My Photography Assignments at RIT

How you evolve as a photographer depends on many factors. My photography assignments at RIT (Rochester Institute of Technology) revealed several of my photo shooting tendencies and shaped my 45 year career as a pro photographer.

You too can get a good idea of how your photography might develop by viewing these images and reading my self-critiques and comments. Taking an inventory of what type of photos you like to look at, what you like to photograph, as well as what you are already talented at photographing, will help guide you.

I was able to combine my junior and senior year at RIT, based on earning  college credits previously elsewhere. That enabled me to direct some of my own course of study. That included creating images like the one above that I could use to promote myself as a creative competent photographer.

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Fascination With Light

Likely more than any other reason for choosing photography as a career has been my fascination with light. How light can reveal characteristics like shape, color, texture, and create mood in so many different ways is to me, remarkable. The two close-up photos below were taken my last year at school and the center house interior was taken my first year as part of an architecture photography assignment.

Of course, the best part of having a fascination with light is that it can change or be changed and get a completely different result. ALL types of photography are dependent on lighting, whether you control it or simply find it.

Assignment: Working With Live Models

Ironically, in the beginning, before my very fist class, I envisioned myself as a commercial/advertising product photographer and had no interest in photographing people for a living. As it turns out, live models are often needed in advertising photography.

There was an ample supply of young people who agreed to be photographed as I practiced my craft. In theses first two examples I did not obtain model releases at the time, so I've blurred out their faces for this article.

In the advertising photo below, my idea was to creatively show the mood-changing effect gained by the man on the right from  listening to his portable music player.  I attempted to create a view as if it was through the bathroom mirror in the morning as these 3 gentlemen getting ready for their day.

We built the set, brought all the props, and got the shot in less than 4 hours. The biggest shortfall: the product was not lit sufficiently. That's me yawning in the middle.

Assignment: Shiny Metal Engine Parts

One type of photography that can be tricky to light properly is shiny metal and similar highly reflective objects. It can be tough to balance the brightness of the spectral highlights with the details in the shadows.

I knew a local car mechanic who brought me various engine parts and these are a few of my better images resulting from this assignment.

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I intentionally composed the two images above to have strong diagonals, one of the basic compositional techniques that often gives pleasing results. 

In the head gasket image below, the light was a little hot on the lower right, but I was pleased with the compositional balance.

The head gasket seals the cylinders to prevent leaks of coolant or engine oil into the cylinders, and vice versa

The photo below of the engine rocker arms reveals one of those tendencies that I migrate to frequently. The use of repetition of smaller repeating objects with one contrasting element as the main subject  is a format that I often follow.

Assignment: Ordinary objects Turned Into Fantasy

One of the things I discovered when I was exploring was my affinity for shooting subjects with repeating elements. These plastic Slinky toys were perfect fo the Time Tunnel and Loch Ness photos below.

Assignment: Improvised Uses

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It was unusual for me to have twenty dollar bills available when I was in college, but I did for this composition below.  I had to buy a pack of cigarettes, too.

The photo was a little contrasty for my liking and the gold money clip on the Winston playing cards on the left was not lit very well (shiny metal).

Another idea I conjured up for an "improvised photo" was the spaghetti photo below.  I was able to use my wife's latch hook tool and yarn. The salad is just a green cloth hand towel.

The three meatballs would have benefitted with more direct light to bring out the details.

The Whitman Sampler photo below was another attempt at creating a photo that tries to get the viewer to question the meaning behind it.

Assignment: Nature Photography

Sadly, I have no idea where I took this photo. At the time, before the internet or websites or digital photography was even a concept in someone's mind, I had no idea that I'd be sharing it on the web.

The sky was not cooperating to give me a stunning landscape photo, but I  still included it in the composition as one of four relatively balanced areas; the sky, the trees, the grass, and the water. A polarizing filter would have helped darken the water and would have improved the photo.

The brilliance and accuracy of the colors that 4x5 Ektachrome film produces is spectacular.

One of the tricks I learned later at a macro photography workshop was the concept of one subject against one background. The two photos below show that it's a technique that can be very effective.

Introduction to Nature Photography was my favorite course during my 3 years of study at RIT. I only wish that I had more time to shoot more 4x5 sheet film rather than the 35mm slide transparencies.

Summary of My Photo Assignments At RIT

It's a great time to explore your creativity and finding a direction for your photography. I explored mine during my college days at RIT. These 4x5 inch transparencies have been hidden in storage for over 40 years, with no one able to view them. Until now!

All of these photos certainly weren't successful, but I learned a lot when making them. I hope these images from my days as a student give you motivation and inspire your creativity!

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