As I wrap up Photography 1, I can confidently say this course has transformed how I see the world—and myself. When I started, I thought photography was just about taking “good pictures,” but now I understand it’s a language for exploring what lies beneath the surface. Here’s how each unit deepened my growth:

Identity Unit:

The identity unit completely shifted my relationship with portraiture. Before, I’d take headshots that felt flat, but this course taught me to look for the stories in gestures, gazes, and use the shutter speed. For example, the picture we took in the studio, i used different color lighting, and the special way (the use of shutter speed) i took makes me realize identity isn’t a single image; it’s a collage of moments, and my job as a photographer is to stitch those moments together.

Abstraction Unit:

The abstraction unit pushed me to move beyond literal representation and embrace ambiguity. I struggled at first with how to make a wall or a shadow feel meaningful. But once I let go of the need to “explain” my photos, I started seeing beauty in the fragmented and the blurred. For example, I experimented with motion blur to capture the chaos of my friend on the trampoline, in a very weird angle, i realize the importance and a new point of view in photography.

Street Photography Unit:

Street photography was actually the least challenging  unit for me. Maybe its due to the effect of my habit, when i just love to take pictures where ever i go, so taking pictures of strangers actually intrests me a lot, when we went to the hutong for the walk, it was one of the best trip i’ve been, taking pictures and portraits of people during their daily lives, having this small resonance with the pictures . That’s when I realized street photography isn’t about “catching” people; it’s about honoring their humanity. I now see the city as a living canvas, and every stranger is a story waiting to be told, if I’m patient enough to listen with my camera.
Overall Reflection:
By the end of this course, my observation skills have sharpened in ways I never expected. I notice the way light falls on a wall, the tension in a person’s posture, or the poetry in a cracked sidewalk details I would have walked past before. Photography has opened a whole new world, not just of images, but of empathy and curiosity. It’s taught me that every photograph is a conversation: with the subject, with the viewer, and with myself.