Edited Shadow

For this photo, I just did some minor adjustments. I increased the blue a little and fixed some color intensities. I also changed some of the levels to increase the contrast. After fixing these few things, the shadow can be seen a bit more.  

My Word and Catie

My Word

For this assignment, we had to randomly pick a word from a dictionary and use it for inspiration. For my photos, the framing was particularly difficult. I needed to get photos of just the shadow with Catie. This is an example of how I messed up one of the photos.

I accidently caught my own shadow in the photo. This could be fixed through framing had I angled the camera differently. This is what the photo could have looked like:

More Landscape Framing

Here are some more photos that use the element of framing differently. 

This first photo works well with the frame. The second photo, though, feels to clustered and closed with too much space on the top of the frame. 

This third photo, to me, combines the top two photos when it comes to framing. I feel the frame works well, the photo does not feel closed, and there is more depth to it. 

Framing with Landscape

In these photos, I wanted to see what the best way is to capture multiple layers. In this first photo, you can tell that there are the layers consisting of the rocks, water, foreground trees, and  background trees. However, the photo appears to be a bit cluttered and you cannot really tell how much of each layer there is. 

However, in this second photo, I opened up the view by allowing both the middle and foreground to interact with the bottom of the frame. Now, you are able to get a sense of the path of water and of how much water there actually is. You also do not loose the photo to the foreground. In the first photo, the rocks were taking over the focus. In this photo, though, your eyes are able to move more freely using the water as a path. 

Another thing, concerning both photos, is how the objects in the photo interact with the frame. You cannot really see the whole of something. Everything gets cut off, suggesting that there is more. To me, this helps open up the photo to the viewer even more.

Framing and Light

I did the same thing with the frame in these photos as I did in the last post, but I also played with the lighting in these ones. I used a lamp to shine on the foot and the sunlight coming from behind a blue curtain. My foot is held up against the window. In the other photos, I just used the sunlight from my window with no curtain. 

The effects caused by the lighting made the scars look intense and more pain was brought into the photo.  

In this first photo, I like the frame, but it does not do as good as the second photo when it comes to showing the scar. 

This frame works well with the scar. 

And here is just another example of a good frame....

vs. a better frame. 

More Framing the Foot

Good Frame

Better Frame 

Butchering My Foot

Finding the right frame to highlight what you want in a photo can be a time consuming task. I wanted to take photos of my foot and focus in on the scars. These two photos demonstrate how changing the frame can drastically change the photo. 

In this first photo, I feel the frame works well with the foot by closing in on the scars and providing an interesting border. I think that having the object in the photo interact with the frame helps set up a good balance. I did this by having the leg and the heel coming out of the photo. The background also interacts with the frame by using the right angles of the corners to create triangles. In the bottom right corner, you can see the black triangle, and complementing it is a larger white triangle formed from the upper left corner. The opposing black and white and their use of the frame all work together to frame the scar itself.     

However, in tis second photo, the frame does not help highlight the scar. There is too much emphasis in the background in this photo. Also, the frame cuts off too much of the foot and the scar looses its striking appearance. While the lines are still using the frame to create interesting shapes, they do not support the purpose of the photograph. So, this is just a good example of how framing can be used without having the correct effect.  

Final Photo

Out of the many photos I took of Emily and the many edits that I played around with, this is my final photo.

Edited Emily

How a few edits can change a photo...

Water Shoes

Panic

Pushing Pain

My Smirk

Color Contrast

Content, Central Focus, and Composition

For this project, I wanted to take something that I learned from Mark Seliger and put into my photography. What I liked about Seliger's photos were how well he caught the individuality of a person. 

I wanted to focus on the subject matter, which in this case is Emily. I wanted to take photos that make her look like she is a model. I wanted her beauty to shine through the photos. Seliger did such a wonderful job at bringing out a person's personality that I wanted to do the same thing with Emily. 

I was going to accomplish this by playing with the background to help set a mood. I was going to take these photos in an alleyway so that Emily can stand out. I was also going to try different angles and have Emily try different poses. 

As a result, I ended up with these four photos. Out of the many ones that I took, these ones stood out the most. 

Looking Up

My Smirk

Soaring on my Toes 

Nothing To Do

Some Simple Analysis:

Looking up 

Content: Emily

Central Focus: Her eyes

Composition: I set up this photo so that her body is the background and her eyes are brought to focus. Therefore, this creates depth and a good sense of space. 

Overall, this photo captures Emily in a very real sense. The photo appears to be real and not fake looking. She seems relaxed and content. I love how the photo truly brings out her mood and her life-like appearance. 

My Smirk

Content: Emily

Central Focus: Her face

Composition: This photo was set up to bring out something true in Emily's character even though she is a false place. She doesn't smoke, dress up in the rain, or hang out in alleyways, but she is still very much herself. Her facial expression is perfect for this photo. She looks strong, powerful, and appears to not care about what others think. I accomplished this by taking many photos of Emily in this same set up until I got the right face. 

Overall, I like how this picture can tell a story. Things like her wet hair, her cross necklace, her cigarette, her pink nail polish, and the rain are are small details that give life to this photo. With these details, many stories can be created and it makes the photo interesting to look at. 

