Glossary, Free Lancer Project

Glossary

Exposure: Determines how dark or light a photograph would be when the picture is taken. 

Aperture: The size of the hole for the camera’s lens in which light goes through.

Shutter Speed: Length of time in which the camera’s sensors are exposed to light when taking a photo. Measured in 1 out of shown value. 

Center of Interest: A subject which a viewer will primarily be drawn to when seeing the photo.

Framing: Using natural obstructions to build a “frame” or a box to contain the subject.

Cropping: Removal of certain parts of the photograph to increase attractiveness of the photograph.

Depth of Field: The optimal distance in which the subject is clearest in the photograph. It can be adjusted to allow the photographer to take pictures at different distances, but subjects that are not in the camera’s ideal Depth of Field will be blurred as a result.

Lighting: Since the Camera’s main purpose is to capture light, Lighting becomes a fundamental  part of taking the picture as it manipulates how dark or bright a picture would be.

Composition: The structure of the photograph. Composition of the photograph allows to create more aesthetically pleasing pictures, using various techniques to draw the viewers into the photo. 

Rule of Thirds: The idea that, to help a person create decent composition, to divide the picture into 9 squares. This allows beginning photographers to not take the picture necessarily at the center, but also sideways. 

Resolution: Number of pixels that constitute the photograph.

Overexposure: This is when a photograph takes in too much light in a certain part of the photo, and, as a result, is unable to recognize the tone of the subject in question.

Underexposure: The opposite of overexposure, when a camera is unable to take in enough light to the point that the subject is not properly visible.

Macro: Close up photography.

F-stop: The designated number which define a camera’s aperture. 

Drapery Assignment

This was one of those pictures that  was able to take very, very quickly, thanks to remarkable amount of cooperation provided by the model. I am rather satisfied with how well this picture came out to be. 

   This picture was an improvisation, done in a desperate attempt to make something interesting out of a ladder in an outside place. Was it successful? I hope so, since my grade depends heavily upon it...

This was a picture that did not come out as I originally wanted it to be, but came out still fairly well. The thing was that the blanket was too heavy to float upwards into the air as my partner jumped from the stairs, and she sustained light injuries because of it. I had to apologize to her, but the quality possessed by the photo made it all worth it.

8 Best Portrait Photos

 The Mysterious Stranger
The main purpose of taking this picture (aside from the obvious completion of the assignment) was to create a dramatic photograph with as little resources as possible. To do this, I had a flash point toward my model from above, and made sure his face was obscured, in order to recreate the allure of the unknown often portrayed in roguish characters often portrayed in fiction. While some variation of background may have been appreciated, the photograph itself was a general success.

 

 Happiness is Mandatory
This photo was perhaps an intimate reference to one of my most beloved table top game; Paranoid, in which a psychotic AI of the cold war era rules a post apocalyptic world. My model is supposed to represent the madness and pure cynicism the inhabitants have to suffer in the dark setting of the story, while they are surrounded by the eyes of the computer. The lines that go through the model’s face depicts how, no matter how much the inhabitants struggle, they are still inevitably brainwashed, and limited by the world that molds them.

 

Loneliness
This picture was taken directly as a challenge against my photographic teacher’s demands to not use the pink walls for the photographs, and I did this by making sure that the very same walls were able to complement the portrait as a whole. In order to do this, I had my subject cover around 80% of the camera, making it look as if the pink wall is like an aura that hangs around a lonely soul of a girl, who has a hood to conceal her sadness.

 

 Escape
This picture is in many ways a continuation of the picture Happiness is Mandatory, in which the objective of some of the oppressed inhabitants is to escape the grasps of the rabid AI. In the original game, this is the ultimate act of triumph and skill, so, in order to portray that, the subject was made to give a smug grin at the camera, which supposedly is one of the surveillance cameras belonging to the AI.

 

 TCG Addiction Overload
The reaction of confused ecstasy shown in the subject is perhaps a reflection of my opinions when it comes to card games, and my complete inability to control myself. To portray the definite lack of control, I made the photo itself rather shaky.

 

 Indecision
This portrait reflects upon my occasionally happy contemplation on what I would like to play with, as rare as those situations come by. Notice the extremely serious nature of my model’s face, which reflects the ridiculous amount of tension I tend to exert upon seemingly such trivial matters.

 

 Ug Lee
As I came to realize that most of my peers were attempting to take the prettiest pictures of themselves as possible, I decided to take the alternate pathway, and instead take a picture of myself in the most hideous manner possible. I regret this decision, as it came out to be horribly right. I wish that I’d never taken this picture, as I am now unable to delete such a precious piece of visual comedy.

 

 Ignorance
The picture depicts the results of ourselves forcing upon ignorance, as we are are often unable to accept different opinions. The ridiculousness of the picture is intended, as the person is technically choking and killing themselves, when they can clearly stop such an act, and be able to see again for all it is worth.

The Short Sighted Journey

Another spontaneous photo I took on the day I took "The Ritual", and just like The Ritual, the picture The Short Sighted Journey, is a bug picture. But there were several differences (for me) that did not show on the picture itself. The first was how easy it was to take this picture. The intense light generated from the sun gave me quite a bit of freedom regarding my shutter speed and F-stop. Because of this distinct advantage, I was able to freely change my settings to mitigate for my camera's lack of short range capabilities. The fact that the bug itself was huge to begin with was a huge aid as well while taking the picture. As surprising as it may be, nothing in this picture had been set up, and the leaf, the snail, and the bug were all on the same position. The bug, even with the Camera Lens inches away from its fragile body, did not notice me, and just intently stared at the snail shell. It was interesting, as, after I took the picture, and the bug flew away, I had come to realize that there was never a snail in the shell in the first place, and that the bug was just staring at an empty shell, anticipating a delicious snail. While others may call this act "hipster", and "wannabe meaningful", I deeply felt pangs of our own lives, in which we meaninglessly wait for something, instead of checking their objectives, and make sure that their object of desire is there on the first place.

The Ritual

While I am quite satisfied with this short depth of field picture of the Praying Mantis, the process of taking this picture was painful to say at the least. First things first, I had a medium distance lens, that was absolutely horrific with close range shots, it would either go out of focus, or just shut down. Zooming only slightly mitigated the problem, and even with this lifesaving function, it took me at least twenty five photos over the course of fifteen minutes to get this photo. As sad as it is, the photo did not really have any symbolic significances within the picture, due to its spontaneous nature. I did, however, was thinking of the Praying Mantis doing a queer hunting ritual, as it waved its "claws" and limbs slowly. Alas, I wasn't able to take pictures of that, and, if only if I had a short range camera in my arsenal, the results of my blood and sweat would have been a masterpiece... No use crying over spilt milk I suppose.