What a Photography Journey! I underestimated it.

by Rhyah Austrie S. Reyes

What I Did and My Selection Process

For this portfolio, I decided to show my actual photography journey through my surroundings. As a student at UPOU, I spend most of my time indoors, facing my laptop. Because of this, my life revolves heavily around our house in Antipolo City, and I arranged my photos to show this reality. The sequence transitions from the afternoon sunlight in our yard to the evening lights at Cafe Agusta and Dimasalang Park.

To build this final set, I followed the assignment guidelines, as we were allowed to reuse up to three past assignment photos, and I decided to maximize that rule. I selected my Bioré Hero & Lifestyle Shots from Assignment 2b: One Object, and my Pattern shot from Assignment 1: Bucketlist. I chose these three since they showed my actual technical progress in MMS 173.

During those past shoots, my biggest enemy was the lack of available light. When I was shooting the concrete architecture at Cafe Agusta and the busy weekend market, the dropping sun was a nightmare. When the environment gets dark, the Sony DSC-H300 really struggles. 

If I pushed my ISO up to 800 to make the picture brighter, the image became terribly grainy and noisy. But if I kept the ISO low at 100 to keep the shot clean, I had to drop my shutter speed to 1/10s or 1/25s. At those slow speeds, even normal hand movements or just breathing would shake the camera and blur the whole photo.

To survive this, I had to become incredibly resourceful. Since I lacked a tripod, my environment became my equipment. At the cafe and shots taken at the house, I  learned to use my own body as a human tripod to stabilize the 1/10s shots. I would tuck my elbows tightly against my ribs, plant my feet, hold my breath, and press the shutter as gently as possible. It took a lot of trial and error, but it helped me get crisp lines without a tripod.

What I Learned from the Final Project

The most profound thing I learned from putting this portfolio together, and from MMS 173 as a whole, is the value of taking photos with clear intent. When the trimester started, I thought photography meant pointing the camera and using the auto settings. I really underestimated it. 

However, the feedback I received on my earlier assignment changed how I take pictures. I learned that you have to ask yourself questions before you shoot. Do I want the background blurred so the sunscreen pops out? I need to adjust my aperture to f/3.6. Do I want the flickering candles at the cathedral to stay sharp in the dark? I need to calculate my shutter speed. Making this final project taught me that learning photography requires making manual and technical choices to control the light instead of hoping for a lucky shot.

Cost of Rushing

Reflecting on this final project, there are definitely things I could have improved. 

One area I could have done better is my time management. The reality of studying online is that we are always juggling heavy requirements at the same time. A lot of these photos in my gallery were shot in a rush because I was trying to fit my camera practice in between assignments for other courses. If I had managed my time better, I could have experimented more with my angles and lighting instead of always rushing against the sunset.

Also, I wish I had stepped out of my comfort zone a bit more. Antipolo City has a lot of interesting places, but I mostly stuck to my house, a familiar cafe, and a nearby park. I wish I had more time to explore unfamiliar locations and test my manual settings in different lighting conditions.

Honestly, now that I'm typing the last few words of this walkthrough, I'm just really relieved it's done. This portfolio has its flaws. I still struggle with digital noise, and my framing needs work. But seeing the ten photos lined up on the screen, I know I actually learned something. 

I started this trimester pointing my camera and hoping for the best, but I’m ending it actually knowing how to take control of it.