Art Photo - Digital Online

Photographic work from students at Temple University, focusing on ideas surrounding the use of imagery in social media.  #apdoF17

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1) My favorite assignment was the one about our state of mind. I had plan going in and it ended in a different way than I had set out for. I realized that I needed to go with the flow and see where it would take me. Choosing to do that I was able to capture images that I felt showed exactly the mindset I was in during that week.

2) All of our assignments made me see that social media Andy our own documentation is important, but maybe now not as much as a way to appeal to others. Sites like Instagram, Twitter, and even Tumblr can make you feel as if you need to put out content that meets a certain criteria. Our assignments made me think past the surface value of images. Now I can attempt to think about what I post and if it will gather enough likes, or even to not post at all. 

3) I didn’t have much expectations other than to get out of my comfort zone. I did still assume that we would be given typical assignments and that it would be effortless. I like that there was this little push to think outside the box. Being more of a hands on person it was great to have a combination of taking photos, but also having reading and other artists to influence you. What I would change is having more interaction with other classmates. It could be used as another source to bounce ideas off of or just to reflect on assignments.

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1. The assignment I found most interesting was photography as a language assignment. It was fun to create photos about my state mind and find places to shoot in unexpected places. I really had to think about how to capture the feeling of disconnection in unique, unconventional way and I am happy how my photos turned out.

2. The class influenced me in the way of thinking about my Instagram as a creator and an artist. With my personal Instagram, I mostly just post pictures with my friends and family and different social experiences. Using social media throughout the semester gave me the ability to express different emotions, point of views, creativity through my photos.

3. I didn’t have much expectations for this class. I really enjoyed the assignments and topics and how their was lots of freedom to explore our creativity. I liked the use of social media throughout the semester, which I thought was different and unique from other photography classes. The feedback throughout the week was also extremely helpful. I think it would be interesting if students were required to give feedback/comment on other people’s posts to create a more interactive environment.

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1.  The assignment I found most interesting was the photography as a language assignment. The photos I took for that assignment were definitely my favorite just because they were pictures of the things in life that make me happy. I also really enjoyed the last assignment because it really allowed me to look at photos in a different way, and really challenge how I took photos.

 2.  This class how influenced how I may see other people’s photos in the future, but I think I will only see people’s photos differently on actual photography pages on Instagram or any of those social media sites, not so much my friends accounts.

 3.  This class was pretty much what I expected going into it, but I thought it was going to be more straightforward. For example, I thought we were going to be given places or things to photograph in different lights or angles. There was much more to it, which I enjoyed. The thing I liked the most about this class was how each assignment was so diverse and really made you think about the pictures you were taking. Something I might change, is giving us more time to make all the posts for the week. I felt like I didn’t always have all the time I would’ve wanted to be able to take my photos. Maybe splitting up the amount of photos during a week, and making it throughout 2 weeks. I’m not sure how to really give people more time, but just a thought. Overall, I really enjoyed the class. Thank you for a great semester!

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The assignment I found most interesting was “Photography as Language.”  It was fun and challenging to create photos that reflected my state of mind.  Taking and manipulating photos to express the words I wanted was difficult, but I felt that it helped me define myself as a photographer.

This class influenced me in that I got to explore social media in a more creative way.  Before this class, I only had a personal Instagram. I found that I could use social media for more than just personal use.  I feel like my personal Instagram focuses on my social life and happy times, while a creative social media account gave me the chance to express more emotions through a larger variety of photos.

This class was different from the past photography class I took. My last class was very structured, and it focused on the technical aspects of photography.  I found that this class was very different in that it focused more on the content of our photos rather than the technicalities.  I liked that because it gave me the chance to explore the way I photograph in a relaxed setting.  

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1. Assignment 5 was my favorite; assignment 5 forced me to be more involved in the entire photography process from conception to execution. I had to really think about what I wanted to capture and how I wanted to capture it. This assignment really help me develop as an artist.

2. This class influenced me as a cultural producer because it reassured me that there is no “wrong” way to create art. Every little thing that exists in the world is important. This class encouraged me to continue finding beauty in the simple things. 

3. Honestly this class was not what I expected completely. The last photography class I took was also online but was a lot less involved than this one. That class taught super basic photography skills but did not force us to really think about what we were capturing. Although the class was not what I expected, I was not disappointed. This class was very worth it. The only thing I would change about the class would be to limit the amount of pictures we need to post on Instagram. I thought 5 pictures a day was a bit much. I think if there was only 1 post a day it would help people really narrow down and pick their best images. 

