Project 2: Composting Imagery

1. What did you learn?
I learned how to combine different aspects of different images into a single project. More specifically, I learned how to cut backgrounds out, leaving a “main” subject in the photo.
2. What was easy?
Actually cutting out the subject from my photos was easy. We were given multiple methods in class. Of these, two methods were relatively easy to grasp, and only took a short amount of time to get relatively good with.
3. What was challenging?
The most challenging aspect of this project was definitely figuring out which of my original project 1 photos I could use for my background. I was fortunate enough to have a “theme within a theme,” which was a sleeping/resting cat.
4. How could your submission be improved?
The background was, in my opinion, the most boring part of my project, visually speaking. I think instead of a gradient of soft colors, I could’ve done the cloud method we worked with. To me, that makes more sense than what I did. The stars in the upper left corner aren’t something I love, either, but I wanted something there so it wasn’t just blank.
5. How could the professor improve the assignment for the next class?
What I struggled with most was trying to incorporate different subject-cropping methods, most specifically the pen tool. I did the other ones that were discussed, but gave up on the pen tool. Maybe for my project, it wouldn’t have made sense to use the pen tool, but I recognize the importance of it, and wish we could spend more time learning and understanding that tool.
6. How might you apply your knowledge in future assignments or work scenarios?
I can absolutely see the importance of image composting. Not only can it be used for main subjects (like the cat in my project, for example), but definitely in creating repeating patterns and backgrounds.
7. How did a specific reading or video inspire or help you?
The Harvard blog about Theodore Rosevelt never riding a moose gave me inspiration. I used that and found a few other readings to help me realize that my compost didn’t have to look like some “realistic” thing, hence the cats floating and laying on top of each other. It really helped me find some sort of creativity.
I have no idea how to explain why I decorated it like this, but I wanted my compost to mirror this sort of aesthetic that I remember seeing all over the internet in the 2010-2014 time period.
I wanted this to match my desktop, but this is where my creativity plummeted. I was thinking in terms of readability and clarity on an iPhone, so I put everything in the center.