The rule of thirds is one of favorite photo techniques.  I almost never take a centered shot.  I think objects look more interesting when there is a little bit of an off angle with some background behind it.  I especially like to get a shallow depth of field and close up, it's kind of my thing.  I like enjoy viewing images that highlight the subject and bring the eye to the main point.  I mostly shoot level with the subject and get as close as I can so my lens will do a 4 in aperature mode.  I normally configure the image myself but after reading this lesson, I figured out how to view the grid in my viewfinder.  Now I know to place the subject where the lines cross and set up points to compose a shot.  I also like showing some of the background when it is important to show where or what the subject is doing. 

 

 

This little girl was playing peek a boo with me and hiding behind her car.  I wanted to get her peeking through the car and seemed to time it just right with her big smile.  This image is not right on a point but I could "cheat" and crop it to do so.

This was a lucky shot!  This little girl was happened to be walking by with her candy bag and her eye is directly in the point.  She was close enough that I was able to set my aperature at 4.

I strategically placed my sons action figure this way to give him an empowered strong look.  I played with this one a bit and took shots with him more toward the right but decided on the left because it gives the appearance that he is leading an army or force.

I could've angled this flower better if I stood above it but didn't see that when I was taking the picture.  I wanted to give to affect of the flower to the lower right like it was blooming.

The men are the main focus of this pic but I also wanted to included their traditional Seneca instruments as they were singing.  I was a little disappointed that I didn't get them with their mouths opening and looking like they were singing. 

This little guy wouldn't quit with his power ranger moves, I moved a tad so I could get his arm at an angle rather than straight at me.  His fist is almost centered but his eyes are on point.

I took this of my niece about a month ago.  This might be breaking the rule of thirds but I love that she's leading into the picture.  I could crop to look so it fits in one of the points but I just love it the way it is.

I knew exactly what I wanted when I taking this and the mother and son were so cooperative.  I had to place her perfectly in the sun where there was no shade and bend down to put her to the right.  I was also able to get close enough to have low aperature.  This is one of my favorite pictures I think I've ever taken.  The mother was so happy with it.

I don't know why but it just felt natural to keep placing them to the right of the shot. 

I tried to work the camera the same way I did with the power ranger shot but I came a little out of focus.  Sometimes I have to accept what I can get out of two and three year olds but they are so much fun!

 

White balance is a tool that helps display accurate light and colors in a digital image.  It is a rather easy adjustment to make if you have the time.  White balance helps the photographer get the most accurate lighting in a scene (how the human eye sees it).  Below are two subject which I chose to shoot in my office.  The dollhouse was inside with sunlight behind me and bulb lighting from above.  The last picture of the dollhouse seems to match the real life color of the house and the room which is on the fluorescent setting.  The red shoe tape dispenser was faced towards the window with the sun behind it.  This one was a bit tougher to tell the true color but I think the third one down is the correct color and setting. The direct sunlight setting was used for this one.  At home or on my own time I have the patience and time to set up a shot and do a white balance check.  At work and on the go, it can be hard and I use the automatic white balance for the majority of these shots. If the color is not what I want to expected or off I usually correct it in Photoshop with the curve tool.

  

Incandescent

Direct sunlight

Flash

Cloudy

Shade

Fluorescent

Incandescent

Fluorescent

Direct Sunlight

Flash

Cloudy

Shade

 

Until this lesson, I have never fully understood the ISO function.  I was always under the assumption that shutter speeds and ISO measurements were somehow related or that they were the same thing.  Although I have taken photography, I didn’t know how to fully function my Nikon D90.  In the manual, it says to use the back dial in shutter mode to alter, which I was and just assumed that it was working.  It wasn’t until our last assignment that I figured out that my shutter button is only manual when my camera is in LV mode.  This opened up a whole new and more understandable world to me!  Now that I have figured out how to differentiate between the two, I am on my way to being able to truly manipulate and achieve the effects I want in due time.  After reading the book about ISO settings, it stated the lower the ISO, the brighter the picture.  I tried to start at the high ISO and work my way down but I didn’t really have the option when trying to capture two year olds playing in the leaves.  Instead of going down the latter with every setting like my previous assignments, I shot from the hip and changed the settings when I had a second.  I think ISO 200 was the best lighting with the most clear pictures but to experiment for the assignment I altered it for every picture to see a change and get the idea of how to function my camera properly. 

This ISO was set at 3200 and the goal was to scale down and take a picture until I got to the lowest setting.  I put my camera in P mode and adjusted the camera as fast as I could.  Although this is a high setting, the lighting was good that day.

This image was set at 200 because I wanted to see if there was a difference in the lighting from the last setting of 3200.  I can't really see the difference in the lighting of the two but I kept experimenting until I did.

I tried to hurry and scale my ISO back down to get a good shot.  I also wanted alter the shutter to get the leaves falling and the aperture to make the little girl stand out of the background more.

 

This is set at 500 and the aperture at 5.  Although it was bit higher than 200, it still had a clear shot.  I believe my shots are bright because the sun was directly to the side and behind me. 

I went back to ISO 200 for this one and it came out brighter and more vivid.

I left the setting at 200 because I was getting such good shots and the kids were loving the nice weather and throwing leaves.  I never have time to set up shots and sometimes I think this is my downfall because I'm experienced to think fast enough.

I wasn't seeing a huge difference in my shots so I spiked this setting up to 1000 and faced a different direction.  This gave me a darker front subject and light background. 

