different things throughout my house and these were the best pictures I got.

Best photo this week:

   *shutter speed: 1/60

   *aperture:4.5

   *ISO: 800

my five next best photos:

This week I learned not to leave taking pictures to the last minute. I spent my whole weekend going things I could have been taking pictures of but instead I left it to sunday morning to take these pictures.

photoshop assignment: Car

During this assignment we learned how to use different tools in photoshop, we were given a demo picture and the original photo. From there we had to take the original photo and try to make it look like the demo one. It was kind of confusing using photoshop at first, but after using it for awhile you get to know where all the tools are so it becomes a little easier.

Demo Photo:

Original Photo: 

My Edit:

This isn't my best work and I know that, but it was my first time ever using photoshop so I really want to work on getting better at editing photos because I know that once I practice I'll get better

Photo assignment 2, people

We are still working on our photo assignments and that means we have some freedom as to what images we capture. This week I was going to focus on working with shadows but then my grandparents ended up coming into town so I took a few pictures of my family instead. I mainly focused on using the rule of thirds when taking pictures. I also had to work on the amount of light in the picture because I find that when taking pictures outside with some snow on the ground everything seems lighter because it's white outside.

The best photo I was able to take:

technical data:

  *shutter speed: 1/80

  *aperture: 5.6

  *ISO: 125

I liked the way these photos looked without any editing so for this assignment I did none.

   What I learned during this weeks assignment is that you have to take more than one picture when capture people posing because someone always laughs funny or blinks or something. And when you take multiple photos then you're bound to have one picture that looks good.

My five next best photos:

shooting inspiration #2

For my second assignment I really want tot focus on shadows and lighting. I've seen some really really great pictures with amazing silhouettes and shadows and I'd love to see if I'm capable for capturing images just like them. I'm going to need to make sure I don't over expose or under expose any of my pictures. I want them to turn out perfectly.

These are some of my inspirations"

    * sample one: lady

    * sample two: lamp

    *sample three: tree

I think these are all really great examples of what i'm going to try and accomplish this week during the assignment. I have high hopes for what I'm going to try to achieve with this. I've heard from a few people that working with shadows can be hard because of the lighting so I'm hoping I have some luck with it.

Photo assignment 1, animal.

    For this assignment we were given some freedom, we got to choose what we wanted to take pictures of. Originally I thought I was going to work on portraits of people, but I ended up getting sick and not being able to leave the house. Instead I chose to capture images of my dogs. I have a few pictures of both. My one dog Tillie who's black and white, tends to always have her nose in something. She's a very curious dog. I started taking pictures of my other dog Herby who's fully black white a small white spot on his chest. And as soon as I pulled out the camera, Tillie came over and was very curious as to what it was that I had in my hands.

   This is the best image that I was able to take.

   Technical data

   *shutter speed: 1/60

   *aperture: 4.5 

   *ISO: 800

     For this specific photo I brightened the picture a little, not but much. I also brightened a few of the other pictures I took. That's all the editing I did for this assignment.

     What I learned during this assignment is that when capturing images of animals its hard to get their attention if you want their face in the picture. I also learned that paying attention to the shutter speed and the aperture can be challenging while keeping the animals attention.

My five next best photos: