Reflection

With the school year coming to a close, so does my HMP classes. Looking back at my mentorship, I have gained many experiences and lessons that I would otherwise miss in a classroom setting. I have learned new ways of Photoshop, photography, and the importance of business in the photography world. However, what I have gained most of all is the affirmation that I want to become a sports photographer. This program has allowed me to see what life is like in the real world and test myself how much I want this dream career.

 To get the most out of the experiences in my mentorship, I had to ask questions. Our discussions in the morning about different aspects in the photography world is where I learned a lot about the behind the scenes that the customers don't see. As far the future goes, my dream to become a sports photographer is within reach. With plans to attend Berry college and major in Marketing and Business, I have been blessed the opportunity to possibly help market and photograph a splash fund of a 72 tennis court facility that Berry is taking part in. With everything laid out in front of me and the experience of HMP under my belt, I know I have good chance of becoming a sports photographer.

For future students desiring to participate in HMP, my advice is to understand all that is asked from you and make sure you don't overload yourself. It's a tough program and I've enjoyed it but I already had a lot on my plate before I signed up for it so things got a little stressful. If you fall behind on the weekly assignments, it can add up quickly if your short on time and have other priorities. All in all, the HM program is a great one, just be sure you can handle it.

http://multimedia.journalism.berkeley.edu/tutorials/photo-cameras/

3/2

My plan  is to follow in the career path of my mentor, which is photography. Although I want to have a focus on sport photography, I would still need to take certain steps to get me to that position. My plan is first learn how to  market myself and products. Even if I had the best work out there, I need to know how to get people to look and buy my work and service. So I plan to major in marketing and business. This will give me knowledge I need to efficiently and effectively market myself. The main task I would have to do is really hone my skills and practice a lot. Going to events, whether it be festivals, games, concerts, etc. The experience is what will make me a wanted photographer.

As far as the mentorship goes with Jim Haynes, there have been activities where I really enjoy the time I spend there. My favorite is working on and completing collages for sport teams for the seniors. They are fun because we create them in photoshop and Iv'e come to get a knack for projects in photoshop .On the other end of the scale, the most boring tasks are usually the required ones. This includes sorting pictures and organizing folders in the NikonView program. It's tedious but without doing it, everything would be scattered. So everything usually balances out at the end of the day.

2/2

With the big presentation coming up, a lot is to be prepared to make it a success. For myself, I am researching a lot of magazines. The Outdoor Photographer, National Geographic, Shutterbug, etc. All of these Iv'e flipped through to find information and advice on how to create great images. They offer a range of information from Photoshop techniques, common knowledge that every photographer needs to know, as well as stories by professional photographers that have had their life changed because of photography.
With all the researching still going full head, I am also sorting my own pictures I would like to use for the presentation to do a compare and contrast module. These will display my work and display how I have grown over the year being involved in the HM program. Still though, a lot of work needs to be done, but the planning and researching is taking shape.

1/5

My question is, what's the difference between a good photo and a great one? Earlier my essential question was more narrow and didn't offer much wiggle worm. Now my question is broader in hopes I can find multiple answers. I want to know what are the key elements to create a great photo, than just a good photo that gets a thumbs up.

Asking this questions offers many answers, all which can be different. Because each person has their own idea what a great photo is. Being an aspiring photographer, I want to appease the majority. I want my work to reach all those it can. So asking this question is a way I can improve my photography skills by hearing the variety of answers from a range of people.

To showcase my project I want to show my own work but showcase the difference between my 'good' photos, and my 'great' photos.

For my real inquiry, I plan to conduct a couple surveys that ask what makes a great photo with several categories that can be voted by most important. I as well want to conduct a couple interviews with different people. My mentor, of course, but to others who have different views on photography.