P4_Cathy

Portrait Assignment Cathy Carpenter Group: VSpacers1

Title: Goggle Girl Tags: Andrea, swimmer portrait, mermaid

Self Evaluation

|| Does an adequate job communicating the concept. || Does a poor job communicating the concept. || || || Focus is an adequate match with the concept of the shot. || Focus is a poor match with the concept of the shot. || || Shutter speed and aperture were adequately chosen to match concept. || Shutter speed and aperture were poorly chosen and do not match the concept. || || Title and tags were adequately chosen and written to express the content and concept. Spelling and word choice are good with only minor errors. || Title and tags were poorly chosen and written to express the content and concept. Contains multiple spelling errors or wrong word choices. || || Adequate self-assessment. Written comments meet requirements. || Poor self-assessment. Written comments do not meet requirements. || || Adequate peer assessment. Written comments meet requirements. || Poor peer assessment. Written comments do not meet requirements. || || Peer comments exceed expectations. || Peer comments meet expectations. One or two comments might be missing. || Three or more peer comments were missing, incomplete or poorly written. || || >89% (45-50 pts.) || 80 – 89% (40 - 44 pts.) || <80% (<40 pts.) ||
 * Category || Strong || Adequate || Weak ||
 * Concept || Does an outstanding job of communicating the concept.
 * Composition || Photograph uses composition principles very effectively. || Photograph does a good job using composition principles. || Photograph does a poor job using composition principles.
 * Focus || Focus is a perfect match with the concept of the shot.
 * Technical Aspects || Shutter speed and aperture were perfectly chosen to match concept.
 * Depth of Field || Excellent use of depth-of-field. || Adequate use of depth-of-field. || Poor use of depth-of-field. ||
 * Title/tags || Title and tags were perfectly chosen and written to express the content and concept. Spelling and word choice are excellent with no mistakes.
 * ** Instructor evaluates shaded section ** ||
 * Self Critique || Excellent self-assessment. Written comments meet or exceed requirements.
 * Peer Critique || Excellent peer assessment. Written comments meet or exceed requirements.
 * Peer Comments
 * Total Points
 * Total Points

**Comments**: I really like the freedom that more photographers are using today when it comes to portraits. The old days of senior picture being a cap and gown or formal shot are more or less not the norm, and kids are really expressing themselves in even school pictures. This is a picture of a friend on her birthday and expresses, I think, the wild crazy side that she wants people to see in her. Her birthday wish was to be in a music video -- which I put together as well -- with a mix of still shots and video. Lady GaGa is her favorite at the moment so I though Goggle Girl was appropriate. I really think that if you can set up a shot out of doors or in an informal setting for portraits instead of in a studio, you'll make your subject more comfortable and get a more natural shot.

The value of this assignment is in thinking differently about people and how to bring out their uniqueness in a portrait. It takes a lot of shots to get the one that really expresses their character and you have to try a bunch of settings to see which really clicks. It is also important to find out what you can about your subject, even if it is walk-in client at a studio, to make the portrait more personal. In the photo business, the more personal, the better chance of selling more of the pictures. Peer Critique for Cathy Carpenter

|| Does an adequate job communicating the concept. || Does a poor job communicating the concept. || || || Focus is an adequate match with the concept of the shot. || Focus is a poor match with the concept of the shot. || || Shutter speed and aperture were adequately chosen to match concept. || Shutter speed and aperture were poorly chosen and do not match the concept. || || Title and tags were adequately chosen and written to express the content and concept. Spelling and word choice are good with only minor errors. || Title and tags were poorly chosen and written to express the content and concept. Contains multiple spelling errors or wrong word choices. ||
 * Category || Strong || Adequate || Weak ||
 * Concept || Does an outstanding job of communicating the concept.
 * Composition || Photograph uses composition principles very effectively. || Photograph does a good job using composition principles. || Photograph does a poor job using composition principles.
 * Focus || Focus is a perfect match with the concept of the shot.
 * Technical Aspects || Shutter speed and aperture were perfectly chosen to match concept.
 * Depth of Field || Excellent use of depth-of-field. || Adequate use of depth-of-field. || Poor use of depth-of-field. ||
 * Title/tags || Title and tags were perfectly chosen and written to express the content and concept. Spelling and word choice are excellent with no mistakes.

Additional Peer Comments: My first response to this photograph was a sense of awe and a twinge of jealousy that Cathy could take such a fantastic shot. :)

There are so many things to speak about, but the first that comes up here is that I can really relate to the feeling that this girl seems to be having. The water pouring off her face as she emerges from the water conveys a refreshing sensation. The expression on her face confirms that she is indeed refreshed and invigorated. The wild red of the lipstick and glasses hint at a unique personality and maybe a hint of mischief or playfulness. The lipstick and glasses take this photo from simply relating to the idea of being refreshed in a cool pool to something else. And since I cannot put it into words, I guess I'll just refer to it as "art" for now.

Andrea actually looks like a kind of deity here (a modern-day Venus rising, perhaps), as if the photographer were conjuring her up for some specific need. This photo is about life, feeling good, sensuous pleasures, masquerade (face paint and glasses), water, and movement.

The focus on the face fits the shot. I prefer to not have detailed focus here, because you get the sense that Andrea is //of the water//, and so she should not be easily focused. The features of secondary focus--such as her swimsuit and the yellow-black blob in the upper left--add interest. Plus, the yellow color works well to enhance the red and blue of the shot.

I like the shutter speed, because it gives the water that is moving off her face a glassy look, rather than a blurred look (as would've happened with a slower shutter). As written above, the display of color is well done, and I think it's safe to say that the aperture was acceptable, given the lighting conditions. Awesome shot.