Reflections:

What:

My initial thought about reflection is seeing things from different perspectives. Such as using various shapes that have reflective purposes to create new shapes or images that have the same things and different perspectives.

How:

What immediately comes to mind are pictures I saw last class with reflections from mirrors, spoons, and windows. Reflections are taken not just of people but also of backgrounds, such as the lights on the roads, cars, and other movements.

The concepts that I am interested in are reflections from spoons or small items. The reflections from water and small glass are the concepts I am interested in. As well as black and white styles.

Lessons

In this photo, I aim to convey themes of imagination and a thirst for knowledge. The image features a little girl wearing a bike helmet, gazing at a stack of books. Although she is seemingly stuck in place, her imagination shines through as she explores the different worlds each book represents. The largest book on top talks gardens and life, embracing beauty and serenity in the chaos of the world. It talks about a vital lesson to the girl. No matter the chaos around her, there are still beautiful things to appreciate and reasons to stay positive. This book talks about trying to nurture herself to become the best and most beautiful version of herself. The second book is about candy lands, which symbolizes greed. Through this story, the girl learns an important lesson: resist the temptation to take everything that seems appealing. Even the most beautiful and delicious desserts should be enjoyed in little pieces. taking what isn’t yours can lead to negative consequences. The final book is a tale of friendship, showing its importance in all relationships. It teaches that kindness and compassion brings back goodwill, creating lasting bonds with others. The three books talks about essential life lessons that the girl is discovering. The imagination she draws from them helps her understand deeper and teaching her the knowledge she needs to navigate life successfully.

In this photo, framing has been used as one of the technique where the girl is at the bottom of the frame while the second frame is mostly full with the books and knowledge. The third frame is almost empty to create a sense of loneliness as the girl is alone as she navigates through life from lessons and themes that books convey. Another technique used is perspective. In the photo, the photo is taken behind the little girls back as it is almost seen as we are also looking at the beautiful words that the books are trying to convey. It shows that we are also interested in what the books are trying to imply as well as how the little girl might be seeing the books. This perspective that is being used is called atmospheric perspective as an appearance of objects changes with distance due to the feelings that it is trying to convey. Another technique that is also used is called the White light also known as  Color contrast. The difference between the warm colors of the little girl and the books, the blu tack below the little girl is symbolizing the young girls grip to reality as the blu tack is pulling her still onto the ground as if she is going to fly away. It also acts like a support to the little girl as without the blu tack, she looks like she is going to fall.

Rule of thirds:

In these two photos, I used the rule of thirds with its meaning to have an image divided into a 3×3 grid, making it look balanced and have a balanced composition. In these photos, the item is floating mindlessly inside what looks like a jungle river, in ponds and little lakes. The second picture is the item on the trunks of giant jungle trees, looking forward at the beyond with the blueish wallpaper in the background. It paints a picture of the blue sky, and the item is high above the ground onto the trees. The feelings that are being communicated are the feelings of loneliness as the item is along in the jungles and water, floating mindlessly forward.
leading lines:

The composition used here is leading lines, natural or man-made, within your scene to guide the viewer’s eye toward the subject, enlightening them about the item’s significance. The item stands next to many scrolls and traditional drawings in these two photos. The lines of the papers all point to and focus on the item. The photo feels like the paper is filled with mixed and complicated emotions coming through the item, which can symbolize the sadness and mixed emotions the item might feel as the item struggles to go through guilt since guilt is a greater punishment than physical consequences.

Symmetry and Patterns:

Symmetry and patterns are pictures that create visually appealing and harmonious compositions. In the two photos taken, one is surrounded and bathed in the rose flower buds, while the other has the item repeated as the pattern to give a more harmonious feeling. The intent of the first picture is to have a sense of relaxation. Roses and other flowers generally symbolize peace and relaxation, and being bathed and lying in the flowers represents happiness and relaxation. The other photo, however, is a stark contrast. It is black and white, and the item is hiding beneath the shadows, creating a sense of fear and intrigue, like things coming out of horror movies.

