Inspired by a Master - Andre Kertesz

Inspiration for photo

When I was editing this photo, I obviously had to make the image black and white, but a small change I made was to also increase the sharpness/clarity of the photo. With this change, I was surprised to see the dirt on the floors and in the halls become more apparent and I think that it improves the picture in a sense that with shadow and dirt there is light above, as seen in the top of the middle of the picture.

Inspiration for photo.

In this image, I tried to imitate Andre Kertesz's ability to make a simple picture look dramatic by working with the shadow and light. I also had to make the photo black and white by lowering the saturation to the lowest setting. In order create even more of a contrast between the scissors and tape/table I added a small increase in the whites and exposure settings.

Inspiration for photo.

In many of Andre Kertesz's photos, he distorted the images but it can only be guessed why. In order to distort the picture, I had to use a tool in Adobe Photoshop and drag out the areas I wanted distorted. I also made the photo black and white by lowering saturation levels to the minimum.

Inspiration for photo.

Although my picture isn't in the same setting as Andre Kertesz's, but I felt that the most important part of the picture was the theme of darkness. While editing the picture, I lowered saturation to make it black and white, and then increased clarity for detail.

Inspiration for photo.

This image was very easy to edit, what I did was lower saturation to make the photo black and white, and then I added some highlights to whites to increase contrast.

Andre Kertesz, born 1894 - died 1985, lived during a time where photography was making it's rise in culture. Kertesz lived through World War I and World War II which had an impact on the subject and style of his photography. Kertesz was born in Budapest, Austria - Hungary, but later moved to New York to pursue his career as a photographer. Andre Kertesz mostly took photos of people, scenery, and objects. In some of his photos, Andrew Kertesz would distort the objects for reasons unknown. Andre Kertesz lived through the deaths of many loved ones, and he also, like I said before, lived through two World Wars. In my opinion, Andre Kertesz looked to express his emotions through his photos which I think was very unique. 

My group and I chose Andre Kertesz as our photographer because of the combination of his simple, but oddly quirky photos mixed with powerful and deep photos. Andre Kertesz inspired me to take simple photos, and to convey a sense of deepness through them. Andre Kertesz also taught me that the picture doesn't have to be meaningful to others, it just has to mean something to yourself. This inspiration has held fast the whole assignment.

Second Portrait

In this second portrait assignment, I photographed Chase right under the bell tower. In camera raw, I created more of a contrast between the light and shadow in Chase's face creating a more solemn look. If I could change anything about the picture, I would try and get a plainer background. Also in Camera Raw, I increased exposure, contrast, and vibrance, and decreased blacks, whites, and saturation.

Photo Assignment Cropping (Before and After)

^ Before Picture ^

^ After Picture ^

In the before photo, I made a small number of changes. Firstly, I lowered contrast, highlights, and blacks, and then I raised shadows and whites to increase color in the photo. As for the cropping portion of the assignment, I cropped out most of the activity in the bottom right hand corner to create more of an emphasis and focus on the closeup of the the statue.In the photo, there are 3 distinct rules of composition in action. First, the experimentation aspect of photography is in use due to the very unorthodox angle this photo is taken from. Based on looking at the image, it can be hypothesized that the image is of a eye of a statue. Then, the background composition is in use by having a colorful but blurred background which also adds more focus to the statue. This leads into my final rule of composition which is motion. In this image, the kite or leaf flying by is blurred by its motion, and that the background is blurred. 

1. Experimentation

2. Background

3. Motion

First Portrait

Room E7 

"I love this phone."

Vedant Mehta 

Camera Raw Settings: 

Exposure: 0

Contrast: +42

Highlights: -61

Shadows: +42

Whites: -2

Blacks: -10

Clarity: +48

Vibrance: -67

Saturation: -29

Self-Portrait

In this self portrait, I wanted to capture a shot from a odd angle and at the same time make the shot very calm and peaceful. The dog in the photo is named Juno and we recently adopted her into the family.

Shallow Depth of Field

In this shallow depth of field picture, I wanted to capture a very simple thing and put it in focus with a lot of activity and color in the background. If you look closely at the pole you can see the little writings carved into the pole, "I love Vivian :] - Pudding" I have no idea who Pudding is, but I do know he likes Vivian.

Third Photo Assignment - Rule: Motion

 Composition Rule: Motion

Model: Vedant Mehta
In this photo, I was able to capture a rare moment. Using burst mode, I was able to capture the entire incident but the best two pictures are posted here. The capturing of the water splash nicely displays motion and looks very majestic.

Rules:

1. Experimentation

2. Background

3. Motion

Second Photo Assignment - Rule: Backround

  Composition Rule: Background

Model: Vedant Mehta

In this picture, I wanted to highlight the difference in shade of the background. (From light to dark.) To obtain this picture, I positioned the model to the front of the hallway which was partially exposed to light. With a little bit of editing, I was able to make a larger color difference in the background.

First Photo Assignment - Rule: Experimentation

Composition Rule: Experimentation
Model: Abraham Shalizi

I wanted to shoot a photo from an unorthodox point of view to give the photo a serious tone. In order to add on to this solemn effect, I added some extra shadow to the facial features of the model and the side of the fence facing the camera.