More compelling pictures....

I had so much fun with my last week photography assignment, I though I would post more compelling pictures:

Wood in my backyard.

More compelling picture of the woods and the blue sky!!!

Just a pile of wood.

Getting close up picture of a pile of wood makes it more compelling.

MSU's Beaumont Tower.

Not so compelling Beaumont Tower.

Compelling Picture Assignment

I had so much fun with this assignment as I LOVE photography and taking pictures. This assignment taught me that taking pictures is not just about capturing pretty landscape or sunset it’s about telling a story, establishing a mood, capturing someone’s attention.

A couple of weeks ago, our family was visiting Miami, Florida. What surprised me so much that the weather during those few days we were there was changing every hour. We say that the weather in Michigan is unpredictable but Miami weather was even more unpredictable. We stayed in a hotel by the harbor with a very nice scenery. One afternoon, all of a sudden the sky was divided into two parts:  sunny and stormy with big clouds. I quickly grabbed my camera and I was able to get some nice shots. I was able to capture a picture of incoming storm after a sunny afternoon. I think the integration of the boats in the story make the picture look complete. 

I believe this picture clearly shows the intensity of emotion. The picture shows the action of an incoming storm and makes the viewers question, is the storm just approaching or is it over? The contrast of the gloomy and clear sky in the same picture makes it look very compelling. The picture of just a cloudy sky is not compelling as there is really no story behind it and the mood is not captivating.

The shot of the clear sky and approaching storm is well exposed and that what gives it more compelling look.

The diagonal lines of the bridge and removal of the crane makes the first picture more compelling.

The not so compelling picture:

The Art of Photography and Graphic Design

The purpose of the blog is facilitate your learning about the nature and design of compelling experiences (NDCE). Writing down your thoughts and observations is an excellent way to clarify and develop your understanding. We hope you enjoy and benefit from your NDCE blog.

I was very happy when I found out I will have a photography assignment because that's one of my favorite hobbies. I have a three year old so I take pictures constantly. I have over 140,000 pictures on my computer. Our family travels a lot so we take pictures all the time. I carry my camera with me all the time and my friends call me paparazzi.
However, when I was finished all the required class readings and watched the video about taking compelling pictures, I gained totally different perspective of taking pictures. I never knew about the 2/3rds rule or framing or that every picture should have narration and story behind it. 
I started thinking of different ideas where to take my pictures and what story I will tell with my pictures. It was very hard to come up with a good idea. I work on MSU Campus and I thought I could take a walk and take pictures of Red Cedar River or some famous buildings. I am working on preparing a welcome handbook for MSU's international faculty and staff and I thought I would include one of my compelling photos on the cover book. I captured some nice shots of Beaumont Tower but it did not feel like it had a story behind it. On the way back to work I took some pictures of ducks in the Red Cedar River but they were not as compelling either.
Today I stayed home with my sick son and I thought that I could take some pictures of the woods which is right in my backyard. Then I noticed a pile of woods stacked up in my neighbor's yard and so I took some pictures. They were not neatly stacked up and I thought with some editing I can make it a pretty compelling picture.