Week 2: The Human Form

Week 2: In our Photography II Class, we are focusing on advancing our skills in articulating our ideas and visions into compelling and aesthetically pleasing photographs. This week, we focused primarily on subject matter rather than the technical aspect of the media. The subject of this assignment is the human form, of using models in our photography. The photos above are the ten pieces I have chosen to illustrate the work I have done this week for the class.

Craft: The Craft of this assignment is the following: Digital SLR Camera (Canon E05 Rebel T5i), a computer, photo lights, Bowens Camera Studio Lights, and the model/subject matter of the photos, my friend Armani. I used these resources to create the images above. The Bowens Camera Studio Lights came with stands as well as studio umbrellas for the lights.

Composition: In this class, we were tasked with taking photos to fulfill some requirements for the assignment. The process that I took to accomplish this is as followed: first, I had to set up the overall setting on how the model would sit or stand, etc. Next was the lighting in the photo shoot studio that was already set up. The setup was quite simple. It consisted of a black background, a stand with black paper atop to blend it with the backdrop, and Bowens studio lights for lighting the studio. For each photoshoot set, I set up my model in various poses and sitting arrangements and lighting situations. I did some in color but I found that black and white was much more applicable to the particular photos I was creating. I switched the camera's color scheme to monochrome to get the black and white capture of the images. When it came to natural lighting, I went outside to take photos in the daylight. The most technical aspects of this project were managing the ISO, Aperture, and shutter speed to make sure that the images were not too washed out or dark. I had forgotten to recalibrate this after each shot so some shots in each set were not in the correct exposure. After that, I did some slight edits such as correcting exposure and straightening the image in Photoshop.

Concept: In this project, we were tasked with creating photos that incorporated the following requirements: we had to use a model, and in return, we would have to do the same poses, sitting arrangments, etc as they did. For the controlled environment of the studio, I chose to use black and white as it was much easier to control lighting. For the natural lighting, I chose to go outside. I used this to work and challenge myself with unpredictable situations and to work accordingly to make the composition work. For the photographs set in the photo studio, I focused on lighting as the main driving force of the composition. I was focusing on subtle emotional expressions in my assignment.