Jostens 2014 Photo Contest

All of these photos were entered in the 2014 Jostens contest. This contest was really hard to find pictures for because I didn't get to shoot sports and that was a very popular category. I mostly took pictures of student life and band during football season but i got some pretty cool shots while doing so. Im happy with the photos i chose but even more excited to shoot more for next years contest.

Family head shots

ISO: 640

APP: 2.8

SS: 80

I was assigned to take pictures of Mrs. Strebeck and her daughters for the mother daughter spread since they all work together. This was kind of difficult because the teachers lounge is not the best place for pictures. The room was very crowded and poorly lit but it was the only place Mrs. Strebeck said they could all meet and since these photos were needed as soon as possible I did what I could. I wasn't sure if they needed vertical or horizontal so I took both just in case.

Tristen Collins Head shots

ISO: 200

APP: 4.0

SS: 200

I volunteered to take head shots of Tristen Collins for Yearbook. These pictures themselves were not a hard assignment but the camera problems that I ran into trying to take these were what made them difficult to get. I took a 17-50 originally with a 480 flash but when I got int the courtyard the lens wouldn't focus at all and everything else was working fine. I checked to see if the focus was on manual and it wasn't so I knew that couldn't have been the reason. So i checked the camera to make sure the mode was on M and it was so I just switched cameras with Faith and they turned out fine. Im sure that it was a small mistake regarding the problems I was having. 

Alex Gooden Headshots

ISO: 

APP: 2.8

SS: 200

i volunteered to take a head shot of Alex Gooden because i know him and I really liked these head shots because they actually didn't turn out bad even though i haven't shot head shots since boot camp. 

I had some trouble because i couldn't seem to find a place in the courtyard where he wasn't squinting so i had to put in a really shady corner and they actually didn't turn out bad. I shot with a 28-75 with the lens zoomed all the way to 75 and my APP as wide as it could go and my shudder speed high to give it some extra light. I also had a 580 flash. 

Seniors (getting out of their cars)

ISO: 100

APP: 

SS:

I volunteered to take pictures of seniors that aren't in the year book much getting out of their cars. This is supposed to count as an outside assignment. I had a brain fart that morning and couldn't figure out why my pictures were so over exposed even though the ISO was lowest and the APP was right then i looked at my SS and realized how low it was and brought it up some and it made a dramatic difference. There wasn't really many angles i could get because there were cars in every parking spot blocking my view so i just had to work with the one angle i could get. 

Ashton & Kersten Head Shots

ISO: 100

APP: 3.0

SS: 200

These pictures were shot in the court yard. It was a really good day to take head shots because the sun wasn't shining as bright as it usually is in the courtyard and so we found a good spot where the background was still bright but the subject wasn't squinting. I took some with the subject to the right of the picture and some to left and the center. These photos are usable because they are well lit and also have a nice background that is not taking away from the person or making the picture look awkward.

Paxton & Deirdra Head Shots

ISO: 100

APP: 4.0

SS: 250

I shot these head shots by the pond for the first time with bailey and faith. I really liked these because the back ground was really pretty and the subject was in focus. The only real problem I ran into was how bright the background was but i fixed that with an adjust to my shutter speed. Also for some reason the girl in black, Deirdra, smiled with her head tilted even when we told her to look straight and even fixed it for her. We had to change the settings when Paxton came out because of the color difference and how over exposed she was.

Practice Headshots

ISO: 400

APP: 4.0

SS: 125

Me, Bailey, and Faith all went out to practice head shots since I had not done them since boot camp and faith never learned how to. We practiced out in the courtyard because all the plants and bushes make a pretty background. Bailey taught me a lot about APP and SS and how it can control your lighting. By raising your shutter speed you allow more light in and by opening your APP really wide you allow the back ground to be blurred and the subject in perfect focus. We also placed each other in different places the light was shinning to try and get it just right so that the shadows weren't to harsh. 

Canterbury

ISO: 100

APP: 4.0

SS: 100

I got to shoot Canterbury and it was really fun. I got a lot of different shots that turned out to be pretty cool. Almost every single person was dressed up and had creative costumes. With all the bright colors and variety of wardrobes made getting pictures a lot easier. When we got outside i had some trouble adjusting the settings because it was so bright but once i fixed my APP and my ISO then the pictures turned out really well. There were a lot of pictures i got that captured the kids emotions perfectly for that moment and they were my favorite. I think i produced some really cool pictures and they came pretty easy other than kids wanting to flash gang signs at me.

Ms. Henderson

ISO: 800

APP: 4.5

SS: 200

I was assigned to take pictures of Ms. Henderson in room 21 for a spread in the yearbook. It was supposed to be an environmental portrait so I got her in her room at her desk grading some papers and  doing other stuff teachers do. I had a 7D, 580 flash, and a 10-24mm lens. I got vertical and horizontal pictures as well as her looking at the camera and not looking at the camera.