Our assignment was to design a square web ad for Fresh Direct. To give it more of a clean and visual pleasing look. We got to mess with real vegetables such as lettuce, potatoes and tomatoes. A team mate and I managed to get a couple of slices of tomatoes from the cafeteria to include some color and different texture in the photo. My team and I came up with some really great photos and we worked very well together. It made the photo shoot way more enjoyable as well, especially sprinkling water over the vegetables. We didn’t have any challenges with this shoot. We had really good lighting and also good photos.

This photo shoot was all about shooting metal, the metal on utensils to be exact. We had to take strong images to connect with the two articles we had read previously before which was on child hunger and food benefits. The process for taking a photo of metal is similar to the glass shoot in one aspect. With both you cannot put light directly on it because it will give strong reflections versus having a please image that shows it’s form, curves and all. We had placed the utensils on black plexiglass to show off its reflection. Above we placed a key light at a slight angle with a diffuser over it. The diffuser makes the light softer and again eliminates strong reflections. My team and I played with food, make up, and other utensils with different shapes. Overall I dont feel like we had any challenges taking photos on the plexiglass. Prior to the plexiglass, we took photos on white table but we just couldn’t get the lighting to work well. The professor also helped out but we just couldn’t figure it out even with strobe lights. Atleast we got to take some beautiful pictures on the plexiglass.

Out of all the photo projects we have had so far in this semester shooting glass was my favorite one. I love the people in my group, we all helped each other out and we had great positive energy. I never shot glass before so this was something completely new to me. The professor had gave us a couple of notes on how to place the lighting properly in order to take a proper photo without have a reflection show. Turns out you never place the key light directly in front. You just light the white background so it can reflect to the glass. Also you place white boards on the sides and on top of the glass to give the class some definition on the edges for the photo. We played with color gels on the lights to change the background. Different colors gave the photo a different feeling and vibe. The really fun part was playing with water and ice cube in the glass. It showed beautiful in the photo especially if it conveyed movement.

Unfortunately as an EMT I had an overnight shift which ended that Monday morning and I could make it to class. This was the day of the HealIi the Insurance shoot. I believe the concepts based on the articles of the photos was very serious and important. Subjects on how many are left with debt and no insurance and others how insurance benefits them. I knew what kind of shots to take but it was very difficult to them in a non studio environment and in my bed room. I couldn’t control the lighting and my models were difficult to shoot because they weren’t comfortable in from of the camera. I did get some good shots buts it’s difficult to work with models who aren’t as willing as class mates working on the same project.

In the first article called “The Return of American Hunger” By Ned Resnikoff, Resnikoff tries to get us to understand the increase in Hunger in America. Resnikoff explains that even though the economy has gotten some what better and job opportunities are opening up with still have an increase of people and families who are not “food secure”. He says “approximately 17.4 million homes across the United States, populated with more than 48 million hungry people.” That is such an alarming number. Because of the financial struggle, hunger remains and the requirements for SNAP (food stamps) are even too much for these people to even qualify. For some states you have to have work requirements and drug testing. I do agree however with the drug testing, if you are receiving food benefits from the government, you shouldn’t be doing illegal drugs.

The second article is called “Why Does America Have So Many Hungry Kids?” by Them Patterson. A woman named Elle Dingman was volunteering and ran into a little boy who just stood there and held her hand, naked and hungry. Reading this part of the article made me really sad to think that there are so many children at need. The article says approximately 13.1 million children are living in food insecure households as of 2015. That is such an alarming number. The author explains that people now and days just don’t have time to help people in need and that we no longer “help our neighbors”. Patterson explains that a few volunteer groups such as Jesus Was Homeless I trying their best to get these families what they need. There is other programs as well like “Blessings in a Backpack” which gives children meals for the weekend during the school year. But as mentioned it is only during the school year. So although there are people helping out, it is just not enough to feed everyone all of those 13.1 million hungry children.

For the photoshoot I want to use an empty plate with a fork and a spoon next to it to show the emptiness. The lighting will be dim or dark I don’t want bright light.

Another option for the volunteering one is someone handing someone else food or pouring something into the plate with a spoon. The light could be brighter for this one to show both the negative and the positive.

My final project is the kid with autism. Kids with autism have very difficult processing every day’s information.  Their sensory could be very sensitive.  So every little information from our views maybe overloading them. Even just a normal greeting could be too much information for them.That affects their behaviors. The more understanding the view of their world, the more you can be understanding them. They are autistic, but they don’t want to be.

http://www.autism.org.uk/sensory

http://www.upworthy.com/see-what-a-kid-with-autism-sees-for-90-eye-opening-seconds