Artist Statement

This year I took Photography as my fine art class. This is one of my favorite classes because I have the opportunity to express myself and work on computers which I’m good at. We also take photos using different compositional tricks and we posted our photos in an online blog so others can see our art and appreciate it.

In my portfolio you’ll find a collection of work I’ve done this semester. Some is straight Photoshop and some is actual art work. Some of the work shows my interpretation of the world and a message I’m trying to get out. Though I haven’t turned every assignment in, I think my
portfolio is a good presentation of what I’m capable of artistically.

This semester I learned different tricks to help make your pictures better, and tricks on the computer to enhance the look and feel of a photo. Some of the tricks are just for fun like how to change eye color or warping but the compositional tricks make the photo more interesting and make you really think about what exactly the emphasis is. I do better with the compositional tricks. I prefer taking a photo with different techniques rather than being on Photoshop doing a million steps just to alter a photo.

Photoshop requires patience and perseverance and I’m really not the type to pay full attention all the time so in the future, I’d have to learn to stay focused so I can improve. Since the first picture I took, I’ve improved in using the compositional tricks to make my pictures better. I just naturally apply them when I take pictures. Since taking this class, I look at the world as a photograph. I see pictures wherever I go, and I love it.

I’ve learned that anything can be art. Art has no barriers. The only thing that’s important is if you believe you’re good and that whatever you present as art has a meaning behind it. I love this class, it gives me an opportunity to send messages out and show the world about what I know and what I’ve experienced.

Personal Words

The lyrics I chose for this project are "Now I'm speechless, over the edge I'm just breathless, I never thought that I'd get hit by this love bug again. Hopeless, head over heals in the moment, I never thought that I'd get hit by this love bug again." by The Jonas Brothers.

I chose these lyrics because the relationship that I'm in means a lot to me and I honestly didn't think I'd get like this for someone again. These lyrics speak to me because I understand them and I feel what they feel when they wrote the song. It's a cute song too, but it means something to me. It's a little corny, but I couldn't think of a better song to use.

Social Issue: "Forever"

In the photograph, a girl looking down at her tattoo. The tattoo says "Melissa". She got the tattoo in loving memory of her, and my, friend who passed away a year ago. She also has a necklace that has an "M" on it, also for Melissa. I took the picture from the extreme angle of the bird's eye view so it would seem as if Melissa was looking down at her. The statement is me speaking for Melissa. It's not a dark picture because even though it's sad, the girl in the picture isn't completely sad because she knows her friend is in a better place.

Melissa Vigil was turning 17 when she passed away. She was shot on accident and that man's mistake cost her her life forever. The statement is me speaking for her. Forever will she watch over us and wish she was with her friends, family, and her best friend. I knew Melissa as a beautiful, kind, funny person; and it breaks my heart knowing what happened to her. This issue means a lot to me because it's so horrible that people get their lives taken from them at such a young age. I hope that with my photo it opens people's eyes at what's really happening in high school's all over.

Scary Effects

Well, this picture isn't my favorite but it's the only one I got to finish. In this assignment I learned to use the magnetic lasso, and how to drag and drop one picture to my "canvas". I think the hardest thing I had to do was put the tenticals on my face. There was a certain way to arrange them so it would look real and it took me a while before I actually understood that concept. A graphic desinger obviously. But to make movie posters or to help animate the actual film.

Formal Critique

It’s a middle aged man building a wooden pathway in the middle of the ocean. It’s foggy and it looks sad and depressing. The sky is a light gray and the water is dark. It looks lonely. The bridge is a leading line to the man. He is a darker shade of gray than the rest of the picture which makes him the emphasis. It seems as if he isn’t worried about anything but his work even though he’s in the middle of the ocean and he could drown with one wrong move. I love this photograph. I think it shows determination in such a good way. It can also be portraying hopelessness. As if the man is working and there’s no end to what he’s trying to accomplish. I love this photo because it can mean so many things. Mostly dark, but good meanings.

Photographic Effects

Out of all the tricks we did, my favorite is the adjustment layer. I like how I can make it darker or lighter to my heart's content! The new tricks make the photos I take more interesting or cooler looking. My favorite was the gradient to give the photo a certain shade to it.

Portraits

Contact Sheet

Out of the 8 compositional tricks, my favorite is Extreme Angles. It's my favorite because I like that you can capture something or someone and have the world see them in a way they never thought of before. I'll most likely start using the Rule of Thirds and Framing. They're really good techniques to making the viewer focus on the right subject. The most difficult trick for me was the Fill in Flash. It's also my least favorite because it doesn't really do anything except make it easier to see the picture. My favorite photo would have to be either the Frame or the Extreme Angles. I like how they're black and white and I love the difference between those pictures and the other ones I have.

Compositional Trick #7 Drawing with Light

Drawing with light is when the photographer uses only the light to make the picture. Not just a shadow but dramatic light to show an emotion or show someone or something's inner beauty.

Compostional Trick #6 Framing

Framing is a technique used to lead the viewer to the emphasis of the picture. There's no limit to what a frame can be. In this picture i used the tree branch, and in the one at the top, i used the building. It can completely framing the emphasis or just a side of it. Anything that makes you look inside it will work.

Compositional Trick #5 Extreme Angles

Extremem angles are a way of showing people the world something in a way that you don't normally see it. You can either do it in a worm's eye view or a bird's eye view. Above there are examples of both but personally, I think the one of the gong isn't that good. The bicycle is a better example. A good photo of an extreme angle will make you feel like you're really looking at it that way.

Compositional Trick #4 Simplicity

Simplicity is when you take out all the extra stuff and make the whole entire picture about the emphasis. Sometimes pictures are so chaotic and they have so much going on that the viewer gets distracted. Keep it simple and a picture will always come out better.

Composition Trick #3 Macro

Macro is not only one of my favorites, but a really good choice of photography . It's used when you want to capture something that nobody ever pays attention to . When your camera is set to macro it blurs everything except the emphasis .

Compositional Trick #2 Leading Lines

Leading lines are basically like a mad leading you to either the emphasis of the picture or to make you see further into the picture. With leading lines the viewer shouldn't be searching all around the picture trying to find the point of it.

Compositional Trick #1 Rule of Thirds

The Rule of Thirds is when you take the emphasis of the picture and move it over so that it has more depth. To get to the rule of thirds, the frame is broken into three blocks going vertically and horizontally. The emphasis goes in the intersection of the lines .