BOC: NOTHING

Photographer: Vicky Lemus

NOTHING





A photograph of nothing is actually very difficult to comprehend but very easy to do. I could have chosen to take a picture of a dark room or a road with nothing in it. I wanted to be more creative I wanted to show something that is nothing physically, but is something. In this shot you see almost nothing but you can make out the background if you wanted you see water rising up from where is the question. I wanted to catch the water in stop action. I used a high shutter speed in this shot to be able to get the nice crisp look of the water almost crystallizing it as if it were ice. Getting this shot took about five tries in different shutter speeds I like how the background is out of focus and giving the picture a nice contrast in colors. Which gives the viewer not only a picture of water it gives it nothing but something all of the same time. So achieving a picture of nothing may be approached in different ways. The way I perceived it was water has no flavor and water is literally floating in air and air is considered nothing so it worked out for what I wanted to go for. Shooting nothing can also be difficult finding nothing to photograph is like think I have nothing to shoot. Nothing could be everywhere its where you find it that feels like the way to go about finding the right picture for what you are trying to achieve and that is what I did.

BOC: News Worthy Story

Photographer: Vicky Lemus

News worthy Story

Rain So Clean its Drinkable!

We were supposed to do our own version of a news story event. I chose do a photograph of something that actually happened. It had rained pretty bad that the drainage ditches in Henderson had filled up and drain to the lake. I was in Lake Las Vegas taking pictures and I realized how bad the lake looked. Not chocolate milk it’s not done on purposed but it happened. The water was so packed with trash and debris that it look so horrible that the fish couldn’t even move in the lake. So my news worthy story ad is Rain so clean it’s drinkable, I never seen the lake so dirty but it makes you aware of what our environment is going through.  You think rain is so clean that it could be drinkable. But when it does things like this you start to wonder. I was using and 28-135mm lens and I was shooting from up high on a bridge. I wanted to catch the swirls of the dirt in the water. I wanted to show how much debris was gathering in the lake but focusing on the water. I realize that in this picture you do not notice where you are but like I said before I really wanted to focus on the water and how dirty it was. It was cloudy with flat diffused sky which made the colors of the dirt in the water stand out and not be washed out.  News worthy stories are not easy to get but interesting and one of a kind things to get are worth it if you catch them.  Learning to do it was fun and interesting and I would incorporate it to my work because in racing you must anticipate the driver’s moves and to catch that one shot it always one of a kind as well.

Week 10: Financial Spreadsheet

I did a financial spreadsheet in class where we had to write down everything that we think we would do in a business and I came up with jobs that I would like to do in the future, fashion, makeup, editorial, sports photography and so on. The thing I learned from doing this in my class is that it’s a big job having a business. You are looking at cost that you are selling to the client that has to be reasonable to the way the clients will buy and then what you receive for your time in the end. This was a challenging thing I felt very unsure what to charge and how to go about it I had to think of overall how many I would be doing throughout the month and if I believe I could do it.
Being a very interesting and very detailed assignment to know financial situations it was an eye opener. If you don’t make enough revenue to cover cost you can actually depreciate in your business and owe too much money instead of gaining. These are only a few things that are very harsh in the real world market. I’m not someone that knows financial but when you see high numbers and you see red on a financial report you are either to high in costs and not selling enough of your product or services to get you by.
I have worked in a company where they have done these type a spread sheet and they have realized that they were doing a low cost in business in this market and that the months before they fell short from the months currently doing business it made them completely change prices in turn help them with their business. I believe that a financial spreadsheet is a very challenging thing but extremely helpful. The better you familiarize yourself the greater you can project how your business can run and can serve as a nice guideline along the way.

EOC: 40 UNDER 40 IN LAS VEGAS

Theirs and event of 40 people less than 40 yrs of age that get awards and commendations for their work in the community. These forty people work in business and show how professional they are. We were asked to explain where we would be professionally, personally, and in the community. I believe when I am forty that I will have a small decent business in the commercial and advertising field of photography generating business throughout the world. I am in hopes to have a family to enjoy that success with in the future. In my community I would like to help and share my work by helping other artist by helping in events and other non-profit organizations to help our youth learn and succeed.

