Third Photo Assignment - Background and Depth Layers

The background and layers of a photo help determine the focus and clarify the subject/idea being presented.

In this picture, the elevated walkway on the left overlap Michael, who sits between the upper and lower levels of the image. The stairs provide a transition between the foreground layer and the background. The background is also balanced, not so complex at to take attention away from the subject, while not so simple as to create an imbalance between the foreground and background or lose viewer interest.

My three rules (other blog posts linked below):
First Assignment - Rule of Thirds
Second Assignment - Diagonal and Leading Lines
Third Assignment - Background and Depth Layers

Origami

Origami work from last year. First is a corsage order by Sean Li for Junior Ball, and the second is a custom Kawasaki rose order for a Sadies ask that never happened. I sometimes wonder if they were intended for me, but that feels slightly narcissistic.

Corsage. Entirely made from paper, except the ribbons and floral wire used to hold it together.

The "Vegas Six," as I dub them. The fourth one is hidden behind the third one on the right.

Cloudy Skies

Yesterday morning's cloudy skies made for some neat photos of the sun, which shone like a moon behind all the clouds. I took these while carpooling to school. The windshield between the camera and the sky made for some interesting effects, since the dust on the windshield hasn't been cleaned off for a while.

Second Photo Assignment, Diagonal and Leading Lines

Diagonal lines and leading lines direct the viewer to the main subject of the photograph. 

In this photo, the railing of the ramp directs the viewer to Michael and Anish, the subject. Although the background is noisy, Michael and Anish still stand out in the foreground. The third person far back on the right balances the photo's weight.

This photo uses diagonal lines to give a sense of depth. The background also is noticeably less saturated and contrasted than the foreground, adding to that sense of depth. The water droplets, the focus of the picture, is the only element that follow the vertical or horizontal axes, bringing it out as the subject of the photograph.

First Photo Assignment, Rule of Thirds

The Rule of Thirds is a common photography rule that gives emphasis to the photo and make it more appealing to the eye, primarily due to balance. The subject of the photo is normally positioned along one of the lines that break up the picture into a 3x3 grid, or at the intersection of the lines.

Below is Michael, whose head and forearm are roughly aligned with the top and bottom third-lines. 

I then edited the photo in Camera Raw (Adobe Bridge function) to bring out Michael's inner god.