Final Photo Critique

“Photography is a way of feeling, of touching, of loving. What you have caught on film is captured forever… It remembers little things, long after you have forgotten everything.”
— Aaron Siskind

This is my Final Critique and the critique of my 5 best images. 

I really like this photo. It is of my sister driving at night. It can fall under motion or night photography. Originally the photo was darker and you couldn't see my sister. I added brightness and exposure which made the outer ends brighter and the lights coming from the cars on the highway pop more. 

This photo is from when we had recreate pictures from a famous photographer .This photo was from the famous, Henri Cartier Bresson, the father of street photography. I think this picture came out really well. I especially like how I had a big building and a car in the background just like the original. If I could go back and retake this picture I would have my subject move farther away from the building so that it would be more similar to the original.  

I find this picture really interesting to look at. I took it for Urban Photography. The clouds and the sky look like they came straight out of a painting. You barely see buildings that are so boldly painted so seeing this in real life and being able to take a picture of it is truly riveting. To improve this picture I would try to take it as the car was turning so you can see more of the building and the stoplights won't distract you from the actual subject (the building) but still keeping it in the picture to add to its aesthetic. 

I took this picture for Night Photography. If you can't really tell from the picture this is a flash of lightning. I remember siting outside, talking to my mom and seeing it happen. I took me about 10 minutes of sitting down and staring at the sky for another lightning strike. Soon I finally got it! What I would change about this photo to make it better would be moving more to left so the lightning would be in the middle. I think doing that would make the picture much more captivating.  

This picture is really cool. I took this picture for reflection photography. I think the picture is really interesting because the clouds are reflecting off the black car. If I positioned myself better, I could have got more cars in the image so you could see the greater effect of the reflection which could have improved the overall quality of the photo.  

Final Reflection

What did I take away from this online course?

This was my first time taking an online course and it was a very interesting experience. I learned a lot from this course and also developed a new perspective and understanding of my environment and people in it that surround me. In this course we went over technology and how social media effects our lives today. By taking this course I have a whole new understanding of social media, technology, and  how it affects my life and the people in it. Especially for the good and the bad.


 Just by taking this course I have become extremely cognizant of how much social media affects my everyday life. I've learned that it has basically shaped me into the person I am today. I probably spend more time on my device than outside trying new things and developing new interests. For anything to be bad it has to have been good and that, to me describes technology and social media The good part is: Technology certainly improves our quality of life and makes things easier. The bad part is that it can take over your live if you don't learn balance. This also applies to social media as well. It is entertaining and fun up until the point where you classify your self worth off of how many likes and comments you get and that's when you need to draw to the line. Taking this course has really helped to understand what this line looks like and when it needs to be drawn. Computers, phones, and Ipads were designed in order to improve our quality of life not deteriorate our health and overall well being.


  This course has definitely impacted me as a photographer. I have learned so much and now when taking pictures I feel like a whole new person. My perspective has changed and improved drastically. When taking pictures I think of the things I've learned during this course and how I can apply them to my everyday photos. Such as ' Does this photo follow the rule of thirds if not should it", "how I am going to edit this picture later" or "what type of photography is this." I can say without a doubt that I took a lot from this course. Not only as a learning photographer but as a child growing up in this technology filled world. It has surely deepened my understanding of digital photography and this was certainly a great experience which I am very fortune I got the opportunity to take. 

“Taking an image, freezing a moment, reveals how rich reality truly is.”