My Learning Portfolio

Final Reflection:

     Before this class, I used to think that great photos came merely from what stood in front of the lens. Although this was partially my excuse to do and see cool things, it was also my shortfall as a photographer. My obliviousness to how basic photography skills and knowledge can change a photo was the reason why I could never elevate or adequately capture my subjects.
     This course has altered how I see through my viewfinder and lens, teaching me that I can change the emotions around my image through my camera’s composition and technical abilities, and myself as the operator. Now I can elevate and adequately capture my subjects. Prior to this class, I never knew how to shoot manually. Over the last couple of months, I’ve learned the importance of aperture, shutter speed, and ISO. When before, I didn’t know what they were. I can separate my subject from its’ surrounding by shooting at a low F-stop, or I can capture fast movements like waves with a quick shutter speed. I never knew what panning was, and now whenever I see a cool car or a trolly, I try to change my setting quickly enough to capture it.
     The technical component of my camera challenged me immensely. It was hard to learn and figure out the significance of aperture, shutter speed, and ISO. I couldn’t even figure out how to change my ISO for a while. Taking the assignments seriously and understanding their objective made me successful in learning the technical component of my camera. I loved how this course was structured because each lesson was built as a stepping stone, and I could literally see my progress being made. When I started to struggle, I’d go back to the first several assignments and rewatch the training videos because it helped improve my core fundamentals.
     I want to dive into photography art (fine art) in the future. I had a lot of fun doing the still life assignment, and I was amazed by how I could manipulate a scene. Now I find myself collecting weird objects, saving gift tissues, and looking around my garage for different light sources because I want to build a unique scene to photograph. I am truly grateful for this semester. Thank you Leonie and Alice.