Photobook

TiffanyOsborn-Photobook

Here we are! The end of the semester is here and with it comes my final hurrah (but certainly not the last of my photography escapades). This is the culmination of hours of hard work. A brief moment in time is my first phonebook but I’m proud to put my name on it- granted I was also proud of my kindergarten masterpieces.

I loved putting my heart into this book and see it come together. At first I was tempted to incorporate a significant amount of my vector design skills but ultimately decided that I wanted to keep it clean; this book is about my photography.

It’s been such a blessing to work with such talented people both in front of and behind the lens. I came to find a whole new appreciation for the world around me. I’ve learned to look in unexpected places and appreciate the extraordinary in my ordinary life.

Photo Contest

This self portrait was taken by me (remotes are great) with the help of my sister. She’s the MVP on this though, because she was queasily pointing my speed light and holding up the rope after just having her wisdom teeth out.

I created the image as part of another, personal blog post. The image is titled, Like a Fetter. I’d love for you to read more about why that is in my post. Visually, I wanted to create a look that made me look like I was pleading to be attached to a greater power. For me that power, in this context, is my Savior. I used the SQIBB lighting technique and a bit of photoshop (just for the light in the corner) to create the image.

I chose to do the ‘Me, Myself and I’ contest because it was so fitting with what I was wanting to get done with my blog. I had an idea for a post but wanted to create so visual content to pair with it. It worked well with one another. Here’s a link to that contest. I submitted my entry on July 14.

Fine Art Print

 

After an incredible semester it came time to choose one Fine Art image I would take to print. I’m proud of quite a few of the pictures I took but I thought this one worked really well as a wall hanging. I sharpened the edges a bit because I wanted it print sharply. I loved how it turned out.

 

This is how it looked hanging in the Spori building at Brigham Young University-Idaho. Photography, editing 

 

This is the original image, right out of camera. I bumped the contrast, clarity, made levels adjustments, and a bit of saturation. I also used content aware scale to expand the image so that it would print well within the frame area.
This is the original way I posted it on the blog. You can see the minor changes I made to prepare it for print.

I also decided to print this image; I thought they looked great as a set!

It’s been incredibly fulfilling to see the growth that’s happened throughout the semester and it’s been great to see that hard work pay off in a very physical, tangible way. I can’t say exactly how this new passion will play out in my life, but I’m excited to find out.

 

Top 8

This semester I dove head first into an artistic medium that I’ve always loved but knew very little about. The more I’ve learned, the more I’ve felt impossibly overwhelmed, the more I crave additional knowledge. Perhaps these aren’t the best photos I’ve taken so far [this semester] but they are some that I’m proud to have my name on. I’m far from knowing everything, but it’s been satisfying to see growth and know that I can look forward to more.
One thing is certain, the best is yet to come…

 

I am Like the Moon…

I just wanted to share a quick thought I had a few nights ago while reading the scriptures:

I am like the moon. But unlike the moon, I may become as the sun- radiating light and warmth of my own. For now though, I am a body, made of celestial material and my purpose and power are fulfilled only as I reflect light from the Son. For now at least, I am like the moon.

Bannack Best- Fine Art

This picture was made using three separate exposures that were composited into one. 

I loved the texture on this building. The entire thing was rich with color and peeling paint. It was adorable.

This chair was in an abandoned saloon. I loved the natural light and the juxtaposition between the smooth leather and rich wood grain. This beautiful lantern was in a Mason Lodge. It was so fascinating to see this building that still serves its purpose. It was a great experience to see some of that culture.This was a the top of a fence corner that surrounds the local graveyard. I loved the texture and jagged nails. This sepia image of a Ford truck brought me back to being a child, restoring Model-A’s with my grandpa. I love the memories associated with these classic vehicles, and that was just heightened by the classic setting.

 

Bannack Best- Portraits

This week I dragged myself out of bed at 4:30 AM to get on a bus and spend over 12 hours at Bannack Ghost Town with the rest of the Comm 300 students at BYUI. While early mornings and I aren’t exactly compadres, I had such a blast! It was challenging, and exhausting and so much fun.

This image is one of my favorites. The most amazing part? Other than the amazing setting, costuming and model- the lighting. It’s all natural. The moment I looked in my view finder- teetering precariously on a window sill- I knew I was going to love these images.