In where I want to be in business I want to start up a company where it’s just me and start small for the first couple years. Once I have made a name for myself start hiring along the way graphic design personnel, videographers, make- up artists. And have a small little business with many outlets so we don’t have to outsource. Once I find the correct people I want to grow my business in to a multimedia corp. and maybe open other multimedia businesses around the United States.

In my personal life, I eventually want to find a partner to help me on my journey of success and to enjoy all the things life has to offer. Eventually grow into a bigger family to be able to enjoy life and what I have to offer as a business woman, wife, and mother. I want to be able to have something for the future of my children either to run or benefit from and be taken care of if I ever leave this world. I don’t want this to happen to soon but planned to happen before imp forty.

In my community as in my personal a task for me to give back would be working with not profit organization.  With these organizations we will work for the community and for our kids to make a better place since they are supposed to be the future.  I want to help them by working with them in the arts, sports and staying on the right track to grow into smart knowledgeable adults.

In hope to make something of myself in the future I would like to be somewhere in the projected years close to these goals. I want to have a fun bright outlook as I go through life. Business and personal and community goals set high to challenge myself in everyday situations and personally.

BOC: Food Photography

Photographer: Vicky Lemus
Food Photography


Photographer: Vicky Lemus

Food Photography





Food what can I say but something prepared that looks delicious to the eye this is what we are trying to portray in are picture. A delight and sensation of tastes but with the eye. Food photography I have to say is one of the hardest things to do. The time and preparation of the food and making sure it looks appetizing to the viewer. I chose to take a picture of a homemade cupcake. This cupcake had chocolate butter cream frosting with sprinkles on the top for color. I wanted to make something simple I wanted it to be a bit easier. Only problem is that you face with the food not coming out and not being as good looking as you would like. In food photography you have to make sure it’s done correctly and that it’s beautiful that it’s flawless so that you just want to eat what is on the page. I shot this on a white backdrop with ambient lighting and flash to compensate for the shadows. I wanted to focus mostly on the cupcake and nothing else. It was very challenging with the lighting because I wanted to experiment with ambient lighting to see if it would come out correctly. I believe it did the trick. I believe this will help me with my photography by helping understand the little things and the little to big detail it takes to do shots like these. Food photography a form of photography that is just about perfect. Its un edible but appetizing to the viewer.

EOC: IS SHE FAIR GAME

We were asked a very crucial question IS SHE FAIR GAME?? This question is asked for photographers and reporters alike. We were asked to answer this question for the movie the Roman Holiday featuring Audrey Hepburn. Is she fair game? In the movie we saw a princess that was very proper and had to follow the rules. She was very unhappy that she could not have fun and enjoy life like everyone else. She always had meetings and things arranged for her to do. The princess decided to run away for a couple hour but found herself falling asleep due to medicine the doctor gave her to calm down. We see her run around Rome and do and try stuff she hasn't ever done before. Trying new things and seeing the world for the first time. She meets a reporter and a photographer along her journey. The only problem with that is that they hide it from her to catch her in acts that the princess would do just to make money. I believe that in a way she is fair game if she goes out in public and acts the way she acts, but i believe that their are boundaries as well. She is an innocent person and just trying to be like everyone one else even though some of the decisions she made may have be contradicting. But She is a public figure but they had to realize how public and iconic she is. She is a leader. The reporter and his photographer friend grew to know her and grew to understand her this made them change their minds and not go through with the news story. So maybe realizing that people are all human can make difference but even though they are like everyone else they are also in the lime light for who they are in the public view being a leader. Its should be expected and understood because our job is to make you bigger as photographer and reporters alike. Like the saying kinda goes “no news is bad news.”

BOC

I found that taking a picture within the eye was very difficult. Trying to close enough, trying to get the background, and myself inside the eyes were the things i was trying to achieve. I found myself questioning whether or not I could do this because each time i tried it never came out or it was to blurry.

When i was taking the shot the camera had trouble focusing when i got so close to the subjects eye. I had problems trying to figure how close the lens would allow me to get and how i was going to be seen in the shot. I ended up manually focusing the lens and getting as close as i could while still capturing the background.

