Final Project

1) I thought we worked well as a group overall. We sent emails to each other when there were questions and we could not meet so we always kept in contact. We easily agreed with each other and thought that frustration would be a good word to choose. Unfortunately a girl was missing on class on Wednesday so we could not discuss with her how we wanted to carry on the project and how we were wanting to get organized, but she worked along with the rest of the group and helped us get to the final result of our project.

2) I would make more group meeting, and test out the final presentation together, this way we would know that what we all have to say together as a group flows well as a final outcome. Moreover, I would have left some photographs as they were originally taken but I would also use Photoshop and put to practice some of the techniques we previously learned in class, this to give some variation in the presentation.

3) I never took pictures of a person depending on a theme, and I found it quite hard to express my ideas to the person that was modeling for me in the pictures. This because I had something in mind but it is hard to explain a feeling, moreover, to make that person understand how she was meant to feel, and do certain expressions that would show what I had imagined (especially if the person is normally happy and claims to be never frustrated!) so I found some pictures on the internet and showed them to her, asking to copy them as much as she could.

4) This was the picture I like the most because I did not take a straight shot of it, and I think that being tilted not only allows the viewer to see where the person is but also the frustration the person is feeling towards the books. I made her hold a white and read book because I wanted to for a pattern in the picture with the colors of the tablecloths and the book she is holding in her hands. I took this picture diagonally because I wanted to emphasize the crisis and the frustration of the person so that it was seem she was tilted down as if her frustration cause everything around her to slide away from her. Overall I liked the picture as a whole because out of the 10 pictures we took, this was the one that best showed frustration (this might be because I frustrated my friend by the end of the shoot since this is twentieth time she has to pose for this shot).

Michelle Kwan, 1997. Photographer: Walter Iooss Jr.

 

1)   The light is centered on Michelle Kwan leaving the background of New York on a darker area. I like the fact that the image is taken from below the medium close up shot makes the viewer focus on Michelle.

2)   The composition and the choice of the color is what attracts the viewer the most. It seems there is the sunset on the city though Michelle is still surrounded by light. The depth show that the city is far back from Michelle and acts as a perfect background.

3)   Michelle is emphasized in this photograph. I can notice the backdrop that emphasizes a value of contrast, the color of her white dress stands out, looking delicate and elegant like her movement that she does with her hands.

4)   I believe the artist was successful in their massage because ice-skating is like an elegant dance, when you think of ice you think delicate surface and the ice skater id gracefully dancing on it. The way her dress moves, how the shot was taken with her arms and legs in that position give a sense of all those things. I would add more lighting to the background, the two are a contrast, a cement city and an ice skater, it would be nice to see it with a different lighting, possibly dawn or a sunrise. I was attracted to this piece because of its composition. I like the theme of contrast between the ice skater and the New York. Its something new and it attracted me to it.

Lester, Paul Martin, Visual Communication: Images with Messages,

Undoubtedly Benetton used a strong advertising campaign. Its controversy photographs shock many viewers and caused many speculations. As Toscani said, “Advertising can be used to say something that is real about things that exist’. Benetton not only used those shocking advertisements to promote its clothing, but also to raise awareness about some issues that for some reason or the other were not talked about as much as they should have. Moreover, I believe that Benetton’s advertising was unique, and although many viewers were shocked the thanks to its type of advertising Benetton sold many clothing articles. People were attracted by this type of advertising, it was different, something they were not used to see. Think about celebrity news, when scandals about a celebrity come out, all of a sudden the celebrity is talked about for a decently long period of time. Same thing with clothing, the more the advertisements were shocking, the more it was talked about, and the more people noticed the brand.

“The purpose of an advertisement is to attract attention, arouse interest, stimulate desire, create an opinion, and move the viewer to a specific action (to buy the product)” Lester, (75). The photographer gains and maintains credibility by focusing on the main meaning the picture is meant to have, on what he wants the viewer to focus on. The photographer want to move the viewer, and does that by showing the viewer an image that has a specific meaning and that cannot be misunderstood or taken for something else. On the other hand there is subliminal advertising. “Subliminal or hidden advertising id the practice of showing images so quickly on a screen that the conscious mind doesn’t notice them , yet the unconscious mind is hoped does” Lester, (77). Subliminal messages can be found in many ads, but especially in liquor companies. Yet again if the some viewers did not notice they will hear the propaganda about determined ads.  In our days photos are constantly manipulated.  Thanks to Photoshop and other enchanting editing programs, a photo can be modified for a final result that will display perfection. I believe the ways to create a photograph which is persuasive is to make it perfect. Everyone notices perfection. for example, a woman might believe that if she uses that product, she will look like the model that is promoting the product.

If I wanted to change opinion or promote a cause using photographs I would make sure the public would notice the photograph, I would make it stand out and that would appeal to the emotions of the viewer. For example, if I wanted to tell them that drunk driving is bad, I would show a picture of a car swerving off the road filled with kids. Also, applying short, constructive sentences in coordination with an emotionally appealing picture will tie together an idea and an emotion

Self-Portrait

Original Picture

Color & Black and White

For this picture I kept the color on the eye and on the hat. To do this I:

-       Selected the lasso tool

-       Traced what I wanted to leave in color

-       Then right clicked on one of the selected parts and selected Feather, then chose 3 pixels for Feather Radius.

-       Then right clicked again and chose Layer via Copy

-       Then selected the original image

-       I went to Image and chose Black & White effect

   

      Change Color to the Eyes

      For this image I chose to change my eye color from green to blue. To do this I:

-       Clicked on Background

-       Right clicked and selected Duplicate layer

-       Then selected the background copy went to Filter -->Blur-->Gaussian blur and selected a Radius of 5.0 pixels

-       I then selected Soft light

-       Then selected the brush tool and zoomed on the picture, and clicked on the eyes using the paintbrush with the selected color.

  

      Change the Style of Picture

      For this picture I experimented various techniques found under Filter. I then chose the Fresco and applied it to the picture. I also changed the brightness and the contrast of the picture.