Rules of Photography Part II

Theme- Black and White photography

Depth
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Symmetry

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Rule of Thirds

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Framing

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Leading lines

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Viewpoint

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Background
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Cropping
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Balancing Elements
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Merger
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Magazines Part II

Four common types of magazine covers are early magazine covers, the poster cover, pictures married to type, and in the forest of words. One of the main components of early magazine covers is that there isn't the kind of cover we are used to now. Many had the table of contents on the front, while others had an illustration and title. Poster covers usually only have a photograph or piece of art and the title. There are no cover lines or themes. Next, pictures married to type. These magazine covers are usually a photo of a person, almost full body with part of them covering the title at the top. There is lots of text describing what is in the magazine, placed in relation to the model and the background. Last but not least, in the forest of words. These magazine covers usually consist of lots of cover lines and cover art. Text plays a very large role in these covers, often invading the space of the photograph. 

Fashion Photography

In the first video, the photo-editors did these things:

- Made the model's neck longer
- Made her lips larger
- Thinned her neck
- Enlarged her eyes
- Brought down her shoulders


In the second video, the photo editors did these things:

- Made the model's lips open and more pink
- Lightened the model's skin tone
- Enlarged her eyes
- Changed her eye color
- Cut skin from her ribs
- Made her legs longer
- Made her calves thinner
- Made her face thinner
- Lengthened her neck

In the third video, the photo-editors did these things:

- Made the model thinner all over
- Thinned her waistline
- Erased all lines
- Straightened her posture
- Made her breasts much smaller
- Gave her longer hair


1. No, it is not ethically acceptable to alter one's appearance like they did in these videos.
What the final photo of these videos is is not true. It is a lie, tricking viewers into seeing it as a real expectation. People need to stop taking photos and editing them. True photographers find beauty in the world around them, beauty that they leave untouched.

2. It would be more ethically wrong to do this kind of manipulation if these photos were on the front of magazines.

3. To me, the only changes that are ok are cropping and change of lighting. Nothing more. Changing things like actual features and weight are way over the line.

4. Fashion photography is different from photojournalism because in photojournalism, you capture what is really going on in life at the moment… You do not go back to the studio and edit the photographs afterwards to fit to the ideal appearance.

5. Photojournalism has more of a connection with real life because a photojournalist's job is to go out and take photos of what is going on today. In fashion photography, you try to sell a product, and in order to do so you need to make the viewers feel that they will look like the girl on the cover if they buy  it. This is unethical.

6. I think you are showing us these videos so that we recognize how different photojournalism is from different types of photography, and so that we see where we need to draw the line.

7. I think that none of these videos are about guys because women's bodies are often more objectified than men's (not saying that men aren't objectified) and that makes it easier to find what all women want to look like and make the model look that way.

Prompt Shoot #2

Purple

Cold

Electric

My Favorite Cover

New York, February 18–25, Spring Fashion

"New York’s “Spring Fashion” cover with actress Elle Fanning has artist Will Cotton revisiting Johannes Vermeer’s famous painting “Girl With a Pearl Earring” in pose, expression, and lighting, while Fanning’s Vivienne Westwood–inspired headpiece made of icing and designed by Cotton prepares readers for the stunning “Candy Land” portfolio inside the magazine. Cotton has been using candy in his artwork “as a metaphor for pure pleasure” since the late nineties, and used spring looks as inspiration for New York."

I really enjoy this portrait of Elle Fanning. The lighting and angle of this photo is absolutely gorgeous. Her features look soft, and the way she looks back makes the cover almost look like an old-fashioned portrait. The flowers on her head add to the delicate feel of the photograph.  I think the choice of lighting and black background was a very good one because it gave the photographer the opportunity to make it seem as if Fanning was glowing against it. Overall, this is a very eye-catching portrait and the photographer did a very good job. There is a lot of personality in this photograph.

Best Magazine Covers 2013

1. formal
2. formal
3. informal
4. informal, environmental
5. informal
6. formal
7.informal
8. formal
9. formal
10. formal
11. formal
12. formal
13. informal
14. formal
15. formal
16. informal
17. formal

Magazine Tips

When designing a magazine, you should be keeping 5 rules in mind-

1. Be sure to draw the public's eye! Do not let the cover be boring, you really want to draw attention.

2. Make the cover photo appealing to the eye… You want it to be "emotionally irresistible".

3. Give viewers a reason to buy the magazine. What's in it for them?

4. Never draw attention from the magazine's title! You want people to recognize it.

5. Promise benefits for if they buy the magazine… Make it intellectually stimulating. 

American Soldier Slideshow and Captions

Number 36
I felt that this was the most powerful image because it shows the darker side of the army,
the stress and psychological hurt you are put through. It shows us that Ian has picked up
smoking, and he now takes Vicodin. This is the lowest point shown in his photographed
story, I believe.

Set #1 at home in Denver- image 1 to image 9

Set #2 at Basic Training- image 10 to image 50

Set #3 in Iraq- image 51 to 75

Set #4 back in Denver- image 76 to 82

I thought that Set #3 was the most powerful set because they weren't very happy. I feel that sad, dreary-looking photos capture emotion much better than happy photos. The photographer made me feel for Ian.

