I am happy that I enrolled in the Fall Semester Photography
class. I have had my Nikon D7100 camera for a little over two years now, and
while I have learned about some of the features and functions, there are still
many things that I did not know and was looking forward to gaining more knowledge, experience, and understanding, as well as improving my technique. For the most part, I have used my camera in two modes;
automatic and manual. Since automatic more of a point and shoot I wanted to do
something more with my DSLR so I choose to shoot most of my pictures in Manual Mode.
However, knowing very little, I was only slightly aware of some functions
and what they did.
Sometimes my pictures came out great and sometimes not so much.
By joining the class, it allowed me to learn more about the functions of my camera.
The meaning of a “Full Stop” and the alignment for those stops. The aperture
setting and the way the line of focus will appear in the image. In the “5
Characteristics of Light” we explored the positions and the direction of the
light. The way the shadows get reflected and displayed when the light that is
being used is either hard or defused. The different color temperatures and the way
cool blues or warm orange hues get illustrated in the image.
During the “Aesthetics and Control” assignment I learned what
it means when the camera is set on an Aperture priority or a Shutter Priority
and the way to manipulate the camera in the Manual mode to still be able to get
an equivalent exposure with different settings. This is also the portion in
which I learned regarding how low I can go with the Shutter speed setting and still
be able to hold the camera and when I must use the tripod. In the “Scale the
Key” project I learned the difference between short light and broad light,
along with what to look for when shooting pictures during different times and
light conditions throughout several times of the day, weather conditions, and the
positioning of the sun. Those lessons were essential for the “Follow the Sun”
assignment and came in very handy. While there are still many things that I
need to work on with my photography, like setting up a better composition. I
have definitely improved some and gained a better perspective regarding my camera
work.
Final Response (3/3)
ReplyDeleteJay here from your photography class. I'm glad I am not the only one who didn't really have much experience with manual mode and knowing the buttons on a DSLR. I bought my first DSLR three years ago and it was a Canon 70D and I shot a majority of my videos and photos on auto mode. I had a jist of what some terms meant for the camera but I never really took time to adjust those settings to take photos and videos. It wasn't till I enrolled into this class to get a clear understanding on how to manipulate the camera settings for more creative control for your photos. My first DSLR was a Nikon brand and I believe it was a 7400? I think? But that's how I got my foot in the door and began to learn DSLR cameras. Your photos look fantastic by the way, especially the ones from the follow the sun project...you presented great details in lighting and texture. It shows that you did gain great knowledge from this course and I'm glad to see the progress from the first project to the latest! Keep up the great work and good luck on your photography journey.
- Jay Ramos
Hi Ellen! I too did not have much knowledge on the functions of my camera and how to adjust shutter, aperture and ISO. I had such little knowledge in how all these worked and how they contributed to taking photos and did not know how to find out. In taking this course I was able to gain more understanding in which I am so grateful- now I can apply what I know now to future photos! Learning how to play with light in photos was also one of my gains in taking this course as well- creating shadows and highlights in a photo goes a long way I learned during the course. I love your second, sixth and fifteenth photo displayed in your takeaway project. Within the second photo you display great understanding to light placement and how to work with shadows beautifully in this image. In the sixth photo you demonstrate a great and unique composition while also displaying beautiful colors using the bones and pinecones. The fifteenth photo is unique in design and overall great quality. I think you demonstrated that you grew as the semester went on in knowledge of how to work the cameras setting itself as well as working with different types of lighting. Great job!
ReplyDeleteI was also looking forward to learning the controls and settings on my camera. It must be relieving to have so many tools in your tool box after owning your camera for a few years! It seems you got a very well-rounded and wholesome grip pf knowledge from this class! All the experiments affected you strongly! I glad you learned so much and it hopefully will benfit you in the future, maybe even in photographing your pottery!
ReplyDeleteHi Ellen! I enjoyed looking at your photos! You have such an artistic eye and sensitivity to light. I love the soft shadows and highlights you captured in the bottles! Great job with those, and the texture and highlights in the leaves, and branches, and rocks you captured were very nice. I enjoyed the picture of the sign, I myself included a few pictures that had signs in them! I believe that photography is crucial for all art students to learn because of the knowledge of light and shadow that is gained will undoubtedly help in future work of art that is produced. I enjoyed working with you this semester Ellen, and your art work is incredible! Keep up the good work and good luck in your future endeavors! :)
ReplyDeleteSincerely, Lindsey S .