Week 6

Week 6
October 6th, 2010

Using the term "I set it up" implies the photo was set up by the photographer and the subject posed for the image. Framed is the proper term to use when discussing how the subject is posed and arranged in the shot.

Being comfortable with the people around you and demonstrating charisma is the easiest way to gain access and make people feel more comfortable. Engaging people with a smile, eye contact, body language, ETC is a good way to make people feel better and more comfortable about what you are doing.

Finding the best vantage point is one of the hardest things to learn. It comes with experience and repeated practice.

It is more acceptable to have a picture that is too warm, rather than a picture that is too cold. The green/blue cool colors make people look sick.

When working with an unclear picture, black & white becomes the only option to try and make it look good.

Don't start at lions, it's a sign of aggression. The same thing can apply to humans. People watching is fun, but you need to be cautious.

Sometimes having a washed out background is good. It will add a balance to the photograph. This was helpful to me because I like to burn the overly bright areas of a photograph.

Thoughts:
We learned about some more photography terminology and what gets implied when you say certain things. It is important to not "set things up," but take the photo as the appear. We also learned a bit more on how to photograph people and deal with ethics and issues associated with photographing people. I don't see many issues arising for me as I have dealt with getting people's permission in the past to do interviews. It is an important skill to have when working in this field. We also learned how to make people feel more comfortable, which is essential when doing our photo stories.