Valentines Day
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Since it was sunny outside, I decided to use the weather to my advantage. Using a chocolate heart as a prop I had Raffi hold it in front of my old shed. Initially I wasn't too convinced about adding the locks, but while editing I realized it added more depth to the photo. After using the white balance on Light Room I lowered the exposure to enhance the shadows. I am happy with how this picture turned out as it took quite some planning and a few takes.
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Due to the nice weather, I wanted to incorporate the clear sky. Using the same chocolate, I wanted to capture the sense of positivity the sun brings. I had Raffi hold the chocolate to the sky, as I made sure to incorporate the few clouds. When I started to edit, I slightly increased both the contrast and exposure. As I finished editing, I realized I like this photo more than I did initially.
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As the picture still revolves around the Valentines Day themed chocolate, I decided to have Raffi depict the happiness of that day. With help from the sunshine, this image seems happy. In the beginning I didn't love how this image turned out, but with editing and cropping it turned out exactly how I intended.
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Patterns
As I was driving near the river I came across a building that used to be a church. It has beautiful stained glass windows and many patterns so it was the perfect location. This image is of the front of the building, just above the front door. I first used Light Room for the white balance and then to increase the exposure and slightly decrease the contrast. I feel happy about how this picture turned out, especially since this location was an impulse decision.
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This stained glass window was at the side of the building and was a perfect opportunity for a picture due to the sun setting. I found it difficult to get a good angle as the window was at the bottom of the building, but I was able to crop the picture in Light Room. As always, I started editing with fixing the white balance and I then decrease both the exposure and contrast to emphasize the effect the sun had on the wall. Overall I am happy with how this picture turned out.
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Since the sun was setting, I wanted to use the good lighting to my advantage. This was taken at the front of the building, of the main stairs. I cropped the image, fixed the white balance and slightly decreased both the exposure and contrast. The part that I take the most pride in is removing a pole and a few telephone wires in the background. Although it may be a small detail, it as a great achievement for me.
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Winter Wonderland
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My Winter Wonderland series of pictures were taken at Sandpoint Beach. The railings were covered with ice so I thought it would make a good picture. Once it was in Light Room I cropped the image and corrected the white balance. I also decreased the exposure to make the horizon line more visible. Overall I think this image is a creative take on this shooting assignment.
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The main reason I wanted to do this assignment at the beach was to photograph the sheets of ice. After I cropped and corrected the white balance, I decreased the exposure and contrast to emphasize the sun reflecting on the edges of the ice. One thing I would change would be taking the picture closer to the ice to show more detail but I think this picture turned out well.
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This picture is similar to the one above except I wanted to capture more of the water. The editing process was the same as the one above as I wanted to highlight the sun reflecting on the ice. I like this picture because it does a great job of capturing what a winter wonderland looks like living by the river. |
Glass
When I was told the shooting assignment was glass and bottles, I immediately thought of flowers in a bottle. It took serveral tries to find the perfect setting but once I walked outside I saw the perfect location. The bottle was my mom's Dad's bottle that is used as decoration in our kitchen. These flowers were leftover from my mask assignment last year in visual art and they worked perfect. When editing, the crop made a huge difference as well as the white balance. I then increased the exposure and slightly increased the contrast. Also, the bottle had a glare from the flash and I edited it out so it wouldn't be the main focus. Overall I am very happy with this image.
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This is a different angle of the bottle in the same location. This image looks more like an advertisement as the foreground is in focus and the background is not. Similarly to the image above, I edited out the flash from the camera on the front of the bottle which I am very happy with. I find this angle has the effect of making it look more professional and pleasing to the eye. In addition to increasing the exposure and contrast, the crop and white balance made a huge difference.
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With keeping the idea of an advertisement in mind, I decided to make the bottle the main focus by using the 9-box grid. The rocks in the landscape helped compliment the colours of the bottle and the flowers which tied the whole image together. I edited out the flash and I am really happy with how it turned out. I cropped, corrected the white balance, decreased exposure, increased contrast and slightly increased the saturation. This is one of my favourite pictures I took so far.
