Photo copyright Michelle Raigoza
I captured this photo around spring break. During this time I always find myself around the beach because it’s one of my favorite places to go to. However, this time I wanted to do something different. I know I wanted the beach to be very present in the image but I did not want it to be my subject. I have trouble taking images of people so I took this opportunity to challenge myself and take a step outside my comfort zone. I decided to take a picture of a different subject but still having the ocean play a huge role in the image. I told a friend to gear up in his soccer attire and get ready for a photo shoot. My overall goal after the photo shoot would benefit me since I have never really challenged myself or taken much risk with my photography.
I took the image during twilight, which is how and why you see the blue glow in the beach. However, I wanted to make sure the subject in my photo was not colored in blue. I used a red tone filter on my flash to add some color back into my subject. Since it was twilight, I was very aware of the amount of time that I had with light. I prepared before hand and made proper adjustments to my settings. For instance, my ISO was 250 based on the amount of light I saw. I made sure I had a fast shutter speed due to the waves I wanted to catch in the background and the movement of my subject. I enjoy taking images of the ocean and I want the ocean to stand out in the image as much as possible. I then changed my white balance to tungsten so that my camera would automatically take yellow or red hues from the sun to blue hue.
Overall I am pleased with the results of my photo shoot. For someone who considers herself a landscape photographer-taking images of people can be intimidating. But by taking risks you learn new styles, techniques, and tricks that you can apply to better your photography.
About the Photographer:
My name is Michelle Raigoza and I was born in Compton, California. My background plays a major role in my life and drives me to give my all. Being close to the ocean has always inspired my work. As well as bring me creativity by finding different angles to show people how the ocean makes me feel. This also inspired me to being a landscape photographer. I am very attached to the location of where I am from and I hope to make that known throughout my work.
To read more about the Northern Arizona University “Behind the Image: Guest Blogger” project on our blog, please read the introduction at youcansleepwhenyouredead.com/wordpress/4th-annual-northern-arizona-university-behind-the-image-guest-blogger-project. Please take a minute to leave your thoughts and constructive comments in the Comment section below – Michelle would love to hear from you!