Blog Post #7

In one day, I have seen several photographic portraits. Most of these have been in advertisements and on Facebook, but I have also seen a few in newspapers. I think the content of the portrait changes based on the context in which you see the image. Portraits on Facebook are usually not taken very seriously, and they don't have to be very good quality or show an accurate representation of someone. Advertisements usually idealize the person or situation in the photograph, and while people usually pay attention to advertisements, they expect a certain degree of enhancement in the photos. On the other hand, people expect the portraits in the news to accurately present what the person looks like. The intents of each type of photo are very different. Facebook portraits are usually meant to be viewed by friends of the person in the photo. They are usually posted by the person in the photo as well. It's an informal type of atmosphere, so most of the portraits tend to have a fun and causal feel. The intent of advertisements is to sell something, and in order to do so, they have to grab the viewer's attention and make the product stand out. Therefore, they tend to show beauty and perfection. The intent of the news is to inform the public, so the portraits in the news are usually of people who are well-known and relevant to a recent event in the news.

Blog Post #6

In my opinion, it is not always appropriate to digitally alter photographic portraits. Whether or not it is appropriate depends on the photo, the situation, and the person being photographed. Cropping the photo, adjusting the exposure or tint, and airbrushing blemishes are usually acceptable ways to digitally alter a portrait. Digital alterations are unethical if they mislead viewers or embarrass the subject or others. It depends whether the portrait is intended for a work of art, an advertisement, a journalistic piece, or for the subject's own personal use.

Blog Prompt #5

“Photography records the gamut of feelings written on the human face, the beauty of the earth and skies that man has inherited, and the wealth and confusion man has created. It is a major force in explaining man to man.” ~Edward Steichen




I agree with the above quotation. Photography does help us to understand each other and the world around us. Without photos, we wouldn't have many accurate representations of other places and cultures in the world. We would understand only the small part of the world in which we live, and would not be able to relate to people from other places. With photographs, we can see how other people live, and we can learn how their lives are different from or similar to our own. Photography is a major force in explaining man to man.

Assignment 1

Each of the three photos that I selected represent scenes from a childlike perspective, and are meant to invoke thoughts of a simpler and more innocent time.



Composition: I posed the teacups on a white background in an unusual and unstable manner. By placing the teacups on the white background, a light and pleasant atmosphere is created. The positioning of the cups within the frame invokes both whimsy and instability. When I shot the photo, I was close to the subject and at the same level as the teacups. I thought this perspective would give a childlike feeling to the photo and to make viewers look at an ordinary subject in a new way.
Aboutness, Motivations, Method: In shooting this photo, I hoped to convey the wonder and innocence of childhood. As adults, we often get caught up in the daily struggles of life and forget to notice the details in the world around us. This photo forces the viewer to notice the details in the teacups and saucers and turns an everyday object into one of beauty.
Context: To me, this image deals with perceptions. I often get worn down by the monotony of my daily routine. I find it difficult to find the interesting and beautiful among the mundane. In this photo, I challenged myself to see things with a new perspective. This image highlights this struggle by showing the differences in the ways that children and adults see ordinary objects.
Interpretation: In class, people interpreted this as turning a formal subject into a fun playful one. They also interpreted the photo as being reminiscent of Alice and Wonderland.
Evaluation: Based on the evaluation, I think the photo conveys ideas of childlike playfulness, but I think placing the teacup photo near the card photo on the blog is more like Alice and Wonderland than I was going for.
Extension: I did a series of photos with childlike themes, but I think I will use this photo to start a series on teacups and teapots as well.




Composition: For this photo, I focused only on the jack's face and left the rest of the card blurry. I did this by getting close to the subject and manually focusing on the jack's face while it was in the center of the frame. I then moved the camera while the focus was locked, and captured the image with the jack's face focused in the corner of the image. I think the placement of the face in the lower left corner of the frame gives the photo a feeling of mystery. It is almost as if the jack knows something that the viewer does not. Blurring all but the face of the jack creates depth in the photo and adds to the mysteriousness of the image.
Aboutness, Motivations, Method: In creating this image, I hoped to give personality to an everyday, inanimate object. The face on the playing card arouses interest when it is the sole object in focus, and the odd placement of the jack's face creates a feeling that the jack may be up to something. The elements of the photo's composition almost make the jack seem mischievous. Context: To me, this photo is about the uncertainty of the future. Card games involve a high degree of chance. In the same way, we can never be certain about what the future holds for us. We have no way of knowing what we will be dealt, in games and in life. I intended the composition of the photo to invoke mystery and suspense, and for the card itself to represent an uncertain fate.
Interpretation: The class interpreted this photo as being part of an Alice in Wonderland theme, which they also found in the teacup photo above.
Evaluation: Based on the evaluation, I think I should not have placed this image near the teacup one. Perhaps that would have allowed each photo to stand alone.
Extension: I am interested in continuing to create photos that are fun and childlike. I hope to expand it to include a wider variety of subjects.



