1. For my STEP project, I participated in the Total Photography Process: Oregon and Washington program. This program served as a creative and artistic endeavor in which I honed my landscape photography skills by taking photos of the diverse landscapes of Oregon and Washington. Additionally, Tony Small, the program’s main instructor, taught me how to properly edit my photos using tools like Adobe Lightroom Classic.
2. During this project, I learned a lot about taking and editing photos, which in turn has helped me develop a growth mindset towards my work in photography. A growth mindset believes that skills are malleable and that expending effort can help improve these skills. Additionally, this minset encourages lifelong learning and embraces challenges and criticism as ways to grow. Prior to participating in this STEP project, I would describe my mentality towards photography as a perfectionist mindset, as my goal would always be the “perfect” photo: one that perfectly replicated my artistic vision. Such a mentality would often leave me frustrated over the fact that my photos often did not meet my frankly unreasonable criteria for being the “perfect” photo. However, my participation in this program has helped me realize that photography and photo editing is a process in which you are constantly learning new things and there is always room to improve. Throughout this project, my work and the constructive feedback of fellow Ohio State students helped me develop a growth-oriented mindset, think outside the box, and grow as a photographer.
3. One way that I developed a growth mindset towards photography was by adapting to problems and thinking outside of the box. Early in the project, I discovered that the ball on the top of my new tripod was stuck in place and would not allow me to angle or turn my camera while on the tripod. Despite this stress-inducing challenge, I was able to adapt by increasing my ISO, which would help me rely less on my tripod, especially when taking photos in low lighting. Any issues with brightness caused by the increase in ISO could then be fixed later using tools like Adobe Lightroom Classic (though there were only a few of photos in total that even needed to be adjusted later in Lightroom Classic). Another small setback I faced during the project was the fact that the group of fourteen people that I was with would often accidentally get in the way of each other’s cameras, especially at the marquee sites, like the numerous waterfalls we visited. At first, I would get frustrated while I waited for a clear shot, however I realized that I could be spending this time more productively by experimenting with different shots, whether it would be a bird on a branch or moss on a tree. Therefore, I practiced taking pictures of both far away subjects and subjects that are close-up while I waited to get clear shots of a star attraction. This experience demonstrates my use of a growth mindset because when faced with these two different situations, I was able to come up with productive solutions that helped me grow as a photographer. Rather than take the time to try and set up my broken tripod, I tried to minimize tripod use to only the situations when I would need it the most. Rather than simply sit and wait to take photos at places like Multnomah Falls, I would look for potential shots that would challenge my abilities while I waited. In both cases, quick thinking helped me continue to improve my photography.
Another way I developed a growth mindset through this STEP project was learning how to edit my photos on Adobe Lightroom Classic. Prior to this project, I had never utilized photo editing software. Initially, I assumed that I would struggle to work with Lightroom, as I have struggled with other computer programs, like ARC GIS, which I use in my geography major. When I initially worked with Lightroom to edit my photos, my perfectionism led me to become frustrated, as I was not able edit my photos to match my imagination. Initially, I assumed that my struggles with Lightroom Classic were simply due to the fact that I was not good at working with software like that. However, after realizing how I was getting frustrated for no good reason, I tried to look at the broader picture to understand what was making me upset. In doing so, I noticed how my belief that I was inherently bad at working with tools like photo editing software was causing most of my frustrations, as it suggested that I would never be able to edit my photos the ways I wanted to. As a result, I decided to change how I thought about my photo editing skills. Rather than thinking of myself as inherently bad at working with tools like Lightroom Classic, I thought of myself as inexperienced. Therefore, if I wanted to edit my photos like I had wanted to, I would need to gain experience through trial and error and through the advice of others who already had more experience with these types of software. This helped me better understand the software I was working with, allowing me to make the software do what I wanted. My experience with photo editing software demonstrates a growth mindset, as over time I came to accept the notion that I was not inherently bad with tools like Adobe Lightroom Classic, but rather inexperienced. Additionally, I accepted the fact that I was able to improve my ability of through time and concerted effort.
One final way this project helped me develop a growth mindset was by having each student present our work to our peers in a “world café” presentation. A world café presentation involves each student presenting their work to another student one-on-one. After one student presents their work, the other student would provide constructive criticism, then the two students would find a new partner to work with. When I presented my work, the suggestions I received from the other students on how I could improve my photos provided me with a new perspective of some of my favorite photos from the project and inspired me to go back and further edit my photos. This demonstrates how this project helped me adopted a growth mindset, as rather than simply brush off the other students’ critiques, I embraced the feedback as an opportunity to learn and improve my skills. By embracing this feedback, I learned how to use new tools in Adobe Lightroom Classic and gained a newfound appreciation of my photos.
4. Overall, my participation in the Total Photography Process workshop allowed me to change my perspective on photography through the adoption of a growth mindset towards my work. Since the growth mindset emphasizes lifelong learning to help improve skills, my next step is to continue to hone my skills as a photographer. Additionally, another future step is to examine what other aspects of my life could benefit from applying a growth mindset to them as well. One place I could apply this growth mindset to is my academics. Often, I tend to be a perfectionist when it comes to working on my schoolwork. This STEP project has provided me the mental tools to succeed in school without worrying about every detail being perfect. For example, a growth mindset would help me acknowledge that I am able to grow as a learner in parts of my classes that I struggle with. Additionally, a growth mindset may also allow me to gain new perspectives when I hit a roadblock when writing an essay. Such a change would allow me to feel much less stressed during the school year and would likely help me better appreciate and retain the information I learn in classes over the long-term.
Panther Falls, Washington.
After feedback from my peers suggesting that I initially ought to make this image brighter and try to find a way to make the green moss in the image pop, I spent a good period of time working with Adobe Lightroom Classic and its features, like one that adjsuted exposure and one that adjusted color vibrancy for each individual color.
The Lodge at Crater Lake National Park, Oregon
A Bench Framed by Branches at Multnomah Falls, Oregon
One of my “experiments” focusing on a far away bench and nearby branches