- Rule of Thirds
- Framing
- Color Contrast
- Artificial Light
- Color Contrast
- Rule of Thirds
- Rule of Thirds
- Great Depth of Field
- Long Exposure
- Personal Project: Capturing Stars
- Long Exposure
- Editing: Exposure, Saturation, Brightness, Black Point, Contrast
- Leading Lines
- Artificial Light
- Crop Editing
- Rule of Thirds
- Color Contrast
- Artificial Light
- Rule of Thirds
- Foreground, Middle ground, Background
- Artificial Light
- Frozen Movement
- Color Contrast
- Close + Far Perspective
- Leading Lines
- Far Perspective
- Color Contrast
- Personal Project: Capturing the Moon
- Personal Project: Capturing the Moon
- Cloudy Natural Light
- Far Perspective
Reflection
Night photography captures a world that feels both familiar and transformed, with each scene revealing its own unique perspective. For my final portfolio, I wanted to explore the variety of experiences that come alive after dark while blending quiet moments with bursts of energy.
The stars over Foothills Park were a serene highlight. The stillness of the night paired with the endless sky felt grounding, and I tried to capture that sense of calm in my photos. In contrast, my city shots focused on festive energy. A brightly lit Christmas tree brought warmth and joy to the urban backdrop, while a Halloween house added a playful, eerie charm to the collection. Both settings reflected how light and atmosphere change the way we experience familiar spaces.
Closer to home, I turned to places around my neighborhood. These quieter, everyday scenes reminded me that beauty often exists in the mundane. The moon became a recurring subject as well. Its presence tied the series together, offering both a literal and symbolic light in the dark. Finally, the Sabrina Carpenter concert added a burst of energy to the portfolio. Remaining present in the moment while attempting to capture the movement and stage lights was both challenging and rewarding.
My greatest success was achieving clarity in my photos, especially in two areas that had always been tricky for me: capturing sharp, dynamic concert images and photographing stars. Before taking this class, I struggled with both, but now they’ve become some of my favorite shots. My biggest challenge was working with limited light—balancing long exposures without losing detail or introducing too much noise. Some of my favorite techniques were using longer exposures to bring out starry skies and experimenting with focus to perfect sharpness in low light.