Composition: I created a playful and imaginative scene for this photo. I placed a landscape painting in the background, along with some small branches, in order to create an imaginary scene for the figurine. I placed the figurine in a candlestick to give the image a playful tone. I tried to imagine the way the scene would appear if it were left by a child who was playing with the toy. I focused on the figurine and the candlestick in the foreground and left the rest of the scene blurred so that the viewer would have to use their own imagination regarding the objects in the background. When I took the photo, I was very close to the subject, and at the same level as it was, in order to look at the scene in the same way that a child would.
Aboutness, Motivations, Methods: In creating this image, I hoped to engage the viewer to use their imagination. I created an imaginative scene, using a figurine taken from a fantasy book (The Little Prince). I also blurred the background in order to engage the viewer to draw their own conclusions about the image. I hoped that it would make them wonder what the elements in the photo were and why they were placed in that way.
Context: To me, this photo is about the loss of creativity that often accompanies the transition to adulthood. I personally have struggled a great deal with this loss of creative abilities, and I used this photo as an opportunity to exercise my imaginative powers.
Interpretation: The class interpreted this photo as being fun, playful, and imaginative. They did not appear to be familiar with the Little Prince character, so I think some of the context may have been lost.
Evaluation: Based on the evaluation, I think the photo conveyed the ideas that I had intended it to. I think I should have experimented a bit more with different angles of light.
Extension: I would like to continue to create and photograph whimsical playful scenes. I would like to create a series of photographs with toys as the main subjects.

Blog Prompt #4

“If I could tell the story in words, I wouldn't need to lug around a camera.” ~Lewis Hine.


I agree that there are often situations in which photographs can tell a story better than any other medium. Photographs reveal emotions and details that can be difficult to describe. Pictures can give people a better understanding of people, events, and places that they might be unfamiliar with. On the other hand, words are better at telling stories that contain a lot of data and statistics. They can also give proper context to photographs so that the story can be properly understood. While people may interpret photos differently, a combination of words and images can provide a more complete story than either would be able to alone.

Blog Prompt #3

“Photography deals exquisitely with appearances, but nothing is what it appears to be.”~Duane Michals.
I think this can be true at times. It is easy to distort the truth with photography, but it is also easy to capture things that might have been overlooked in the moment the photo was taken. In these cases, photography is capable of presenting the truth more completely. I think it all depends on the individual photo and the story it is trying to tell. The same photo can be interpreted differently by different individuals, and all photos leave something out, whether it be parts of the scene not included in the frame or the events leading up to the moment captured. While I think it is often the case that things are not what they seem, photography can often reveal that things are more than what they first appeared to be.

Blog Prompt #2

To me, the word "photograph" means a moment frozen in time, as it was viewed by the photographer. We all see things from different perspectives, and photographs allow us to share our unique points of view with others.

Blog Prompt #1

It's hard to imagine a world without photographs because they relate to so many aspects of our lives. A world without photographs would be one without a visual and accessible historical record. While grand events from the past have become immortalized in works of art, the everyday events have in large part been lost. Photographs allow us to look back at the little moments that make up people's lives. They can help us remember special events and people in our lives, and they can help future generations to understand the world as we experience it. Photographs also help us to experience other places and cultures that we may never have the opportunity to see first-hand. Without photos, I think it would be much more difficult for people to understand each other.

Photo Recreation

Jacques Henri Lartigue was born on June 13, 1894 in Courbevoie, France. He began taking photographs when he was six years old. He took pictures throughout his life, but he received little acclaim as a photographer until later in his life. He earned his living as a painter, and although he concentrated on his painting, he continued his work in photography. When he was 69 years old, his photographs were discovered, and his work was exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. This led to his photos being published in Life Magazine in 1963. From there, he had commissions in fashion and design magazines until his death in 1986. While he photographed all of the people in his life, he most frequently photographed his wives and the Romanian model Renee Perle, who was his mistress in the early 1930s. The following photograph is one of Lartigue's many portraits of Perle.

Original photo: "Renee Perle" by Jacques Henri Lartigue

My recreation of Lartigue's photograph

I tried to replicate the feeling of Lartigue's photo by using high contrast and strong lighting from the upper left side of the frame. The model's hairstyle, clothing, jewelry, and pose mimic those of Perle in Lartigue's photo.