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Photo Essay
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This is a picture of the waffle I made to start off my morning. While in quarantine, we ordered a waffle maker to make breakfast more exciting and my mom made her famous strawberry flambé. I placed the plate in the sun to emphasize the glaze on the strawberries and started editing with cropping. I increased both the exposure and brightness. To enhance the colour I slightly increased the saturation, vibrance and temperature and increased the white and shadows to make the strawberry seeds visible. I used the rule of thirds to balance and centre the picture. I am very happy with how this image turned out as I tried many different angles. One aspect I would improve is reducing the glare on the plate, but overall I am proud of this picture.
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While we made waffles we made toasted tomato sandwiches and the tomatoes were a gorgeous bright red. This was the perfect opportunity for a picture and I made the tomatoes the focus. I started with cropping the picture and then I increased the exposure and saturation and slightly decreased the shadows to emphasize the depth. I also slightly increased the temperature to add more colour to the toast and waffle. The rules of thirds was very helpful to balance the image. One improvement I would make would be using a different plate for the sandwiches but I am very proud of this picture especially since the pepper on the tomato is visible. I also like how the waffle is out of focus in the background as it adds more depth.
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I always try to start my school work as early as possible after I finish eating breakfast. I love doing my biology work so I thought it was perfect for this assignment. I found the lighting a challenge when shooting this as there were glares on both the laptop and the textbook. I was successful with the lighting and decided to focus on the book with the pencil case and laptop in the background. I then started editing with cropping and using the rule of thirds to make the image balanced. I made sure to increase the exposure, saturation, shadows and highlights so the keyboard was visible. I found this picture a little more challenging than the first two but I feel good with how it turned out.
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These and my two cats, Daphne and Dexter, laying in the sun. I knew this would be challenging as they are constantly moving but I was successfully once they were asleep. I had to crop and straighten the image and it made a big difference. I increased the exposure, highlights and shadows to make the picture more clear and I slightly increased the temperature to enhance the sunlight on their fur. One improvement I would make would be changing the background that is out of focus but the sunlight was necessary. These cats are perfect for quarantine and everyday life which made it rewarding to get a good picture of them.
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Throughout each day, Raffi and I FaceTime to talk and while we play video games. I find it important to have people in your life that you can laugh with even while social distancing and FaceTime is a big part of that. This picture was difficult to shoot as I was working with a few different sources of light. I had to crop it carefully using the rule of thirds and I had to straighten the picture. There was not enough light so I increased the exposure, shadows and highlights. I decided not to change the vibrance, temperature or the saturation as it did not work well with the colours in his room. The colours are not as prominent as the other pictures but I feel that it turned out good despite the challenges. I am happy I included this as FaceTime is the only was we can communicate face to face.
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I have been using this time off from school and volleyball to better my driving. I drive anytime my dad goes to the store or we drop food off on my grandma's porch. I am proud with how much I have improved and I thought it was an important aspect to include. I used the rule of thirds to help with cropping and I increase the exposure and highlights to capture the silver on the steering wheel better. I would make improvements by fixing the bright window in the background but overall I am happy with how this image looks.
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Along with baking, I have started helping out with cooking more. During this time I have really noticed the importance of learning family recipes and home-cooked meals as my mom is an amazing cook. I helped prepare vegetables for dinner which made for a great picture opportunity. After cropping and balancing with the rule of thirds, I vaguely increased the exposure and shadows and I increased the saturation, temperature and shadows. I love the shallow depth of field as the detail of the broccoli is noticeable. The saturation was a great addition as it enhanced the bright orange of the carrots. I would improve the angle as they were a bit challenging but the picture turned out good.
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We usually go to my grandma's apartment for Easter dinner with my whole family but since that couldn't happen we had our own dinner. Although it is nice to see extended family, there was something special about celebrating just the four of us. We always eat together as a family which is really important to me. I increased the exposure, saturation, temperature and shadows to amplify the details in the various foods. Cropping was essential as there were forks along the side. I also removed glare on the glass since my eyes were drawn to the light. Removing the glare was the most challenging part as I was getting used to Lightroom but I feel like I was successful. I feel happy with how this picture looks.