Framing:

Framing is being used here as use of natural and man made elements within the frame to frame the subject. In the first photo, the item is on a natural element where the item is standing on the branches, the item and the natural element is both in the center of the photo, which gives an idea of what to put the viewers eyes. As for the second photo, the man made elements frame the item to be the center of attention as well as create an atmosphere of sadness and loneliness.

Depth of Field:

in photography refers to the range of distance within a photo that appears sharp. It affects how much of the scene is in focus and can be manipulated to create artistic effects. The photos here shows the item siting on the stairs, making a depth as the stairs behind the item become smaller and smaller. It creates a sense of mood of stress and coldness from the item as if we are looking up to him at the stairs below.

Negative Space:

Negative space is the area around and between the subjects of an image. In these two photos, the item is placed at the center of the frame with different colors of negative space behind it. One is with a dark color of pink, which surrounds the item at the center of the frame. Making the item have a stark contrast with the background creating a visual that makes the item stand out. This creates a mood of loneliness as the item is alone in the mids of everything (based on the Jiujitsu Kaisen manga).

Balance:

Balance refers to the distribution of visual elements within a composition. Balance also creates a sense of harmony in turn making the viewers eyes feel balanced without lacking anything. The item here has been cut into two photos as its on either side of the photo in the first and third frames. The photo creates an image of where in the story of JJK, where the character is stuck in a maze of infinity.

Perspective:

The meaning of perspective is when an object or an item has been used as the “main character” to be see through, it makes the viewer see things from a perspective of an object or item which changes the views of how things are normally seen. The perspective of the first photo is given through the view of the item in which the we see things from where the item stands where normally plants that look small in daily life has grown huge into a gigantic tree. The second photo shows the perspective of someone looking up, it shows an Linear perspective where depth has been created from looking up at the character which makes the character look more further away and distant.

In this photo, you can see to young children playing around on top of what looks to be like flat pavement bricks. The child in the black outfits seems to be looking very focused on the child to his left. The child that is on his left is talking intently about something with his finger in the air clearly talking about something that is really exciting. This image is colored which makes it very interesting due to its variety of colors, However, most of the colors are not bright, which creates a really relaxing mood. There are colors such as on the white clothed child’s clothes, you can see the different colors of white (the different shades). When i took this picture, i was moving, we were coming back from shine, and i first noticed the grandparents of these children talking to them, i thought it would be interesting, so after the grandparents left, i took a few snaps of the children playing with each other. The framing of this photo is having the children around the bottom part of the frames (around and inside the 3rd frame) this creates depth as well as making the picture more interesting with the white painting on the walls behind them. I was really far away from the children when i took this photo (since i didnt want to be seen). Overall, i think the photograph worked out very well since it has a story to it, and people can take guesses. People can also ask questions about this story such as “what are the two kids talking about that makes them so interested?” etc.

This photo was taken in Shine city near the pigeon area. In this photo, the young child seemed to be on his little skate board? The colors in this photo is really contrasting since the bright red and blue are really different and the bright colors on the kids outfit is really noticeable. The background of this photo also has a bright color which matches with the bright and contrasting colors with this photo in general. In this photo, the child is position in the center of the photograph and takes up all of the frames. The picture is really clear with blurred backgrounds. This photo was taken by the photographer near the child, the photographer had 2 plastic bags of pigeon food and sprayed it all around her, which made young children attracted to her area, she was knelt down so she was able to get in equal heights with the children so she was able to take photos of them in their point of view height. The immediate impact this photo has on me is the colors and how different and how eye catching they are, the different colors. I think this is my favorite photo because the colors are really bright, and i like bright contrasting photos.