For the next two images, I decided to incorporate the same SQIBB lighting I used last week into this weeks’ images. Just like before, we were shooting in the middle of the day. We used a snooted speed light to achieve this effect. 

This picture was taken using natural window lighting. I cranked my ISO down and played with my settings and got this shot. This image, along with the next three were the same natural lighting used before. Nature was being kind to me.
This portrait was taken using the same general principles as the SQIBB method but was taken with a continuous light and the ambient window light. This photo, and the one below were taken using natural light and a gold reflector. This portrait was captured using natural lighting.
Finally, because I was in a ghost town, I had take a ghost picture. It was taken using ambient light  and a long shutter speed. I took it while we were exploring and abandoned gold mill.

Portraits

This week was all about portraits, and not just a few. The good news is that I have some good looking friends and family. The biggest challenge was getting people to photograph. I set up 8 shoots and I ended up having 3… and the third was done because it was in desperate need of more pictures.

Individual – Side Composition:

This is my sister Taylor. She happens to be one of the most beautiful human beings I’ve ever known.

Individual – Head or Head & Shoulders:

This beautiful woman is one of my best friends. She’s a little goofy but that’s one of the reasons I love her so much. She also happens to be my grandmother, but my friends affectionately refer to her as ‘grams’. The coolest part is that this was taken during the middle of the day. It was part of a chiaroscuro activity using a technique called SQIBB (Studio Quality Invisible Black Background).

Individual – Full Body:

Group Activity:

This is what happens when you make your friends sit on a couch and ‘play the guitar’. In reality they were randomly strumming and singing an off key version of Old McDonald. While the situation was posed, this moment was certainly candid. I like my friends, I’ll keep em’,

Group Posed:

These two ladies are some of my best friends. They’re quite a blessing.

Individual or Group Environmental:

I took my sister out on a shoot. When she didn’t realize that I was looking at her (she was texting and letting her feet take a break from the heals) I snapped this shot. I’m so grateful for her.

Portrait Enhancements:

This picture was also taken using the SQIBB technique, except I hadn’t figured out the right settings yet. Very little of this picture looked the way it did when I shot. I decided to develop it because I loved the way my mom’s eyes looked. The background as a light tan color (the color of the wall she was sitting against). I painted the background black. She was saying something but I kept taking pictures anyway. This is the result. I also helped even her complexion and get rid of a few blemishes.

Match Color:

Replace Color:

Her necklace was initially the same cream color as her necklace but I decided to add a pop, the same color as her lips.I did a quick selection, used the selective color brush and then used a Gaussian Blur to make it blend a bit more naturally.

Macro

This week in a word? Lightroom. My workflow will forever be grateful for my friends at Adobe, because this program is a game changer. It helped me focus more time on taking the images and cut down significantly on editing. It gave me more time to be creative and conceptual. That’s why I decided to take on the eye photos. I’ve seen this photography before but I didn’t think I’d ever be able to do it myself. This week was so much fun because it forced me to look at the world in a new way. The perspective to focus on the ordinary and recognize the beauty in it is one that will bleed into every aspect of my life. I can’t wait.

My beautiful twin sister’s eyelashes with her blue eyes out of focus in the background.

An interesting shot of my eye. They help me see the world and now I’m seeing them in ways I never have before.

My friend Dax has beautiful eyes. Naturally I had get some shots of them. 

My sister’s finger and idea turned out really well. Especially in black and white. I thought it told a more interesting narrative in black and white than in color.

A water droplet on my grandma’s succulent. I just liked the stark background with the textured bright green foreground

These photos were taken in order to play with interesting refraction and focus. I had a great time learning this new skill as well!  On to the next one!

 

Perspective of Twelve

12 images. 1 subject.

Being able to photograph my favorite book (my great-grandmother’s at that!) in twelve ways was an incredibly fun challenge to tackle. I took this opportunity to try and make my images better. With that opportunity came the responsibility to push myself in ways I never have. For the first time I used macro tubes, a light box, an LED light with a cowboy stand, a 50mm lens and an 80mm lens.

For many photographers these tools are old hat, but for me it was a new frontier. I loved it. Perhaps these aren’t the best images ever captured but I’m really proud of the work I did this week. I love the fact that I wanted to put my name on these pictures. It’s an exciting development. I can’t wait for next week!

I used a picture I took at Island Park last week as a texture for my collage. I used an overlay blending mode at 50% opacity to achieve the desired response.