The images in Set #3 work together to tell a story by mostly showing Ian only in his army equipment because that is who he was now. He isn't seen smiling much in the photos either, showing the viewer that this was a dark time for Ian. After he goes to Iraq, he comes home for a short time and you can see how the pictures brighten up when he is placed beside his friends. 

For the photos in which Ian is the main subject, the captions are written in present tense.

The captions enhance the photos by telling you what is really going on, otherwise they wouldn't make complete sense at first.

Captions

1. Ian clenches his baseball cap tightly as he talks to his dad in his kitchen back home.

 He realized what the war had done to him while he smoked a cigarette, a habit he picked up recently. A prescription bottle of Vicodin sits on the table in front of him.

2. Ian holds his friends tight to his chest as they stand and say their goodbyes in front of Ian's home just before he leaves for training. His father stood behind them, talking to the woman who was to take Ian away.

3. Ian stands in line waiting to be admitted into basic training, black u.s. army bag in hand. He stood alongside about a few dozen other trainees, each wearing the same expression of hope tinged with despair. 

Self Portrait and Portraits Part I

Looking off camera – have your subject focus their attention on something unseen and outside the field of view of your camera. This can create a feeling of candidness and also create a little intrigue and interest as the viewer of the shot wonders what they are looking at. 

 Setting- The settings in which you make pictures of people are important because they add to the viewer's understanding of your subject. The room in which a person lives or works, their house, the city street they walk, the place in which they seek relaxation—whatever it is, the setting provides information about people and tells us something about their lives.

Subject expressions- Get your subject to experiment with different moods and emotions in your image. Play with extreme emotions.

  Environmental Portrait 

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I like this environmental portrait because the photographer capture the man's character.
I feel as though I know what this man is like in real life because this is a photograph
that actually captures his real life, that is why I picked it to post.

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I chose this photograph to post because it feels very natural. It is an elderly man sitting on
 couch in what seems to be his own home. I especially love that there is room for somebody
else on that couch… for the woman in most of his pictures, I am guessing.


Self Portrait
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I chose to post this photograph because I love the way the light falls on his face and
creates beautiful shadows.

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I chose this photograph for the same reason I chose the one before; the lighting is

beautiful. This lighting makes her features look soft and angelic.

Casual Portraits

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I chose to post this photograph because it is very casual (obviously) and simple, 

nothing over the top. The lighting is also very flattering, I like that. 

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I chose this photograph because I love the sincere look of it. I also love Princess Diana,

and this photo is one of the least cheesy looking ones of the bunch I looked at.

My Plan

I am very excited for this project! I am planning on shooting one of my most beautiful friends, Sierra Walton. I will take photographs of her in the outdoors because I believe that type of lighting is very beautiful. There is a very pretty forest behind her house that we like to explore and that is where we will take the photos (most likely).In order for this project to be successful, I will use my own Rebel t3i so that I have all of the time I need to take photos. I think that Sierra has a very unusual beauty, so I am going to capture that by making the photo very detailed. I may even frame her with the branches of a tree in order to draw attention to her. She has very curly hair, so I will have to make sure that it isn't too distracting. I can do this by balancing it out and making sure there is the same amount of hair on either side of her face. I will also keep in contact with sierra and we will schedule a shooting time that works for the both of us.

Aperture, Shutter Speed and ISO

           Aperture

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F2.8 

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F16

We closely relate aperture to the pupil of the eye.

The smaller the aperture the larger the aperture F-number.

If you have a large aperture number like F16, then there is probably a large area of detail, while if the aperture is small like F2.8, there is a small area of detail and then everything else is blurred. 

Shutter Speed

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High shutter speed

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Low shutter speed w/ flash

Sun Still Up

a.) low shutter speed since there isn't a lot of movement that you want to see in detail.

b.) low shutter speed, there isn't much movement to capture.

c.) high shutter speed to capture the movement cleanly.

d.) high shutter speed so you can see the movement clearly without blur.

e.) low shutter speed, it will look cool to see all of the people who went in/out of the doors blurred together.

f.) high shutter speed so that there isn't blur.

Sun Not Out

a.) low shutter speed to take in as much light as possible and have a clear image in the dark. 

b.) low shutter speed so that you can see the booth in the dark.

c.) high shutter speed to capture the movement clearly.

d.) low shutter speed to capture movement in the dark.

e.) low shutter speed, it will look blurry and cool.

f.) I would say high shutter speed on this one so you can clearly see the movements of the players.

My camera has these settings:  

1. Shutter Priority- you can set the shutter speed but the camera sets the aperture itself. 

2. Manual Mode- you can set aperture and shutter speed yourself. 

3. Aperture priority- you set the lens aperture yourself while the camera sets the shutter speed.

ISO

ISO 200

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ISO 3200 

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When shooting at higher ISO for a night sporting event,you have an advantage because your camera is more sensitive to light and the photographs will be less dark and there will be less movement. A disadvantage is that the photographs may be grainy/noisy. 

When using a low ISO, the author suggested that you use it when there is plenty of light. 

The author also suggested that you use a higher ISO when there is not enough light for the camera to capture an image quickly.

Simulator 

Aperture settings on this camera: 2.8 - 22

Shutter speeds available: 1 second - 1/4000

ISO settings available on this camera: 100 - 25600