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In these photos, it portrays young children being their most natural selves. All of these photos are taken without the children noticing, it is actions that the children do in every day life (the photos are taken style is an inspiration to Henri Cartier-Bresson’s humanism). Henri Cartier-Bresson likes taking photos of humanism which is basically having everyone be natural and have things that are not posed in a certain way. He also likes to have a blurred background with a main subject as the main character. Having colors in these photos are better for me personally than to have only black and white. As you can see in picture 2, the photo shows a baby in the center of the screen wearing really bright colors, which captures the center of attention. However, if you change it to black and white, there will be different shades of black but it would not be as interesting as the colors would have to the eyes, it would look more mature in a way that the young children would probably not look as good in. Another inspiration from this to Henri Cartier-Bresson is the framing of the pictures, the kids are very big and around the center and very big on the screens, which can also capture their emotions and their small gestures that may can not be seen if taken in a broader perspective. These photos also have a range of color variations that creates contrasts and blends the photos together. for the contrasting one, the most obvious one is the second photo with the colors red and blue, the red is bright red which makes people have the center of the attention and the blue is very bright which also brings a huge contrast and sharp to. Each of these photos tells a story about a life of someone, they all have a story of their own that can be interpreted in different ways which makes them really special.

These are my first set of 5 photos taken:

The photo inspiration is inspired by Henri Cartier-Bresson by having a main person in focus and having photos taken at the perfect moment with shots that are natural and not posed. Henri Cartier focuses on having a decisive moment when taking the photos, finding the perfect opportunity  to take them.

This photo is taken of a young child when she was playing with pigeons. The photo was taken in Shine city where people are allowed to feed the pigeons. While the child was playing with the birds, I was able to get a few shots of her walking to different pigeons and trying to interact with them. Just like Henri Cartier-Bresson, I waited until I could get a snap of her in a decisive moment, right as she stared directly into my camera. She is mid-motion, with one of her feet lifting off the ground, giving the photograph a sense of casual movement that is important in Cartier-Bresson’s photographs. The people in Cartier-Bresson’s street photography are usually in motion, walking, running and jumping. I wanted to make sure to capture that movement in my own photos. This photo also captures a serious expression on the child’s face, which is unexpected because she is playing. Though many of Cartier-Bresson’s photographs are playful, he also photographs people who display a surprising seriousness when they are absorbed in their activity on the street.

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This photo, also take in Shine city, shows another child playing with one of the pigeons on the street. I also chose to wait to capture this child at a decisive movement, inspired by Cartier Bresson’s work, and made sure to show the child stretching an arm out to feed corn to the pigeon. The people seen in Cartier Bresson’s street photography typically do not notice the camera, and I also wanted to make sure that I could take a photo of the child without being observed. The child appears unaware that I was taking a photo, making the image and the pose feel more natural and less staged. Cartier Bresson’s photos are full of humor, and I liked how the child is giving the pigeon food, but the pigeon itself does not seem to notice or care. In fact, the pigeon is shown in my photo as moving away from the child, stepping in the opposite direction, away from the child.

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This photo of two young children in Shine City interests me because of the way that both girls are wearing nearly the exact same outfit, with the same blouse, skirt and red shoes. The two of them appear doubled, giving the photo a strange feeling that I also associate with the photos of Cartier Bresson. Cartier Bresson liked to photograph unusual happenings on the street, like two boys walking away with their sweaters pulled over their heads or adults leaping over large puddles. The two girls in my photo, and the way they are standing so close, side by side, create a visual interest that would be lost if there had been only one girl alone in the image.

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This photo shows a young girl playing with sculptures of rabbits in Shine city. I was interested in the way that the metal sculptures themselves showed movement, with one rabbit looking like it is running. The girl reaches out to take the rabbit’s hand, as if she wanted to run and play with it. This photo was again inspired by the movement that’s important to Cartier-Bresson’s street photography. I was interested in how the main subjects includes both the girl and the sculpture. It is as if the girl, by touching the sculpture, brings the rabbit to life, even for the camera. We cannot see the girl’s face, which helps the viewer imagine a story for the photo.  Many of Cartier-Bresson’s street photographs do not show people’s faces, instead highlight the environment around them.

