Here are my attempts to apply the learning from this course and polish these skills. Will greatly appreciate any and all critique. This is my first time learning to photograph in a structural manner, so am very enthusiastic to hear what everyone thinks.

All photos are taken with my aging Google Pixel (1st Gen), and edited on the Adobe Lightroom CC mobile app. Since I primarily share on Instagram, I try to keep my photos 4:5 or square.

1) Rule of Thirds | Fore - Mid - Back - ground | Frame within Frame

For this module, I confined myself to inside my apartment, using my guitar as my subject. This allowed me to focus on applying the principles from the course directly to my shots, instead of worrying about trying to find shots that happen to fit the requirements.

BEHOLD, LES PAUL

Kept the first shot very simple. Focused on placement of the guitar in the frame, and used the floor as a foreground to bring in some depth. I like how the guitar has a mighty stature because of the low angle perspective. The switch and outlet on in the background are a little distracting though.

Compositions - image 1 - student project

THROUGH THE LOOKING FORK

For the second shot, used the same placement and introduced a mystical foreground layer by holding a fork close to the lens. Again, the outlet on the background stands out like sore thumb.

Compositions - image 2 - student project

GRAYSCALE HAZE

Here, I tried to use my coffee table as the foreground. I wanted a hazy reflection of the guitar on the glass to serve as the foreground. This didn't execute the way I had imagined. I didn't think enough about the lighting, and the reflection came out very harsh. So not very satisfied by this one.

Compositions - image 3 - student project

FRAMED

Using a barstool to frame the subject. I was worried the background might be too busy for this one. But I think because the color shades are so similar, it ends up looking like coherent. The wood on guitar is the exact same as the floor, so worked on popping the guitar more than the floor while editing. One regret on this shot is that the barstool had many more interesting silhouettes that might have provided a great foreground, but I was in a very limited mindset of just using it as a frame.

Compositions - image 4 - student project

CONTROL

For this last shot, I tried changing my perspective of the subject. I tried to explore it in a different manner, since all of the other shots were very similar. Again, I like the depth added by the foreground, and the pop of blue color. I feel like this would be a much more compelling image if the background is blurred out.

Compositions - image 5 - student project

2) Lines | Patterns | Abstract

Again, stayed within the confines of my apartment and tried to apply the rules from the second module.

Enlightenment

The sharp creases of the head board and the sharp glow of the light on it all form leading lines to the subject. There is also rule of thirds in play here, along with well defined fore-mid-back-grounds.

Compositions - image 6 - student project

Halo

This shot is full of strong vertical lines, but my favorites are the subtle intersecting diagonals created by the shadows. Compositions - image 7 - student project

Little Red Riding Hood

Again some strong vertical lines in the picture, and the diagonal leads straight to the subject.

Compositions - image 8 - student project

Sunrays

Had a blast going wild with the edit on this macro shot of an air conditioner.

Compositions - image 9 - student project

Inception

This is easily my favorite shot of the bunch. I love how the different layers of the geometric wooden patterns add depth to the image, while still carrying an abstract feel. Also the sharp contrast between the colorless, geometric pattern of the foreground against the vivid, intricate pattern of the background, really make this image interesting to me.

Compositions - image 10 - student project

Ayush Saxena

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