One of our assignment in Visual Studies is to photograph the Gestalt principles on South Congress. So we all took to the streets to capture everything that South Congress or SoCo has to offer. At a glance, the assignment is easy enough take photos that show containment, grouping, and closure to name a few principles. After everyone went out to shoot, and we started to share ideas most pictures look the same. We all took photos of the same objects that peaked our interest.
After the professors individually critiqued our images they made us question what how we see the world. My thought process was I have to shoot his let me take pictures that show this and go from there. The question posed to me was how to stand out in a sea of many. We are all creative people, so how do I stand out.
I never really considered myself an art student or artist I’m a photographer. I quickly realize that the sooner I lose that notion of myself the more I will absorb and create.
We had to present our work and view everyone else’s, work. After a couple of presentations, it is easy to see who took the time to shoot multiple times and who just threw something together. You see the people who consider themselves “artist” shot once, colorized and image and said it was interesting. The artist who did not know how to use the equipment but went out several times and created interesting pieces. It is about learning and experiencing through the process that is laid before you.
Out of about two hundred and fifty images, I narrowed it down to five, and I am presenting two to you. My picture of a margarita has a lot of Gestalt principles, but the reason I enjoy this image is its simplicity. It is a margarita in a plastic cup. How can I make this photo better? The highlights are too high on the left side of the cup. There could be more color in the negative space of lighter on the right side of the foreground, not a lot just enough to make it pop. The composition altered to create better lines, so your eye flows through the image.
The flower and mug have more color and texture throughout the frame. This image would benefit from a more purposeful dynamic composition. This photo would benefit from more texture in the dark color. The contrast between the colors makes it an attractive image. The triangle formed by the background to the flower and then the mug. The image has the separation between foreground, middle, and background.
Before I settled with these images, I shot well over three hundred photos. Gestalt was in many of those photos, but to me, these were the most interesting.