YouTube Review

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAxfh8ukosQ This is a video that was created by a comedian who pokes fun of his Long Island mother by impersonating her. The video demonstrates his interpretation of a typical Mothers Day in his household. For the most part the video is composed of medium shots and closeups with the mother being the only subject in the shot, talking directly to the camera. At one point the camera is lower than the mom, which enhances comedy surrounding a mom scolding her child before they go shopping. The closeup while driving from the perspective of the backseat does the same thing, puts the viewer in the child's seat. Another strong point of the video is that there is always a clean entry and exit. This occurs in the shots that show the mom doing her chores and getting ready. The shot that held focused on the dirty dishes for a few seconds emphasized the annoyance that mothers have with their kids not doing their chores. This shot also framed the mother as she entered so the viewer's eyes were immediately drawn from the pile of dishes to the mothers hysterical reaction. It works well that the mom is the only person in all of the shots because the fact that no one is interacting with her highlights her characteristics and the viewer feels as if they are being directly spoken to. This makes the YouTube video relatable, especially being from Long Island, I can see the hilarity in it and can picture my mom yelling at me with the same heavy accent and winy voice. There are a few wider shots, like the one in the parking lot while entering the mall and the one from the cashier's perspective from across the card store. These shots did a good job of setting the scene for the events that took place outside of the home. The only place that there should have been a wide shot was the scene in the park. A very wide shot of the park would have improved the video because the viewer could get confused as to where this outside shot is occurring and you don't really know why the family takes the demanding mother to a park. Additional shots or dialogue would clear that up. The things that don't work with this video include lack of closer shots. The voice impersonation is done well and the body language is showed in all of the shots but it would have been better to see more facial expressions, especially in the scene where she is opening her Mother's Day presents. Overall this video is comical and the camera angles enhance the script and character in the video. There are a variety of similar videos by the same comedian but this one is most effective with camera techniques.

Graphics Project

Cheerleading is a big part of my life at AU and this tryout poster demonstrates the types of skills, teamwork, and spirit that are needed to be on the team. The background of the poster is light blue with white which is meant to look like a sky, which goes along with the idea of flying in cheerleading. Dark writing on light background is very effective when trying to grab the attention of viewers so I lightened the blue from the original image, which came from www.doobix.com/.../sky/backgrounds_sky_40.jpeg, and chose black text for the information about tryouts and the quote.

All of the AU Cheer images were taken over the course of the past two years by members of the team at various times and were sent to me via Facebook. There are 6 images on the poster, the flipping girl, the team picture, the co-ed stunt, the toe-touching girl, the American University Athletics logo, and the four girls holding hands and jumping. All of these images had saturation and lightness adjustments made to them as well as shadowing effects. It was necessary to cut the images from their original backgrounds and place them onto the poster with the use of careful eraser editing and feathering. For example, the AU logo had bevel and emboss done create a black outline around it in order to contrast with the background, and the team picture had a glowing effect applied to it. The team picture was purposely placed in the center because it is a very symmetrical image and brings power to the poster which is highlighted by the glowing effect. For the four girls holding hands I lowered the opacity so that the spirit quote could be placed over it and the image could blend with the background. This allowed for the poster to have more images but have these images take up less space on the background.

The text for the poster is bold for the purpose of attracting attention and also there is importance in the quote. "Strength. Teamwork. Spirit. Are you in?" sums up the attitude of the cheerleading program at AU and a quote like this one is necessary to make the poster more memorable than having the tryout dates and times as the only text. Also, the word spirit was made red to stand out, mainly to stress the importance of being spirited and to add more red to the poster because it is one of the school colors. The images compliment this quote and would paint a clear picture as to what is expected at tryouts, and hopefully attract the right people to the team. I didn't want to add any more text or images because then the poster would be too busy and the information would be hidden by cool pictures of people in the air flipping.

Overall, this is a poster that could be seen around campus and even though it was made for the purpose of this project I will probably hand it over to my coach so he can use it for the program in the future.

Self Portrait Assignment

For my first self portrait I wanted to keep the image normal but just enhance the colors to portray my usual personality. I adjusted the hue and saturation on the image as a whole and then did the same thing for the ketchup bottle. For the ketchup bottle I used the selective color tool and made the red brighter to stand out against my skin tone, which thanks to the hue, saturation, and lightness adjustments looks much tanner. When I am out with friends I always take pictures with ketchup bottles (since my last name is Heinz) as a joke but I aimed to not make the image too goofy because the reference is subtle and my goal was simplicity with this image. For the second portrait I made the image black and white because I wanted to take attention away from the color and put the focus on my pose and smile. I used the filter tool to add a neon glow to the image and then I diffused the glow and removed the graininess. I was satisfied with just those two manipulations because the image shows my happiness and excitement in life. For the third portrait I decided to have some fun and go a little over the top. I used the film grain manipulation and adjusted the levels to get the animated look that matches my two-thumbs up pose. I also increased the levels and used the photo filter to put a magenta warming color over the image. Finally, I played around with the replacement color tool and changed the curtain in the background from blue to purple. This image was very fun to compose because I loved all of the distortions and filters that were available to use. This is a portrait of myself that shows my animated personality in an new way. Overall, I enjoyed this assignment greatly and will probably use photo shop for all of my facebook default pictures instead of settling for what was originally captured.

