Look at this before you begin to understand basic composition:
We need original photos to use as reference but I would also love to see more of your favorite photos that don’t fall into these categories too. These must be original photos but you are allowed to set up a scene and have a friend take the photo but NO ADULTS may take the photo of you or for you. You may create a Pinterest art page (recommended so that I can easily send you visual pins, comment, etc.) bring in a disk drive, or create a free account in Dropbox, Google Drive, Flickr and share with me. You may want to turn them in early because technology is not always reliable.
Whatever you do, send me an email once you have turned them in unless it’s in person. Do not turn these in via email.
Be sure to increase contrast, etc., in IPHOTO but Do not delete your original photos if you reduce them in size for emailing (so we can have the quality to print them out for possible competition pieces). Good apps: Photo Editing Apps
Decide what you want to express about your subject and how you can express it. You want your work to describe your personal point of view. Think about the effects of color and mood. Try to stay away from overly cute or subjects. Senior citizens make excellent subjects.
3 Unusual, close up, photos of people
Photograph three or more different people. Family snapshots are unacceptable, think UN-staged or spontaneous. Get close up, show details. Use props, (like your dad cooking) or wear fun clothing, hats, scarves, gloves, theater costumes or goofy pjs.
3 Self-portraits –
I KNOW YOU HAVE SOME WACKY, EXPRESSIVE SELFIES!! Consider psychological portraits expressing the moment of the subject: intense concentration or quiet contemplation, looking out of a rainy windowpane, or cringing away in fear of something seen or unseen (under the bed), etc. Be Brave! Theatrical! This is your stage!
- Extreme close-up or part of your face.
- Extreme close-up or part of your face and or with hands doing something. Straightening crooked glasses, cutting your hair (pretend only!), eating something, etc.
- Using your reflection in an unusual surface, something other than a normal mirror. This could be a metal appliance (toaster, blender), a computer monitor, a broken or warped mirror, a car’s rear view mirror or tinted windows. Pinterest has a TON of ideas.
- Using your reflection in an unusual surface, something other than a normal mirror. This could be a metal appliance (toaster, blender), a computer monitor, a broken or warped mirror, a car’s rear view mirror or tinted windows. Pinterest has a TON of ideas.
- Dramatic facial expressions, poses, and gestures or action- (like dancing, riding a bike or walking downstairs) close enough for detail.
- Lighting- dramatic darks and lights
3 Man-made structures using extreme angles
We see the world from about 4 feet off the ground. Most images we see are made within that normal range of human vision. In this project you are going to make pictures from extreme points of view—ways of seeing that fall outside our normal ways of looking at the world.
Requirements: three interesting vantage points of at least three different structures (buildings, home, barn, cities).
Don’t make pictures from a normal, “human” point of view! Here are some possible points-of-view to get you started:
- Extreme angles
- Reflective surfaces
- Bird’s-eye view (up on a ladder or looking down from above)
- Worm’s-eye view (lying on the ground practically)
- Looking in (framing)
- Rusted or weathered areas are always interesting.
- A building or spot that is part of your neighborhood’s identity like a firehouse, park, church, an empty playground. Try to convey an emotion with your shot.
3- DETAILS of Nature
Photograph nature, focusing your camera as close to your subject as you can. Explore DETAILS found in textures, patterns, shapes, and forms filling the entire picture frame.
- Textures: Worn stones, rocks, bark, weathered wood, leaves. You may want to try to contrast different textures in the same picture.
- Patterns: Branches, trees, roots, water, reeds by water, bark, stones. Explore the patterns that can be found in nature. Look for natural elements that are dramatic.
- Reflections: Photograph the patterns and shapes of trees and branches reflected in water. Find still pools of water, as well as moving streams, and look for patterns on the surface of the water. Throw rocks into still water and see the patterns you can make.
Rubric: Each item is worth 25 pts.
3 portraits of 3 different people close up _______(25)
3 self-portraits ______ (25)
3 dramatic views of 3 different structures ______ (25)
3 close ups of 3 different items in nature ______ (25)
You can always submit more than 12 if you have some really good ones you’d like to consider for competition, etc.
“If your pictures aren’t good enough, you’re not close enough.” -Robert Capa
