MMS 173 Blog 1: A Reflection

March 22, 2025

At the beginning of this course, I am really looking forward to developing a deeper understanding of photography as a discipline as well as its technicalities. Although I can say that I am not new in the field, but everything I have learned is solely based on experience. I would even admit that at some point I have been fond of flower photography. Right now, I am also working as a freelance creative, but mostly I do videography. That's why I mentioned that I want to deeply understand photography as a discipline because I want to have a firm foundation and fully grasp the idea of how and why I do photography. 

Since I am writing this blog as a reflection, I wanted to list down two important things I have realized and learned so far in this course:

Significance of the Basics

From my personal experience, it is full of trial and error. However, I realized that although it might not be wrong, but being equipped with proper technical skills can increase the percentage of getting the right shot. I am actually embarrassed to confess that I almost failed the first quiz because I thought I already knew it. But it made me wonder if I really understand the technicalities of photography. I may know the elements, principles, and compositions but can I apply it actually? And looking back at my photos, I can say that they are present in them. That’s when I ask the question if I do have a firm grasp of the basics of photography. Maybe, I am taking it for granted or I am solely relying on my personal experience. Thus, making me realize how significant the basics are.

Why monochrome?

During the first Zoom session, one of our classmates asked the question I have been asking myself as well for a long time– when to use black and white in photography? Well at that time, I didn’t know how to answer it properly because for me using a monochrome is based on personal preference. We know that it adds “something” to our photos and I can’t put it into words. So to answer the question, Prof. Al mentioned that it highlights or emphasizes other elements in the photo. And I couldn’t agree more because removing the color allows the viewers to focus on another aspect of the photo. This actually explains the “something” I mentioned earlier- the emphasis on other elements. 

As we go through this course, I am looking forward to learning more about photography as well as to learn from my classmates. I can see that we have different styles of photography and it’s actually insightful to see their comments from DFs and hear their answers in the zoom sessions.