When trying to get the background i notice if i got to close all you saw was black and then when i got to far away the picture was okay but i could see my self in the eye correctly. So each and every time is was either nothing or something in my shot, causing me to find a happy medium to where i was still close enough but far away from the subjects face to be able to catch the park within the eye and giving the viewer a description of where we could be.

I found myself trying to get close to the subjects face and trying to angle myself in the shot because in the dark spot of his eye i would always land and i could not be seen. After trying to get my self in the shot. I made him sit on the floor and i stood in a 45 degree angle and was able to get the shot i wanted. So i finally achieved the shot i was happy with. i had the background i wanted and myself in the shot. Even though i though it was difficult sometimes trying it in different ways gave me a better view point and advantage on finding the right spot. You could only get that by trying it multiple times and with multiple shots.

WEEK 7 EOC: PROGRESS TOWARD MY 4 PROFESSIONAL CONTACTS

Part of becoming a business owner we need people to help us along the way. These people are crucial parts if we need advice, financial, legal, and insurance agents. Going through and finding these types of people were a crucial step for a business plan. The question I was stuck with is Where and whom to go to? That was my most difficult dilemma I had to face. First thing I did was look on the internet and Google search for companies in my area. From there I checked the websites of the ones I liked and that were closer to me and I made my decision.  

The lawyer I found was through another lawyer not through the internet it was a recommendation.  They recommended Juan P. Rodriguez, ESQ., an IP Lawyer that has dealt with marketing and photography from the beginning of his career.  I asked him many questions and he was able to answer all of them and gave me a broader aspect of why I needed and IP lawyer in the future.  He was very helpful and knowledgeable and he is my top choice to speak to when I need a lawyer.

The next person I found was an Insurance/Financial Rep that I have is another recommendation from a photographer. She has helped them with their insurance needs and helped them in multiple ways in the business. She was very informative and was easy to talk to and understand when it came to explanations of what I needed to do financially.

The following person I spoke to was a business banker I chose Chase bank to deal with my business banking needs. I chose them because I have done my banking through them for many years and I feel very comfortable with them. I tried speaking to the vice presidents business card but was unable to talk to him. But after talking to other people and getting more incite, I would like to do more research and make my decision.

I only found one accountant that was close but still unsure of and that was with Ovist and Howard. I quickly just asked for a card. They weren’t really the type of accountants I was looking for. But I would do more research to really choose someone to do and trust with my accounting needs I understand that this is a necessary part of the business plan.

BOC: Paparrazo

We were given an assignment to shoot as if we were paparazzo. What did that take? How would I complete this without having someone famous? How close or not close to the subject can I get? These were only a few questions that I asked myself every time I thought about what to shoot. I wanted to shoot my friends but I thought to myself why not try to actually be paparazzo and see if you can catch unsuspecting people on camera. I went to different locations and just couldn't come up with any ideas or the nerves to take the picture that came to my head. So finally I went to the park and I thought there’s always someone walking their dog or playing with their kids what a perfect shot. I was thinking about how they capture Angelina Jolie and brad Pitt with their kids and when they go out in public. I unfortunately did not get a shot of a family but I did of an older couple. This older couple were acting like they were newlyweds and I couldn’t help to be interested in what they were doing. So I brought out my 300mm lens and started taking pictures I was a bit far away but I was not too sure if I would get away with taking pictures of them in such a close range I did get a bit closer but I thought for the challenge that this would be an interesting picture. In my life being a type of paparazzo fits in due to me wanting to shoot race car drivers racing and catching them in action in their car. I feel that you will always be a type of paparazzo because you are always trying to get that one shot that going to make you.