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1. I really enjoyed the first assignment, I thought it was a great way to get us into the class and prepare us for what we were going to be doing. My favorite one was assignment 3 though. I really enjoyed the photos I took for that assignment. I think it was such a fun assignment for me because I got to really think outside of the box for my photos and I love doing that. It was just a really good assignment for me. 

2. I have started to think about what I post and how I post it a lot more. I don’t post very often as it is, so when I do anyway, it is always something different from what people usually see. Now I have started to think a lot of how people will perceive a photo and use some editing techniques to influence it a little bit. It has definitely made using social media a little easier for me. 

3.When I signed up for this class, I wanted to take a bunch of photos in different styles. That is what I got to do. I wasn’t sure exactly what to expect from this class, but it was something that I would absolutely take again. I loved the different assignments. It challenged us to think about what we photographing and prevented the use of the same or similar photos every assignment. I love the aspect of really having to plan and think about what we were going to shoot. I already loved photography before this class, but it has made me love it even more. 

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I found the assignments “photography as language” and “the truth in photography” to be the most interesting to me. For those assignments I felt like I had more creativity since they could be open to more interpretation.

This class brought back my appreciation of documentary and compositional photography. More recently I have been using Instagram for pictures of my friends and social events since I stopped taking photos with my film camera. I appreciated being able to think of Instagram as a platform for creativity again.

I didn’t really know what to expect from the class however, I mostly enjoyed the freedom in which we could explore our chosen topics, and the level of intrigue and depth that each assignment required. I also appreciated the readings and the artist lists as they helped frame these assignments in terms of photography’s current issues and ways accredited photographers are dealing with them.

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I particularly liked the truths assignment the most. I felt this challenged me to think outside the box and think of not just one truth that I am but the many. It was fun to play around with the composition of my phones to create these truths. 

Through this class I saw that a picture through social media can me many different things. Yes, there can be a caption / description but that does not always need to be what the photo means / what it is trying to portray. 

This class was what I expected. I enjoyed the challenge of creating through our phones and daily posting. This was fun and gave me a chance to use my phone camera in a more creative way than I was used to. I wouldn’t change a thing. 

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1. All the assignment were interesting to me. I loved the idea that we had portray a “Truth” in our images. It helped evaluate myself and be aware of my surroundings. All the assignments had a theme, that helped in my personal life. 2. This class influenced me, because it made me be more creative. Exploring areas and object to photograph, makes you think outside the box. The class was very influential. 3. This class was not what I was expecting. The professor did a wonderful job organizing the class and assignments. The class was an amazing experience.

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I think the most interesting assignment we had was the very first one we had. The others were cool but the involved more of me thinking in a different way and producing photos that were still in my likeness and image for the most part. They did not evolve me stepping super out of my comfort zone and shooting something I would not have shot unless I was in the class. The first assignment made us shoot in the image and likeness of another person who was famous for photography. Someone who has devoted their life to taking sick photos and being super inspiring. Not only did I find it challenging to shoot that week. I also wanted to do the person justice. They did not make there self a household name for some sophomore college kid to diss them.

This class made me think about the senseless things I put out into the world. Many people absorb the content I post and many people think the same way as I do, but I never think about how they view what what I post. I never think about who will be touched by my work or who will be provoked by it because I have never put any meaning behind my pictures. I have never tried to tell a story or to come across as odd thing to put out into the world. This class made me more conscious of my pictures.

I thought this class was going to show me the applications on my camera and work with me to understand the camera babble on my phone and my camera. When I saw the first assignment I was pleasantly surprised that I was going to be working on my perception and not my knowledge of technology. I loved the timing for each assignment and how relaxed it can be at times. We had the option to de everything all at once or to do everything in one day. I appreciated the freely moving pace of this class because it demands attention and effort but not in a constricting way Monday Wednesday Friday classes do.  

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Q1. For the last assignment, I have combined images from Old City (time changes), communication is a key, and a few new images that I took from Canada, which suits my series of communication is a key. Throughout this semester, I found imageries from Old City assignment and communication is a key the most interesting assignment. When I was taking pictures from Old City and preparing for that assignment, I was thrilled to go out and photo shoot with couple friends of mine and actually got a chance to capture moments from Old City. For the communication is a key, I have done a few projects related to the similar topics whereas I knew what I need to do and prepare. With a bit of help from professor Jamula, I was able to put more focus into it while specifying the meaning of series. Each single assignments were fun and exciting, but those two and perhaps communication is a key was the most interesting assignment I have done.