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Focused Photography
I took advantage of the beautiful day and decided to have my brother pose for me. I initially had the idea of making it seem as if he was sitting in a mug but I wanted more of a challenge. I then had the idea of using perspective to make it look like he is floating in a water bottle, but the water made it hard to see him. I tried using a large Mason jar but that didn't work either. I found this champagne glass that ended up working great. I took many pictures for him standing and jumping in several different locations to capture the right one. I found it challenging to line up the grass in the glass with the field to make it more realistic. I also wish there was more sky in the background to give the illusion of his soring in the sky. I am happy with the finished product after I cropped and increased the exposure, shadows, white and temperature. Overall I really like how this assignment challenged me.
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Hands
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I was inspired by people on social media as they were bringing mirrors outside and doing photoshoots. The sun was starting to set which was perfect for the vision I had. I used the rule of thirds to help crop properly, and then I decreased the shadows and exposure. I also increased the temperature to enhance the warmth from the sun. I am very proud of this image as I really challenged and turned out better than I imagined. Next time I would improve the angle of my wrist but I am happy with how it turned out.
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Once I was told the assignment was focused on hands, I immediately knew I wanted to incorporate my mom's wedding ring. My mom is always reading so using a book as the background turned out to be a great idea. I chose to decrease the saturation and vibrance to make it black and white as it allows the viewer to focus on the ring. The crop made this image a lot better was her hand and ring are emphasized. I also slightly decreased the shadows and increased the white when editing. Overall I am happy with this image as I was challenged and I used the natural light from the sun to help add depth.
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I find this image visually pleasing as I used the blue sky as the background. My younger brother loves playing basketball and I was able to capture a great image while he was playing. After I cropped the image, I increased the exposure, temperature, black and highlights. I like this picture since there is great detail seen in his hand and it depicts him doing something he loves. As most of my pictures, I took advantage of the sunlight which helped add depth to his hands. I found it challenging since I had to find the correct angle. After several takes, I am happy with how it turned out.
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This was one of the first ideas I had. I drove to Raffi's house and due to quarantine, I had to take pictures from outside while he was inside his house. This was the first time we've seen each other since school and that added more emotion to the picture. It was challenging at first as I tried to shoot the picture from inside the car, his front door, and his front window. There was glare and reflections which made me find many different angles. I decreased both the saturation and vibrance after I cropped and then slightly decreased the black and exposure. I also increased white to help add more depth. I love this picture, especially in black and white, since it is noticeable that our hands are on the glass which adds intensity to the image.
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Spring
I took advantage of the beautiful weather and went for a walk with my camera. There were several chipmunks around which made for a perfect shot. I started editing by cropping which made a big difference. I also increased the exposure, white, highlight and black. I decided to slightly increase the vibrance and temperature to enhance the warmth and green plants in the background. The biggest challenge when capturing this chipmunk was getting the right angle to make him visible despite him being pretty camouflage. I like this image because small animals are the perfect representation of spring.
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During my walk I came across a pound and there were tadpoles and turtles. This guy was posing perfectly in the sun for this picture. Since I was pretty far away, I started editing by cropping and then slightly decreased the exposure. I increased the white, highlight and black as well as vibrance. I slightly increased saturation and temperature to add more vivid colour to the green plants in the reflection in the water. I found it a little challenging to crop since he blends into the environment pretty well but I wanted to incorporate the long and plants. Overall I feel good about this image as it depicts new life in spring.
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As plants are starting to grow through the dried leaves, there were many little flowers starting to bloom. These ones stood out to me as they are such a pretty shade of purple. I slightly cropped the image to focus on the flowers and I decreased the exposure. In addition, I increased the white, black, shadows and vibrance. I didn't have many challenges while taking this picture but I would've liked to improve it by only focusing on the flower in the middle instead of the one on the left as well. I feel really good about this picture since it captures new life blooming in spring.
