First Attempt at Film Noir

At my last class, we practiced taking film noir photography. This was difficult for me because I had so much lighting choices that I didn't know which one to use or not use to get the dramatic effect I was trying to convey with Nazareth. She looks great, but I think I need more practice with the lighting for this style.

Aero Club

My homework assignment was to take pictures of the Aero Club, and I'm glad it was! I have never been there, and I found everything from the planes to a hole in the wall (literally) interesting.

Framing

After we worked with fluorescent lighting at the baby shower, we walked outside to the garden and learned how to use white reflective boards to take outdoor portraits. More importantly, I learned the importance of framing subjects.

My partner, Hillary, has such a fun personality, so it was great taking photos of her!

Found an opportunity to frame someone else, so I took this picture. Too bad there's a white board behind Juan!

A Baby Shower

My second photojournalism class had two sessions: a baby shower and outdoor portraits. Despite the fact that I love special events and want to improve my picture taking skills, I found this rather difficult. My teacher shared an acronym with us that we're suppose to use in our photography: DMOP (Detail, Medium, Overall personality, and Portrait). Perhaps it's because I didn't think the venue gave a "baby shower feel," I am uncomfortable photographing strangers, and I couldn't get a great portrait of honoree. It's great practice, though!

It was held at the Spectrum Lounge, and this is a reflection of the party from the bar mirror.

I tried to get an "overall" photo of the party. This is the best shot I got with the participants looking lively.

OK, I cheated on this photo. As I mentioned earlier, I didn't get a great picture of her. I removed the red eye, slightly sharpened it, and cropped the photo for her portrait.

Can't forget about the details!

First Photojournalism Class

My hubby gave me an awesome Christmas gift--a Nikon D90 camera. Prior to Connor's arrival and his deployment, I thought I wouldn't have time to learn how to use it. However, I changed my mind after my hubby left for deployment so that I could improve my picture taking skills so we can have great photos of the kids...and just better photos in general. I signed up for a photojournalism class, and I am absolutely glad I did.

Just the first class was extremely beneficial! I've always used the auto mode and just pointed and shot at objects and people, but we're only supposed to use manual settings, create a story with every photo, and no software program touch ups. Before this class, I didn't know that you could take pictures in the dark, and they can turn out like there was enough light in the room. We walked over to the nearby unlit chapel and started taking pictures of it. It feels so good to be learning how to use my camera. Finally.