What is more important in self-portraiture – envisioning who you are (i.e. your “true self”) or envisioning who you wish to be (i.e. your “best self”)? Why?

That's a tough question; I believe that both ways are good, whether you want to capture yourself in the past, present or future. Personally, I really like the idea of photographing you as who are you in the present point of time. The only way to prefect who you want to become is to first stop and look and what kind of person you are right now. Being able to start and prefect yourself needs to start with changing the old person you are. Capturing yourself right now will also teach you if you really need to change, or if you should stay the way you are. When the time comes and you change your life then you can also have a photo to look back at that show you how you were in high school or how you acted as a child. I think it mainly depends on the type of person you are and how you act, I don’t really think any teenager is going o develop a drastic life change in their teenage years but these picture would be more for you as an adult. If it were me I would just want to capture both and maybe put them side by side or just as a set so that the viewers can see the person I am now but then the person I eventually want to become.

What were the main points of the article?
In magazines the pictures of celebrities are altered to make them into the perfect bodies. This article tells about all the touches that go into the remake to have models that are taller, skinner, tanner, brighter, and whiter teeth. Yes, some of these pictures you see are mostly from the makeup that they wear of just because of their natural figures. Many model will starve themselves to look better but they still have touches but onto them so you could see their ribs. That the fashion magazines are used for fantasy, every person that views that magazine just wishes that you could be that model or have his or her body. The other part to this article is just simply saying no to Photoshop and just letting that person be themselves as god created them. Some people feel that in future magazines you can both be reading and viewing the reality and gritty or fake and plastic.
Do you agree with the general push or overall idea(s) of the article?
I agree with this article that magazine companies should stop creating fake bodies, and to just let models be themselves. Women in America are told that they should be like the women in the magazines so many women or girl will do whatever they have to, to get that type of body. It is also lowers the self-esteem of many women because they think its real life, but honestly speaking they will never have that type of body. People should not be subjected to lies, which magazines try and manipulate a certain body image but in real life your body isn’t going to get you very far.
When should Photoshop be/not be used to alter a photograph?
Photoshop could be use to enhance an object, so that it can sell. A body or person shouldn’t be fixed into making other believe that every person should have this certain body. Teaching that can only hurt America overall because it puts things into people’s minds that they have to stay healthy, not just because it is good for your body to eat right and exercise. Magazine editors should spend less time creating a fake image and more time giving ways for Americans to be healthy.

1. What is your interpretation of the purpose of each of these three assignments?
The purpose for taking the POV pictures are so that we learn how to capture a good angles within each picture. Point of view is the angles or. Macro/ Minutiae photos are up close which helps you see every detail in the object you are photographing . The motion pictures helped me take a solid objects moving, without blur. Motion was the hardest photos to capture because of the moving objects that you what to be in still objects but in motion.

2. What do you think the most important thing was you learned from each assignment?
The most important thing that I learned in the POV pictures, were how just taking a picture head on then taking a picture from a different angle really helps the overall mood and feelings that people will have towards your photo while it is being critiqued. POV can be really fun when trying to shoot a really unusual picture because you want to photograph an angle in which you have never seen before in other picture to make yours look one of a kind. During macro/ minutiae I had a tough time being able to get my camera to get a clear focus of the object that I was zooming in on. While I was taking pictures I learned how to get my camera into a better, more clearer focus by putting my lens up to the object and letting it focus then adjust to the place where i want to take the picture. I feel that I had the most fun with the motion pictures because capturing an object in motion can be exciting. I learned that while you are taking your pictures you also need to watch for the background and what makes up the background to your picture. If you just focus on the object and get a really cool motion picture your background could still need some work, and photo shop can not do all the work for your picture.

3. Why do you suppose these three projects were assigned in this particular order?
These projects were assigned in this order because of the difficulty each of these assignments. Compared to POV, motion is a little bit harder. If you think about is POV is just finding a good angle to take of a still object then macro/ minutiae is taking a photo up close and focus on the texture an object has, and then lastly motion is capture a moving object as a still form.Each of these different assignments have there own strengths and weakness towards each photographer.

4. How do you feel you did on each project? Be specific about areas in which you think you did well and not as well.
Throughout this project I feel that I pretty good, but not the best that I could have. I feel as if I didn't put as much time and effort into these motion photos as I did for past projects. In the POV I feel that I spent a fair amount of time taking good pictures. I think I did well in the objects I chose of shoot, and also the angles in which I captured those in. During the Macro/ Minutiae I had a hard time finding objects the color orange, I picked orange because I love that color and also because I wanted to photograph a basketball and my ipod and just because orange is my favorite color. I feel that I did good on all of this assignments just not the best I could possibly have done.

