Final Project

Looks like I fell off the scene for awhile. Being a full time mom and a full time student got the best of me. I took a photography class this past semester. Not sure I'm a better photographer as a result of 18 long stressful weeks but I am a little more knowledgeable with photography speak and techniques. Shooting in manual is fun and challenging at the same time. Now that class is over I think I'll keep my dial set to "M". For my final project I did an iMovie. I was the only one who dared to take this route. This surprised me considering everyone in my class was half my age and way more creative than myself.

My girlfriend Lareema and her husband played one of the couples for my movie. They were originally supposed to be the only "characters" but when I began to edit, I realized that I did not have enough material to work with. This photo was shot in their backyard.



This scene caused me so much pain. I could not, for the life of me, get the lighting right while shooting nor could I correct it in Photoshop. Because it is a movie, each picture had to flow. The problem was that each picture had its own hue so when it played as a movie, it looked totally crazy.



Out of the over 3,200 pictures I took, this is probably my favorite. (Did I mention that this movie was created with all still photos?)



"You may now kiss your bride!" We shot this under the tree in their backyard. The same tree where they actually exchanged vows just three months before. It was one of the most intense, romantic weddings I had ever experienced. Love them.



My friend Ashley and her boyfriend Vincent saved me in the 11th hour. Due to scheduling conflicts, I was unable to capture what I really wanted with Lareema and Cedric. The movie just wasn't going anywhere. I knew I would not be able to get Lareema and Ced in the same space before the project was due so I reached out to Ashley. We were able to shoot the next day which was a few days before my project was due. We went to several locations with twin 5 month olds in tow.



Starbucks in Artesia. Or were we ON Artesia? hmmmm.....



Something told me to snap BEFORE they walked out the door and I was so pleased with the outcome when I pulled it together for the movie.



Strolling through my neighborhood....





I was upset while shooting these frames. I knew they weren't going to come out clear because I was shooting toward the sun. To my surprise, it worked! The shadowy effect was exactly what I needed. God is always on my side.



Final location. Mountain view down the street from my house. I live about 30 minutes from downtown Los Angeles but on a clear day you can see downtown skyline.



I tried to upload the final project directly to this post but gave up after an hour and a half of technical difficulties. You can visit YouTube to see the end result. I know the beginning is long, lackluster, and quiet but I did it that way to kind of set the movie up. It was one in the morning. I was done. :-) Enjoy!

P.S. In case you didn't know, you can click on the word YouTube which will take you directly to the video.