BOC Painting with Light

I went out to Rhyolite, to shoot for an architecture class assignment and I thought that would be my perfect opportunity to photograph my painting with light. Rhyolite has a ghost town and it would be a perfect place to find old buildings to play with light. The necessary thing I need to paint with light was colored flash lights and darkness. I could have easily done something at home but I wanted a different outlook toward the picture with something more than just words or a drawing. I knew that it would have to be a long exposure and I would have to get the correct settings if not the colors would neither show nor the words. I set my camera on a tripod and I began playing around in Rhyolite and I found this building that was an old jail. I thought it was interesting so I decided to try out some test shots to see how it look the hardest part about writing or drawing with light was getting the wording written correctly backwards and also seeing without light in the dark. I used two types of lights 580ex flash and a flash light with colored leds. I flashed the door multiple types with the 580ex to show where I was at. That was a bit difficult because I had that come out correctly and then the words not come out. And then I wrote the word Jail Door slowly that way all the colors showed correctly. After a couple times I was finally satisfied and came out with a happy medium. I learned you can do so much with light in the dark and with objects that it made experimenting and trying to come out with something fun and different.  I think later on I would like to incorporate painting with light into my photographs to challenge myself and see what my outcomes would be.

EOC: Midterm

In taking marketing and promotions we have learned copyright issue, legal issues, fees and business tools to grow your business and your networking. I find that the experience is really helpful and insightful. We have weekly photo challenges that make us more creative in our photography that we will incorporate in our business plan. With these photographs we show what we can do and how artistic and different we are. We are learning how to market ourselves in our environment by building our resumes. Learning basics information needed to seen more professional like we should be. We are working on networking to where we had to go to different businesses and get business card for future references in our field that will be contacts along the way. We are also working on getting new contacts to network ourselves and meet people in our field or that need our services. Also we are learning that photography there are many legal issues with unlimited and limited rights you have to be aware of your dealings with corporation and in other situation where this can be a problem.  We have learned how to establish ourselves as a photographer in our market. By not over pricing ourselves and not charging to little for our time due to our time is valuable.

The class experience has been helpful and creative. Reading the book together gives us a better knowledge on what the book is saying with open conversation. Being able to interact with the teacher and relating in to real times events make us picture what the book is saying a lot clearer. I can say I am enjoying the class and it’s extremely important to know and learn everything this class has to offer. It’s beneficial in our present and future, I consider myself lucky and I believe I am doing way better than expected. I cannot wait to see how we go on and further in this class Challenges we have to face next will seem easier due to this class. 

Glamour and Professional Websites

http://www.moonlightingphotography.com/testimonials.htm

In this website I felt it was much more a glamour site than a professional site. The lay out was nice and simple but with little information on what she does other than wedding photography, In her galleries you see wedding photography and then children. Confusion arises and makes you wonder why children there are no explanation that she does those as well. For her strengths you definitely know how to contact her. For her weaknesses I just wish her portfolio was had a wider range and a bit easier to use. And that her galleries could have more explanations. She could have had blogs or message boards to see what she has done currently but none of that was found.

http://www.atiphotography.com/

In the beginning of Ati Grenspun photography you go to a greeting page with a bit of information and a couple of pics when you click on these picture they take you to different links on to her main page with portfolio, about me, portrait sessions and current work. Very nice introduction she use a very  fun creative way using a slide show and wording to tell you a little about her. I like how in her info she has questions and answers to help you out. She has blogs and she has a well thought out theme this is definitely a professional photography site and I would book her on her fun and well thought out and section paged. She has a facebook page as well where she talks about current event and show things she has done which helps the client verify what she is currently doing and what she is mostly good at. Very nice marketing and very nice layouts

http://www.kelseyandersonphotography.com/

This website can be considered professional as well but I have some reservations on her site its planned out okay but here layout out within the links are hard to follow and read. You’re not sure if you are looking at pricing a blog and so forth. She makes it understandable on what she does  But her biggest fault is how to contact her it was very incontinent in finding it and if she wanted calls you definitely would call her because you didn’t really know how to contact her unless you put your information for her to contact you. I noticed she had link to twitter, facebook, and others which is good for her marketing and network skills. She has a lot of weaknesses and only a few strengths but overall I am still not sure what I am looking at.

http://johnmorrisphotography.com/

John Morris Photography had to be the best site I have found on the web by just browsing and picking and choosing random photographers. His website features a clean and very easy to use site. His galleries are self explanatory. He has his contact information very easy to find. Very well document blogs and thought out. Links inside his website are easy to use. About me section very detailed without being over whelming with all the information you need to know. Photography is very nice clean and well lit. Marketing and networking is noticed and stated in his website. I have to say very profession very well done If I ever need a reference on what to do for a website I would definitely would want to do what he has done.

