Justine McDaniel, Photo #2, Folk Festival Volunteer

Volunteer Leslie Barden discusses the Washington Folk Festival at Glen Echo Park in Glen Echo, Md. on Saturday, June 1.

In this shot, I was able to capture part of the festival in the background, which I really like. I tried to frame Leslie in the left third of the shot; since it's so up-close it turned out more like the left half, but I think it is effective, and I like the depth of field I achieved. I used the brightness/contrast, levels and curves tools for this photo. I had a hard time getting her skin tone right and I was careful to try to make it true to life. I also used the burn tool on a very low transparency for part of her hair.

Washington Folk Festival Leslie Barden takes a break on the first day of the festival at Glen Echo Park on Saturday, June 1.

Leslie was all smiles in person but a little shy in front of the camera, so I tried to talk with her and capture her naturally rather than having her pose. It worked to some extent, although this shot is my least favorite out of the three I chose. I do like the natural expression on her face and I think the framing worked. I had her sit on a curb so I could get a neutral background, and I liked both the background and taking the shots from above.

Volunteer Leslie Barden at the Washington Folk Festival in Glen Echo, Md. on Saturday, June 1.

This is my favorite photo. I love the direct gaze, and I feel like this one really captures Leslie. I was trying to capture her eyes, and I succeeded with this photo. I adjusted the brightness, contrast and curves for this one,  but it was easier to correct than the other two.

I was pretty happy with this photo shoot overall. I learned not to forget to pay attention to lighting, as I took quite a few really good photos and realized when I got home that there were dappled shadows all over Leslie's face. I also learned to shoot just a few more than you think you need to-- my favorite shot ended up being the very last one I took. None of my wide shots came out very well, and I struggled a little bit with achieving the right depth of field. I still got distinct pictures, and each one of these conveys a different mood to me. I would like more practice with aperture and to experiment more with wider shots, but this project was really helpful in getting to know my way around the camera.