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I took Introduction to Photography both to fulfill an Art credit and because photography is something I’m interested in. I went into the class believing I would be great at photography because of how much I practice, and I that I would only need to learn a few things, and that I would be a better photography already than other people in the class.
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think I’m all that great a photographer, nor do I think that even most of my photos turn out amazing. But I figured that this class is Intro to Photography, the people in the class aren’t into it like I am, and therefore they won’t be as good.
It only took me the first few days of class to realize how wrong I was. There were people who are serious about photography, have the equipment to meet their photography needs, and have been practicing for a long time. I’m an honest enough person to know my strengths and weaknesses and when to admit I’m not good at something.
Our first assignment was just about exploring our aperture and shutter speed controls. I did the assignment, didn’t worry about composition as the instructor said not to, and turned it in. When I compared photos with others in the class I was amazed at the level of talent, and that’s when I realized that I’m going to have to work a lot harder if I want to ever be a good photographer.
Even being told not to worry about composition, other students had amazing photographs. Mine were utterly terrible. I worked harder at each subsequent assignment to try to compose a photograph that people really wanted to look at.
Our color assignment I found was much easier for me than the composition one. I realized that it was easier for me because color inspires me. When I look at art and photography, I have never thought “wow I love that composition.” I have always loved the subject matter or the colors (or the lack of color). Color makes me feel alive, it moves me, and it makes me want to capture what I’m feeling. In shooting the color assignment, I believe my composition turned out better than it did in the composition assignment.
We then came to the composition assignment. I thought I was improving, and I believe I was, but I hit a wall with this assignment. I struggled to figure out how to compose pictures that were interesting. I understand the rules of composition, but translating that from knowledge of how to compose, to film eluded me. I finally completed the assignment, but was very frustrated with myself. I just couldn’t get what I was visualizing to show up in any of my pictures.
The final project was an assignment where we had to shoot something in need of appreciation. I chose coffee. We were instructed to choose something we are passionate about, and it was coffee or the desert. I didn’t have the time to get to the desert so I chose the former. I really enjoyed shooting this assignment although I encountered roadblock after roadblock. I really wanted to portray the feel of coffee in coffee shops specifically; therefore I needed to shoot in coffee shops. I had good feelings about this project, had already talked to a couple of shops that would let me shoot photos in their place of business, but when it came time to begin shooting I was unable to get a hold of the people I’d previously spoken to and others never returned my calls. (One shop in particular I emailed, called, and physically went in numerous times and never once met the owner who had to make the decision.) It was frustrating but I kept at it every time I had more than 2 free hours. Slowly I got some photos.
Most of my photos were of the interiors of shops, never the photos I’d envisioned of beautiful lattes, shots of espresso pouring, coffee beans grinding, coffee brewing, etc. I finally got into one shop on our last open day of class to get the photos of beans and roasters that I’d been wanting for this project. Some of my pictures I loved, others I thought were weak, and so I just continued to shoot photos so I could have the best of each subject I photographed.
During the process of this final project I started using photo editing programs. I was able to make a decent photograph into more what I envisioned it being through a few simple adjustments, and felt proud of the photos I ultimately turned in. As I don’t have my grade on the final project yet, I don’t know if my instructor will see my project the same way, but based on feedback from those I’ve shown the pictures too, I believe I captured the essence of what I was after. In my proposal for this project, I said one way I would evaluate my work is if other people saw my photos and said “wow, those are amazing.” I feel I succeeded in this for the most part, because, with the exception of a few photos, that is the reaction I got as I showed friends and family throughout the process of this project.
Overall I’ve learned so much in this class. I’ve learned that I still have a lot to learn about photography, and a lot of practice ahead of me to get to where I want to be. I’ve learned that photography is much more artistic than I first thought it was. I knew it was art and I felt it was art, but I never truly realized how much creativity and artistic vision goes into making an amazing photograph. I know I’m weak as an “artist” but with practice and dedication, I can make “wow” photographs that will make me proud of my hard work.
