ESPN

To get more inspiration to for my final project I decided to do some research on ESPN’s website, and google to see what their covers look like an how I can take inspiration from that.

 

This first thing I’ve noticed that I don’t have in my photos is the model’s personality. I think I’ve reflected great energy in my photos but not necessarily the actual personality of my model, Angel. I think what I need to do is to come up with some ideas for covers and think about the way I want to do design the cover in a way that shows who she is.

 

Looking at the ads for ESPN magazine I noticed that a lot of them have high contrasting colors and big sans serif typefaces. A lot of them have darker background which I shot on the product table with white so I think I would want to reshoot some of them on the black background. I do like the pops of color that they have in these shoots which I could use the gels to do.

 

Overall these research is helping me a lot to hone in on my project and see what I still need to make it great!

Series Part One

 

The following photos were shot in the studio on Sunday afternoon with model Angel Prater. We did a few different set ups, but mostly with one light directly in front of her, one light at 45 degrees to the left at full power, and one on the right at 45 degree at half power. We tried a few with different gels which came out really, really cool looking. Overall I really didn’t have any problems with the assignment. This was the first time I’ve shot on the black backdrop and it’s definitely a little harder to make the background disappear on the black than it is one the white, which was an unexpected challenge, but overall I’m super happy with how the first round of edits turned out.  Angel was such an AMAZING model. In hindsight I wish I would turn the light to the right up to a higher power so there would be more separation between her and the background and make the lighting more even. But overall, I think the photos turned out how I wanted them to!

 

 

Streaming thru America

I came across this blog earlier this week while looking for some travel blogs for inspiration for my next big trip. Streaming thru America is a blog run by a retired special needs high school teacher who has spent the last year traveling throughout America in a mobile home. He has been documenting his journey through his blog in the form of essays, poems, and photography. One thing that really struck me about this blog was his photography. Most of his photos in the blog are quite obviously edited. At first I thought it looked really strange and unnatural (and it kind of does) but then after sorting through a few of his posts, I decided I actually really liked his photography. He is consistent in his style, which is important because if he toned any of his imaged down then it would show how much he edits. It is an interesting take on photography because in my opinion it seems taboo to have your editing show and it should be subtle and natural. I actually really like his style and I think he takes a risk by breaking many “rules” but I think it is working for him and it has made an impression on me and it’s something that I will remember which is of course always a goal. Taken in my hometown, Mount Pleasant, by Streaming thru America.

Taken at an Airshow in San Diego by Streaming thru America.

China

China was our second to last stop on SAS. I went to the Great Wall near Beijing. The light was very grey and dull which made it harder to take vibrant pictures despite in reality the leaves were changing and full of color. Check out a few of my best pictures!

 

Myanmar

Continuing with my trip around the globe, I made a stop in Myanmar. While in Myanmar I traveled to Bagan, home of thousands and thousands of Buddhist shrines. On our way back to the ship to head onto Vietnam we made an impromptu pit stop at an elephant conversation camp at 6:30 in the morning. This was one of my first time taking pictures of animals, so I got to learn some of the challenges that come with that, such as eye contact, respecting the animals space, while dealing with lighting challenges, movement and more. Overall I was so happy with how my pictures from Myanmar turned out and I actually enjoyed photographing animals so much more than I thought I would!

India

Another stop on my Semester at Sea adventure was in India. I traveled to Cochin, New Dehli, Agra, and Varanasi in five days! India was absolutely gorgeous but quite a challenge to photograph. Two days after I left, United Airlines cancelled all flights in and out of Dehli due to the high pollution. It is hazy everywhere and actually quite difficult to see. Another challenge is the amount of people. There are HUNDREDS of people around you at any given time of day or night no matter where you are. In fact, the Taj Mahal receives around 30-40,000 visitors PER DAY. I was extremely excited to take on these challenges with my photography skills as it made lighting extremely difficult. Many of my photos kept coming out banded as well. Another challenge that I faced in India was taking pictures of religious ceremonies. Much of what makes Indian culture so rich is the Hindu religion. However, it is so important to be culturally aware and respectful while being able to capture the ‘real’ India. I learned so much from my week and definitely improved my photography skills while having an amazing time.

Ghana

I visited Ghana for five days in Fall 2017. It was one of the most eye opening experiences of my life. I spent my days at an orphanage learning about child slavery, visiting native tribal villages, but most importantly visiting the Cape Coast. Cape Coast is home to the slave castles, where Ghanian men, women and children would be held by their captors until ships would bring them to the Americas and the Caribbean. Being from Charleston, South Carolina slavery has always been a devastating, but important part of my city’s history and culture. For me this felt like coming full circle and to have witnessed it has really opened my mind.

Ghana was an amazing chance to get to work on my photography because it was so colorful in the city, but it was always so grey in the sky. It rained every day that we were there, so I was able to take advantage of shooting with more color contrast. I was also excited because I was able to photograph a lot of kids, which definitely comes with its challenges. Many kids were so excited because they’d never seen photos of themselves before and they kept jumping up to touch the cameras and begging to have their photos taken. This challenged me as a photographer because I’d never felt the struggle from being present in the moment vs. wanting to get the perfect shot. This experience definitely showed me that there is a balance and sometimes its worth it to just put the camera away and not waste an experience for the sake of a shot.

Check out some of my favorite photos from the week below!

First image taken by Meaghan Mackey.