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Photographic Scavenger Hunt
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1. Leading Lines
While on a walk, I decided that the bridge is the perfect example of leading lines. After cropping the image, I increased the exposure, white, black and highlight. I found it a challenge to edit since it was slightly over exposed to be begin with. I wanted there to be a noticeable difference between the cloudy sky and the top of the bridge. I am happy that I was able to include the blooming trees in the background to add more depth to the picture and I find the picture overall satisfying. |
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2. Forced Perspective
This I one of my favourite photographs so far since it was a challenge and is a perfect way to express my creativity. I had my brother hold his new basketball shoes and I then edited it to look like he was holding them as if they are balloons. The main challenge was to have him hold the laces so it looked realistic when I flipped it. After many takes I was able to edit by straightening, cropping and increasing the exposure, white, shadows and saturation. I am really happy that this risk turned out! |
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3. Leaf
Since many plants are starting to bloom, I decided to capture leaves in the process. I started editing with cropping and then increasing the exposure, shadows, white and black. I also slightly increased the vibrance and saturation to enhance the green. I am specifically happy with the look of the shallow depth of field and the shadow of the stem on the leaf. Although I didn't have many challenges, I feel proud of how this picture turned out. |
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4. Colourful Rock
While on a walk, I came across this rock that someone painted with a clever inspirational quote. Little things like these really make me smile, which inspired me to also paint some uplifting rocks. When I saw that a colourful rock was on the scavenger hunt, I was happy that I could include this rock. I edited by cropping using the rule of thirds, increasing the exposure, white and shadows, as well as, increasing the saturation. This was a reminder to me that simple things in life can bring a great amount of happiness, which means a lot especially in quarantine. |
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5. Something Tall
There are many trees surrounding my house which worked perfect for this. I wanted to capture the sun shining through the branches to add more depth, and I am happy with how it turned out. I slightly cropped the image and then increased the exposure, white and shadows. I also increased the vibrance to enhance the colours of the red and green leaves starting to bloom. The angle it was shot at gives the illusion of the tree being much taller than it is. The only challenge I had was deciding how bright to make the sun as I didn't want it to overpower the rest of the picture. Overall I feel that I accomplished my goal. |
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6. Something Small
I found this prompt challenging since I couldn't find an object that was already small that I could make smaller. Once I went outside I decided this small leaf would work. I slightly cropped using the rule of thirds and then I increased the exposure, shadows, white, vibrance and temperature. Although this image is decently simple I thought it looked nice since there isn't anything distracting the viewer from the leaf. Initially there was a stick and a few flower buds, but I was able to edit it out using the clone tool. I am proud that I was able to effectively adjust this image. |
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7. An Animal
This is a woodpecker that I saw on a tree and I was able to capture this beautiful image. As always, I started editing by cropping and slightly striaghtening. I then increased the exposure, white and shadows. I also increased the vibrance and saturation to enhance the colour of the plants and the orange on both his head and the orange peel. I loved this picture before editing, and now I feel more pride towards it. I didn't come across any challenges and I am happy with how it turned out. |
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8. Nature Selfie
I took this selfie in my backyard with trees and plants in the background. I would've liked a more nature filled background but this location had good lighting. After I cropped the picture, I increased the exposure, white, shadows and slightly increased the temperature. I don't take selfies often, but it's fun once in awhile! The biggest challenge was getting the proper lighting with nature in the background. Overall I really like this picture of myself. |
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9. Something Rough
nsMy initial idea was to take a close up picture of an object, and once I went outside and saw this branch I knew it would work great. I found the most textured part of the branch and started editing by cropping. I then increased the exposure, shadows, black and vibrance to capture the detail properly. This worked out better than I thought before editing. I would make improvements by choosing a more interesting object to work with (pineapple) but overall I like how this picture turned out. |
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10. Something Round
My record player with my Shawn Mendes vinyl was the perfect choice for this prompt. It provided a great amount of challenge for me as there was unwanted glare and dust (even after dusting twice). After I cropped and increased the exposure, shadows, black, white and saturation, I used the clone tools to removed the unwanted glare and dust. I love editing out aspects that I don't want in the image and this picture was great practice. I also love how the colourful glare allows the viewer to see the lines on the record, as it gives it more detail. I am really happy with this picture as it took many tries and I was able to incorporate Shawn Mendes into it! |
