In the beginning of the school year I decided to get into photography because I've always been interested in it but didn't know much about it. When I saw that the school offered a photography class I got enrolled in it in hopes that I could learn more about photography and become good at it. Over the course of these past 5 months I have learned a lot about photography that I did not know about before. Such as photography terms and what you should do in order to be able to take a good photo even if it is something that does not seem very interesting. Photography can capture an image of any moment and tells a story, I learned that a photo is not just an image of something but has a deeper meaning. Not only have I learned about photography itself but about myself as well. I realized that I like to express myself through photography. If I don't say something in words I can say it through photography and show other what I feel like without having to say a word. It's not something that I knew I would be so interested in. I have also discovered that when it comes to photography I am not scared to portray different characters in the pictures. In one photo I can be very serious, in another I can be rally happy and be smiling, and there are also times when i can be lonely and sad. It's fun to portray different types of people through photos even if that is not what you are really like.
In the beginning of the semester something that was hard for me was finding a something interesting to photograph. At least that is what I though at first and I had difficulty in choosing what I wanted to capture on camera. As time passed, I realized that all around me there is beautiful things and I can capture them, I don't have to look for a specific thing to photograph. All round there are really interesting things with a lot of meaning behind them that I can photograph. Even if something doesn't look the best in person, through the camera I can make it look completely different and better, it all has to do with the way the photographer photographs the picture. Throughout the semester I was able to work on many projects and they were all very interesting. I was able to learn about some new photography technics and photoshop skills with every project. My favorite project would have to be the clones project because aside from being fun I was able to learn a photoshop skill that I thought was really hard but it turned out to be way easier that I expected. I was able to show different moods and attitudes I can have all in one picture, I though that was really interesting and fun to do. And, if I could choose a project to re-do and improve, it would have to be my light writing project. I feel like if I would have taken more time on it it would have been better and more interesting to look at. I would try and come up with something more eye catching and interesting.
In my last self portrait I have two images of me standing with my hair covering my face, I am in black and white while the rest of the photograph is in color. I used this to symbolize how there has been times when I feel like I am in black and white, that I do not fit it with the rest of the world. By putting my hair over my face I show how I tend to hide from everyone in fear of being judged for what I look like. The image itself might look a little weird and creepy, to some it might mean something else but to me it's a visual representation of what it feels like to not fit in and be scared of others judging you. If someone is to look at the pictures of my final project I would want them to see how others may feel without them even knowing. It is supposed to give a solitary and kind of depressing feeling.
In order for a student to succeed in photography I would tell them to just go for it and not be afraid to try something crazy. Things that are odd can sometimes end up being the most interesting and best photos. To not just take a picture of something because it looks pretty or cool but to really try and capture the image that has a deeper meaning and story to it.
