Metal/Glass Assignment

For this assignment I worked on shooting metal while my classmate Sarah shot glass. For metal, I used an iPod with broken shards of CD's surrounding it to represent the change in technology that has overcome the music industry in the last decade. In order to keep the iPod's shape and writing visible,  I used a reflector and generally low lighting so as not to blow out the color. Below is the photo and lighting diagram.

Between 1999 and 2009 U.S. CD sales were cut in half, forcing music retail stores to cut back on stock or go out of business. This decline in sales is largely attributed to the rise of digital technology and online piracy.

Here's a rough sketch of how I lit the scene:

Studio Portrait

Here are a couple portraits of classmate Dak Dillon from the studio:

Dak Dillon’s demanding schedule revolves around photography. The 21-year-old photographs sports, portraits, events and more for clientele in the central Missouri area while studying photojournalism at the University of Missouri-Columbia.
 

Dak Dillon almost always keeps his camera on him. Having shot private photography for over four years and studied photojournalism at the University of Missouri for the past three, Dillon’s time and energy is devoted to photography.

Lighting Diagram:

Inspirational Portrait (additional link)

For some reason that portrait photo isn't showing up on my computer any more. If it's not working, here's a link to a google image:

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.janicedugas.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/andy-warhol.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.janicedugas.com/top-10-paid-prices-for-photographs/&usg=__9Pw2tVQwx0rwejOgZWMG3Ml3lwg=&h=255&w=250&sz=17&hl=en&start=0&zoom=1&tbnid=FQO1ZcmZZcYNOM:&tbnh=169&tbnw=166&ei=0kFUTbOxOoudgQeg2_38CA&prev=/images%3Fq%3Drobert%2Bmapplethorpe%2Bandy%2Bwarhol%2B1987%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dsafari%26sa%3DN%26rls%3Den%26biw%3D1217%26bih%3D656%26tbs%3Disch:1&um=1&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=561&vpy=98&dur=379&hovh=173&hovw=170&tx=115&ty=80&oei=0kFUTbOxOoudgQeg2_38CA&esq=1&page=1&ndsp=16&ved=1t:429,r:2,s:0

Inspirational Portrait

Photograph by Robert Mapplethorpe

Robert Mapplethorpe's 1987 portrait of Andy Warhol is, to me, a perfect example of a portrait revealing the character of the subject while retaining the image quality required of any great photograph. Using geometry to his advantage, Mapplethorpe centers Warhol's head in front of a light circle on a dark backdrop, moving the viewer's eyes immediately to Warhol's face. The artist's eyes show sadness, and combined with his expression gives the viewer the sense that Warhol was troubled. This lines up with Warhol's shy yet sincere and introspective personality, and becomes especially powerful when considering the portrait was made shortly before his untimely death. Between the use of the geometrical background and capturing such a sincere, emotional expression, Mapplethorpe was able to turn his portrait into as artistic a statement as the works of Warhol himself, simplistic but powerful, capturing a mood the artist never managed in a number self-portraits.