This teacher was having so much fun that I kept shooting her until she was done.  This one is a tad lighter but still darker than to 200 and 500 settings.

Again, this shot is dark due to the high ISO 1600.  I did brighten in Photoshop a little bit, it was darker and definitley not a clear or bright shot. 

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I was so worried about getting my narrative in on time that I forgot to upload the pictures to accompany it.  The photos labeled 2,3,4 are my favorites because I meant to reach that effect.  My goal was to keep Hiram in focus while trying to show he was moving at the same time.  The photo #11 is one of my favorites as well but I got lucky on that one.  I need to invest in a tripod ASAP!

Shutter Speeds

This setting was a bit of challenge for me.  I had a hard time figuring out how to set it on my Nikon D90.  I’m supposed to be able to turn my setting to S mode and use the back dial to alter my shutter speeds.  However, this was not the case.  I set the mode but the shutter speed was not changing when I turned the dial.  I changed to the P mode and tried the same thing to no avail.  I finally googled my issue and felt relief when I found others were having the same issue.  I found two forums that helped immensely.  One responder said pushing the shutter release button half way down resets or unlocks the dials.  Another said pushing the live button worked as well.  I opted to use the second option.  It was easier for me at the time as I was chasing my son around our back yard while him and his dad played lacrosse. 

I started in a high shutter mode and everything seemed to freeze in time.  I started with 1/500 and my son is running towards me.  Everything is in focus and seems it as I have pressed pause on a video.  It seemed to do this at /180 and 1/125 as well.  I can see more of a difference as I get to the 1/90 setting.  The movement of their lacrosse sticks is blurry or in action.  I learned to pan last semester and this worked well with this setting.  The shot of them running is, I tried to be as smooth as possible and move with Hiram (my son).  I captured what I set out to do, which was to get them in focus but show their movement across the lawn.  I went down to 1/60 and this seemed more of a challenge to keep still.  The more I focused in on a specific subject that was still was the only thing to stay in focus.  The more I dialed down, the more I had to stay still.  I was quite proud of the image that is at a 1/6 setting and I managed to get Hiram’s face in focus while everything else is in motion.  The more I went down the more frustrating it was to keep my subject in focus but once I did, it felt great to be able to manipulate my camera. 

I tried to challenge myself by telling Hiram to jump in the trampoline while I shot in the lower settings.  This was very difficult because I could not stay still.  The constant shake from the trampoline was too much for my amateur skills especially at a setting of 1/4.  The setting that worked the best for me was the 1/90.  I was able to capture the shots in motion but still keep what I wanted in focus which is a big feat for me.  When I did this assignment similar to this one last semester, I am positive I had the ISO and the shutter speeds confused because of the setting on my camera.  Instead of changing the shutter, it changes the ISO so I was under the impression I had been changing my shutter speeds.  I am I figured this out, I tend to get confused when I am shooting and everything is happening so fast in front of me. 

In real life, this lesson has been very helpful.  Hiram plays lacrosse and does not sit still.  I almost always have to chase him to get a picture.  I like the effect of the motion the shutter speeds give a picture.  This will also help at work, we just put in a water wall and I am looking forward to getting some good water splashing shots of the kids.

The examples I have attached show the difference between a slow shutter speed that smears or blurs things together and a fast shutter speed that freezes everything and shows great detail.

Aperture Settings

These pictures display my aperture experiment per class assignment.  They are arranged by aperture settings on my camera.  I started with the highest one at f-22 and go all the way down to f-4.  On the top shot I had the lens all the way out and had it at the largest f stop of 22.  As you can see the entire picture is in focus.  For the second shot I dialed down two f stops to f16 just to see if I could see a difference and I really can not tell which one is which.  For the third shot I went down to f13 and I can start to see things closer to me coming more into to focus.  The yellow flowers are more visible than in the previous shots.  In the fourth shot, I zoomed in closer because I wanted to different angle.  Again, it seems the same as the previous shot to me.  The foreground (the plants) are in focus and the grass in the background is a little out of focus.  I can start to see more of a difference in the sixth shot.  I left the aperture setting at f13 but a different shot.  In this one (#5) I can see a bigger difference.  The one yellow flower to the left is in focus while the rest are a little blurry in the background.  The more I dialed down the more visible the foreground became.  The background seemed to become less visible. This tends to increase the more the pictures descend and I dial down the f stops.  However, I could not get down to f-4 and f-3.5 unless I brought the lens in.  It was quite challenging for a minute, I didn't know why that f stop kept disappearing whenever I tried to zoom back in.  My lens measures 18mm-150mm.  This was the first time I have actually adjusted the aperture settings manually.  I usually shoot in S mode and let the camera automatically adjust the aperture for me but this techique works better when I am shooting a specific shot.  I like tight close ups and with natural face expressions.  The infants and babies are my favorite to shoot, I like catching precious moments.

I can see how this would apply to my current position and in real life.  I take a lot of pictures of small children in a classroom setting.  Everyone who has ever set foot in a pre-k classroom knows it is very bright, busy, loud, and messy.  The kids' art is up, learning posters, schedules, potty charts etc.. It is hard for me to find a blank or drab background to take pictures of the kids.  At times when I am trying to take hand shots or physical movement, it can be hard to tell what is the background and what is the subject.  All the colors and patterns runs together and are hard to differentiate.  Being able to manually set my aperture settings will help me focus more on the subject and the foreground without all the business in the background.