2nd Quarter Studio Week

So here I am again with just one week before I step in front my critique panel and present my photos for the last 10 weeks. I’m actually really excited because I feel great about most of the images I’ve been working on. I’ll post them here after I’ve printed them all and there’s no more photoshop work to be done.

Oh, which reminds me, I’ve been spending A LOT of time in photoshop lately. I’m learning some really great techniques for tweaking my images and making them look the absolute best. My standards are getting higher, which is exactly why I needed school. I’m actually having a good time retouching my work. I never liked the tedious process of professional retouching but now I’m enjoying it. I’m looking forward to what my panel has to say about it.

I’ve also learned a lot about lighting. The first few weeks of this quarter were pretty rough as I fiddled with the power packs and lights and various modifiers and light stands and backdrops etc… It’s a lot to take in and my images were coming out pretty bad. However, I was able to get better and with a modest amount of reshooting I was able to nail my assignments and I had fun doing it.

Photoshop and Lighting are both really important elements, but the thing I’ve really gotten from this quarter is that now, I can pick up a magazine, flip to a picture, and I understand what it takes to get that shot. I may not know every trick of lighting or styling, but I have a good understanding of how to approach it like a pro. The idea that nothing is luck, it’s all planned out and executed with control and precision.

I’ve also been shooting some stuff for some of the design and art direction students. I hope to post up some of the finished work in the coming weeks. It should be cool to see my photos in the ad campaigns!

One thing I noticed about this quarter though is that I’ve barely shot anything that wasn’t related to school work. I wanted to drop in a photo or two on this post, but couldn’t even find anything good enough that wasn’t something for school. I’m ok with that for now, but I hope that isn’t a sign of things to come. I want to keep photography as a hobby too!

Anyway, I gotta get to bed, as I have a meeting in about 6 hours. I can’t wait to post my photos next week!