Artist Statement

In my portfolio, there are a variety of projects and Photoshops that we have worked on throughout the school year. Some of the major projects we worked on were our surrealism, our personal metaphor, and our graduation and senior night invitations. Also, there are some photos that we took while experimenting with the different settings of a camera such as ISO or Shutter Speed. There were also photos we had to take as a group such as the group collaboration, or balance. I feel that I did a good job with keeping my portfolio neat and organized. I posted mostly all of the work we did, except for maybe one or two things.
My favorite thing that I did in this class was adding effects to our pictures. The effects I liked most were the dreamy and cross-process effect. I liked these because it enhances our pictures; it makes them more interesting to look at. You are able to change the mood of the picture and this was good because since most of our pictures are taken here at school it’s hard to create a different mood for every picture. Over the course of this semester I learned a lot of new things that were helpful. For example, I learned about ISO, shutter speed, and aperture. These are all used to create light while making the picture more interesting, and not taking the original color away. I also learned about asymmetrical and symmetrical balance which also helps improve pictures. One last thing I learned was how to work with Photoshop. I came into this class not knowing anything, and although I didn’t learn everything about this program I am leaving knowing a lot more than I originally did and this helps me to learn more about it in the future.
What I feel I was most successful with was learning what a good and a bad picture look like. Before this class, I saw pictures and didn’t think much of them. Now though I know that there is more to a picture than what you see. There are the ideas behind it, the setting, the mood, and the tricks used to create the final product. I’ve realized that taking a picture isn’t just about pushing the snapshot button, if you want a picture that actually catches the eye there is a whole process involved. The thing I struggled with the most was being creative. The classes I’ve taken have always been your basic classes that don’t require much creativity so coming into this class was a new experience for me. At the beginning I was clueless on how to be creative, but as the year progressed it became a little easier.
I think in the future what I would want to improve is not limiting myself. I would have liked to put more enthusiasm into my projects, and have worked on them even if it was difficult. However, I did see improvement through the year. I improved in my Photoshop skills and ideas. I learned a lot in this class, and I’m glad that I took it. It helped me learned the beauty behind photography.

Personal Metaphor " Like the hands of a clock, following an everlasting routine"

(Like the hands of a clock, following an everlasting routine)

I chose this metaphor because right now I feel like everything I'm doing is the same. Everyday I wake up, go to school, go home and it starts all over again. It's all I did this year, everything was a routine, and nothing really changed as the year progressed. I think this metaphor really gets this point across because the hands of a clock always follow the same routine, and it never changes. The time may change, but the hands are still going around at the same pace, in the same direction. I know it will eventually change, but I like the quote too.

I am actually satisfied with this project. There are a couple things I could have changed, but overall it looks alright. I used a tutorial to create the clock and the clouds, and the paintbrush tool to create the grass. I think I did a good job with the composition, and the colors. It all seems to go. What I could have done better though was making myself more easily noticeable. When I look at the picture the last thing I see is myself, so I could make myself easier to spy. The most difficult part was figuring out how to make it seem like the clock was among the grass, and not make it seem like it was under it or on top of it. I like my final product though, I like the mood it creates.

Shutter Speed

To get our "picture perfect" photograph we had to put the ISO as high as possible and set a timer for 15 seconds. We had to hold real still during those 15 seconds so there wouldn't be any movement captured. The classroom was dark, no lights were on and there was no source of light coming through. At first, we didn't know how to make it look like the lights were on, but then we figured it out. Shutterspeed is a good way to make light show in a picture, but we also have to change the ISO and aperture settings so the picture comes out good.

ISO: Film Speed

ISO is the speed at which light comes in. It's convenient when you are in a dark setting. The difference between using ISO and using flash is that ISO captures more light and the picture is brighter, more colors stand out. Flash makes a picture very detailed, but every color looks the same. You would choose to use ISO over flash because it captures the light of everything, instead of just adding light to make the picture clear. You would use ISO mostly at night, or where you are somewhere that is dark. However, when using a fast ISO you have to be careful because the picture will come out blurry or grainy.