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11. Your Favourite Colour
My favourite colour is yellow since it provides happiest and strength. While on a walk there was a garden with beautiful flowers. I decided to take this picture using shallow depth of field to focus specifically on one flower. After I cropped it, I increased the exposure, shadows and white. In addition, I increased the vibrance, saturation and temperature to enhance the bright yellow of the flower. I like this picture due to it's simplicity. It is a reminder that sometimes keeping things simple is best. |
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12. A Letter in Nature
This was another image I found somewhat challenging. I tried finding different letters among the trees and bushes, but this one turned out the best. This is a hole I found in my favourite tree on my lawn that I used as the letter O. I cropped the picture, which made a huge difference, and then I increased the exposure, shadows and black. I also slightly increased the highlight, saturation and temperature to bring out the greens and oranges. I like how there is a great amount of detail in and surrounding the letter. |
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13. A Feather
While on another walk, I came across a family of geese and had to include them in this assignment. I took this picture from quite a distance since humans shouldn't go close to geese, which made the process bit challenging. Cropping made this picture a little less clearer than the original, but increasing the exposure, white and shadows helped. I increased the saturation to enhance the green grass and the baby geese's yellow feathers. I like this picture since baby geese never fail to bring happiness. |
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14. Water
Although I wish the weather was sunny with blue sky, I took this picture while walking across a bridge. I am happy that I was able to capture so much water as well as geese and blooming trees. The biggest challenge was editing since the sky and parts of the water are close to white. My favourite part of this picture is the concept of water right between a neighbourhood with a trail nearby. |
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15. A Seed
I am proud of this picture since it is a more creative take on a seed. I am also happy that my edits of cropping and the increase of shadows, white and black which revealed the top of the stem that wasn't visible before. I like that there is shallow depth of field since the viewer is able to see great detail. |
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16. Something Noisy
For my 17th birthday, my family surprised me with an acoustic guitar. I have been teaching myself how to play for about two months and have recently started teaching my brother. I really like this picture due to the angle. I increased the exposure, highlights, white and vibrance after cropping. I am also proud of the parts I used the clone tool on. I removed any glare on the guitar and the part of the couch that was in the corner. Overall I am really happy with this picture and proud of my process. |
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17. A Beautiful Scene
In the garden, where I plant my sunflowers, we have this metal sunflower. We've had it for many years and it clearly shows it. I edited by cropping, increasing the exposure, white, black, shadows, vibrance and temperature. I had a small struggle while straightening since the fence may not be perfectly straight but I think it looks better than before. The concept of beauty in the eye of the behold fits this perfectly. Sunflowers are my favourite flower and since we've had it for many years, it still has it's beauty. Although someone may not see it's beauty, it is a beautiful scene in my eyes. |
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18.
This is one of my favourite pictures from this assignment. To avoid capturing a boring image, I had my brother throw a handfull of dirt in the air. I also used the sky as the background so the dirt is visible. I cropped, increased the exposure, white and shadows to make the dirt darker than the sky. It took a few tries but it was worth it. |
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19. Bug
This was one of the most challenging images since it was cold outside which means there was not a variety of bugs. Also, cropping made the image less clear but it was necessary to see the ant in better detail. This isn't my favourite picture but I think the increase of exposure and shadows helped emphasize the ant. |
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20. Shallow Depth of Field
I loved this picture due to the great detail visible. Our cherry blossom tree just bloomed and the sun added perfect shadows. I cropped and increased the exposure, shadows, white, saturation and vibrance. I tried something different by adding a slight tone of pink. Although it isn't very noticeable, I feel good about testing out new things. I really love this picture. |
Selfie
This selfie was taken this past summer on our vacation across eastern Canada. We stopped in Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. The sunsets in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, were beautiful so I decided to take a selfie. This is one of my favourite pictures of myself and I was happy to use it in this edit. I started off by removing the background and slightly increasing the exposure, shadows and temperature. I then chose the background to be that gorgeous pink to complement to colours in the selfie, which was a great idea. When I was deciding on a text, I focused on making sure it fit the aesthetic and had a positive message. Although this is a common saying, it is also a Harry Styles song which made me like it even more. I moved the words slightly closer together and added shadow. I also changed the blend mode of the text to luminosity. I am very happy with how this turned out and I am proud of the improvements I've made while editing.
