Jacki-P4

Photo Assignment Name: Portrait Assignment

Student Name: Jacki Blair

Group Name: The Snapshots



Title: A Life of Baseball

Tags: Portrait, Profile, Baseball Field, Coach

This is a picture of my husband. My idea was to create a picture of him looking out onto his playground (baseball field); his domain. His life has been surrounded by and built around baseball. I wanted to create a sense of pride in this picture. I want it to look like he is just a small piece of this big game of baseball and that is why I have him in the corner looking out into the field. The photo in color didn't create the sense of pride and the dramatics that the black and white photo does. I feel like this is a strong portrait, but not perfect. I wish that I could have a gotten a greater depth in the picture. The other shots I got from a different angle didn't look right either. I tried to add more darkness with the use of shadows to create a more dramatic effect. I do like the feeling of the photo and I think it is more or less what I was hoping for.

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

Jackie, you use Rule of Thirds well in this photo, and you emphasize the open area into which your subject is looking--good use of composition principles. I think that your husband's expression does suggest pride and love for the sport. Like you, I transformed my portrait to black and white because I wasn't satisfied with the color. You might want to work with the level of brightness to make his head darker. It does seem to blend into the background. I like the hazy background. I think your photo would be awesome if you could figure out how to keep the background hazy while darkening the head. (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%

Other comments: Emily -Jacki, I like this shot of the coach; however, my eyes were not drawn immediately to his profile. HIs face seems to melt into the sky behind him. I am more drawn to the darkness of his shirt since I cannot tell where the sky begins and where his profile is. It also looks like he is sniffing the tree next to his nose. I would suggest that you try this picture from a different angle or try to photoshop the trees behind him. This photo might be different if not in black and white. I hope this info helps.

Kevin- Jacki, the overall effect of the portrait is close to what you suggest. The two subjects (baseball/coach) are well represented and the coach is nicely situated. The perspective of the tree sniffing is true as Emily suggests, but this may be an element of the depth of field or the contrast that you changed. In fact, the coach looks like he is placed on the background. To me, the B-W may be responsible for this and other perspective. His shirt is so black in comparison to the surrounding area, it seems too stark.

Mike - Jacki, I think you used composition principles very, very well. Your husband conforms to the rule of thirds and the field being in focus behind him only adds to the photo. Your aperture settings and shutter speed was fine for the shot. This photo is reminiscent of some of the sports photos of the 50's and 60's. Good job!