Strengths & Weaknesses

My Strengths

Studio Lighting (Still learning more and more with practice)

Composition (Rule of thirds etc. etc.)

Black & White photography

Outdoor/Landscape photography

Long exposure photography 

Creating a theme, Having sets of photos with similar qualities

My Weaknesses

Portraits/People (photos that just have the face of a person, just don't do it a lot)

Motion photography esp. w/ people

Having rich colors (Vibrant)
Extending Photoshop, layer work and masking

Caroline Van Sicklin

This photo by Caroline Van Sicklin is captivating in many ways.  Sicklin composed this shot wonderfully and has incorporated great depth of field which catches my eye to the main meeting points in rule of thirds.  The strong detail in the shot and minimalistic  background primarily located in the top right hand corner engages you to the almost frenetic contrast between the background and subject matter.  The gradient between light to dark is also striking, the use of black and white was very fitting in other words.  

The lighting in this photo is also tip-top. The lighting has a sense of direction creating that prominent light to dark gradient from the right side to the left.  It looks as though the light is possibly guiding her to some place.  The lighting in this photo makes sense and mixes well with the direction the subject is looking creating a more visually appealing piece rather than if she were to be looking towards the camera or away from the light.  The lighting itself almost makes the picture with its black to white and grey tones throughout.  

Apart from the lighting and composition Sicklin also cropped the photo well, not taking away from the subject and keeping the entire focus upon it.  If there were to be more background prominent in the photo, I feel as though it would have taken away from the subject.  The balance between the background and subject matter in the cropping was executed very well.  

One last thing that created interest in the photo was the fact that it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense just taking a quick glance at it.  First looks at this photo made me think of a firefighter (the material wrapped around her flowing like fire), but upon further observations I came to the realization that it is a dress of some sort.  It also looks as though maybe her emotions are under water(?).  This could be a metaphor for something that the viewer is not aware of.  The mask that the subject is wearing can be perceived many ways; is she really a firefighter?  Does she just like masks?  Does she feel as though she is underwater?  I could speculate until the cows come home, which makes me think about this photo more and more as I observe it and that is what makes it more captivating.    

Joshua Dudley Greer

This photo by Joshua Dudley Greer comes from his portfolio under “Working Class”.  A universal theme found in all of Greer’s photos is that they are composed in all sorts of different ways.  This photo, for example, expresses a somewhat different approach to rule of thirds.  Each object (chair and barber) falls into the rule of thirds hot spots, but for some reason feels more like the use of balancing elements are playing more of a key factor into the composition.  

Adding to the composition of the photo is the use of subtle leading line, depth, and cropping.  There is a hint of leading line coming from the mirror pointing to the barber, along with the arms of the chair he is standing next to.  The depth of field in this photo is appealing, creating a slight bit of bokeh in the background of the photo.  The cropping here compliments the photo giving almost the exact same amount of leeway  space on either side of the subject morphing into the background of the photo.  There is also a sense of color interest which sets the subject matter apart from the background and makes me instantly look at the chair and the barber.  

The fact that this photo is so ordinary is what makes it so engaging.  It is obvious to me that Greer did not want to create a flashy perception of the working class individual and instead show that they are just ordinary people doing what they do best.  The simplicity in the photo makes it speak more and has a deeper message than if Greer were to have the barber say, be cutting hair.  Along with the simplicity, the fact that the barber and chair are much more vibrant in color make it more engaging as well.  The barber’s shirt is just golden enough to not become flush with the background pigments in the wall and the chair stands out prominently in front of the barber and wall behind him. 

The lighting in this photo is appealing due to the fact that it looks natural, but is also borderline on natural + fill-in which sort of creates soft lighting throughout the entire image.  The lighting also has a warm tone to it that is inviting.  The vibrancy in the colors also comes from this warm toned lighting and makes all of the colors and shades come to life.  It looks like most all of this lighting is simply coming from a window close to the barber chair.  Everything about this photo seems fitting, from the simplistic photo itself, to the lighting, and use of depth of field.