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In this photo I also explored how I could tell a story like Cartier-Bresson by not showing faces. In this photo I also experimented with including an adult alongside a child. The child is closer to the level of the dog sculpture than she is to the tall man. It creates a story of the girl existing between the imagination of the sculpture and the adult world. The girl is turned away from the dog, suggesting that she is leaving it behind, giving the photo a sense of sadness.

All of these all have subjects of young children who are absorbed in their play, which makes them have genuine human behavior and emotion, rather than staged performances. As you can see, almost all of the framing that the children would take at most 2 of the 3 frames that will be the top (with only the second photo being the exception). All of these photos are influenced by Henri Cartier-Bresson and his “humanism”, which distill the shared qualities of human gestures, emotions and interactions, giving the photographs the voice to the shared human condition. Almost all of my photos have dimensions such as smooth and rough textures and different lights and shadows, dimensions that are essential Cartier Bresson’s photos, which are rich in contrasts . As you may have noticed, all of the photos have an animal in it, whether it is real or not, which creates more diverse compositions that make them more interesting to look at. As people may say, almost all photos tell stories, and in most of my photos that have been chosen, especially when the child’s face is not fully visible, they can be interpreted in different ways, which makes the images more engaging to look at.

Improvements that are needed:

– keep the camera in auto mode

– do not be shy

– take the pictures closer

– talk to people to ask if their photos can be taken (consent)

– add more dimension and texture

mood board: The colors and the themes, and the blurred images and people, blurred other people contrasting colors. Paparazzis aesthetic

Statement of intent:

My intent for this is to take pictures of people when they are walking, inspiring photos can be like “stalking people” while they are walking. And it’s like when u meet a celebrity and you take a photo of them when they aren’t looking. I will blur the people around them and just have them in the center of the photo, just like this photo (but instead it will be mainly focused on young children):

The name of this project for me will be Paparazzi. My goal is to take photos that resemble those taken by paparazzi. Paparazzi are photographers who specialize in capturing celebrities, public figures, or individuals of interest without their knowledge. These photographs are typically taken in public places, such as red carpet events, restaurants, shopping areas, or even outside the subject’s homes. Obviously, I am not going into their homes or taking photos in embarrassing circumstances. Instead, my goal is to capture people while they are at their most natural and beautiful self. I will achieve this by taking photos of people from different angles with different shadows as well as similar to Henri Cartier where i will find the “perfect” moment to take the photo.

Henri Cartier-Bresson:

Henri Cartier-Bresson was a french photographer considered to be the founder of modern photojournalism. He is best known for capturing decisive moments in everyday life. As you can see on the second photo, this photo is chosen taken at a very natural period. It is taken not from being asked to pose a certain way, but taken in a way where the person in the photo didn’t notice, which is similar to how a certain type of group of paparazzi is. It is black and white, with the person being in the center of the photo where everywhere else is blurred, where you can only see the main focus which is the person. Cartier shows  the importance of being present and alert to the random and not posed things around him. He will wait patiently for the perfect moment to take the photos, showing the of various visual elements in a, compelling composition.. And that is what I will be inspired to try to replicate.

These are the photos I took about my sister who is 9 right now, who is being portrayed as a the younger version of the character from the previous set of photos. The one who still had the ability to be free and choose what they are wishing to do. The theme is still the imbalances between male and female bodies in the ancient times. The character in this set is set as a nine year old who is allowed to move around the gardens and inside the palace walls. Being allowed to enjoy her life as a naive child. Not needing to understand or be bound to most of the rules that will be given to them in the future when they turn around 12.

improvements:

• lighting
• focuses
• the facial expression – this however can still be improved a lot

main critique:

The main problems I had while taking these photos is the facial expression and the inability to understand and preform the poses i wish the character can be posed as. This resulted me having to use mostly side views and half of the face as the top photos. The facial expression needs the most improvements as the person looks too stiff and not being able to express heart felt laughters, smiles and the carefreeness as wanted to be described. But overall, the photos that were taken still depicts the feelings of freedom and some relaxing atmospheres.

