Tucker’s Lesson 1 Assignment

[Tucker]

Ok so i took 2 photos of a door knob, 1 was just of the object, and the second was trying to make it interesting. Hope you like them.

[Duncan Rawlinson]

Hello Tucker.

You’re definitely getting the idea. Playing with the curvature of mirrors is a great idea. I’ve seen this technique used effectively in film sequences and photography stills alike. The beauty of the technique is twofold.

First, you get a textured and colorized look to a photograph. Any grub, dirt, dents or miscellaneous markings in the reflective door handle create an interesting texture. This acts often as a primary element of the photograph in and of itself.

Secondly, you get the curvature that even the best fisheye lenses would have a hard time getting. This fisheye view gives you great peripheral distance in your shot and allows for some interesting artistic shots.

I see huge potential in this shot as your background has some interesting design elements to it as well.

My only recommendation with this photograph would be that you need not only put time into finding these interesting objects (which you’ve done very successfully) but now you need to think about composition, design and staging.

Really think about this from an artistic standpoint. For starters I would make the doorknob more of a primary element buy getting a bit closer or zooming in to get rid of the background. After you’ve done that you’ll need to find a way to position yourself in an interesting position.

By default you end up being a big part of the picture so put some thought into your placement. There is also a hole in the front of the doorknob. At first I thought it was a horn in the background. What about putting your camera or head in front of that hole. You could then hide the camera or make only your body visible. That may be interesting.

What about setting up an interesting setting behind you? Changing the lighting, bringing in other people or objects? These are all ideas that could help you stage a really interesting and artistic photograph.

You’ve identified an effective photograph manipulator (the curvature on the doorknob), now you have to think about the composition of the shot. I’d like to see you do some “staging” with this shot.

Overall… Really great work! I’m very impressed.

I look forward to seeing your next assignment.

[Author]

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