Week 11 Photo Challenge: Self Portrait

For this self portrait I held my camera up in front my face and snapped a photo. I feel there is an art to self-portraits because you can't see what is being taken without the use of a mirror. I do not use a mirror. Growing up with MySpace and Facebook this "art" of self portrait has become pretty popular among my generation. I used a filter to bring out the vivid colors. Lastly I always make sure to put my chin down for portraits. It is the best angle to make most faces more slim and angular.

Week 10 EOC: Good Photography Business Mission Statements

After searching several photography company websites I never realized many of them do NOT include a mission statement. You would think any legitimate company would include a mission that tells people what they promise their company will do. One mission statement I was able to find that I liked was for Kelly Weaver Photography (http://www.kellyweaverphotography.com/mission.php) "We promise to photograph you with passion, and professionalism. We promise to be: loving, warm, conscientious, and energetic. Our hose is to have a personal connection with every client". Now It could be written more professional but I liked that they made you feel that your feelings and thoughts are highly prioritized to make a working relationship between the photographer and customers.

Another mission statement I was able to find was for Choice Photography (www.photographybyedit.com) "I am dedicated to preserving the most precious moments in life through the art of photography. It is my goal to create beautiful and lasting photographic images that will touch the hearts and lives of each and every client who places their trust in me for years to come." The photographer makes it known that photography is her passion and her goal is for the photographs she takes to make you happy. She states her goal is to have you trust her skills to making a lasting working relationship. 

Both of these mission statements made great use of playing on emotions. That's why many people hire photographers is to capture your memories that in years to come provoke those emotions. A baby shower, a wedding, or a graduation. Any of these special moments will provoke emotions and it is the photographer's job to remind you why you should hire them. 

Week 10 Photo Challenge: Legendary

I feel my photography has always had an influence by photographers in the past by the way they used light and colors to make their photos unique. One of my favorite artists and photographers is Andy Warhol. He always used  glamour in this work. Though many of his photographs were black and white I knew I wanted my picture to be in color to incorporate my own style into the self portrait. I set my camera on a tripod and set the shutter speed extremely slow with a wide aperture. Since I was fairly close to the camera I wasn't going to need a long focal length. I next set the camera on self timer pushed the button and posed. The results created I thought were very reminiscent of Warhol. Like his other portraits I feel their is a sense of glamour in the photograph with the additional of sunglasses. In a way they made me feel almost "celebrity" because I was in control of who saw my eyes.

Week 9 EOC: Emotional Photo

 

You look at this photo and you might think, "What's emotional about that?" Well to those that grew up in the generation of the Pop Princess, Britney Spears, you would feel emotional and feel a "connection" to this photo. The portrait was taken by famed photographer David LaChapelle. Personally LaChapelle is one of my favorite photographers for his use of color and shock value. He takes portraits in a style that makes you linger on the photo a little longer than you may have another photo. This photo holds an emotional connection to me because this was the first image we saw of Britney Spears that changed her image from girl next door to sex icon. What was controversial at the time was Britney Spears was only 18 years old. Though it wasn't illegally for her to pose this way it still shocked people when they saw the cover of Rolling Stone with their young daughter's favorite singer posing in such a provocative way. I mentioned before that I believe a good photograph is one that provokes an emotion. The photo doesn't need to be showing a war scene or a political figure. This photo at the time was shocking to my 13 year old self. But now at the age of 25 I see it as a great use of photography showcasing how we change in your lives. Celebrities change too. 

This is what I admire most about this photo. I no longer see a little girl laying on a bed, I now see one of the most famous women in the world.

Week 9 EOC: Cyber Monday

This may be my favorite shopping day of the year. Most like to think that Black Friday is the day to shop but those amateurs are mistaken. On the Monday after Black Friday is the amazing day of Cyber Monday. The one day of the year where almost all businesses with an online store produce deals on theirs products. This day is great for a photographer because most of the equipment we need can be found more available online. To be a photographer you need a camera and "the eye" for photography. To be a GREAT photographer you need a little more. Lens are a photographers best friend. Sure we can see what will make a great picture but a lens is what makes a moment come to life in 2D form. This Cyber Monday I've been researching a new lens that I have been looking at for a couple of years.

Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L II IS USM Telephoto Zoom Lens for Canon SLR Cameras

 

List Price: $4,000

Amazon Cyber Monday Price: $2,074.00

This telephoto lens is not only an amazing telephoto lens that makes getting pictures from far away look amazing it also works as a great portrait lens.  My photography business specializes in portrait photography, having this lens would increase my abilities in my portraits. With the ability to take a portrait with a longer focal length is a great way to make my photography more creative and pleasing to others. Since this is an "L series" lens I want to add this to my collection of lens now that I have been able to establish my business and have gained repeating customers.

Week 8 EOC: What do you think makes a photograph great?

There are many answers for this question. My answer is quite simple. Any photograph that provokes an emotion makes a great photograph. Have you ever seen a photo and thought "eh" that's because it didn't provoke anything. A thought, a feeling, nothing. When you see an ad in a magazine, and you see a pair of jeans you have to have, that's the emotion I'm looking for. When you see a photo of a pregnant woman caressing her baby bump and you smile and think about your own family. That's the emotion I'm talking about. It can be any emotion, happiness, sadness, humor. By provoking these emotions you are touching and connecting with others without words but by your photography. That is what really makes photography such a popular form of art. People want to share these emotions with each other and photography is one of the best way to do that. While watching "The Bang Bang Club" the photo of the vulture and the little girl provoked a feeling of helplessness in myself. By just looking at a photo and being able to provoke emotion that's when you know you are a photographer.

Week 8 Photo Challenge

With this challenge I knew exactly what art work I was going to use. Though in the movie "Gentlemen's Relish" the art being used was photography I have always loved the way nudity has been used in Renaissance works of art. The painting being shown is the "Birth of Venus" by Botticelli. I saw this amazing painting in Florence while I lived and studied there in 2008. Though there is nudity in the painting, in the original it is only a small part of the entire painting. By cropping the photo to only focus on the nudity the narrative of the painting completely changes. Just like the photography done in the movie, it is easy to see how it could be seen as pornography. I included my photographer's "watermark". Though I don't use this same watermark in my own photography I wanted to create one that you could notice but not be distracted by. I created a simple "eye" shape with long lashes signifying a wide eye.