EMULATING A PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER

Jordyn Houser

John Shaw

The first image on the left was captured by me, inspired by photographer John Shaw's image on the right. I made sure to focus on just one bright colored flower as the main subject of the image with the greenery in the background blurred. I changed my angle a little bit from Shaw's in order to capture some of the sunset in the background.

I think this is my most successful image because of how vibrant and focused the flower turned out against the softer background. The bright yellow really pops and draws attention, against the blurred greenery and pretty cotton-candy sky. It captures the kind of natural beauty I’ve learned I’m drawn to in my photography style.

The most challenging aspect of this assignment was getting the camera to focus exactly how I wanted it to. It took a lot of trial and error to get the flower sharp while keeping the background soft, especially with the lighting changing as the sun started to set.

In the future, I want to keep experimenting with different environments and times of day. I also plan to keep practicing manual focus and lighting control so I can better capture the specific mood and feeling I want in each shot.

MY COMMENT ON ANOTHER PEER'S BLOG POST:

"Hi Zachary, this image really caught my eye because of how natural the scene feels, and it really captures a candid moment that is very similar to Cartier-Bresson’s style. I think you took this image in a thoughtful way by keeping the individual mid-step. I also like how you keep the subject in focus while still showing enough background detail to give context. The photo feels calm but the black and white feature makes it more mysterious and dramatic. If I were to try something different, I might explore capturing the subject a split second earlier or later just to see how a change affects the overall feel of the photograph. Great job recreating the original while still making it your own!"

ZACHARY'S IMAGE:

THE LINK TO ZACHARY'S BLOG POST CAN BE FOUND HERE