Rock the Line

This photograph is going towards my final portfolio in my photography class! My theme is Shadows and Reflections. This particular piece obviously demonstrates shadows. This print came out basically how I had imagined and planned it. I wanted the contrast to be a little higher than normal, making the lines of shadows and light very abrupt and strong. Contrast is a big factor in creating a print because it can change the tone of the composition so easily. The reason I was drawn to this scene was because of all the lines and different shapes everything created. It was a really bright day and it made everything even more defined just to my eye.

The rectangles of light on the bottom of the photo are actually created by the railing on the porch. The shadows on the side of the house are from the backing of a rocking chair; you can see one of the rockers of the rocking chair on the left of the picture. I'm actually not sure what the other lines crossing the chairs shadow are but they only add to it! I enjoy looking at this piece because it's so busy and the eye naturally follows the lines before it takes in the entire picture. I do wish that I had removed the dried leaves though. That gets me every time I look back at this picture!

WJ !

 

Candid portraits are one of my absolute favorite themes to photograph. I love it so much because it really captures a moment and in my opinion, that is what photography is all about. Capturing a moment of a scene in an artistic, interesting, and different way. I took this one morning just playing around with my camera and I didn't think it would turn out so well exposed and clear. I love how simple it is and the softness it gives off. I love the way he is leaning, it gives the image a sense of balance. I also have his head off-center (using rule of thirds) to draw the eye towards the corners of the picture, not just the center. I named this photograph WJ ! because those are his initials (William Jones) and I added the exclamation mark after looking at the picture for awhile. I noticed the light in his hair and it resembled an exclamation mark. Ever since I noticed that, I see it every time I look at the picture!

Why I was so surprised this came out so well is because of how dark his room was and I had my shutter speed set relatively low at 1/60th of a second. Generally in a dark setting, you use a slower shutter speed so that it allows the film to be exposed to light longer. With a low shutter speed, it is common that a photographer will accidentally move the camera. Even the slightest little bit will compromise the photo, leaving the image blurry. However, this didn't happen which is why I was happily surprised when I developed it!

Diamond5

Another technique! Framing. I love the effect that framing gives a photograph. It really puts an emphasis on the subject as well as directs the viewer's eyes where the photographer wants them to go. So how do they create this?

Picture from photoaxe.com

It's basically exactly what it sounds like; you use something to enclose or frame part of the picture. I remember in my high school class, we would have to go through magazines and find different examples that expressed different techniques. In the Better Homes and Gardens magazines, door frames were always an easy framing example. The photographer would shoot a staged room, but they would include the doorway or the threshold to the room. Another example I saw in National Geographic magazines was rocks or caves. The photographer would be inside or outside of the cave and take the picture including the entrance of the cave. Here's a picture for better understanding. 

This is not a technique I use a lot. I have a few pictures, including the one below, that portray this. in the photograph below, I wanted the subject in the very center and I wanted the balance to be symmetrical to give it a repetitious look. I didn't originally want the fence in the foreground to be blurry, but I didn't have a lens that could keep it in focus while I was so close. However, I actually like the effect it gives the photo. At first glance, you can't really tell what all the white in the picture is, but when you look at the background, the viewer can tell from the opposite side and the shadows that it is that cross-hatched fencing. 

I wanted this picture to have a lot of negative space because it really captures attention and draws eyes in. I also wanted it to have a lot of contrast so the whites would be bright and the blacks would be dark. Something else I love about the negative space is how it creates this illusion of five diamonds with different subjects and textures and divides them symmetrically in the photograph. That is the reason I named it Diamond5 (also a play on leet speak because "5" can be used as an "s"). I like how it turned out and I like the effects the composition has on the eye.