5. What was one thing you wish you would have done that you didn’t, and why didn’t it happen? (you may comment on any of the three projects or all three)
If I could go back tot he beginning and start over with all of these assignments I would have wanted to change my amount of time spent. I believe that if I could have just taken a couple pictures a night instead of waiting till the last couple days I would have gotten a stronger effect from these pictures. In the Macro/ Minutiae assignment I could have really thought and brainstormed about what topic or color I should focus on and think about what object I want to photograph to make the twenty blocks a little more powerful.

6. Which was your favorite of the three projects and why?
My favorite of each of these projects was the motion pictures. I really enjoyed photographing people of objects moving and trying to get a non-blurry picture. I had a rough time figuring out what to shoot but the challenge helped my out in the long run in photography. Motion is a difficult form of photography but capturing a still object or people in motion can lead you to a really strong picture and also memory.

7. Has one or more of these topics had an impact on your photography? How?
The topic in which has impacted me the most would be the Macro/Minutiae because of the way you can take pictures. There is so many angles to a person or object that this topic is perfect for it. I found it very easy to capture pictures because with just one picture you could use it for many blocks. The macro setting on your camera is also very cool, by how you can get every single detail an object has. All three of these assignments were very helpful to learning about photography and also very fun and challenging to capture.

This quote "God is in the details" means that in everything you do God is there. People say that in some picture of the sky if the light shines through that is heaven. Each person has a different view of God, in photography there can be many instances where God is involved. This could as many that in every detail there could be something important, so god is reminding you that you should as acknowledge every detail big and small. God is in each object either by the details shown of just the way the light hits the object that each time of day.
We can see God in every detail by just remembering that each thing matters and without one small thing the whole picture just wouldn't have the same meaning. God watched over us throughout our lives so he is in each part of pictures. God could be the light shining down from the sky or the rainbow when the rain stops and the sun comes out to shine. God is our creator and will always be there for us.
There are many ways that our camera could helps us see the details and as help us keep those memories. To see the details in a photo by simply shooting with your macro camera function, that could help you see the detail on a specific object or your subject. You could save memories by just taking pictures with your camera. To get into detail you could also find just one subject and shoot many different angles of the same object to show how many details that subject has without having the views actually see the object itself but just by pictures.

"Photography is about finding out what can happen in the frame. When you put four edges around some facts, you change those facts." by Gary Winogrand. This quote means that photography is a form of creating a story or event. When you put a frame, four corners around a picture is changes the whole mood. This explains that it’s also a way of the photographer interprets his or her views of this photo and what he wants to let the viewers see. A way that you can change the facts in a photo is by cropping a section; this changes the picture because the photographer is changing the way this photo once looked. When you crop out parts in a picture that makes one less detail a viewer may be able to look for in order to get the full story. When you can are able to see one piece of the whole you wouldn’t even know that there could be more to this picture. Each time a person looks at a photo they try and develop a story from what they were given.

For this lighting assignment I feel that I did pretty good, I don't think this picture was the best I am capable of capturing. I thought that my cat picture was a form of direct lighting but, most of my classmates felt that it was diffused and I totally agree with them. The photo was on the border of being direct lighting and also diffused lighting but was very hard to tell. I can be hard to tell where the light was coming from because I took the picture in my room with the curtains open so the light came from every direction. The light did look like it came from the top right of the picture. The light source was hard to see when the viewer was to look directly at the picture. From now on I am going to really try and capture the correct form for each assignment, I don't feel that my picture was a failure but it just needed some work. I believe that the cat’s pose was a success; the lighting technique can be perfected for next time. I think that if I would have just open one of my curtains I might have been able to control the light easier. I felt that the feedback was both positive and negative, I think about half the class liked it but the others couldn't find where the light was coming from.
From this whole lighting project I feel that I can get a lot of new tips when taking pictures inside and outside. The main thing I learned was that when capturing a photo always use the rule of thirds and pay attention to where you’re light source is coming from. Throughout this whole project I think I did pretty well for the first time, focusing on the lighting within your pictures. My cat was in a good position and the colors all blending really nicely together, when helped bring out her bright blue eyes. Most of the girls in my class liked my picture, so I think it was a success.

When I first look at a photograph I usually respond to the technical quality. The way the photographer takes the picture says alot about the quality. When you center the object the photo it will not have the same effect as it would if you take the picture on an angle to give it more depth and dimension. If the object is died centered in the middle the viewer will not get the same respond because you cannot see the whole objects shape. The emotive quality is also very important, it can bring up past memories from the viewer. How someone feels when they look at a picture can change the way they look at photography all together. Just being in digital photography for a couple weeks has showed me how to take a good picture using angles. I am learning what to look for in a photo, using the four methods of critiquing a photo(Description, Analysis, Interpretation, and Judgement or Evaluation.) When I look at a photo I most always look at its technical quality and judge how the photographer used all the principles and elements in the photograph.