Soaring on my Toes 

Content: Emily

Central Focus: Her dress

Composition: This photo is set up to show life in a very structured world. The background consists of lines and dull colors. But life comes into the photo with the wind blowing Emily's dress and the water rushing under her feet. The life given off from these factors also give life to Emily. Her smile is natural and in reaction to the wind. 

Overall I love the life of the photo and the set up of the frame.  

Nothing To Do

Content: Emily

Central Focus: Emily

Composition: I wanted this photo to be simple and complex at the same time. In simple terms, it is a girl and a wall. But, at a second look, there is so much detail to be seen. The patched up brick, the boarded window frame, and even the water marks on Emily's dress. 

Overall, I think this photo once again captures Emily's character. All of the small details contribute to the complexity of Emily's personality. 

Tom Waits

The photo that I want to analyze is a portrait of Tom Waits by Mark Seliger. The purpose of this photo is to capture the man Tom Waits. Seliger does a particularly well job with this. Tom’s character is very out of the ordinary and he is truly an individual. He is funny and interesting and his music is one of a kind. All of these qualities of Tom can be seen in this photo. I can just picture him singing “The Piano Has Been Drinking (Not Me)” while taking this photo. 

The visual elements of this photo are definite and clear. The light comes in from a diagonal creating sharp shadows contrasting the brightness of the light. The light also creates a circle of light close to his face and thus drawing attention to it. The main focus is Waits’ upper body and face because it is the sharpest and clearest. The lines of the photo also help build up the visual elements. The shadow of Tom and the piano create lines on the right side of the photo and Tom’s curved body contrasts the lines on the left side. There is also repetition as seen in his shirt with the creases and the piano structures like the pedals and the keys.   

Another key visual element in the photo is the contrast between organic and geometric shapes. Waits creates a very organic shape while the piano very geometric. This contrast brings the photo together nicely. Within the photo, there is a good amount of contrast in value and in shape. When it comes to the values of the photograph, a wide range can be seen. The values vary from the dark of the piano to the white of the light and all of the grays in between. Texture and depth also add interesting points to the photo. Depth is created by the shadow of Waits’ body and the direction of light. And, the texture of his shirt is very pleated and realistic, while the piano has a very smooth and shiny texture. His face also maintains the texture of his wrinkles and his hair is life-like. These are things that make the photo realistic.

The Piano Has Been Drinking (Not Me)

The piano has been drinking

my necktie is asleep

and the combo went back to New York

the jukebox has to take a leak

and the carpet needs a haircut

and the spotlight looks like a prison break

cause the telephone's out of cigarettes

and the balcony's on the make

and the piano has been drinking

the piano has been drinking...

 

and the menus are all freezing

and the lightman's blind in one eye

and he can't see out of the other

and the piano-tuner's got a hearing aid

and he showed up with his mother

and the piano has been drinking

the piano has been drinking

 

cause the bouncer is a Sumo wrestler

cream puff casper milk toast

and the owner is a mental midget

with the I.Q. of a fencepost

cause the piano has been drinking

the piano has been drinking...

 

and you can't find your waitress

with a Geiger counter

And she hates you and your friends

and you just can't get served

without her

and the box-office is drooling

and the bar stools are on fire

and the newspapers were fooling

and the ash-trays have retired

the piano has been drinking

the piano has been drinking

The piano has been drinking

not me, not me, not me, not me, not me

Mark Seliger

Mark Seliger is originally from Amarillo, Texas and attended school at the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Houston. He currently lives in New York City.  He first made his name as the chief photographer of Rolling Stone Magazine. His works, therefore, consists mainly of portraits of famous musicians and actors such as David Bowie and Drew Barrymore. Currently, he is working under GQ and Vanity Fair magazines. In addition to photography, he has co-directed several music videos and directed some short films.

The most interesting aspect of his work is his location, his private space. In New York, he bought some worthless property in a shady part of town, and turned it into his perfect photography studio consisting of a brick abandoned elevator shaft. Once he made progress with the so-called private space, the once shady streets turned to a hip fashion center. Eventually, he realized

that he used the location so much that it became the base of a book of his works. The wall became more of a subject in the photo than just a simple background. This collection of photographs turned in the book “In My Stairwell.” The photos communicated a connection to the arts as well as to the individuals who were photographed. 

Edited Butterfly

Colored Leaves

Spider

This spider was on giant web between two trees. If I wasn't paying attention, I would have walked right into it. So, for the photo, I want to make the spider stand out as much as possible. I mainly used increased contrast to make the spider the focal point. I also changed some of the coloring slightly to make the spider appear more red. 

Fence

For this photo, I wanted to edit it just enough so that the fence stood out more. I did this by increasing the color saturation, adding more emphasis on the red, and by increasing the contrast. 

Shadow of Light

In this photo, I wanted to emphasize the path of light. I did this by outlining the light and increasing the color yellow and the contrast. And then I increased the color saturation of the whole photo.

Balancing Act

This photo was originally taken to emphasize the frame of the shadow. So, in photoshop I wanted to continue to emphasize the shadow. I did this by increasing the contrast and the light of the photo and changing it to a grayscale. 

Body Shadows

These photos are meant to be unreal and contemporary. The two photos go together well as a set. With photoshop, I changed the contrast and color scheme. I also layered the photos with colored squares to make the photo to appear strange and interesting.