Jacki-P3

Photo Assignment Name: Select an Assignment (Sports Action)

Student Name: Jaclyn Blair

Group Name: The Snapshots

Title: Mighty Hayden Up To Bat

Tags: Action, Baseball, Hitting

I had a great time trying to get the perfect shot for this picture. It took me 2 full games to get this action shot. The first shot I had was from the other side and it looked as though Hayden was missing an arm, so this was the best shot I got. I originally wanted this to be the final photo because Hayden's dad is the first base coach watching him hit the ball. I have edited the picture down below to make it follow the rule of thirds, but it doesn't mean as much to me without my husband in the picture. Anyway, I found that the speed of the shutter was perfectly matched to catch the action and the light of the day seemed to work well also. I will be using this picture in a 9th grade biology class to start up a conversation about observations. I will place the photo on the screen for thirty seconds and tell the kids to take in as much as they can before I take the picture down. After I take the picture down, the kids will be asked to remember all of the details from their observations. This will start a discussion about observations and the scientific method.

Self Evaluation (45-50 pts.) || 80 – 89% (40 - 44 pts.) || <80% (<40 pts.) || Critique Comments:
 * 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%

Peer Critique Name: Donna Owen Peer Critique Comments : Jackie, I, too, like this photograph. Both of my sons played baseball, and I could almost smell the popcorn when I looked at your photo. I think you did an excellent job capturing the motion. You snapped the picture at the perfect second. As Kevin suggested, blurring the people in the background would make an interesting revision. Your cropped photo is good, and like Emily, I noticed that you left room for the ball to travel instead of trying to center the batter. (45-50 pts.) || 80 – 89% (40 - 44 pts.) || <80% (<40 pts.) || Critique Comments: Michael - Jacki, I love your subject matter. Baseball at his age is always interesting. You never know where they might run. I also like the fact that mighty Hayden conforms to the rule of thirds. The only thing I see is that the ball is centered and, to some, might seem the focus of the picture instead of Hayden. Personally, I like Hayden as the focus. Maybe you could crop the image to place Hayden in the bottom right and have the ball be on the line in the "rule of thirds" principle. Your shutter speed adequately captured the ball being hit and the lighting was right-on. Great shot!
 * 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%

Emily -Jacki, the cropped picture does focus more on Hayden. I really like how you left room for the ball to soar through the air after he hits it. By cropping the photo, you now adhere to the rule of thirds more. My eye is immediately drawn to Hayden and then the ball and bat. I think your shutter speed was excellent! The lighting for this shot is nice as well. This reminds me of my brother playing baseball when we were kids. My son does not have an affinity for sports; I think he will be a musician. One suggestion I have is maybe trying to capture this picture from the front where we see Hayden’s face. I know this may be tricky, but it could make for a great picture. Overall, you did a great job of capturing this sports moment.

Kevin - Jacki, nice job on catching this action. I too agree that the cropped photo is better even though to you less personal. Also as an alternative, you could experiment with depth of field in the edited version and blur the people in the background. This can be done with Photoshop.

Edited Photo:



(Michael, thank you for the advice! I have tried to re-crop. I am not good with this rule of thirds thing:))