This was the picture that perhaps gave me my "Aha" moment. I was very nervous when taking this picture, but I went out on a limb and I tried. The picture is slightly out of focus,  but I like the composition and the lighting. This was the first portrait that I took that was truly a strong image. I believe that this was also the picture that helped me gain confidence and gave me hope to keep trying and that my work was going to pay off.

I believe my strengths in photography is portrait and still life. I will never forget the time when I was getting my portfolio critiqued and one of the judges told me that my photography is strongest when I am capturing things that are most near and dear to me. As I look back on these past two years I have learned that he was right. When I photograph something that is near to me, or something that is a part of me...it unlocks something in my brain that allows me to be more creative and take the picture to the next  level.

Surprisingly, this photo is one of my favorites. This photo really allowed me to work with my favorite aspect of photography...off camera lighting. I learned how to successfully light both of my subjects and while properly exposing them both. This photo further helped me developed my "aha" moments.

This photo was taken while attempting to do HDR. I took this photo in my living room with no flash, and no tripod. This was tricky because my living room has very high ceilings and very dim lighting...This setup taught me how to improvise. I remember Smith showing us a video of cross lighting male fashion photography. I knew I wanted harsh lighting, and I knew I wanted rim lighting. So since I didnt have pocket wizards or flashes, I used flash lights! End the end I got my desired result.

This photo was taken while doing couples pictures with Brittney and Logan. This isnt my best picture, but I like it because I successfully lighted my subject and the point of interest. I took this with off camera flash in the middle of the night.

This photo and the following photo are one of my favorites. This is an HDR photo, but this is one of the photos that helped me capture still life successfully. As stated before, still life has never really been my greatest strength, but I think if I would have worked at it more, it could have been.

These photos are actually nice interior shots without the HDR touch. I felt that I framed the interior well and I feel that I successfully utilized the lighting at hand. These pictures were taken at a nursing home and the interior design and vibrant colors intrigued me. After my first attempt of HDR, this photo and the one above shows a milestone of difference because my first attempt of HDR was awful. But, once again I successfully learned from my mistakes.

This picture is important to me, because out of the 24 months I have participated in this photography class, I have never taken a self-portrait. I never did, because I had body image issues and until my later years of high school, I was able to take a picture of myself, or have my picture taken and not be ashamed of what I see. I am very appreciative of this photo also because I had to be very innovative. I forgot my tripod, had one flash and one light stand, and no backdrop. So, therefore I had to use my dad's bed sheet and skillfully attach it to the glass wall in the living room, and I used a chair for my tripod and set the self timer. I am thoroughly pleased with the end result.

This photo was taken when I decided to take a trip down to my dad's funeral home for an experiment with environmental portrait. I had an interesting time. It just so happened that while I was on a photography scavenger hunt trying to find something exciting in a funeral home (go figure), I saw my dad preparing for a funeral and he was getting ready to dress and casket a body. I thought it would be cool if I got up close and personal and got a different perspective of the body.

This following picture is my most prized photo. This is the photo that all of my photos were leading up to. This particular photo won me a Jostens. This photo was actually taken at the end of my junior year. I will never forget when Stan critiqued my portfolio and commended me on this photo. It gave me confidence and pride in my work. I learned that sometimes imperfection is perfection. I a forever grateful that Smith encouraged me to enter this photo, even after all of the competitions that rejected it. I am thankful that Smith pushed me to take pride in my work, because I would have hated to have missed out on an oportunity of a lifetime that is: Winning a Jostens