Although this class was a class in digital photography, it taught me more than just how to take pictures. This class showed me my own creativity and skill sets that I didn't know I had. I thought that I was a good photographer going into the class, but as I continued through the trimester, I realized that I had much to learn. Here are some examples of my progression:
I took the first photo before we had learned anything, and I almost used this photo in the composition assignment (but I chose not to at the last minute). At the time, I thought that this photo was the coolest thing I had ever taken, and I had taken it on the "Auto" mode. Looking back on it now, I laugh at how bad it is in comparison to what I have taken since. After just a few weeks, I had mastered the technical aspects of the camera and was able to take better pictures, like the second one.
After mastering the technical aspects of the camera, I had to move onto learning how to use Photoshop. I did not have a lot of experience in Photoshop before this class; I had used it maybe once or twice beforehand, but only to crop and resize photos. The fist photo is from our first photo assignment, the pop art assignment, where we had to take a picture, convert it to black and white, duplicate it, and change the colors. At the time, it was the most advanced thing that I could do. Through the photoshop assignments and lots of experimentation, I learned how to completely transform my pictures. Here, I also included one of my best pictures, before and after my edits.
This class gave me a setting where I could explore my own creativity. It offered me a time and place where I had the freedom to express myself in an artistic way, as well as learn about how to use more advanced aspects of technology. I was able to exercise good organization, time management, and patience...lots of patience. While this class was definitely different from what I'm used to, I enjoyed the experience, and I value the lessons it taught me.