Monday, December 12, 2011
Magazine Cover Introduction
5 things to think about your magazine cover design:
Informal portrait
Informal portrait
Informal portrait
Favorite:
LIFE Special Edition (1969)
- Arousing curiosity (that’s to pull the casual glancer in)
- Emotionally irresistible (that’s the image’s appeal)
- The cover attracts a target consumer.
- Intellectually stimulating, interesting (that’s to promise benefits)
- Efficient, fast, easy to scan (that’s showing off the service)
Informal portrait
Informal portrait
Informal portrait
Informal portrait
Informal portrait
Environmental portrait
Environmental portrait
Environmental portrait
Informal portrait
Informal portrait
Formal portrait
Informal portrait
Environmental portrait
Formal portrait
Informal portrait
Formal portrait
Environmental portait
Informal portrait
Informal portrait
Favorite:
Environmental portrait
This LIFE special edition To the Moon and Back chronicles the first moon landing, brought about by the courage of the Apollo 11 astronauts and the thousands of people who supported their mission. On the magazine cover is a picture of Buzz Aldrin, taken by fellow astronaut Neil Armstrong. Along with color photographs of this historic walk on the moon, there are biographical sketches of Neil Armstrong, Edwin Aldrin and Michael Collins. There is also a history of manned space exploration from the first single orbit around the earth orbit to the launch of Apollo 11.
This is my favorite magazine cover because this environmental photo has deeper meaning that what it looks like. The title "Life" and the photo resonate together. The photo represent how humans life. We seek knowledge, explore, then we come back again to share that knowledge and/or experience just as the description title "to the moon and back" . We seek our own road to freedom, to the moon, but we will be back for those who we care for. We will stand strong, confident to our own way because we will be back with something worthwhile to show from the rocky moon. The background/grounding means the trouble that we will go through to seek those individual freedom. How far one will go for our own freedom. Then, the dark sky represents the unknown universe we don't know but look up to seek. I like the lightning, how the color change from bottom right to top left, getting darker in order to blend the title of the magazine with the photo itself for a clear understanding of the text, I also like the reflection of the astronaut's head cover shows the shadow side of the picture.
This is my favorite magazine cover because this environmental photo has deeper meaning that what it looks like. The title "Life" and the photo resonate together. The photo represent how humans life. We seek knowledge, explore, then we come back again to share that knowledge and/or experience just as the description title "to the moon and back" . We seek our own road to freedom, to the moon, but we will be back for those who we care for. We will stand strong, confident to our own way because we will be back with something worthwhile to show from the rocky moon. The background/grounding means the trouble that we will go through to seek those individual freedom. How far one will go for our own freedom. Then, the dark sky represents the unknown universe we don't know but look up to seek. I like the lightning, how the color change from bottom right to top left, getting darker in order to blend the title of the magazine with the photo itself for a clear understanding of the text, I also like the reflection of the astronaut's head cover shows the shadow side of the picture.
Thursday, December 8, 2011
Lytro Warm-Up
1. What did you see happen when you clicked on the photo?
Pictures with great light exposure, the camera captures the light field
2. How does this new camera work?
This new camera contain a light field sensor that "captures the color, intensity and vector direction of the rays of light".
3. What do you think a photographer would have to know about to take this kind of photo (remember its a point-and-shoot, so its full manual mode, what do you need to know about)
You need to be able to zoom in and out because this new camera does not have an auto focus motor. Since no auto focus motor means no shutter delay, you cannot put a timer for this new camera.
4. Is it worth the money?
I think it's worth the money for people who does not want to play with lightning, balance, or the whole manual mode, but for photographers that want to take a photo with their own settings, its not.
Pictures with great light exposure, the camera captures the light field
2. How does this new camera work?
This new camera contain a light field sensor that "captures the color, intensity and vector direction of the rays of light".
3. What do you think a photographer would have to know about to take this kind of photo (remember its a point-and-shoot, so its full manual mode, what do you need to know about)
You need to be able to zoom in and out because this new camera does not have an auto focus motor. Since no auto focus motor means no shutter delay, you cannot put a timer for this new camera.
4. Is it worth the money?
I think it's worth the money for people who does not want to play with lightning, balance, or the whole manual mode, but for photographers that want to take a photo with their own settings, its not.
Friday, December 2, 2011
Rules of Photography
1. Rule of thirds
2. Balancing Elements
3. Leading Lines
4. Symmetry and Patterns
5.Viewpoint
6.Background
6.Background
7. Create Depth
8. Framing
9. Cropping
10. Mergers and avoiding them
Self Portraits and Portraits Part II
Tips for self portrait or portraits:
Anticipating Behavior
An important element in people photography is knowing your subjects well enough to be able to anticipate what they are going to do. It's the only way you are going to be able to get pictures of it. If you wait until you see it, it's too late. The key is to watch people carefully. Always have your camera ready. If you're going to be shooting in one situation, set the aperture and shutter speed in advance so you don't have to fiddle with them while you're shooting. Watch people through the viewfinder. If you're paying attention, you'll sense what's about to happen.
