Reflection

When I first started photography class I felt my images were not very good. I knew some techniques about how to make my images better, but I wasn't creating impactful images. This sometimes made me frustrated because the whole reason I took photography was that I wanted to be able to make an impact on people with my images. As we got into the important pieces of creating images I, personally, saw an instant change. My images became more creative and my editing skills developed making it easier for me to make my images exactly what I wanted. I will admit that sometimes I would compare my images to others and it would lower my confidence. I did adjust, though, and get used to the fact that I can't compare my images to others because we are all trying to accomplish different goals and we all have different skill sets. Once I realized this it became easier for me to take images I was proud of and come up with original ideas. I was a little uneasy about photography at the beginning of the year because I was worried I wouldn't be able to come up with interesting ideas. Now I see opportunities for photos everywhere and I am excited to take all I have learned in digital photography and use it to create better images in the future.

The subject of most of my images was usually an animal, a person, or something in nature. I liked to photograph living things. The setting I like to photograph in most was probably my backyard. I liked it because it made a flat backdrop. What I mean by this is that is created a constant color that doesn't take away from the background. I used similar techniques to capture my images. Most of the time I would start off by placing the subject so that the lighting was perfect. Next, I would frame my image based on the subject. During the editing process, I did almost the exact same thing to each image; I wanted all the images to give the viewer the same feeling. To edit I would turn up the lighting, color, and saturation. If the image had off coloring or wasn't conveying the meaning I wanted with the color I would make the image, black and white. The reason I created all of my pieces of work was to try to brighten someone's day. The element that occurs most in my images is color. I try to take advantage of the bright colors around me as I take images. Color is really important to photography because it changes the whole mood of the image. The principle I used the most was balance. In most of my images, I attempted to balance the colors and the weight of the image.

The most common composition technique in my images is angle up. When looking at the images I chose, almost all of them include angle up. I think I am drawn to this technique because it shows a new perspective. A composition rule I use a lot is the rule of thirds. I use this to offset the subject in my images. Rule of thirds helps my images to give them more background info. about the location without taking away from the main subject. My ideas changed a lot when I began to take most of my images. I would start out with an idea but then not be able to do exactly what I wanted. In the end my portfolios never turned out the way I pictured, but I was always happy, at least, with my product.

There are many meaning different meanings behind all of my images. One meaning that can be conveyed through most of them is that sometimes you have to look at things from a different perspective to learn anything new. To me, my images really just made me happy. I liked to look at my images just because they gave me joy. This was really my main focus in photography. I wanted to bring people joy because sometimes just looking at an image can brighten your whole day.

I have learned a lot during photography this quarter. I have also expanded outside of my comfort zone in and outside the classroom. I am very proud of my grades for this quarter. I worked very hard to earn my grades and I think they are an accurate representation of my work. I am looking forward to the film unit and getting to learn about a new technique for creating images. I think that it is going to be a difficult process, but eventually, it will click and become easier. One goal I have for photography next quarter is to find new places to photograph. Being 14 I sometimes found it difficult to take interesting photographs because I could not drive anywhere. Another goal I have is to take a little longer taking photographs. If I took longer framing, placing, and moving my subject my photographs would come out in better quality and would be more effective.