Senior Project #23

April 27, 2011 12:30-1:15 PM

Time spent: .75 hours
Total time: 31.75 hours

After the mentoring with Jason, Matt and I decided to try using Lightroom and to practice our skills. It was kind of difficult at first because I wasn't used to the tools and the setup since I used to use Paint.net for quick editing. However, Lightroom is more flexible and easier to use than Paint.net and gave me better results.

We also talked about the shirt design. Matt came up with a design on his own:

On the back, we decided to use a quote from a survivor. We really liked Mrs. Yee's quotes, so we are probably going to use this: "Every step I take is a step against cancer".

Senior Project #22

April 27, 2011 11:00AM-12:30PM

Time spent: 1.5 hours
Total time: 31 hours

Today, I went to Matt's house and had a screenshare session with Jason. We used a program called Teamviewer so Jason could show us how he processes his wedding photos after a job.

Jason showed us using something called Photomechanic. Most of his photos were shot using natural light or one flash. He sends 600-800 of the 1151 photos to his client. Before he does his editing, he chooses his favorite pictures for his blog.

Jason uses Lightroom to catalog his pictures. Unlike photoshop, it is useful for multiple image editing or quick edits. He showed us how to use the gradient tool to recover detail. Lightroom is useful because the histogram has a function that can show warnings of where there is no detail. After Lightroom, Jason uses Photoshop. He made a bunch of droplets, which consist of actions, to make it faster to edit. Then, he uses levels or curves to make the picture brighter or darker. He even showed us how to use the liquify tool to manipulate pictures. Overall, Jason doesn't really do a lot of heavy editing.

Senior Project #21

April 22, 2011 8:00-11:00 PM

Time spent: 3 hours
Total time: 29.5 hours

Nick, Matt, Emily, and I went to Nicole Werner's house to interview her mom. This time, we recorded the interview, but the lighting wasn't as good. However, we did the best we could.

Once again, we tested the lighting to see what the pictures would look like. Then, we did the interview.

Interview:

 

 Photoshoot time. The lighting was not working out very well. I was already on 1600 ISO and the pictures were still underexposed. The large ISO also made it more grainy.

 After the photoshoot, we went back to my house to work on t-shirt designs. We tried different designs such as the phoenix image inside the lettering, just plain blocky letters, slanted letters, etc. But we could not decide on a final product.

Senior Project #20

April 22, 2011 7:30-9:00 AM

Time spent: 1.5 hours
Total time: 26.5 hours

I went with Matt to interview Mrs. Yee at Skyline elementary. We brought the lighting and set it up in the classroom. First, we did some test shots to see how the pictures would look.

We decided to use this lighting set up:

 Here are the finished pictures:

Matt typed down what Mrs. Yee was saying during the interview while I asked questions. I was really interested by her story because although I have known her since kindergarten and am close to her and her family, I did not really know the details about her journey.

My favorite thing that she said was the thing about how she doesn't save things for "special occasions" anymore because "every day is a special occasion!"

Senior Project #19

April 21, 2011

Time spent: 1.5 hours
Total time: 25 hours

Today, I picked up the lighting from Adam's mom. His parents helped me set up the light stand and the umbrella, explaining how to put the whole thing together. It was different from what I used with Andy and Jason, but in the end, it is probably easier because it is a continuous light, so we won't have to take so many test shots. Anyway, I messed around with the lighting and took some test shots with Adam. Here are the results:

After taking pictures, I went home and edited them using paint.net. I used the curves feature that Andy showed me last time. I still do not know how to do skin retouching, so maybe he can teach me that next time I see him on Wednesday. Tomorrow is our first photoshoot with Mrs. Yee and Mrs. Werner! Hopefully it will be a success. I will be meeting and working with Matt during the photoshoot. 

Senior Project #18

April 20, 2011

Time spent: 2 hours
Total time: 23.5 hours

So far...
Mentor hours: 7.75 hours
Community service hours: 15.75 hours

• Talked to Mr. Arias. He had testicular cancer, not leukemia. And he is willing to help. Free on this coming Wednesday. I need to get back to him and tell him what time to meet up. Probably 1:30? But I will call him or tell him tomorrow if I know. 
• Nicole Werner's mom said okay to Friday. 8:00 PM. I got her address and phone number. 
• I asked Ms. Robbins about lighting today. She doesn't have any of her own. However, she said her friend Melissa rented lighting equipment from Keeble and Schucat. I looked online on their rental department and they have a lot of equipment that we could use including pocket wizards, umbrellas, flashes, soft boxes, etc. However, they close at 5:30 and rentals are charged per day, so for Friday, if we rent, we would have to pay two days worth of rental since we need it at 7:30 AM and at 8:00 PM. That will be our last resort lighting. 
• Since Mr. Martens does art, I asked him if he had any lighting equipment. He doesn't have the flashes, but has the umbrella and a light that works together to illuminate the subject. But he's not sure because it's his wife's equipment and he doesn't feel comfortable about lending it out. I talked to him after school as well and he doesn't have backdrops either, but he told me how to easily make one our of sheets. I will probably do that. 
• Mr. Martens also mentioned that Mr. Jordan had cancer, so I went to talk to him during lunch. I found out that his fiance currently has cancer. He is also willing to help and he says she could be a possible candidate as well. But he's never really talked about his cancer before, so he isn't too comfortable about it. He is busy during the whole spring break, so I should schoolloop email him to set up a date. We can probably put his photoshoot off until after spring break since we already have three photoshoots. 
• Adam's mom sent pictures of the lighting. We showed the picture to Ms. Robbins and she confirmed that they are softboxes and we they are best used for portraiture. That works out very well. I think we will be borrowing those lights if she can contact her boss and ask if it is okay to borrow them. That way, we don't have to worry about spending money on borrowing lighting. 

Need to do:

1. Respond to Mrs. Yee and confirm Friday.
2. Call or tell Mr. Arias about Wednesday.
3. Email Mr. Jordan.
4. Contact Emily Sison and ask about recording.
5. Pick up lighting equipment.
6. Make interview questions and prepare for photoshoot.
7. Finish shirt design.
8. Take photos of the group members in order to set up the "About" page of the website. 

Senior Project #17

April 19, 2011

Today I talked to Nick about shirt ideas. We were reviewing some inspirational shirt designs. Here are two of them:

Nick and Brendan are going to try to finish a sketch by Thursday (tomorrow). Hopefully then they can get it edited and set up for sale. We need to try to stick to the calendar schedule as much as we can.