Hands and other details
The hands of a farmer, a pianist, a baker. The feet of a ballet dancer, a long distance runner, a place kicker. The belly of a pregnant woman, the bicep of a weight lifter. Hair caressing a pillow, fingers clutched in prayer, a peering eye. The details of the human body make great photographic subjects, either as expressions of ideas or emotions, as graphic shots, or as a way to say something about an individual. Whenever you are photographing someone, try to think of details of their body or dress that would get your message across in an indirect way.
Are there particular parts of their body or items of what they wear that are important to what they do for a living or a hobby? Does some part of them really stand out? Can you find a way to abstract what you want to say about the person by using one of these elements?
The point is to use your eyes and your imagination, whether you want to use detail and abstraction to say something about an individual or about the beauty of the human body. If you are making photographs of details of the human body, you will be working intimately with people and will have to direct them, tell them where to pose, and how.
Using reflective object
A mirror or some other reflective surface offers an even easier way to take a self-portrait. In most cases, the camera will be included in the scene (but this can help make a statement about your enthusiasm for photography). You can use your camera as a prop, and hold it away from your face. When you photograph into a mirror, be sure your reflection is in focus. An infrared auto focusing system will usually focus on glass if it's aimed into a mirror, and will focus at infinity if aimed at an angle. You might try focusing at an object that's the same distance as the distance from the camera to the reflection, lock in the focus, recompose the image to include yourself, and take the picture.
Environmental Portraits
These photos have amazing lightning and color contrast. The model's emotion is also fantastic, it shows their personality in that environment. The choice of background, setting, and time looks very professional with the model holding their individual item of settings.
Portrait Assignment
I plan on shooting myself because I trust myself the most. I will shoot outside for clear, natural, earthy background and good lightning. I might shoot on top of a rock in courtyard for my martial arts kick pose, or a bright expression looking up with sun light exposure for a magical feeling, or laying on top of something, facing upward, with an expression matching my outwear color, or a sad expression looking right into the camera while sitting on a grassy ground and grip right into the grass, a dress (if i want to wear one) and camera facing down on me, or a jump on the air while the background shows only the sky with excited expression, or my martial arts jump kick with vertical lines as background to show a strong spirit feeling (if the camera can go down to a good enough shutter speed and good lightning). These are my ideas that i haven't narrowed down.
Anticipating Behavior
An important element in people photography is knowing your subjects well enough to be able to anticipate what they are going to do. It's the only way you are going to be able to get pictures of it. If you wait until you see it, it's too late. The key is to watch people carefully. Always have your camera ready. If you're going to be shooting in one situation, set the aperture and shutter speed in advance so you don't have to fiddle with them while you're shooting. Watch people through the viewfinder. If you're paying attention, you'll sense what's about to happen.
Hands and other details
The hands of a farmer, a pianist, a baker. The feet of a ballet dancer, a long distance runner, a place kicker. The belly of a pregnant woman, the bicep of a weight lifter. Hair caressing a pillow, fingers clutched in prayer, a peering eye. The details of the human body make great photographic subjects, either as expressions of ideas or emotions, as graphic shots, or as a way to say something about an individual. Whenever you are photographing someone, try to think of details of their body or dress that would get your message across in an indirect way.
Are there particular parts of their body or items of what they wear that are important to what they do for a living or a hobby? Does some part of them really stand out? Can you find a way to abstract what you want to say about the person by using one of these elements?
The point is to use your eyes and your imagination, whether you want to use detail and abstraction to say something about an individual or about the beauty of the human body. If you are making photographs of details of the human body, you will be working intimately with people and will have to direct them, tell them where to pose, and how.
Using reflective object
A mirror or some other reflective surface offers an even easier way to take a self-portrait. In most cases, the camera will be included in the scene (but this can help make a statement about your enthusiasm for photography). You can use your camera as a prop, and hold it away from your face. When you photograph into a mirror, be sure your reflection is in focus. An infrared auto focusing system will usually focus on glass if it's aimed into a mirror, and will focus at infinity if aimed at an angle. You might try focusing at an object that's the same distance as the distance from the camera to the reflection, lock in the focus, recompose the image to include yourself, and take the picture.
Environmental Portraits
These photos have amazing lightning and color contrast. The model's emotion is also fantastic, it shows their personality in that environment. The choice of background, setting, and time looks very professional with the model holding their individual item of settings.
