NYIP Instructor's critique Unit 2
My NYIP Instructor, Walter Karling's evaluation of my Unit Two NYIP assignment came back in February, but I have been so busy getting ready for the Hallside Gallery exhibit. You can see the images in the first link above, along with a resume of the assignment and some of the issues I encountered while completing the assignment. Walter was again complementary, but I will focus on his suggestions.
The first part of the assignment had to do with emphasizing the subject by using size and placement according to the "Rule of Thirds." Kasandra's portrait certainly achieves this with her beautiful face filling the right third of the frame. Walter noted that placing subject matter on each of the four points where the three lines intersect can make a powerful image, he called it, "hitting a home run." See the red dots in the image at right. Kasndra's eyes and smile are close to the right hand dots, but the left hand side is essentially blank. Borrowing from Walter, I guess I hit a double! He suggested I use one or more of the other intersecting points to "place" the subject; think background in DaVinci's Mona Lisa. Walter also suggested thinking about the background first, then place the subject relative to that background (ie, the Eiffel Tower in the far background, a beautiful women in the foreground). You get the idea and in that way a photograph tells a story. Anyway, what I learned was that I was so enthralled with my model that I forgot what was behind her to some extent. Frankly, I was lost in her eyes and that was story enough for me!
The second part of the Unit Two assignment was to emphasize the subject by framing it in some way. As I acknowledged earlier, I had a hard time with this, trying to avoid a contrived look. Well, my committee (see previous post) seems to have been on the right track because Walter thought this was a "very good" effort. I still don't really care for this photograph (Cabo Reflection on my website), but sometimes the audience knows better! My take home on this part of the lesson is that I am very much more aware of so-called "framing" situations that can be used to emphasize the subject.
Finally, the third photograph was to demonstrate leading lines to emphasize. Walter prefers the term, "converging lines," with the archetype being the road or rail road track converging to a point on the horizon. Walter liked Mr Pelican and the leading lines of his beak. He also thought the photograph represented a nice use of selective focus.
In all, the feedback was helpful and it continued to add to my intellectual appreciation of photography. In that, I guess, I am learning a certain "criticality" can improve esthetics and enhance artistic appreciation. I am struck by a comment from Hal Wallace that it is important to try and appreciate what the photographer was thinking when they captured a particular shot; Hal also said this made photography harder for him! It certainly has for me, too, but these are very useful lessons and as they become inbued in my artistic sense, I know my photography will improve. And that's the point!