Assignment One

[Marissa]

I chose to photograph a set of drawers that are in my bathroom. They were passed down in my family a few generations, so it is old, used, worn. I then focused on the handle, which i feel turned out well!

[Duncan Rawlinson]

Wonderful assignment. Not only have you done a great job of composing your “beauty” image but you’ve also made the most common mistakes in your “beast” photograph.

Let’s start by discussing what is wrong with your beast photograph.

1. the image is in soft focus. The lack of crispness is distracting.
2. The image has minor amputations (i.e. it’s cutting of secondary objects) around the right side and bottom of the frame. The image does not pay attention to all 4 walls of the photograph and instead focused exclusively on the main object. Again, this distracts from the overall organization of the photograph.
3. The image lacks any sense of depth. The lighting doesn’t enhance this photograph and there are no foreground, middle ground or background objects. It’s just one layer, and this makes the photograph 2 dimensional and boring.

Your ‘beauty” photograph on the other hand is very well composed and all of the above issues are more or less solved.

Your beauty image has sharp focus and it has depth, not only through distance, but also through the strategic use of a shallow depth of field. Likewise, the 4 walls of your photograph were cleaned up very nicely. However, it looks like some of the detail is cut off on the right side of the frame. If it’s not cut off, it’s dangerously close. I would recommend moving the object, or your positioning to ensure there is no amputation on the right side of the frame and to help give your main object a little more breathing room on that side.

Other than that, great work! I look forward to seeing your next assignment.

[Author]

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