Kevin-P7

Light and Shadow

Kevin Mobbs The Snapshots Back to list Title: Call Me Tags: cell phone, light, reflection, tent, black Self Critique While reading the chapter on lighting and thinking about my next photo assignment, I became interested in the procedure of using a tent to photograph items that are highly reflective. The example in the text was that of a trumpet. I had always wondered how pictures like that were taken. (I love to learn new things.) Therefore, I wanted to try taking a picture of an item that I might post on Ebay to sell, for example. For no reason other than its reflectivity, I chose my cell phone.

To create the tent, I used coat hangers and tissue paper. Light was provided by two desk lamps (see photos). This setup would not work well for the best photo, but was a great learning experience. Still, you can see the difference between the use and not-use of the tent (see below). I took many pictures using this setup. Obviously, the background is not that great, and you can see some reflection of the coat hangers, but the point is that the use of the tent makes a difference in the final picture.

I learned quite a lot about light and taking pictures of highly reflective materials. With this experience and just a little better setup, I can make effective pictures of such items.







 Without Tent: You can see my reflection.

With Tent: My reflection is gone. The back drop was not positioned well and caused a funny reflection, but at least, I am gone.

Without Tent: Funny shadows and my reflection in the chrome area

 With Tent: Less shadows and no reflection in the chrome area.

(45-50 pts.) || 80 – 89% (40 - 44 pts.) || <80% (<40 pts.) ||
 * Category || Strong || Adequate || Weak ||
 * Concept || Does an outstanding job of communicating the concept. || Does an adequate job communicating the concept. || Does a poor job 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. || Focus is an adequate match with the concept of the shot. || Focus is a poor match with the concept of the shot. ||
 * Technical Aspects || Shutter speed and aperture were perfectly chosen to match concept. || Shutter speed and aperture were adequately chosen to match concept. || Shutter speed and aperture were poorly chosen and do not match the 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. || 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. ||
 * Instructor evaluates this section ||
 * Self Critique || Excellent self-assessment. Written comments meet or exceed requirements. || Adequate self-assessment. Written comments meet requirements. || Poor self-assessment. Written comments do not meet requirements. ||
 * Peer Critique || Excellent peer assessment. Written comments meet or exceed requirements. || Adequate peer assessment. Written comments meet requirements. || Poor peer assessment. Written comments do not meet requirements. ||
 * Peer Comments || 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. ||
 * Total Points || >89%
 * Total Points || >89%

Critique Comments:

Peer Critique Name: Jacki Blair (45-50 pts.) || 80 – 89% (40 - 44 pts.) || <80% (<40 pts.) || Critique Comments: Jacki - Kevin, I really like how you have shown us how you created your shot! I would have never dreamed to use some of the materials you did to get these shots. I think you understood and showed the concept more than anyone. It is amazing how your techniques you used really changed the outcome of the picture. The only suggestion that I have is to create more of a story behind your picture, as in composition of the entire photo. Great job!
 * Category || Strong || Adequate || Weak ||
 * Concept || Does an outstanding job of communicating the concept. || Does an adequate job communicating the concept. || Does a poor job 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. || Focus is an adequate match with the concept of the shot. || Focus is a poor match with the concept of the shot. ||
 * Technical Aspects || Shutter speed and aperture were perfectly matched to the concept. || Shutter speed and aperture were adequately chosen to match concept. || Shutter speed and aperture were poorly chosen and do not match the 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. || 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. ||
 * Instructor evaluates this section ||
 * Self Critique || Excellent self-assessment. Written comments meet or exceed requirements. || Adequate self-assessment. Written comments meet requirements. || Poor self-assessment. Written comments do not meet requirements. ||
 * Peer Critique || Excellent peer assessment. Written comments meet or exceed requirements. || Adequate peer assessment. Written comments meet requirements. || Poor peer assessment. Written comments do not meet requirements. ||
 * Peer Comments || 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. ||
 * Total Points || >89%
 * Total Points || >89%

Emily-Kevin, I really appreciate you taking us through the process of taking this photo. I'm not really sure which one I'm supposed to comment about, but I think you did a great job with this assignment. I like how you showed the shots with reflections and then the ones that didn't have reflections. When I have more spare time, I would like to experiment with a process like the one you depicted here. A suggestion I have is to label the picture to critique with the title and tags; nicely done.

Donna - Kevin, at first I thought the first photo (the one with the lamps and coat hanger construction) was your assignment photo:) I wondered, "What in the world . . ." You have done an outstanding job with this assignment. Removing your reflection and the glare from the subject definitely improves the quality of your photograph. I especially like the fourth photo on the page because of the angle. The last photo in the series is good, too, but there are some specks, probably dust, that distract me. You could probably Photoshop those away.

Mike - Kevin, I like the fact that you like to experiment with ways to take interesting photographs. Your use of common household materials to acheive your desired results is awesome. I don't know how to tell you how you might inprove this photo, except to change your camera angle oe use some type of diffues light filter on your camera to make the reflection different. Good job!