Artist Statement

I feel that my portfolio for this class has been very successful. I think that this portfolio shows some of my best work and shows my improvement throughout the semester. Over the course of the semester, I have learned to convey my ideas more creatively. In addition, I have learned how to use ISO, metering, more Photoshop tools, etc in order to make my artwork more interesting. My ideas have grown through the help of my teacher and classmates.

I think that I was most successful with my personal metaphor. I believe this because it was
something that I really felt and it portrayed my feelings in a different way than most people would think about it. I struggled with the self portraits. I didn't know exactly what or how to take the pictures, but in the end I figured it out. I think some influences were that we just had to take the pictures and there was no exact way to take them.

Throughout the semester, I have seen growth and improvement in the way in which I illustrate my ideas. I believe that I can improve on learning the different tools that the camera has to make my pictures turn out better. This class has helped me to express myself in a better manner. This class was very fun and I enjoyed all the projects that we did in the year.

Adjustment Layers

Self Portraits

Through this self-portrait project, I wanted to express through photographs different aspects of everyday life. My ideas sort of changed because I couldn’t show as much as a variety as I originally had intended. I believe my most creative moment was the one of myself and my personal prop which happened to be my dog. I think it was creative because it wasn’t planned to turn out that way, but it just did. It was difficult for me to come up with what exactly to incorporate and take pictures of.

In order to strengthen my photographs, I made sure that there was a good contrast between the whites, blacks, and grays. There were pictures that I set up specifically such as the element that I would use which was texture, however the way I sat just happened casually. In addition I set up how I would hold my dog for my prop of a meaningful object, but the angle in which the photograph was taken happened effortlessly as well as how exactly I was holding her. To be able to strengthen my compositions, I made sure that there was an emphasis on myself and that the photograph included details which may help them to stand out, such as the background. Some of my compositions weakened, however, because I did not plan them out as well as I should or could have. The portrait that has the strongest composition in my choice is the personal prop photograph. The portrait that I would change the composition on would probably be the light. It turned out okay, but I wanted to take it with the sun, but it was always either too high or already gone.

I believe that the rule of thirds picture did turn out a little on the dark side because the picture was taken in a dark area. I did use some of the camera techniques that we have learned in order to fix lighting. I changed the shutter speed in order to choose how much light I would allow into the pictures. In addition, I changed the ISO so that the light could be controlled. My lack of understanding didn’t really hinder my craftsmanship because they were set up compositionally well and the settings were pretty accurate to make them look good. My strengths are that the contrasts are very good. My weaknesses are that I should have planned out the pictures more and changed the scenery.

I think I did well on the portraits. I did well on setting up the pictures and the emphasis. I think that if I did the same assignment again, I would have worked more on scenery and planning of the place of taking the pictures. My overall favorite shot is the one with my dog since I am always taking pictures of her and with her all the time. Overall, I think I did alright on this project, but I know what to work on in the future in order to take perfect pictures.