Piano goes with the flo in the blues

Flo Gordon

     Getting to know Flo Gordon was enjoyable. We had great conversation and she was full of energy. She is a resident student at Owens Community College and is part of Piano for Non-Majors. We discussed tattoos, my camera, the class I was shooting photos for, even her schedule. 

        Searching around the room, I noticed Flo and how photogenic she was. Wearing all black made it a challenge, but I succeeded. 

   Portrait photography can be both hard and easy depending on your subject. You look at the background and the clothing. Also, the most difficult part was hiding the shadow of Flo. 

     Previously, I have shot people photography working at Cedar Point two years in a row. Working there increased my skills of working with people and talking to them. It's been a while since I have shot people photography. 

Social work major Flo Gordon practices her 12 bar blues

   Flo and I had a great time working together. We laughed and I showed her how to pose, but I let her also help out.

Piano for Non-Majors sings along with 12 bar blues

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Piano for Non-Majors class take note of music styles

   Trying to get photos for my Feature Photography assignment was interesting, yet difficult. Most of the classes that were exciting conflicted with my school schedule. I had to choose between three different classes, two of which nothing was intriguing enough to shoot.

   The chosen class was Piano for Non-Majors, instructed by Allison Ringold. The class meets Monday and Wednesday from 11 a.m.-12:15 p.m in the Center for Fine Performing Arts.

   When asked about the class, Allison stated she “loves teaching the class and gets excited when the students do great."

Owens Community College student Zachory Scott, front left, practices 12 bar blues in  Piano for Non-Majors.
12 bar blues is among the many styles the class is learning this semester. (PHO 245/Ashley Bowers)

    The students were learning 12 bar blues, which is a music style. Allison noted the lesson was “very enjoyable”. 

   I took photos that would capture someone’s eye. From watching them learning to play piano, I felt this was challenging.

   Trying to find something that’s part of my music beat is difficult because the lighting was bright and I had to wait for the right moment. There were times when no one was playing and students were paying attention to Allison. The most challenging thing about shooting my feature assignment was to photograph students at the correct angle so the sun wasn’t blinding.

    I am coming out of my shell when photographing students.

Capture the modifying moment

   When it comes to writing photo captions, they should always include the five Ws and the H: who, what, where, when, why and how. Photojournalists try to answer these in their captions.
   Captions can influence a reader's interpretation of a photo. According to Photojournalism: The Professionals' Approach, "captions can modify and change the meaning of a photo." Photojournalists serve as an essential means of communication that channel the task. Words can lack the smashup of the visual message.
   Sometimes readers decide whether they are going to read the entire article based on captions and photos. Poor captions are a definite fail.
   As John Whiting said in his book Photography is a Language, "A caption is a verbal finger pointing at the picture."
   In your caption, also known as cutline, consider what is happening at the moment the photo is taken. This answers the what question, and it should explain the action.
   A person's name should lead the caption only when the person is famous. If you leave the name out, readers might mistaken them for someone else. Always remember to name the people from left to right.
   Captions always tell readers when or where a picture was taken. Don't start the cutline with a time or place unless the fact is significant or unusual.
  Some photographers claim that extensive captions will annoy a reader's interest. The caption should be the place to tell readers if it was posed or not.
   Small details are unparalleled when creating a caption. Cutlines can focus on attention of different parts of a photo and indicate elements. Photos must supply a before and after. Black and white photos always cut out the color of a photo, which is important.
   Associated Press caption writing is well-known and used in every photo. Make sure that your caption is short, sweet, and to the point. Complex sentences are not needed and unrelated facts are unwanted. Keep different facts separate and don't mix tenses. Avoid the obvious and keep it simple. Also, when making a caption for an old morgue photo, make sure to identify the photo as a "file photo".
   Overall, captions are necessary and will give the reader the information they need for an article.
  

Pictures say 1,000 words, and more when edited

   In the world of photography, there are many things you can do to create an admirable image.
   To capture the reader's attention,  a photo should have the right amount of various elements, like  mood, lighting and composition.
   According to Photojournalism: The Professionals' Approach, it's best to research what the reader prefers. Whether it would be disaster, music, or wildlife the reader wants to be interested in what you are shooting. When taking a photo, make sure to set your aperture as well as your f-stop depending on where you are shooting.
   Light is also another important thing you need. As we all know, a picture tells a story. Say you want to take a photo during the night. Flash is possibly the worst thing to use because your white balance is off. Try not using flash and change your ISO settings.
   Cropping your photo is important in editing your photo. If you have a busy photo and want to focus on one thing, try to crop out as much as you can so whoever is looking at the photo can focus on the main aspect of your photo. Cropping is, by far, one of the important things when discussing photo editing. If you see something that you find should not be in the photo, you can crop that item out. You could crop an area out if you want to get a certain object in the middle of your photo.
   When dealing with the mood aspect of a photo, make sure that you are spot on and set the mood right as most would say.
   In the emotion aspect of a photo, you make sure your feelings are not staged and your reactions are open and natural. Emotional photos give the reader something to feel as if they were there when the photo was taken.
   Overall, learning the right steps in capturing an admirable image can seem to be tedious, but are worth every minute of the time you spend on the photos.