Photo Composition Class #3: Lines & Circles/Light & Shadow

My Photo Composition class last Wednesday had two assignments due, since the week before, class fell on the 4th of July.  So we had to take 5 photos using lines and circles and 5 using light and shadow.

I didn't do too badly looking for places and objects that had lines and circles to them.  The photo above was taken of a metal sculpture called "The Calling", or The Sunburst to those of us who live in Wisconsin.  It is located in downtown Milwaukee in front of the Art Museum.  My teacher brought up the fact that it is a popular place for people taking wedding photos, and in fact, I did see about 5 wedding parties around the Art Museum and The Sunburst that day.

The two photos below of the flags and the fence were taken on the campus of Wisconsin Lutheran College in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin while I was attending an art fair the week after the 4th.  I didn't buy anything at the fair, but I did see some great artists and craftspeople.

Another photograph I took for the Lines & Circles assignment was this old Post Office window on display at the Waukesha County Museum.  It would have also worked as a light/shadow photo.  Right now, the museum has an exhibit of donated objects from throughout Waukesha's history including vintage hats and jewelry, furniture, and sports equipment.  My favorite part of this exhibit was seeing the old crates and lighted advertisement signs featuring Waukesha Springs Water.

I had more trouble coming up with photos for the Light & Shadow exhibit.  I even went down to the Waukesha Riverwalk to try and capture some shots of the river near sundown, but they didn't turn out the best.  I had better luck during the day and capturing photos indoors.

The first one, below, was taken inside a salon/yoga studio that my friend and I tried to go into on a Saturday down on Brady Street in Milwaukee.  The salon and studio were closed, but this lone chandelier with the burned out light bulb was on.

Two of the other pictures I used were taken at Holy Hill, about 30 minutes west of Milwaukee.  I wasn't sure that the one of the stairs would qualify since the teacher kept talking about capturing photos at night or near dusk, but he did like my interpretation.

The other photo from Holy Hill was taken inside the chapel.  When I presented this photo in class, both the teacher and myself noticed that it came out too yellow due to the fact it was taken using candlelight.  So he put a blue filter on it to show me how it brought out more of the gray.  I did the same thing when I came home, and added a little more contrast.  That's how it's shown below and I like it a lot more.

Next week's assignment is a Photographic Study.  I have seen these presented online before, so I kind of know what I'm expected to present.  My teacher wants something studied that is older and has character.  I already took the photos of my subject yesterday, and I will post those after I'm critiqued on Wednesday.

Composition Class 1: Scenery and Landscape

Last Wednesday, I started my very first photography class at my local technical college, WCTC.  I figured that, since taking snapshots is now my primary hobby, I should learn some things about technique.  Our first assignment was "Scenic Photos", and we had to bring in 5-10 shots to be shown to the class and critiqued.

I'm so glad I signed up for "Photography Composition" because not only are we learning how to frame photos, cut out extraneous objects before we push the shutter, and include interesting objects in our photos to make them more interesting, there is a lot of post-production techniques we're learning as well. 

A year-and-a-half ago, I took my first Photoshop class, and I believe I retained about 25% of what I learned (I have mostly used Photoshop to crop, lighten, and provide contrast, but not much else).  I forgot about all of the other tools you can use to enhance the quality of your photos.  But, since everyone in the class has to see and critique each other's photos every week, we are given tips to use these tools to our advantage.

Take the photo above.  I took this photo in Racine at a beach on Lake Michigan, and presented it as one of my Scenery photos.  I hadn't even noticed that it had a very pronounced bluish tint to the photo.  The teacher suggested I use a yellow filter to balance the colors in the photograph, which I did at 25%.  The result, as you can see at the top of the page, is much better.  The beach itself, as well as the rocks, no longer have a bluish tint to them, and the photograph looks more realistic.

The photograph above and the two below were new photos I took over the weekend west of where I live and in St. Francis by Lake Michigan.  The compositions looked good, but the sun wasn't low enough in the sky, and therefore cast a brightspot at the top of the photos.  The teacher made the suggestion that I go over the highlighted areas with the burn tool.  So I did at about 50% and, although they are still a little too bright, it made a big difference.  I did try at a higher percentage, but then the photos looked like a storm was approaching, and I didn't like them as much.

The last tip I received about my scenery photos was for the one below.  I took this at the side of the road, and in front of the sign, there was a post that I couldn't get a good shot around.  So the teacher suggested I use the clone tool to take part of the grassy area and brush it over the post.  I did so, and I love the result. 

The last picture I presented, shown below, hit all the right notes, so to speak.  Good framing, good use of the rule of 3 and good use of an interesting object in the photo (the smoke house to the right).

I know I'm going to learn a lot of useful tips on how to create more interesting photos through this class.  I'm even planning on taking some other photography courses at WCTC while finishing my Medical Coding diploma.  Next week's assignment is "Texture".  If you would like information on the classes WCTC has to offer, go to http://www.wctc.edu./.