CDIA: 50 Faces Project
When I started the part time photography certificate program at CDIA in Waltham one of the first projects they assigned us was to shoot 50 faces. It was an assignment created to help us get comfortable shooting portraits and start to learn what to look for. We learned even if you captured the right emotion if the lighting was off it wasn't a good photo, that if you didn't connect with the subject there was no emotion, how distracting your background could be, ways to adjust the lighting with simple props, and so much more.
Here are a few of my more successful images, several of which were taken after the project was completed because I knew more about how to take a successful portrait.
The above photos are of my brother and my mother taken on a sail boat several summers ago. They worked well as a pair. When you are shooting candids sometimes you can't avoid some technical errors because you aren't setting the scene. These family photos were candid and a boat limits your movement. The photo of my brother has some lighting on his face that is a bit off, it would have been best if it was completely in shadow like my mothers. Both images also include glasses which can cause reflection issues and also obscure the eyes, which as human indicate emotion. In my mothers photo it would have been best to move the "lifesling" guide that was behind her, it can be distracting especially because as humans we try to read text when we see it. But over all these images work well as a pair, both individuals are wearing sunglasses, hats, and grey sweaters and clearing on a boat; they both appear happy, relaxed, and to be enjoying a vacation. Sometimes you can't get the perfect image technically but doesn't mean you can't take a good photo.
The above photo is of my friend Carlos. When I first started the 50 face project my classmates and teachers remarked upon the quality of my photos of men being greater than those of women. This confused me a bit as I didn't think I had many male friends or an affinity for those images. Trying to see what my classmates saw I realized a few things about my work. I would overlook technical quality if the expression was right and men looked more at ease, weren't trying as hard in my photos than a woman. I was better at shooting the photos of men while having a random conversation and putting them at ease, while a woman was cognizant of the camera the whole time and I wasn't as good at distracting them. This photo was a favorite of mine because it is such a candid moment and had a beautiful soft rim light from the sunset.
During this time in the 50 faces projects, because it was so intensive and we just had to shoot 50 faces, I was just asking people if I could photograph them and doing it when they had free time. It was done without much thought as the best time of day or location for an image. I just happened to be leaving my house with my friend and stop him to take this photo. Doing this project the way we did made us evaluate why some photos worked and some didn't but forced us to work with the time we had and see what we could do.
As we worked through the project we were also learning in class. The above image of my friend Cassandra was taken in my drive way during a bright sunny day. By this time I had learned way to deal with that sun. We had her back to the sun and she used some white foam core to bounce light back into her face so it was not too dark.
The above photo was taken much later in the project of my friend Ian. He knew of an old foundation in the woods we could visit and use for a shoot. This was more intentional and planned than the initial 50 faces. We gave thought to the surroundings, time of day, and lighting more than before.
This project was a great learning experience and forced us to quickly learn how to deal with people and different situations while shooting. I highly recommend this project and hope to come back and post another 50 faces project in the near future.
First Photography "Portfolio"
At the end of the two week photography summer class I took at CDIA before my junior year of high school (which I mentioned in an earlier post) we put together our favorite images from the class in a portfolio and learned a bit about printing as well. My favorite photos included mostly flowers and animals, not a surprise as that is what I loved and was easy to find, some others also included favorites from vacations.
Most of opportunities for taking photos while in this short class came from being outside in my neighborhood and from field trips we took in class. The flower photos were all taken in my mother's many gardens (10 or more!), while the frog I found in my neighbors man-made Coy Pond. I have always loved nature and being outside so it was natural to try to capture what I saw.
I also took some photos of my neighbors new puppy, a little Shitzu they named Mickey because they love disney. I snapped this shot of the cute little bump on his nose and his overbite while he was play with my 85 lb dog, Buddy! They were an odd match but quickly became fast friends, to this day Mickey will run up to my parents house looking for Buddy though he has been gone for several years.
Later in the summer I added a few new photos from our yearly vacation to Martha's Vineyard to my portfolio. When I was younger we visited Martha's Vineyard every year for 1-2 weeks and stayed at my uncles house in Edgartown. I took many photos photos but I especially liked the photo of the sail boats in Edgartown harbor and rock balancing I found on the beach. I can't remember if this photo was taken in the sand dunes by where we went cohoging or near Chappaquiddick while driving on the dunes before the sand bar connecting it to Martha's Vineyard was destroyed. I also took many photos of the ginger bread cottages and of course the miniature horses I mentioned before.
Summer Photography Class in High School
By the time I was in high school my interest in photography was evident and my parents offered to send me to a two week summer program for photography in Waltham, at the CDIA of BU (at the time). They got me a low level DSLR, a Nikon D40, with two lenses, and I took the class. I learned more about composition and lighting, I started learning Lightroom 2 and Photography CS2. That’s when I began to think more about how to make a good photo instead of just capturing the moment.
It was a fun class, and I don't use the word fun randomly, one of our teachers would say "That's so fun" to every photo we took, she was very enthusiastic. We spent the two weeks both in the class room and exploring the immediate area. We shot on Moody St., at theDeCordova Sculpture Park, Walden Pond, and other locations. We tried studio lighting out for the first time and more.
We got silly with the Police horses at Walden Pond; yes I was in high school and still just as obsessed with horses.
I took another photography class in my high school, but my school was a bit behind in the programs and last minute the photography teacher was unavailable teach our class. A first time teacher with a background in ceramics ended up filling in as our photography teacher for the year. It was an interesting dynamic as she had a different perspective on the work and little knowledge of photoshop. It was a unique class seeing how photography critique worked from more traditional background. I also had the opportunity to help many other students who had no previous experience with a camera and the Adobe programs.
I took these photos on the playground while in high school when I was learning more about composition and aperture. And... in case I made you curious, yes, I was still trying to get the perfect picture of a chipmunk, that is just as silly as when I was younger.
