miss. you. all.

fun times. may 17, 2013.  eleanor park field trip.

mrs. crouch's wonderful 2013 photoart class: (from left to right) nina, braiden, lashawna, megan, morgan, liz, brandi, sequoya, caitlyn, lyn (top), michaela (bottom) & lincoln. 

Choice Concentration Series UPDATE!

~~Choice Concentration Series~~

These photos are now due by May 20th.

WV Conservation Photography Contest

UPDATE: For Seniors, these photos are due by or before Monday May 20th.  They are now extra credit.
For Juniors, they are due on May 28th. 

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WV Conservation Photography Contest

As a somewhat belated tribute to Earth Month, our next photo-taking assignment will be to take photos for the West Virginia Conservation Photography Contest.

Click the link above.  Read the information and especially the examples that relate to the themes of the contest.  We will discuss them in class.

If you get a good image, we will print them out and mail them in for the contest!

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Your Final: Create a Portfolio

You will create a portfolio of your best work from this class.

This will take a good deal of time, so you want to start early.

Go to www.shutterfly.com   Click "sign in."   To sign in, you will use the email MrsCrouchlovesart.gmail.com and the password is whsgenerals.

Click on My Pictures.  You will be uploading your 20-30 best photos from this class.  Click Upload and then click Choose Files.   Then you will navigate to select your 20-30 best images from your flash drive or memory card.  IMPORTANT: At the bottom of the window, you want to select the option to CREATE A NEW ALBUM.  Change the date to YOUR NAME.  This will be your album only.  Make sure any additional photos that you upload go into your proper folder.

After you upload your photos, click on VIEW PHOTOS.  Then click on the Photo Book tab.

Then, click the button that says, "Go to the all new custom path"   Click on SOFT COVER BOOKS.  Then click on 7"x9".  

Next you will choose a style for your book.

In the left sidebar, click the checkbox for PORTFOLIO.   You may select from the options you see.  I like the modern black, the modern portfolio, the artist portfolio and the landscapes and florals.  They work the best for photographic portfolios.

Click your option and then the orange button that says Select this style (or something like that)

A window will open that says Choose Photos for your Photobook.

Click on the shutterfly tab.  Navigate to YOUR named photo album.  Click Select All and then Add to PhotoBook.

Now, you will add and arrange your photos.  I will show you a demo in class about how to do this, but it is pretty simple.

Be sure to save it as you work.  IMPORTANT: The first time you save, be sure to click SAVE AS... and rename the photobook to something with your name in it.

More instructions will come later.

Choice Concentration Series

~~Choice Concentration Series~~

For the choice concentration series, there are only 3 requirements:

• You MUST use your own photographs. (NOTHING FROM THE INTERNET!)
• You will post 3-5 images as a SERIES to your blog. (MUST BE A STRONG,COHESIVE SERIES)
• TURN THEM IN ON TIME.  They are due on Tuesday May 14th.  (If images need to be edited, you will have additional time to post them to your blog)

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YOU:      "So,  ::::scratching your head::::: ....what am I supposed to do???"

Mrs. Crouch:  "IT'S UP TO YOU!!!"

YOU:   HUH?????????

Mrs. Crouch:  "You heard me.  For this assignment you'll be exploring something (your choice) in detail and taking many photos.  You will then select your best photos to create a series to post to your blog.  You can edit them anyway you choose."

Having freedom to choose sounds like it will be great.... but honestly, it is much harder than it sounds. 

Think back to some photo taking assignment that you really enjoyed from this semester...and maybe revisit that assignment and explore it even further.  (DO NOT TRY TO PASS OFF YOUR OLD PHOTOS FOR NEW ONES.  I'll know, I promise!!  I WANT NEW PHOTOS!!)

A NOTE ABOUT YOUR SERIES:

•         ALL photos in your series should be VERY closely related visually.  
•          They MUST look like they BELONG together 
•          The best way to accomplish this is to take A LOT of photos of similar things, one object, similar ideas or concepts.... 

*Remember to take photos from different angles and viewpoints.

*Remember the rules of good composition (Rule of 3rds, diagonal lines, framing, unique angles, etc.).

*Get Inspired!! Click these links to some artists' series'.

• The Great Yoga Project  (These are different visually, but a unifying concept)
• Some different examples of series  (Notice how visually connected the images are!)
• Meditations Series by Ryan Bush. (VERY visually similar in texture, value, etc.)
• Vita Series by Ryan Bush (Unified in color, texture, etc)
• Awesome Color Paper Constructions Series by Burton Pritzker
• Lynn Karlin Flowers/Fruit on a Black Background (scroll down and click through the slideshow!)
• Barry Toranto- Photos of Playful Dioramas
• Barry Toranto- Window Reflections

The Yum Factor: Food Photography

For your next photo-taking assignment, you will be photographing a wonderful subject matter: FOOD!



Links:
Introduction to Food Photography
The Elements of Art in Food Photography
The Principles of Design in Food Photography
10 Tips for Food Photography
One Blogger's Tips on Food Photography
Food Styling from America's Test Kitchen



YouTube Videos:
Food and Prop Stylist, Kim Krejka
Bryan Peterson Creative Macro Set Up
Food Photography Tips
A Day at the Studio: Food Photography
Food Photography with Natural Light