Doing this photo project was a learning experience. I always go at these types of things not really knowing what to do but end up having a lot of fun. As a group we worked very well together. Obviously the snow hindered our ability to meet and take photos together but we decided to take advantage of the snow and use it as the topic of our project. One thing I would do differently would have been knowing earlier that I was going to take pictures of snow covered objects, because I would have went outside immediately after the snow fell and probably could have taken pictures of more interesting things covered in snow, or bigger objects. But, because we had to meet when everyone could get out of there house it was 2 days later and I was left taking pictures of whatever was still covered, which was still a lot because it's DC.

In regards to our finished project I liked that we made the decision to do black and white photos and then invert the black and white. This worked well with the snow, making it almost glow giving the pictures a mysterious feel. I also liked that we all took pictures of different objects yet they all have the same look and give off similar messages, which proved to be successful considering we couldn't meet as often as we had hoped. I did learn one important thing while doing this assignment and that is to take advantage of random events like blizzards because I think the weather really inspired me to get the images I desired and explore my neighborhood further than what I would have in normal weather.

The image that I have selected is actually a picture of a snow-covered wall that had ivory running over it. I thought the ivory had good texture next to the untouched snow. The ivory is behind the snow and is in focus but the main reason I chose this picture was because of the lines. The snow made three perfect sections and finding this perfection in mother nature is rare. The snow worked as a frame for the ivory and I made the decision to turn my camera sideways to make the lines vertical instead of horizontal. The color is the most interesting part and that is because in order to create the mysterious theme I made it black and white. Not only are you not exactly sure what the image is but the color is glowing which creates depth. Overall, this image is a mystery.

Benetton Advertisements

The clothing company, United Colors of Benetton, used the power of images to create ad campaigns which sparked public controversy. Benetton used pictures of death row inmates as well as a photo of a man dying of AIDS in order to draw attention to their clothing line and boost sales. Some would argue that this is unethical I argue that this is pragmatic. The use of powerful images does increase profits and is the practical thing for a company to do, even if the images don't have anything to do with the direct interests of the company. Benetton did a good job of creating a buzz which put their name into the public eye. According to the reading, the target audience of Benetton was 18-24 year-olds and none of the emotionally appealing images were negative towards that age group. This is a prime example of finding a target audience and not offending them. Actually, the photo of the dying man would also bring attention to the HIV/AIDS epidemic, benefitting society as well as the clothing company. Bringing forth emotion, even if it is negative emotion, is the goal of any ad campaign and as long as a photographer legally obtains the photos for the use of the campaign, they should not be regarded as wrong or unethical. It is the job of photos to persuade, and as long as the public is aware that companies like Benetton are creating the images, paying for them, and advocating for their product than the use of powerful images is acceptable. Images that result from decisive moment photography are often controvercial and that is what makes them interesting and it is acceptable for companies to take advantage of dramatic images.

Exploring a Subject

I decided to photograph this little statue of a dancer that stands on the DVD rack in my living room. I had never really noticed it before but when I saw how gracefully it sits in our plain living room and I realized it had beauty and I could definately play around with it and my camara. The first picture is zoomed in because I thought the texture on the dress was interesting and it can't really be seen from far away. The second picture was taken from an angle below the statue in its normal resting place, making the 12-inch figure have a larger presence. I switched the background for the third picture, it was taken on a wooden table, and I really liked how the lines on the table contrast the beautiful dancer and the angle from above hides her face, giving the photo a sense of mystery. The fourth picture is with less lighting and I changed the type of flash on the camera. This is how I always see the statue on a daily basis in my living room, and the speakers frame the picture and also show how modern technology and beauty can exist in the same place. The framing and spacing draw the eye directly to the dancer. Finally, the last picture is another zoomed closeup of the face and my favorite part is the shadow in the background and the bronze texture of the statue. Overall, I think this subject was easy to work with mainly because I loved the lines of the figure and the dark skin with the blue dress were interesting.

Photo Idea Index Concepts

This photograph was published on the National Geographic Magazine website on November 16th 2009. First, the composition of the photo consists of only a few colors, mainly different shades of yellow and light brown. This is seen in the wooden pews, the wall in the background and the blonde in the girl's hair, making her seem one with her setting because the colors blend yet the expression on her face and the lines in the photo allow for the eye to go straight to her. The angle at which the photo was taken creates a depth which blurrs the first couple of pews but then highlights the pews that the girl is sitting in, drawing the eye to the girl who appears to be lonely in the church. Also, no one else is in the frame, which is important in conveying the theme of a lonley girl. Even if there were other people in the church they aren't necessary and would take away some power from the shot of a single subject. The balance of the picture makes it visually dynamic and interesting, with the horizon being not directly in the center as well as the girl who is off to the left of the shot. Finally, the expression on the little girl's face is what makes her stand out because she does look lonely as she looks down and she is what makes the photograph such an appealing image in addition to its composition, balance, and conveyance.