Re: Photography Techniques

Reflections:

This photo was taken in Tanzania, Africa, and has an extreme contrast between the blues and whites which gives an amazing reflection in the lake. Not only can reflections be created with water, but they can also with mirrors, shiny objects (like spoons), or television sets.
With Reflection photography, it's easier to get more creative especially if your icon is someone you're related to, or if it is yourself. You can picture someone that can be portrayed as someone else, but you being the model. I also think it gives an original feel since most photos will be self portraits.
Reflections also work well if you want your audience to look closely at your photo because with some reflection photography, people really have to get a good look at what actually is in the photo. In one example, there is a photo of a wine glass with water in it, creating a reflection that people really have to get a good look at. I know when I first saw it, I was curious about what actually was in the reflection.


Macro Photography & Unique Perspectives:

In this photo, I used the Macro setting in order to focus on the rose's detailed petals. If you click to view the picture larger, you will notice that some petals are focused on, while others are blurred. This was not photoshopped, and you can see that the edges of the petals look crisp and sharp while some others look a bit more brown. I think not only does this picture demonstrate Macro, but it also shows a unique perspective. Getting lower closer to the subject helps create a more centered and focused on effect which gives your audience a different feel.
In my opinion, Macro photography is a good technique to use when you want to portray something very small, in a lively way. I also think that unique perspectives draws an audience towards the photo and it definitely shows creativity.


Rule of Thirds & Bokeh:

The shot I took of the peacock was obviously not centered, and I used Rule of Thirds in order to give the photo a little more dimension. The basic definition for the technique would be-
"The rule of thirds is a compositional rule of thumb in photography and other visual arts such as painting and design." One way to visualize it is by dividing the photo into 9 boxes. The subject of your photo can never go into the middle boxes; you want them to always be in a third of the photo.
While the bird is in a third of the photo, the background gives a Bokeh technique. It's not focused on at all and it gives that look of being painted. Bokeh techniques makes part or the whole photo look soft.