Paige Hassen: JRN

This assignment was the first time I have ever worked with any type of backlighting, strobes, or umbrellas in terms of photography, so I was pretty excited to see how they worked. Although it definitely took some getting used to, as my first few photographs were not done well at all, I think I started to get the hang of it towards the end.

My favorite part about this hands-on in class assignment would probably be the ability to use the soft light from the umbrella to light up a subject’s face in different ways depending on how the backlight is used. I mentioned this in the last assignment, but I really enjoy seeing contrast and shadows on faces when it comes to photography, and this whole assignment was about learning different ways to do that.

I would also like to have experimented a little bit more with making the background of these photos a little lighter, but I kind of enjoy the dramatic effect of the harsh light with a black background.

I am not someone who is good at being creative with photography or studio shots, but I definitely liked working in the Engineering and Technology Building this last Wednesday. Although I never feel creative enough for shots like these, this assignment proved to me that as long as you give yourself lots of time to shoot and are always moving and looking for more angles or locations to shoot, then there is always at least one interesting thing you can do.

In this assignment, I found my love for the lighting technique you see above, where a shape was made out of cardboard and put around the strobe to give the light a purposed and specific place to shine. I am excited to work on the actual, out of class assignment to see what I can do with these outside of this building, although I may use some similar shots as I really enjoyed them.