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Shoe Print Advertisement
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I love this edit due to the fact that it took days of planning, shooting the pictures and editing. I was inspired by vintage Nike advertisments and minimalistic movie posters. At first I had my mom take serveral pictures of my on the bike to capture the perfect image. I then found a location where the clouds were exactly where I wanted them for this edit. I removed the background using several different tools and layered the sky in the background. I increased the exposure, shadows, whites, vibrance and temperature of both the bike and the sky. I ran into challenges when trying to size the image different from the background, but once I figured it out I positioned it like a cream coloured poster or polaroid and added text. I found text that was similar to the text that Nike uses and chose to add the name of the shoes and the year they were made. I am extremely proud of this edit and I love that I am improving in this course.
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Product Advertisement
My initial reaction to this assignment was complete excitement but once I started to brainstorm ideas, I struggled. I thought of different products that would fit the idea I had in mind but no one them turned out. My mom had a plan to buy fresh strawberries from the Leamington farmers' market which led me to my finished product. I spent the day shooting several pictures of the strawberries in different lighting, with different backgrounds and adding water to add freshness. I made a strawberry smoothie and chocolate covered strawberries to make it a more realistic advertisement with supporting photographs. Before I started editing I had the plan of making it look like a poster from the 1950 but once I started editing I decided to explore different ideas. I decided to edit out the background of the chocolate covered strawberries and the bowl. I also used the clone tool to make the fruit look at perfect as possible. The colour scheme and the fonts used are related to the packaging, and I am happy with how successful it is. Although I ran into a few challenges, I am very happy and proud with how this turned out.
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Concert Poster
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I was very excited to start this assignment. Initially I was thinking about choosing artists like Shawn Mendes or Harry Styles, but I much rather choose an artist who isn't as popular. I love Conan Gray's music style and aesthetic so I had many ideas when it came to creating a concert poster. Lately I've been inspired by surreal collages and they complement Conan's style. I added a layer of pink sky in the background as well as water behind the cacti. I then found these pretty cacti which were perfect since I wanted to make them an unrealistic size. I edited the road for an idea as well as Conan from his album cover of Crush Culture. I then added Saturn in the sky and changed the blend mode. I then took an image of an older tv and used the eraser tool to my edit. I had to edit out a knob on the tv to fit the location and date. I chose fonts that fit it music style as well as the poster. In reguards to the date, May 7 is my birthday and I thought the poster looks like it's from the 80s. The location is at The Majestic Theatre in Detroit since it is a small venue where I saw a really fun concert. Overall I didn't run into any major challenges and I am very proud of how this edit turned out!
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Social Justice Poster
I am very passionate when it comes to creating art or literary works on social justice issues. Although there are many social justice issuses that are prominent in the media, there are various problems in the world that do not have the media's attention. As humans, we tend only listen to the media instead of doing research to educate ourselves on other major issues. I decided to make the focus of my assignment the water crisis the majority of the First Nations Reserves in Canada. We live in a first world country that enables the citizens to have clean drinking water. The exception of this is the First Nations Reserves. Canada has built landfills and hazardous waste areas adjacent to the reserves. I know this because of research my mom and I have done, but it's difficult to find in writing since Canada doesn't want people to know. There is no reason why people who live on their own land cannot have the necessities to life in a first world country. The the background of my poster, I added a list of the First Nations Reserves that are currently on a boil water advisory or a do not consume water advisory. I tried to change the colours of the text to represent that but it wouldn't allow me to. These advisories have been going on for years, some of them since 1995 all the way to current day. In this poster, I edited polluted water into the glass and the lady's arm turning on the tap. I didn't want to add anymore elements since less is more in this case. I have a big problem that I was not informed on this until my mom educated herself and then educated me. It is not seen on the news or online anywhere so majority of Canada probably do not know the conditions these people live in. Our government has not talked about their continued wrongdoing and do not want to educate the citizens of Canada. It is our job to educate ourselves and our families on social justice issuses that are seen on the media and the ones kept quiet. I challenge you to educate yourself on social justice issuses that are currently going on in Canada.
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You deserve happiness.