Casual Portrait
I like the balance of these portraits and the emotion the subject is expressing. The background, their clothes, accessories and hair position, and shooting angle fits their personality as an individual. Soft lines on background, avoiding mergers and focus out everything other than the main subjects blends in as a casual portrait.
Portrait Assignment
I plan on shooting myself because I trust myself the most. I will shoot outside for clear, natural, earthy background and good lightning. I might shoot on top of a rock in courtyard for my martial arts kick pose, or a bright expression looking up with sun light exposure for a magical feeling, or laying on top of something, facing upward, with an expression matching my outwear color, or a sad expression looking right into the camera while sitting on a grassy ground and grip right into the grass, a dress (if i want to wear one) and camera facing down on me, or a jump on the air while the background shows only the sky with excited expression, or my martial arts jump kick with vertical lines as background to show a strong spirit feeling (if the camera can go down to a good enough shutter speed and good lightning). These are my ideas that i haven't narrowed down.
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Self Portrait and Professional Portrait
Self Portrait:
A good photo is when a photo contains a deeper meaning than photography and successfully use the rules of photography to express and exaggerate that idea. Mostly people use scenery lightning to help the balance, lines to create movements, while framing is use to fill the emptiness and support the balance. Avoiding mergers, simplicity, rule of third commonly give hints of the true meaning of the photograph. Good photography use most of these rules to support one's portrait message.
If i have a camera I would use style that use shadow, or light, and lines to take a portrait. So either a sparkly moment or a dark moment, and perhaps an object to capture subject's reflection, environment.
A good photo is when a photo contains a deeper meaning than photography and successfully use the rules of photography to express and exaggerate that idea. Mostly people use scenery lightning to help the balance, lines to create movements, while framing is use to fill the emptiness and support the balance. Avoiding mergers, simplicity, rule of third commonly give hints of the true meaning of the photograph. Good photography use most of these rules to support one's portrait message.
If i have a camera I would use style that use shadow, or light, and lines to take a portrait. So either a sparkly moment or a dark moment, and perhaps an object to capture subject's reflection, environment.
Shortlist Warm Up
Landscape:
Bagansunset by Dvlazar
Travel:
Wishing Incense Coils by RP Vale
Fashion:
Leap by Carolyn Mendelsohn
Family and Friendship:
On the Traditional Kitchen by Aiyoshi
Portraits:
Phillipos by Cristina Carracaso
Documentary:
Lesson Amman by Maciej Dakowicz
Gardens and Plants:
Poppy on the Wind by Magda Wasiczek
Wildlife:
Magic of Light by Magda Wasiczek
Creative License:
Gravity Is Alie by himitsuhana
Action and Movement:
Flight by WWWest
Monday, November 21, 2011
Ethics in Fashion Photography
1. List the changes that were made to the model's face in the computer. (Look carefully)
They made the model's lip larger, neck longer, bigger eyes, slender neck, change her head shape to have more "beauty" on it, change the shading of the facial color to make it more warm and perfect to the audience.
2. Is it ethically acceptable to change a person's appearance like this in a photo? Why or why not?
Whats ethical become questions when we change our own appearance with make up. It certainly doesn't look right to change someone's appearance using "Adobe Photoshop" but why is it ethical to change our own appearance with make up and plastic surgery? The answer can be yes or no to me, and perhaps other people. Unless we change our view of hypocrisy, whats ethical and unethical can always be questioned or thrown back at our faces.
3. Are there circumstances in which it would be more ethically wrong to do this type of manipulation?
I believe that it is very wrong to make and shape what is beauty or not. What goes beyond the line is changing facial shape, maybe it is something that we really never did in our history. We had face painting for festival, tribal use, and other things but to cross beyond the line of bone shaping is painful. That's whats unethical about it, because we think of pain when a form of changing bone is present.
4. What types of changes are OK, and what aren't?
I'm not really sure what's okay or not because our personality and ethics shaped with the environment itself and in our current situation, people have change us see the world in their eyes. Perhaps jealousy towards beauty of warm shape, color or size drives us into writing in our fact of whats ethical and what is not. That's why I don't think any of these is ethical because it drives my emotion. I don't like to be manipulated with my desires of what is see, but we eventually do it ourselves--change ourselves.
5. Explain what you think the differences are between fashion photography and photojournalism.
Fashion photography is where we apply changes to people; to make a fashion or a beauty, but I don't think we have any limits to change. I saw a TV program of how they manipulated picture of models to drive jealousy out as a form of advertisement. Photojournalism have limits, i can tell by the stories I read, from previous blog I had to do. There is consequences to changes, its the idea of journalism; that we cannot lie about the event or story. Even though journalism can be a form of opinion, the form of it have to at least stay near the line of fact.