1.

In this photo, the young character is portrayed as someone who enjoys a small amount of carefree freedom, reminiscent of the older version’s childhood dreams. The young character is allowed to venture outside, alike a small bird in a larger cage, embodying the innocence of a child who has yet to grasp the true meaning of freedom. Even as the character grows older, she still struggles to comprehend the essence of freedom. How can a person define freedom without having experienced it themselves? As a young child, the character is depicted gazing curiously and intently at the river below, captivated by something within its depths. The colors of her dress symbolize the depth of her emotions. In contrast, the older version of this person only wears white, allowing others to paint over them with different colors, reflecting the hopelessness of their emotions and life. However, the younger version still wears colorful clothes, signifying a desire to seek freedom. The photo utilizes shades and grids in the center to depict the character as the main point, emphasizing her centrality in her world. This portrayal captures the innocence, charm, and emotive expressions of the subject.

2.

In this photo, the younger version of the character finds herself in the woods after sneaking out of her house, drawn to the beauty of nature. So focused on plucking flowers, she gazes intently at them, embodying a sense of curiosity and a yearning for freedom and happiness. Her actions reflect a desire to explore and satisfy her own curiosities about the world beyond the confines of her home. This act of defiance, sneaking out to experience the unknown, showcases her youthful courage and determination, traits that the older self seems to have left behind and forgotten. The photo captures the essence of courage as the strength to embrace one’s true self and pursue aspirations fearlessly, highlighting that without courage, one may never reach their full potential.

The character is positioned towards the right side of the screen, her face occupying the upper grid, drawing attention to her expressions and movements that show playfulness and stubbornness. The camera focuses on her, emphasizing her spirited nature and inner resolve. The photographer’s inspiration is evident in the composition, posture, and use of props, such as the act of plucking plants, which adds depth and authenticity to the character’s portrayal.

3.

In this photo, the character appears to be gazing at something just out of the frame, her attention captured by the allure of the unknown. Perhaps she is drawn to the beauty of nature or curious by something else unseen. The character’s expression shows happiness and contentment, suggesting that she may be lost in a daydream. The photo captures a sense of wonder and possibility, as if she is envisioning a world filled with joy and excitement.

The character’s posture, with most of her body weight leaning against the wooden fence, places her at the center of the photo, emphasizing her presence in the scene. This choice shows that the style of the photographers who inspired me, as they often position children at the center of their photos to highlight their innocence and charm. The character’s smile and dreamy gaze invite viewers to imagine the wonders that she sees beyond the frame, evoking a sense delight and happiness.

These are the photos that I took of my friend Michelle. The theme of the images is the imbalance between male and female-bodied people in ancient times and how the lives of children and girls back in ancient China were always written down and planned from the beginning when they were born by the status of the families. So this set of photos of people our age shows the chain their families have chained them in for their entire lives. In their lives, it shows all the studies the people must do, learning how to write beautiful poems to entertain their husbands in the future and the complicated system of rules in the palaces they must follow. It shows the feelings of the girls who are forced to learn these systems to be used as objects in the future and the sadness and anger it brings to them having to be unable to have freedom. 

