Group Photo Project

As a group Team U.S.A. worked well together. None of us knew each other before we started the project so it was really anyone’s guess as to whether we would work well together. After the Newseum trip it was clear that we all got along well together and that are creative interests were similar, yet different enough to produce some interesting results for the project. Communication was never an issue and everyone met deadlines with ease. I volunteered to burn the project to a CD for class but when I realized that my older version of PowerPoint did not support the file I emailed everyone in the group to see if someone else could help. Within minutes everyone had responded and we figured out a solution to the problem. It was simple moments like this that made working together so easy and efficient.

Personally, I would try to come at the assignment from a different angle if I were to do it again. I took the word and came up with solid, but rather obvious examples for the word. Other people in the group went with some more creative shots and were a little bit more daring in their pictures than I was. Working with the group I was hesitant to try something that might not work and might hamper the groups progress but next time around I would try to push myself a bit more.

The finished project truly was a group effort. We brainstormed together and after we went out to individually shoot the images we picked out our favorites together. The final pictures used were pretty evenly split up, with everyone in the group contributing at least two of their own images to the final ten.

The most important thing that I learned from this project was that photography takes time and persistence. It is hard to set up a shot just the way you want it and a lot of photography is waiting for that opportune moment where everything falls into place and you get that perfect picture. Especially with a deadline, it is easy to feel rushed and the pressure of a time limit affects the way you think about the assignment, but it is important to be patient and wait for that perfect shot.

My favorite image from the project (and I am very biased on this one, because it is one of the ones that I took) is the picture of the student sleeping in the library. Taken from behind a row of books this was one of those times that the image just came together perfectly. Framing was key in this image as the bookshelves created a neat frame-within-a-frame of the student. Also, the lines from the bookshelf, the lines on the ceiling and the lines on the floor all run diagonally at the student and direct the attention of the viewer at the sleeping student. It is clear that the student is the center of the image and he is what the viewer’s gaze is directed to immediately. This image also follows the rule of thirds with the student placed off on the left of the image. It would have been just as easy to look straight down the aisle and take the picture head on, but this slight angle through the shelves and at the student add an interesting dynamic to the picture. The tiredness of the image is helped by the colors of the bookshelves. They are duller than usual and create a sleepy color scheme around the edges of the image (also, the fact that they’re books can put you to sleep right away). When the colors are combined with the rule of thirds it creates a sense that although the student is trying to read and stay awake (the dynamic of the rule of thirds) he is having a difficult time not falling asleep (the color and the dullness of the books).