The story I want to portray here is the passion in the eyes beyond the action. In the game Dead or Alive 5, although a typical 1v1 fighting game, I can notice a sense of passion with the characters' animation, especially in the eyes. I was playing the character on the left, the one with the brown hair, and I wanted to portray the sense of action seen in her eyes.

In terms of principles of art or design, I have applied dynamic posing, balance, contrast, depth, and lighting. The dynamic photography is well seen in the first shot as the characters are in an intense combat position, creating both movement and energy. Connected to this is the balance each character weighs as despite noticeable asymmetry, the space they occupy both give balance towards the tension and story being told. The contrast of the lighter shade of blue of the opponent on the right side and the focal point character on the left that has darker blue colors create contrast and framing helps to pin the focal point. With depth and perspective, the low-angle perspective makes it immersive. The characters feel alive, and their movements are dynamic. The motion of the petals also brings movement to the photo, making the scene more real.

In terms of composition techniques, the character’s face falls near the intersection line of the rule of thirds, hence bringing our eyes to the focal point. The framing and how the close-up cut makes the picture tight and intense make us feel part of it, like we are at eye level. The light in the foreground helps bring the characters to the background, and the slight blurring helps it, too. The movement is also seen by using diagonal lines as the dark-haired character's positioning of legs and arms create action and so does the purple hair. Also, the background having slanted lines creates action and is less static.

The virtual camera settings that I can only control under this game are the angle, framing, and lens zoom. The lens is in the setting of mid-range focal length, about 50mm–85mm equivalent, and the angle is in a low-angle view, closed up and over-the-shoulder perspective. The lighting, depth of field and motion capture are equally fixed up by the limitations of the virtual camera, so any shot will have the same settings, hence playing around towards angle was only my way to capture action as I cannot do motion blur with shutter speed or adjust the ISO of each shot manually. No post-processing was done as the picture works as it is, and the angle framing can be better if it is moved a little bit to the right, making it symmetrical, but the movement of the camera also is in fixed range, unable to tweak slight movements.

To continue the first story, I want to make the action more intense and interesting, so I shot multiple shots of them hitting each other, which is, by the way, weird when put in words, but basically where the action is, and got this as my best shot.

I am proud of this shot as I effectively incorporated principles of Art and design here. The energy is captured by a dynamic shot as the dark-haired girl is in mid-air with the kick, and an opponent is in the other direction and about to land. With the flowy clothes, hair flickers and body positioning leaves an emphasis on movement. This also shows balance asymmetrically as one character is leaping towards the direction of the purple-haired character about to lean back. Opposite directions complete the story of oppositions, movement, and reactions. The background also has a guiding effect on the depth of field, and the direction of the objects makes it seem like it is falling together with the falling character. The lines in the movements of the characters guide our eyes to understand the movement even if the action is in pause and mid-air.

Composition is also seen as the mid-air fighter, and the impact point is positioned near intersections of the rule of thirds, which is where our eyes first go to, and guiding lines of the characters’ body parts lead us to the story, enhancing the intensity. The background also creates depth as foreground elements seem lighter compared to debris at the back. The framing and angle make the shot powerful, especially with the lower angle and mid-air scene. The framing was cut in a way that it feels intense but space makes the movement breathe and not feel clustered.

The virtual camera settings are similar to the initial shot with a low-angle mid-range shot, keeping it dominant on the actions and visible, especially on bigger movements of attack. The zoom of lens is in focal length: ~35mm–50mm equivalent about moderate wide-angle lens in real camera. No post-processing was done here, as well.

In this shoot, I want to make the repetition of the torri gates like a journey. I was inspired to make it like a maze where the more you pushed through the more you can only explore as farther distance only is peaked of the whole story. I also want to capture details such as the light showing in some parts and the dirt and make sure the pattern is visible enough as each torii gate is detailed enough.

The picture shows effectively leading lines as the torri gates pattern recedes, making our eyes go deeper into the image, wanting to know the next scene. The vanishing point perspective gives a sense of depth, and the leading lines guide the eyes and story as well. Speaking of patterns, the repetition makes a rhythmic pattern that enhances the cohesion of the picture. The balance is also shown in the symmetrical sequence, creating a satisfying effect. Instead, if the foreground is the focal point, it acts as a frame of the torii in the distance. It created a tunnel effect where the depth of field makes viewers feel like they are in the scene, walking. The contrast of the warm and red-orange to the darker green foliage highlights things beautifully. The lighting was soft and not harsh, creating a gradient and atmospheric feel. With the gates balanced in the composition, the diminishing point follows the rule of thirds as the banishing point aligns with the guidelines. The lighting gradually vanishes as it goes further the tunnel creates depth, too.

The virtual camera settings are a moderate wide-angle lens (~24-35mm equivalent), high f-stop about f/4, balanced exposure, ISO 200, and a shutter Speed of 1/250s. It is an eye-level shot, and the lens is used to capture details until the tunnel-like path is created. The aperture makes the foreground to the farthest torii feel sharp and maximizes clarity and detail, which fits the architectural nature of the torii gates. With diffuse light, which creates a soft look, the natural light and ISO of 200 balance the shadows and highlights. The absence of motion blur is because of the faster shutter speed. No post-processing is done here, either.

    This was my initial shot before the best shot above. Initially, I want to use the torii gates to lead the eyes further into the picture, but the light is more warm and vibrant. It was more inviting but it is less of a curiosity impact. 

The leading lines here are still present, which guides the viewer’s eye through the depth of the torii gates. Speaking of which, the repetition here is seen by the pattern created which enhances visual unity. Receding gates in the background create depth, and torii gates frame the path, making the focal point a tool, too. The harmonious color is also here as orange, red, and green hues create a harmonious palette.

  The virtual camera settings are as follows: Focal Length: ~24mm (wider-angle lens, emphasizes height and depth), Aperture (f-stop):  f/11, Shutter Speed: 1/250s, ISO: 100 with depth of field deep making things sharper, white balance is warmer with strong contrast and angle is low angle to emphasize repetition and scale. No post-processing was done either.

  I want to play around with lights and shadows here. My concept is to capture the feeling of being alive in the picture. I want to portray a contrast of shadows and sunlight with leaves falling from waving trees.

       The principles used are balance, shapes, contrast, repetition, and color. There is a balance within the torii gates and it guides the viewer along it. It uses lines to create shapes. The pop of the red-orange color complements the lush green background. It also brings out the good color because of the sunlight, and when it casts through the trees and gates, it gives shadows and highlights that add depth and texture. The repetition of the gates also establishes rhythm and continuity, making it visually appealing.  In terms of composition, the leading lines are still used here, and the rule of thirds was used to balance out the image. It is a frame within a frame as the torii gates act as a natural composition as you look at the picture. It has both symmetrical balance as the torii gates and asymmetrical balance in the background. Speaking of background, the composition from foreground, midground to background improves the image’s immersion of audience.

          The virtual camera settings are a wide-angle lens, which is a 50 mm lens, f/5.6 aperture, 1/200s shutter speed, ISO 200, white balance of 5000k, and exposure of +.0.3. No post-processing is done as well