Improvements from the 41 photos:
– lighting improvement
– angle + grids become better and makes sure the main focus is there

– the eyes have light in them, they can tell a story (pupils have light in them that contrasts the dark pupils to make her eyes look dull but also have small lights shinning through them)

Main Critique:

The main problem that I had with these photos was the lighting system. Some lighting was too dark, and the color contrast could have been better. The poses of the images were ideal, but the angles I tried to depict the poses in were lacking for me. Some of the angles did not portray the main focus, which is the character in the center either upwards in the photos where in a way that looks a bit uncomfortable in my opinion (ways that too zoomed in our zoomed out, the zoomed out photos in some of them make the clothes to be the center of attention and not the face and the emotions that is trying to be shown). But overall, the photos were able to depict the sense of being forced to follow the planned route of their lives and the sadness that is in them. 

1.

This photo shows the stress, sadness, and hopelessness of being stuck in a room with nothing, with many scrolls and paper keeping you company. The main character sleeps on the ground with scrolls lying beneath and around her. She keeps on practicing and practicing to make it better. The tiredness around her eyes and the ripped paper on top of her shows the stress she has had trying to improve herself to become the most talented woman in the city to be able to help her family by entertaining the emperor and other people, able to win favors for her family, to be the object the family shows off all the time. For outstanding people, others cannot often see how hard they work behind the scenes. That is one of the things I am trying to show here. But to be this outstanding person, she was forced to take away her freedom and be used, while the men in the society needed to sit there and be entertained and have the freedom to choose their lives. The semi-close-up of the angles and the dark lighting shows that the room is tiny and dim, making it feel like she has been locked in there and forced to study. The blueish lighting also depicts the sadness and tiredness of the girl who has spent her whole day inside that room. Living the life she doesn’t want. 

2.

The happiness in the characters eyes as she is reminiscing her childhood. Back in the olden days, young children that are girls around the age from 0-6 were allowed to play around and act as normal children, while still having the freedom to do whatever they want inside of their homes and gardens. Rather than being confined to a small room for studying, they were granted a larger space, than to an expanded cage. Still, they continued to be taken away of the freedom to venture outside and carve out their own lives. In this photograph, the character reflects on her cherished memories of the past, basking in the happiness and carefreeness that accompanied her outdoor adventures and playful endeavors. The handheld fan she holds serves as a symbol of her childhood, evoking a sense of nostalgia. While a sense of contentment and happiness is shown on her face, it is important to recognize that true freedom escaped her. Despite this, the character finds sadness in the limited freedom she possessed, and even the slightest bit of freedom brought her immense satisfaction. The lighting in this photograph emanates a softer, brighter glow, deliberately designed to accentuate the pink of the delicate pink fan and illuminate the patterns on it.

3.

In this photo, the character is tearing pieces of paper. Imagine studying in a small space for hours on end. Being forced to be creative and read scrolls about the rules of the palaces and concubines. The character has became so bored that they are tearing up paper that hasn’t been written over yet. They are never allowed to leave the room, they have to become perfect. The photo shows the lighting in their pupils that are dimming, just like the light to their freedom, their eyes being dull and colorless, being trained to become a machine rather than an actual person. The lighting here is white, and the contrasts between the different white colors bring depth to the photo.

All of these photos show the freedom that has been taken away from these young girls who are just the same age as we are, they are forced through vigorous studying sessions to become perfect being to be seen in public, freedom is no option for them.

The connection from this to the photographers that I was inspired by is that they they both have the same type of inspiration of the feeling of overwhelmingness, however, I changed the style a bit since the photographers’ style is more elegant and less about the stories they are trying to tell. Since the first thing you see in the photos are the elegancy from the models. So I did include some elegancy but my photos are more about trying to communicate the story about freedom rather than the elegancy in the photos.

One of the inspirations is a photography studio in China called 三春山奈. Their photos have a similar design I want to replicate with feeling of sadness balanced with elegancy. They have a detailed description of how to take the photos with a lot of different examples. Many of the photos from my mood board came from them. Their photos include the type of hanfu i want my model to wear as well as the props and background that will be used.  I have also found inspirational images of textures and and still life scenes that emphasize the kind of quiet atmosphere I want to achieve in my portraits. I want to play with light to give the viewer a feeling of mystery as well as isolation.