6. What relationship does each type of photography have to reality, and how does
this affect the ethical practice of each?
As what I said previously, that fashion photography doesn't have limit because its supposed to show us the form of perfection that we desire and strive for. Fashion photography is a form of advertisement and so it has bigger range of what opinion can be said than journalism. Photojournalism is what we have to stick to fact and truth, the photos is a view of the "that one present moment", and we shape our opinion in a form of journalism around the photos, the backup or the fact, to guess and state one of the possible event that may be occurring. Therefore, photojournalism is more into the reality side of the coin, while fashion photography is our fantasies and so our ethical practice is questioned more in photojournalism than fashion photography.
They made the model's lip larger, neck longer, bigger eyes, slender neck, change her head shape to have more "beauty" on it, change the shading of the facial color to make it more warm and perfect to the audience.
2. Is it ethically acceptable to change a person's appearance like this in a photo? Why or why not?
Whats ethical become questions when we change our own appearance with make up. It certainly doesn't look right to change someone's appearance using "Adobe Photoshop" but why is it ethical to change our own appearance with make up and plastic surgery? The answer can be yes or no to me, and perhaps other people. Unless we change our view of hypocrisy, whats ethical and unethical can always be questioned or thrown back at our faces.
3. Are there circumstances in which it would be more ethically wrong to do this type of manipulation?
I believe that it is very wrong to make and shape what is beauty or not. What goes beyond the line is changing facial shape, maybe it is something that we really never did in our history. We had face painting for festival, tribal use, and other things but to cross beyond the line of bone shaping is painful. That's whats unethical about it, because we think of pain when a form of changing bone is present.
4. What types of changes are OK, and what aren't?
I'm not really sure what's okay or not because our personality and ethics shaped with the environment itself and in our current situation, people have change us see the world in their eyes. Perhaps jealousy towards beauty of warm shape, color or size drives us into writing in our fact of whats ethical and what is not. That's why I don't think any of these is ethical because it drives my emotion. I don't like to be manipulated with my desires of what is see, but we eventually do it ourselves--change ourselves.
5. Explain what you think the differences are between fashion photography and photojournalism.
Fashion photography is where we apply changes to people; to make a fashion or a beauty, but I don't think we have any limits to change. I saw a TV program of how they manipulated picture of models to drive jealousy out as a form of advertisement. Photojournalism have limits, i can tell by the stories I read, from previous blog I had to do. There is consequences to changes, its the idea of journalism; that we cannot lie about the event or story. Even though journalism can be a form of opinion, the form of it have to at least stay near the line of fact.
6. What relationship does each type of photography have to reality, and how does
this affect the ethical practice of each?
As what I said previously, that fashion photography doesn't have limit because its supposed to show us the form of perfection that we desire and strive for. Fashion photography is a form of advertisement and so it has bigger range of what opinion can be said than journalism. Photojournalism is what we have to stick to fact and truth, the photos is a view of the "that one present moment", and we shape our opinion in a form of journalism around the photos, the backup or the fact, to guess and state one of the possible event that may be occurring. Therefore, photojournalism is more into the reality side of the coin, while fashion photography is our fantasies and so our ethical practice is questioned more in photojournalism than fashion photography.
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Photo Manipulation and Ethics
Digital manipulation is an offense but in some case such as April fools and in Middle East doesn't have consequences. Manipulation commonly used such as cloning, color alternation or enhancement, copy and paste, and combining two pictures of same subject for a better composition is an offense and there's consequences to bear such as job loss and mainly your credibility as a photographer or photojournalist. Digital manipulation of an event for the government's success isn't an offense in Middle East such as; a cover up of a failed rocket missile in a launch of three missiles. The usage of the same subject in different photos during different times because of the subject's emotion is a strange thing but isn't an offense because of the time stamp, even though there is no name stated in the caption.
This photo seem to be the most unethical to me. The photo was manipulated to look as if the US guards was about to shoot an Arabian and his child if they do not sit right now. It was manipulated with two different photos at different time to make it looked as if the Arabian dad and child is closer to the guard.
In this magazine cover photo of national geographic, the pyramids are closer to each other than the real pyramids. The manipulation of cover of the photo was done to establish lines for more better dynamic touch to it. It doesn't seem to be unethical but the photo is a lie itself about the fact of the pyramids.
In this magazine cover photo of national geographic, the pyramids are closer to each other than the real pyramids. The manipulation of cover of the photo was done to establish lines for more better dynamic touch to it. It doesn't seem to be unethical but the photo is a lie itself about the fact of the pyramids.
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