[MUSIC] Well this is an exciting time. We're going to take a look at student work and hopefully that'll be a model for you, something you can learn from. So let's get going. Haley Kooistra has always been fascinated by toys and their relationship to both the real world and the world of imagination. Haley's a good example of a student photographer motivated to create pictures by something important in her life. She was enrolled in a number of photography courses that I taught at Michigan State University. And she always found a way to center at least some of her assignment projects' content that she could symbolize with toy animals. Toy soldiers and other toy figures of many types. When it came time to make a final project in our course on studio lighting, she was ready for action and not only with her knowledge of principles of light but with her collection of toys and her creative spirit. What imagery springs to your mind when you read the title for her project? If Dinosaurs Had Day Jobs. Think about that. I've already given you a hint by sharing Haley's fascination with toys, but what image springs to your mind when you hear those words? One thing I'm sure of, and that is that you know, without seeing a single photograph, that you're going to be experiencing something unusual. The title is intriguing, confusing, cooky, funny, odd. And most assuredly, a phrase that I will wager not a single one of you have heard before. I know I hadn't. Near the end of this course, you'll be writing a photographer's statement to share whatever words you think should accompany your capstone project. Naming your project Untitled is certainly an option you could choose, and that is sometimes the best title. However, if you're interested in creating engagement by the viewer before they actually view any of your photographs, setting a tone related to that content that is assertive, bold, expressive, through the title. You might remember Haley's title and conjure up one that is similarly expressive. The photographer's statement conveys whatever information they wish to share with viewers to enhance their understanding of the pictures. I've seen 500 word statements for each picture in some exhibits and others where the only statement about the whole exhibit was something very cryptic and brief. Haley's statement about her project relates more to her process than to the content, leaving it up to the viewer and their imagination to draw conclusions about each scene. I've posted that statement by Haley as a reading for you in the course materials. Haley's quirky humor is in full force in this first photograph where she takes on preconceived notions about the value of jobs by showing what appears to be a domestic scene. In this case, a home kitchen with someone who, I assume, is maybe either mom or dad getting that ready to remove the latest tasty dish from the oven. One of her goals was to create lighting set ups that would replicate the normal light for each scene. And her broad, flat lighting here definitely accomplishes that purpose. The over-the-top, joyful expression that the dinosaur now has in its new household role is quite different than that which the toy's creators probably had in mind for a Tyrannosaurus rex with its mouth gaping open. Continuing with scenes of everyday home life, her dinosaur has become a gardener, and it seems to me that they're enjoying their hobby very much. You'll notice that in both this picture and the previous one, the other important elements are arrayed on the side of the photograph towards which the dinosaur appears to be looking or moving. She is taking good advantage of the viewers inclination to see those areas as being more important. Of having more visual weight just because the creature is looking or moving in that direction. The dirt on the ground also adds an important element of reality as the flooring did in the kitchen scene. I think, however, that in this photograph she did a better job of handling that background. Here, the out-of-focus elements of parts of a machine give an impression of reality to the scene. In the kitchen setting, I think the addition of a window, or small cabinets or other elements would have made the background seem more real. Her arrangement of elements on the background wall in this classroom scene, the example of numbers and what appears to be a flag, both of which you might find in any elementary school classroom anywhere, is also a key to its success. While the child dinosaurs are somewhat strangely standing on their school desk, well, perhaps that's what child dinosaurs do. The teacher at the chalkboard is clearly the subject of the students' attention. Haley carefully arranged the orange tabletop on the left and the stacks of blue books on the right to give the picture a set of framing elements that keep the viewer centered on the content in the middle. Perhaps in this photograph, she's reflecting on the experiences Haley had in her drawing classes, here at MSU. Where some very creative combinations [LAUGH] of human figures and odd objects are often set up by the crafty professors to challenge their students' drawing skills. Again, she's taking good advantage of the direction the dinosaur is looking to draw our attention through the area of it's gaze. She continues to use that element of pattern. A repetition of similar visual elements to create connections that tie the photographs parts together. There's a strong implied horizontal line connecting the table, chair, box, and easel. And as a viewer's eye sweeps from left to right it's brought back again in the other direction by this artistic dinosaur's gaze and body language. The dark empty background replicates well the darkened environment in our drawing studios. Here, Haley takes the dinosaurs into the realm of action and adventure with a concrete floor, a race car, and two very busy race car repair dinosaurs. In her control of depth of field, she had a key element here. Keeping the dinosaurs in focus in the foreground while the oil can in the background gives a bit of context without being a big distraction. Notice the fall off of light in the background, which you will remember from our kitchen table studio lesson with Peter Rabbit, and how it creates a sense of three dimensionality. Things are really heating up in this scene of a firefighter applying the hose of water to a massive wildfire. While I like the action of the figure in this picture, I think the background is so much lighter than the foreground areas that it becomes a bit of a distraction. And the placement of the firefighter's helmet on the left creates an imbalance in the composition. I think she would have improved the picture by placing the helmet in the mid-lower-right area, and perhaps by turning the dinosaur just a bit to aim the hose more toward the fire. In what I think is one of her stronger pictures, combining strength in composition, lighting control, focus selection and props, Haley brings the dinosaurs to the disco. The color choices, the pattern that arises from the arrangement of objects, and the emphasis on the DJ by focus choice makes this a success in creating an alternate reality for me. In this final picture, Haley brings her dinosaur to life in a simple silhouette, creating a classic white field lighting situation for the glass. There's a certain humor and at the same time, for me, a certain sadness to this picture that makes it one of my favorites. The strength of composition, control of light and shadow along with focus all with the simple elements of a glass of water, a toy dinosaur, and a few goldfish, combine to create a scene that I find powerful in it's content. I hope you've not only enjoyed the whimsy of Haley's project but also seen how the consistent elements of content, propping, lighting, vantage point, and also the variations on her theme give it a sense of authorship. A sense of stylistic signature that tells us the work all comes from the same hand, the same heart and mind. And conveys a completeness that is a hallmark of success. As you look at the projects of other photographers on various internet sites, and at the work of your peers in the near future. Look for the things that bring connections between pictures and that convey a sense of consistency of purpose that you can learn from. [MUSIC]