BOC: WEDDING PHOTO CHALLENGE

I started this challenge trying to figure out what a wedding means. I wanted to photograph a still life portrait using objects that held meaning in a wedding other than people. I decided to get a cake topper, bouquet and flower petals. I wanted to make the scene sweet and serene. I started out figuring how to placed the items to where the composition of the photograph would make me feel what I was trying to achieve in making the viewer see. I took white board to make my white background and floor to place the objects. Then I took white felt and draped it ove the top of the board and brought it down to make the background and the floor. I set up three 580EX II one over head one slightly beside me and one the far left side. To even out the background and foreground I chose this type of light to help the shadows. I wanted to almost achieve a high key setting without going to white. I used a 120 to 125th shutter speed that favor the picture tremendously. My F-stop was around 13-16 without going to light and to dark. I hand held the camera to get more angles and high and low shots. White balance was at Flash to balance out the white to not get to cool or to warm of tones. I chose to do this at home to give me more ease. I recommend doing it at a Studio if a studio is available if not you can try to do this easy technique at home. Taking into consideration in lighting and setup, I truly like the stylizing and the way the flash gave me a even tones and highlights on my objects. If I were to experiment a bit more I would of like to try painting with light to see how I could light the object and give it a dark tone with slight view of the objects giving you almost a memory of what happened.

EOC WEEK 4: SCARY LEGAL ISSUES

Corporate and Commercial legal issues can be difficult. You are dealing with copyright issues corporate business where they like thing to a certain degress. Photographs will usually be used for publications, advertising, billboards and so on. You are faced with difficult decision and in some cases if the wording in contracts are not correct you can lose your rights to your photographs, lose money or even get sued. You want to make sure your wording in your contracts are correct and any other corrections, and your rights are being protected correctly. You want to be aware of what changes could be expected and have that in your contracts or estimates. You need to cover your self in all angles of any situation.

BOC: Sports Photography

Photographer: Vicky lemus

Sports Photography

A sport of ambition and of going for the goal. Sports photgraphy becomes a dport for the photgrapher because its trying to get that shot of emotion, accident, or that winning shot. I chose to photographer a Dirt bike race and I was able to go on the track and take pictures of the racers. it was a very bright day the sun was high making everything very over exposed and contrast. I chose my apetures and shutters speeds correctly to be able to catch the shot. Out of all the hundreds of pictures I had I chose to use this picture due to its showing the eyes of the racer and he is basically on his back tire giving a better composition to the shot and he doesnt look stationary he looks as if he is doing something. I want to catch him in motion but still having a nice feel of lines and sleekness to the photgraph its self in this picture you see where he is at and also you see a worker of the racetrack and you can tell its a race in action.

Sports Photgraphy is an offely expensive sport in a way becuase of the type of lens and the insurance on your self its highly dangerous when you are on the track with the competitior. You have chances you have to take each and everytime but the thrill of the race might just give you that adrenaline rush as it gives me this is what I will be doing in my career catching the right shot and anticipating that shot and capturing it.

Week 2 Photo Challenge: Crime Scene

Our assignment was to create a crime scene photograph. This was a crazy interesting task. We had to come up with an idea on how to pose a person dead. People may think wow this is super easy but it took me three different ideas to get it correct. This was not the easiest thing like I assumed it would be. The light had to be correct it couldn’t be to warm or to cool. Also, how was I supposed to make bruises and blood look like they were real?  These are only a few questions. I caught myself second guessing where I would murder or find someone dead. Also I was afraid to look up ideas on the internet because they might think I would be really trying to kill someone. So I resorted to television shows for info as well as friends for input for my research.

