First Studio Portrait Experience

As I walked into the studio for my studio photography class I was a little overwhelmed. I've never used reflectors or umbrellas for taking pictures. But, based on my first experience taking studio portraits the other day, I believe this will be a fun year exploring how to take great portraits in a studio setting. I enjoyed taking control and being creative about what I wanted in my shots. Being in control is more fun for me, and I think it allows more time to think about what I need. This was also my first time using a sync cord and using umbrella lighting. The lighting seems to work better than natural light, and it really brings out the subject. Looking forward to utilizing the studio more often.

Soon to be Married: JRN 521 Final Project

Moment: JRN 521

Friends enjoy a game of black jack during the Central Michigan University Up ALL Night event. Other activities included putt putt golf, video games, swimming, and inflatables.

Layers: JRN 521

The 21st Annual Central Michigan University Powwow was held Saturday afternoon in the Rose Arena. I attended the event so I could try to shoot a photo with good layering. I took this photo of a group of drummers, and tried to play with the foreground and background. I wanted the Native American feathers to frame the drummers in the background. It was a challenge for me, however, because I had a hard time trying to make sure the background was not blurry. After several attempts I believe I was successful. I pushed myself in this exercise by looking at both the foreground and the background, instead of focusing on the action of the drumming itself.

My Inspiration

If I could think of one person who inspires me, I would say it would be my cousin Mary Ketchmark. She is a professional studio photographer who does weddings and senior pictures. Specifically, what she does to inspire is how hard she works to get great wedding pictures. One of my goals is to become a wedding photographer, so whenever I see her taking wedding pictures, I want to follow in her footsteps. This past summer I shadowed her at my stepbrother's wedding. I would watch her and stand next to her whenever she took pictures so I could learn how to get good photos. When I stood next to her I saw that she framed her subjects perfectly. For example, in one shot, she used flowers to frame the bride's face in the picture. She was a great help by teaching me the basics of wedding photography. I am very grateful for this. Now I know what to expect when I shoot weddings on my own. Her hard work and determination inspires me to rise above what I am capable of. Additionally, she always seems to have the right lighting and composition in her photos. The picture below of the bride and groom kissing shows Mary's skills at lighting. I like how the sky in the background of the photo is white. It conveys a sense of a bright future and happiness for the subjects. The other photo illustrates her skill at capturing the personality of a subject. Mary had a good idea of composing the girl and the horse in the same shot. Just shooting a medium shot of both the horse and the girl was a good idea so that we could see both of the expressions. If there is any photographer I can learn from, Mary is the one.

JRN 423 Video 2

Walking In Her Shoes from Derek Stonebraker on Vimeo.

Link to my website

http://ccfacourses.cmich.edu/jrn/421/stonebraker/index.html