Adjustment Layers

In this exercise we learned about Adjustment layers. Adjustment layers allow you to add adjustments to your image on separate layers instead of directly to the image itself. This comes in handy during long complicated projects. In Photoshop every tool is specifically designed to help improve your photo. However, here we took some artistic liberties and explored adjustments creatively.

Self Portraits

For our Self-Portrait project we were to take three self-portraits. They were all to be in black and white, and they were all to capture a mood of some sort. We were also challenged to be as artistic as possible, and stay as far away from normal, cliche portraits that we see on personal pages etc. as possible.One had to use the rule of thirds as the base for the composition; One had to incorporate leading lines, and one had to be taken from a more extreme angle.

I liked the idea of this project but there were difficulties following the excitement for it. I liked a lot of my ideas for each photo but sometimes my idea couldn't be captured right. Sometimes i felt like i could be the photographer because my idea would be captured exactly how i wanted it, it was difficult guiding my partner so much because my vision was so unlike how some of the photos turned out, though i think i helped him improve shooting pictures. I liked my leading lines photo the best. All i did was set the camera where I wanted it, and my partner shot it. I do think it could have been better, I think i should have been closer and my face more visible. It was a bit windy at the time and my hair was down unfortunately...Overall I felt i did mediocre, but hopefully my photos will come out as amazing as i envision them.

Contact Sheet

I am happy the way my contact sheet turned out. I think my neatness and how precise the photos are put together are my strong points. I like to be clean and articulate of my work and that is what i portrayed. I think i could have added more colour, i just didn't know what colour would go right with purple and where to put it.

Of all the compositional tricks, I believe my macro pictures turned out the best. I also enjoyed shooting macro pictures the most as well. I think it is simple yet the outcome is beautiful.

Compositional Trick #5: Cropping

Cropping is a trick that photographers do all the time, even if they don't realize it. Every time a photographer chooses to cut something out of his/her frame, before they snap the photo, that is in essence cropping. We also have learned tools on Photoshop that allow us to crop an image after we have taken it. When cropping in Photoshop it is possible to improve our composition or change it completley.

Cropping changed the compostion of my photo because I cropped out a lot of empty space, too much empty space can sometimes make a photo seem dull or boring. I liked the cropped picture better than the original because of the empty space I cropped out. The first thing I did was crop out the empty space, and than I made white borders and put in my name for the assignment.

Compositional Trick #4: Extreme Angles

The way I approached getting an extreme angle, I made my subject sit on the far left of the staircase while I was on my far right. I was a few steps below him and shot the photo with this angle.

I like the way the stairs look, the closer the stairs were to me the larger they appeared and the further they were appeared smaller.

I think my angle could have been more extreme if I were closer to my subject and angled my camera upwards.

Photographing with extreme angles can make a photo more interesting. The view is one that we don't usually see with our eyes, it comes from a different perspective.

Compositional Trick #3: Macro

The macro function on the camera enables your lens to focus onto an object that appears small in reality but through the lens appears enlarged and in focus.

Depth of field is the amount of background that the camera can focus on. A small depth of field is what usually macro has, the background will appear blurry the further your lens is from the emphasis being shot. A large depth of field is able to focus on a further background with the emphasis in focus as well.

Macro would be the compositional trick of choice when there is a small emphasis where you would want to stand out in the photo. It brings out the texture and shows detail that the human eye usually doesn't catch.

I like my texture photo because it shows detail that most people wouldn't care to look at. The way the circles are arranged are perfect and interesting as a pattern. The macro enhanced this photo because the texture is in focus and shows intricate detail.

Compositional Trick #2: Leading Lines

Leading lines guide the viewer's eye to travel throughout the whole photograph. Sometimes leading lines lead straight to the main point of the picture, or the emphasis, while other lines just lead you around and throughout the photo. Leading lines that are effective intentionally lead the eyes through the pictures without any distractions. Ineffective leading lines can lead away from the emphasis, which is not the trick that leading lines is for.

In my photograph the gate with lines lead you to the emphasis of the picture which is the Restrooms sign.