Photography Summary!

I decided to take this course because I needed another art credit and I've always liked photography. I didn't know exactly what it was going to include but it sounded fun. I wnated to buy an SLR camera but my economy didn't want to. SO luckily, I was able to borrow a camera, a NIKON D40, which I'm very happy about because it's so much more fun to take pictures with that than with my little CANON point and shoot. The first thing that I learned was the camera, since it wasn't even mine and I had never used an SLR before, and there is a lot of buttons and settings in it that I didn’t even know what it meant. It took me a while to figure out all the buttons and settings that the camera has and still, even though I’m way better at it, I don't know it all.

I learned how to put my settings for different shots. I learned what the difference modes are: aperture priority mode, shutter priority mode and manual and I found that I preferred using aperture priority because I thought it was easier to get my subject in focus that way. Using aperture mode I learned how to take clear pictures where my subject was in focus. I learned to adjust the aperture depending on how much I wanted in focus and I really like having something in focus and blur in the background. 

Then I learned the visual priorities: red is more attractive than yellow, large draws more attention than small, difference draws more attention than conformity, jagged lines are more striking than curved lines, diagonal lines are more attractive than vertical lines, sharpness is more attractive than blur and light is more attractive than dark. These rules are very important and I understand that now after taking a lot of pictures. I try to think about this when I take my pictures and it usually helps to improve the pictures a lot. I like taking pictures of bright things, and using the “red-rule” helps to create a good picture.

Another thing that I try to use when I’m out taking pictures is the Rule of Thirds. The rule of Thirds help the eyes see the important things in the picture and I find the picture more  interesting when the rule is applied. Sometimes it’s hard to apply it because scenes look different with the eye than in a picture, but I try and I have succeeded a few times. I’ve also used the rule but I didn’t recognize it until I edited the picture later.

Photoshop is another thing that I learned, at least a little bit. I didn’t know that there was so much you can do in Photoshop. You can change a picture from its original into something totally different. It makes me both sad and happy at the same time. I tried to not use Photoshop too much i8n my pictures, but I almost always did something, such as boosting the saturation and the brightness to improve the picture. I learned many tools and what to look for when editing my photos. I usually made sure I didn’t have any spots on the lens or on the sensor. It is fun to play with Photoshop, but after changing the pictures to something else I wouldn’t call it photography anymore, I would call it art, which is fine.  

I’ve improved a lot from taking this class. I never thought about how to take the picture before I just saw the subject. I I totally changed my ways and thoughts when taking pictures now. I know what makes a good picture and what doesn’t so it’ll help me when taking pictures in the future even though it’s just with my little point and shoot. I look at the nature different now too, I always look at the sky and comment on it when I see something interesting. I see beautiful things in rocks, trees and other things that I would never have thought of before. I’ve a created a serious interest for photography and I know that as soon as I can get the money I will buy my own SLR and just go CRAZY!