Surrealism: Unordinary Day

There is a path leading to a small area of water. On one side of the path, is an empty bench and it looks like it has been deserted for a while. Inside the area of water is a salt shaker that is larger than your average one. However, instead of there being salt inside it is water from the ocean. This water is bright and you can see that the sun is reflecting upon it. Across from this object, are three teeth. They are different in sizes, but go along with three rocks in front of them. On the other side of the area of water, is a girl sitting, looking past the salt shaker at what is beyond. The path acts as leading leads to the pond and to the girl. On the other end of the pond is another path of rocks that takes you through the whole picture. What stands out most is the salt shaker, and then you start looking at the other things happening in the picture. The dream-like mood of the picture goes with the expression on the girl’s face. She seems to be thinking, and uncertain of her surroundings, yet it doesn’t seem as if she is uncomfortable. The picture is okay, not a lot is happening but what is in the picture doesn’t seem to go together. It all seems as if it is happening during different times.

Surreal Practice Tutorials

We prepared for our surreal project by practicing different techniques we may want to use in our projects. In this tutorial we learned the value of layering textures using blending options to create an atmosphere with dream like qualities.

(http://www.photoshop-garden.com/view_tut.php?id=76

Credit: Stock: hbrush.com Texture: moonchilde-stock.deviantart.com, 99mockingbirds.chanlu.orgText brush: shyndel.deviantart.com)

One thing I liked about this tutorial was that we mixed different pictures that have nothing to do with each other, and they all helped create a dreamy mood.

We then followed this tutorial found at http://www.voidix.com/eye_manipulation.html to give us ideas and practice combining images, reversing natural laws, transforming objects and using Photoshop to create a realistic surrealistic scene.

One thing I learned about this tutorial was how to create a reflection on the eye of another image, it makes the picture a lot more interesting to look at.

Alternate Program: Senior Night Invatation

What I think I did well on this invitation was adding a nice texture to the background, also the color of it is nice. I also like the "evening of excellence" how its going diognally. What I could have done better is make the white font easier to read. Also, the flowers I don't really like. I could have put a graphic design on the background to make it more interesting and that relates to the senior portfolio show. What I struggled with the most was coming up with ideas on what to put on the background. I tried many different shapes on photoshop but they didn't seem to go. The flowers don't really, but they looked better than the rest of the other stuff. It was difficult to decide what to put on the background because there was nothing you had to put on there, except for your own stuff, and it was more space to cover up. I think I did better on the Graduation Program because even though it was simple, it looks nicer than this one. This one looks kinda empty.

Graduation Program

What I think I did well on this invitation was keeping it simple. It doesn't look crowded so it's not too much to look at. Also, I think the font and colors were nice and easy to read. However, what I could have done differently was adding a graphic design, or pictures, something that would have made it more interesting to look at. It's plain and it doesn't draw you in. Graphic design was harder than I thought because it's all about being creative and having ideas, and that doesn't come very easily to me. Also, the smallest details can affect it in many ways, so it is hard deciding what to choose. I think in graphic design everything is important. Everything is equal in importance because it all contributes to its overall appearance. If you have a nice design and placement, but bad font it's not going to look very nice and vice versa. Some advice I recommend is experimenting with graphic design for a while longer before making the invitations, and also working more with good examples and bad examples of graphic design.

Effects

The effect I like best is glow because it makes pictures look nicer, and dreamy like. It also seems to add more color, and it's just nice to look at. The emphasis effect is also cool because it makes it clear what the emphasis is without looking out of place, but it still looks different than the rest of the picture.

Frames

The picture I like best is the top one, where it kind of looks like I'm looking for something. I like this one better because in the other one I look too small, and in this one there is both a light and a shadow. I think the shadow on one side, and the light on the other is what makes my picture artistic, and also the bars in the top. To make it more artistic I probably could have made it so the whole frame is showing, and also have a different expression on my face.

Color!

This challenge was to emphasize the element color with a splash of fun!

Balance: Asymmetrical vs. Symmetrical

Symmetrical balance is when in your picture everything is balanced, or in other words even. If you were to fold the picture in half, what is on one side would line up with the opposite side. Asymmetrical balance, however, is when a picture is still balanced but not by having the same thing on both sides. When you look at these pictures,your eyes will see the same balance on either side.

I think visual balance is important in art because when an artist takes a photograph everything in it contributes to its overall appearance, therefore, you do not want something to stand out more than something else. Everything should be even so that the viewer does not focus just on one thing, but instead sees and understands the picture as a whole.

Group Collaboration

What I found most difficult about taking the group pictures was figuring out how to set up the picture. Where everybody was going to be, their position, and the background was hard to figure out. Just working with more people was harder, because there is more people to set up and still make the picture look good. What I would do differently is be more creative. I was in charge of one of the pictures and I had no idea where or how to set up the picture. I ended up just choosing whatever, and the picture didn't look all that good. I would also like to have more time to work on it, and everybody putting in ideas.