Classmate Studio Portrait Assignment

Emma Kessinger is a junior photojournalism major at the University of Missouri. She balances being a full-time student, a waitress at Buffalo Wild Wings, and is a sorority member of Alpha Delta Pi. In her free time she enjoys painting.Emma Kessinger is a junior photojournalism major at the University of Missouri. She balances being a full-time student, a waitress at Buffalo Wild Wings, and is a sorority member of Alpha Delta Pi. In her free time she enjoys painting.

 

 

Visual Diagram:

 

Find and Share Inspiration for the Portrait Assignment

Assignment: Look in either print or on the internet for inspirational portraits in which you feel the character of the subject has been revealed and:

1.  copy and post or post a link to your favorite image on your blog – don’t forget to credit the photographer by name.
2.  Write a short analysis of why you think your selection is an outstanding portrait and post to your blog with the image or link to the image.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

I could not one single photograph as my favorite portrait so I am posting a few….

Steve McCurry National Geographic

“It was just a quick portraits of a school-girl in an Afgan refugee camp. But this photograph by Steve McCurry is among the most powerful images in National Geographic’s history. McCurry suggests that she captivates because of her look of “hopeless beauty.”

I have always loved this portrait from the National Geographic but I never have been able to put into words quite why I am I so drawn to it. I am not sure of her exact age in this photo but I believe I was only a few years older than her when I first saw this photograph. It just captivated my attention. I do not know how else to say it. Its such a  simple portrait but yet so strong. He really captured her emotions. Even if you do not know her story you can tell that something is troubling her. That she has seen far too much for a girl her age. The viewer instantly empathizes for her. Then McCurry went back years later to find the girl…

“Seventeen years after making the portrait, McCurry returned to Afghanistan, hoping to find out whethere the girl was still alive–and to finally learn her name. Sharbat Gula, now a grown woman, had survived…The best part was being able to help make her life better. There was a school built in Kabul based on donations collected from that picture.”

Julia Roberts by Herb Ritts for Vanity Fair – New Orleans 1993

I believe this is a fantastic portrait because it captures Julia Robert’s personality. One of the things she is most well known for is her smile and her laughter. If you have seen a Julia Roberts movie you can almost her the sound of her laughter when looking at this photograph.

Photograph by Annie Leibovitz

“Environmentalist Leonardo DiCaprio, at the Jökulsárlón glacier lagoon in southeast Iceland.”

I love the colors and the lighting in this photograph. The water and the sky almost look like mirror images. Leo’s placement in the photograph and his expression are both a part of what makes this a great portrait.

Beginning of my Advanced Techniques class blog

Hello, Hello, Hello!

I am reusing my blog from my reporting class at the Missourian…I deleted most of the old posts except my last one. We were asked to give suggestions to the new student reporters coming into the Missourian for this semester…I am leaving that post up because I like it and in case any student reporter wanted to reference it for any reason…

 

I am looking forward to this class. I have a lot to learn so I am excited to get started.

Hey future missourian student reports, here is some advice:

MOST IMPORTANT: Don’t be intimidated.

Don’t shy away during the first few weeks. The editors want you to succeed. They will be tough on you but thats not because they do not like you–its because they want you to write the best article possible.

In the beginning of the semester I witnessed a lot of people over-dose on stress and drop the class. It can be overwhelming. You just have to stop. Breathe. Break down everything you have to do into little steps.

Remember everyone else is freaking out too around you, they are just hiding it better. (What is that saying about ducks looking calm on the surface but paddling like mad under water?)

IMPORTANT:

Maybe because I was raised on tough love and knew I just had to tough it out but even when i was freaking out from stress I never seriously considered dropping the class. You just have to grin an bare it, this class is required for your major.

Excuses are not acceptable in the real world. Get used to not giving excuses.

I am a photojournalism major so I will not be doing as much writing in my future as photography but I still need to be a well-rounded journalist. I accepted that at the beginning of the semester and reminded myself in times of weakness. It helped.

Push yourself outside of your comfort zone. Then find what you can handle and do it. I would stress out during each week overwhelmed by all my other classes, work, and many other commitments…but you have to recognize so is everyone else. I usually got an article out during GA but if I did not get one out during the week I would attend an event on Saturdays or Sundays to get an article out.

Important Reminder:

Don’t hate me for pointing out the obvious….but there are worse problems in the world than stressing out over the privileges of your education. Sometimes I would guilt myself into realizing I need to not be so dramatic about what is stressing me out.

Advice on how to reduce stress or how to calm yourself down when stressed:

1. constantly make playlists of music that you love. seriously, music makes everything better
2. make yourself a Microsoft word document full of quotes you love about overcoming challenges. review it in times of weakness. for example:

• “I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.” -Michael Jordan
• “To succeed you must first improve, to improve you must first practice, to practice you must first learn, and to learn you must first fail.”
• “Failure is only the opportunity to begin again, this time more wisely.”
• “Don’t be afraid to fail. Don’t waste energy trying to cover up failure. Learn from your failures and go on to the next challenge. It’s OK to fail. If you’re not failing, you’re not growing” 
• “Some people think only intellect counts: knowing how to solve problems, knowing how to get by, knowing how to identify an advantage and seize it.  But the functions of intellect are insufficient without courage, love, friendship, compassion, and empathy.”    -Dean Koontz
• “You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You must do the thing, which you think you cannot do.”

Other random points of advice:

• After a little while, you will know how to prepare yourself for your encounters with your editor. They may sound harsh at times especially when you come to them but only have half of the answers to their questions. Soon your thought process will start to be: well what would my editor ask me if we were talking about this story? Then you will start asking those questions, getting the answers from your sources, and being able to answer all the questions your editor asks.
• Cover all of your bases. Get the answers to fill all the possible holes in your article.
• One thing that Katherine Reed always told us (and this is paraphrased): you don’t have to know everything, you just have to find it out.

If I think of anything else then I might add more before the semester ends….