Q2. This class was a huge help for me to organize series for my photography. Before I took this class, I knew how and what to take a picture of, but there wasn’t any particular image or meaning that I wanted to capture. Once after we began this class and in process of doing the assignment, I have developed the skill set of building a strong storytelling in my series and in each picture that what I meant to tell other viewers. With this skill set, in near future, I’m hoping to be prepared in preproduction at what moment I want to capture specifically.

Q3. This class was similar to what I expected and yet had full of surprise to learn. I was told by one of my close friend (person in the last picture) this class was fun and nice. Once I began this class, as I explained in Q2, I have learned myself how to tell a story from those images I captured. The most I liked about this class have I actually had a good reason to go out for shooting and took my time to photoshoot some good images. I wouldn’t change much in this class structure, it was a great setup and enough to absorb each assignment, prepare, and submit our posts.

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1.    The most interesting assignment for me was assignment 4. I enjoyed the idea that we had to portray a mood in our images. It helped me go outside of my creative box, and look at different ways to make a simple image look moody by using a black and white edit.

2.  This class influenced me, because it made me look at things in a more creative angle. Most of my photography experience comes from being in front of the camera, for most assignments I had to be behind and in front of the camera. So I learned how to take photos, both ways.

3.    This class was what I was expecting. I liked that the assignments were spread apart, because it gave everyone a chance to take in the material, and also start the assignment earlier if we wanted. I wouldn’t change anything, I was content with how the course was set up.  

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I found the first assignment to be the interesting and the most challenging. I chose to photograph in the style of Andre Kertesz. Andre being a surrealist, I shot in a style I was not accustomed to and it really made me play with perspective and to think outside of the box while representing simple, everyday objects.

 This class influenced the way I post on social media because it made me realize how many people share images to fit in or for attention. Many images we see are altered and edited to fit some social norm or trend. I liked documentary photography, because it was raw and real than I am used to seeing or producing and makes a statement.

 This class is everything that I imagined it would be and I am glad I had a creative outlet that taught me so much and allowed for me to see things from other people’s point of view. I also like that the readings that made me question the way social media is being used today and inspired me to question and change some of my own habits.

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It’s hard to say which assignment was the most interesting as I really did enjoy them all. The most challenging one was definitely the first, where we had to pick a photographer and shoot in their style. It challenged me as I had to think more outside of the box and try to shoot pictures as Uta Barth would, which was not as easy as one may think! I loved the “Truth” assignment because we got to create any truth we wanted and display images in which we thought accurately portrayed said truth. The most interesting, maybe, would be where we chose a space with significance to us and took photographs of what went on throughout the week (at least that was my take on the assignment). I liked that specific assignment because after the 5 days, I was left with an accurate documentation of how I felt those days or what went on in my apartment.

I’ve always seen myself as a cultural producer as I do occasionally post to social media when I take a visually pleasing photograph that I would like to share with my friends (and some strangers). This class influenced the way I see myself as a cultural producer mainly through the class readings and the assignments that called for us to dig deeper when choosing a subject(s) to photograph. The assignments allowed me to think more critically and creatively when shooting.

This class was actually more than I expected when I signed up! I loved how the assignments were open to interpretation, and we, as cultural producers and photographers, were able to photograph what we wanted and how we wanted with very loose guidelines. I believe this structure allowed us to be more creative with our photographs and allowed for a variety of subjects from each student. There is absolutely nothing I would change! Thanks for being a great professor! :)

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1. The truth I was trying to express when shooting my images was the truth that not everyone is as happy as they look. The first day I wanted to show an actual photo of someone being happy and then showing how they actually felt. Then as the week went on I started to show the truth in a more abstract way. I wanted to show more of how the people that weren’t as happy as they looked viewed certain thing and related to certain things. 2. After reading the article, I believe documentary photography is still a thing today. There are many photographers that go out to capture political events or historical events to capture everyone in the moment, and make visual history. Although with all the social media apps that people use today documentary photography has been changed a little. People are taking photos to document them, but they are planning them out and editing them, and their intent is document them for themselves and show people how much fun they are having or how good they looked that day, not necessarily documenting someone or themselves in a specific moment that will mean something to many people one day.