I decided to try inside my house first bad Idea too much lighting needed looked to posed and faked. So then I thought of a suicide, that wasn’t the idea I was going for so that did not work out either.  At the bitter end I decided to kill my friend under the road by some brush in a wash. Duct tape and fake blood and a bit of makeup and we had ourselves a crime scene. It was fun bruising him up with makeup and then putting the blood everywhere. I wanted a full body but I decided to do half body it made it a bit more dramatic as a close up shot. It was cloudy outside around 1pm in the afternoon. I went with existing light with an EF-S18-55mm lens on ISO 100. My shots varied from fluorescent to open shade. I decided that open shade looked better for this shot but in my other pictures I wanted a cooler more morbid temperature so I chose fluorescent.  The colors on the ground made for a nice contrast to the blood.  All in all it was a fun experience and a fun shoot.

Week 1 Photo Challenge: Self Portrait

For our first challenge we were face with our most difficult the self portrait. This is supposed to be a representation of yourself and how others see you and tells who you are. For me this was the most difficult. I always have trouble trying to figure out who and how people perceive me. So I had to ask around and the most answers were Fun, silly, quite, loud, and sweet. So I tried to incorporate as much as possible to my shot as I could.


In this picture I decided to do an everyday fun simple shot at the park. I wanted the viewer to see me a bit awkward but still silly. I wanted the viewer to see my fun side by me having a background at a park. It was an open shade photograph in the middle of the day. I wanted the warm tones without that harsh sunlight, to see the warm side to me. Even though I was awkward I feel this picture said a lot without saying to much.


With this challenge I feel it makes you challenge and figure out who you are as a person. I believe we need to put ourselves in the position as a photographer, as we put our subject matter to better understand how they must feel. We are always striving for new learning experiences so why not a Self Portrait to show who you are!

EOC: WEEK 2 Sacrifices I'm willing to take to become a photographer.

People make a lot of sacrifices every day. They make sacrifices in getting jobs, life, family, and so on. But what sacrifices am I willing to take to become a photographer, that is the question? As I was thinking about this I ran into what sacrifices I have taken and I have made throughout my life and the decisions, I have made that have led me to where I am today. I risked my home my family to help my sister and I it led me here, has it been easy no. I don't think life is meant to be easy. I think the challenges are meant to make life more meaningful and makes your life more knowledgeable with the sacrifices you make. Sacrifices usually pay off in the long run.

I have to say the things I would have to sacrifice will have to be family. If I needed to leave and it was very important work, they would have to understand that at times we all need to do what we need to do. I would even have to sacrifice my current job because it could be the photography break I have been looking for. But with that said Even though you're willing or I'm willing to sacrifice this always remember what's important in life. Every day your faced with a challenge that will make you wonder if you should do this or not. What are you willing to risk. Like the saying goes "'do what you feel is right in your heart" and also "Go big or Go home".

Week 1 EOC: Houte Couture

Haute Couture is evaluated as High Fashion; this was created around the 1880's. This was known as one of kind pieces that were specifically made for a certain customer. This type of clothing was surreal, not easy to wear but the trendsetter that every woman wanted to have even the Queen. Haute Couture was expensive, custom fitted, and made of high quality material and sewn to perfection.

The name brand artists we know are Versace, Christian Dior, Yves Saint Laurent, Chanel and etc... These are only a few of the many that came from Paris France and other High Fashion areas. These High Fashion companies sought after photographers to show their work and their vision to the mass public. The photographers needed to make a statement with their work. At times this was difficult due to the type of clothing the models had to wear. The Models were often called heroin chic, almost anorexic in size but this was the trend. You would only see photographers use these women and even movie stars at the time.

To name a few photographers of this time frame are Nigel Barker that is known for Fashion photography and is also known now as the Americas next Top Model helper for Tyra Banks show. We have Karlie Kloss that shot Christian Dior 2010 Fall/Winter fashion Show, And We have the Famous Richard Avedon that has done stuff with Versace.

"Can this photographer do what I need, When I need it, How I need it.?" Pg, 21, Best Business Practices for Photographers, By John Harrington. These are a few questions that are asked from photographers to do this kind of job. As a photographer you are responsible for making a product shine and sale even if it's to the mere public, you have to make them think Wow! " look at that outfit I want one!" As you can see photography and fashion coincide extremely through magazines and they make these artist work shine. With how and in the way they make the product look. They need to show how amazing, stunning and one of a kind and we cannot forget beautiful in style as unique as the clothing is.