Assignment 1

Here are my pictures for our first class assignment! I'm happy with these photos, but I wish I had been able to pay more attention to the perspective when I was out shooting. This one was taken from the gazebo, and out of all the pictures I took and put in black and white, this one was my favorite. I think it also worked best for this project because I was able to manipulate the contrast and exposure of certain areas very particularly: the tree was darkest no matter what, and I was able to enhance the shadows around the photo by carefully using the dodge/burn tool. 

The first photo is the one I believe is the perfect balance of light and dark. I used the burn tool to change the way the windows were exposed on the lefthand side, blacking them out so that they all look more uniform. I also dodged the sidewalk so that the shadows from some trees behind me were more faded and less noticeable.

In this next one, I increased my brightness to make it look like it was sunnier outside. I wanted to keep some of the contrast while still adding more white to the photo. 

I really like the way this dark one turned out. The clouds are more visible and the trees on the side stand out more. I helped to bring them out by using the dodge tool to brightening the clouds, and the burn tool to darken the branches without losing detail.

This cool toned one looks great in my opinion. I did this by messing with the color balance. I prefer cool tones in general but I think they work well for this image.

For this edit I utilized sepia tone to create an old-photo feel. I like how it looks a bit faded and the clouds are slightly more blended together near the tree. 

I'm excited to get working on our next assignment. Thanks in advance for any comments or constructive criticism :)