I think the most important thing i learned was the composition rules. even though i had subconsciously known about these, i had never knew exactly what they were. These rules have changed my photography and the things that i think about when i take pictures. i no longer just pick up the camera, adjust the settings and shoot. now i plan my photos more and make sure i am in a position to get the best picture.
2. What is one thing that you wish we had spent more time on? Again please use details and tell me WHY.
i wish we had gotten the chance to share our photos with out classmates and ask them how they were able to get a picture like that. ive seen some really awesome pictures that people have taken and i would like to know how i could try and get a picture like that. i know at one point you had said we would reflect on each others blogs and i really wish we had done that. i would also like to know how to watermark pictures within photoshop. i have done a little bit of it within lightroom but i was wondering if there was a way to do it in photoshop as well and to be able to save it so that you dont have to redo it every time.
3. Lightroom is a pretty powerful tool and I know we have only touched parts of it, what are two things you would like to either spend more time on, or what function do need more training on? If you need to open Lightroom you should do so, please try to get the correct name for the controls you are talking about.
One of the things on lightroom that i have no idea what it is is the split toning tab. i would like to at least know what this does so that i can play around with it some. i would also like to know more about making collections within lightroom so that i can sort some of my pictures while editing them. and what smart collections are and how to use them.
4. This semester I pushed really hard to finish as much of the required curriculum that I wanted to cover that models the ACC assignments. We are four assignments short of finishing but 2 of them will be done in class, so we did well to get as much done as we did. With that being said, do you feel the work load is acceptable for this class? Please tell me WHY?
Yes i definitely feel the work load is acceptable. we knew that when we signed up for this class we were going to have to do work outside of class. and outside of class is the best place to put your skills to the test. how are we ever going to get better if we only do stuff around school. weekends really help especially now that the sun sets so early.
4A. If you have struggled to keep up with the assignments (and I know who you are, so please be honest), please tell me what caused you to fall behind? Please be specific and also please be realistic with your answers. If you didn't struggle, you do not need to answer this question, move on to #5.
5. So far, what was your favorite assignment/photo shoot that we did? Please include details of why this was your favorite and what parts of the task that made it your favorite.
my favorite assignment was probably the pet portrait assignment. i feel that interacting with live beings is really fun and it is really challenging. it took a lot of work to get the animals i shot to sit still enough to get a photo, but the challenge is what made it fun.
6. Which assignment was the most difficult for you to understand/complete? Again, please be specific and include details of why it was that way for you.
i think the creative portion of the landscape assignment was the hardest for me to complete. getting the camera in the exact same position was really hard espiecially since one of the places i took pictures at was rocky so it was really hard. i feel that the assignment itself wasnt entirely that difficult but i had problems getting it set up the exact same for both the photos.
Below is a list of the content/assignments we will be doing next semester. Please look over the list and answer the questions proceeding:
Commercial Photography 2nd semester topics:
Steel wool shoot - 4th
Tilt-shift lens - 4th
HDR images – 4th
Macro photography – when we get back
Using a Flash – early in the semester
News/Photojournalism formal – early 4th
5 stations (includes colored water droplets, spinning lights, black acrylic, bubbles, and focus stacking) – early in the semester
Studio – with formal shoot MU/Model/Clothing – late 4th, and 5th 6 weeks
Silhouette free shoot - 4th
Time-lapse video – 5th
Hyper-lapse video – 5th
Captions – 6th
Print show – 6th
Film – maybe 6th
Guest speakers – 2-3 people – Mark Heaps - all-around photographer (includes studio tour at his new location), Jeff Campbell - wedding photographer, Jay Janner - Austin American Statesman lead photographer, Steve DeMent - Portrait photographer, Imiko Miller - Portrait photographer, Ariana Price - former student Columbia College Chicago Film School, Jennifer Ramos - specializes in Roller Derby and other event photography.
Field trips – wildflower center, downtown – March for Wildflower, April Downtown, May Enchanted Rock/Fredericksburg flowers - Mark Heaps studio location.
Meet-ups – steel wool, any field trips we can't make during school time
7. Which topic listed above are you the most excited about? Be sure to explain why.
i am extremely excited for our steel wool meetup. but i am also really excited to learn about HDR images. i really want to know what it takes to make one and what kind of pictures to get and how to lay them together. i really am curious to know how photographers make these kind of images. i can't wait to make some of my own.
8. Are there any photography related topics that you want to know more about, but you don't see covered above and that we haven't touched on this semester?
i would like to know more about light painting and long exposures. i know we sort of did that for our free shoot, but i would like to know more about it. and different things to try to do different kinds.
9. What are you photographic goals for the future? Do you see yourself going to college specifically for photography? Do you want to learn more about your collegiate options specifically for photography?
in the future i would definitely like to something with photography. exactly how much i don't know yet. i don't think i would like to go to college full time for just photography but i would like to know what colleges offer classes about it.
10. One thing I haven't spent much time on, and that isn't in my plans is about equipment, do you think that we need to spend a little time talking about photography equipment? If you answer yes to this question? Is there anything in specific you want to know? What types of things should I prepare to share with you in regards to equipment.
i would like to know more about equipment. and what lens are good for what. i know we have looked up some of this stuff on our own but i would like to know why that is. i also would like to know more about reflectors. like different kinds and what they do.
11. Post your best/favorite photo that you took of the semester.
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| you probably expected me to post this but i am pretty proud of this photograph. it wasn't until i look at it on the computer that i noticed how much the reflection actually showed up. it turned out better than i was hoping for. |
12. Finally, since this is the first semester of teaching this class here at Bowie, what suggestions do you have for me about how this semester has gone, what I could be doing better. What suggestions do you have to improve any part of this class? For example, you could tell me about student/teacher relations, student/student relations, the content we are covering, the lesson plans themselves, the structure of the formal assignments, the directions for event and free shoots, etc. I am open to anything. Part of my job is to make this a positive experience, yet it is also an educational opportunity for all of you and the other part of my job is to teach you new skills.
i wish that we set up more of the shoots during class so that we could see a little more about what was expected. the examples helped a lot but i feel that seeing it being set up would help me a lot more.
another thing that i wish we did, was learn more about what things we are doing wrong when we are taking our pictures. like maybe every once in a while we could be given feedback from either you or our classmates.
