SkillsUSA State Competition

Last Friday, I competed in the Skills USA State Competition. It was so hard! The day before, we learned that we had to have two mounted and matted prints to show during the competition done by that night. So around 11 am, I learned I needed two prints mounted and matted by 4:30! I ended up making my prints and then paying my lab aid to mount and matte them for me because I just didn't have enough time to do it myself. Thank for your help Barbara!! Then, then the meeting that was supposed to happen at 4:30 got pushed back until 5:30. The guy in charge went over all of the things that we would have to do the next morning. He told us that we would be given a studio set-up, told to use either Rembrandt, Butterfly or Loop lighting, and then we would have ten minutes to get it all set up and shoot it. Oh, and you only get three chances to get it right! Next, they would be giving you three images that you have to correct in photoshop to show off your skills. Next we would be given one hour to go out and shoot three subjects that they gave us and they have to be taken on campus. Then we would have an hour to photoshop them and turn them in. Oh, and if you weren't at the competition before 8 am, you would be disqualified.

These first three pictures are the three pictures I took for each subject given in that hour on campus. We had to photograph a product, a person using shallow depth of field and a geometric shape. So these were what I turned in, minus the logo of course.

This last picture is of the studio lighting setup that I did. We were required to do loop lighting, have in camera cropping so that it was only head and shoulders, have our main light at f/8 and our fill light at f/4. This guy was so impressed with my studio skills that he offered me a job at Bell Photography after the competition was over!

The hardest part for me, and probably what killed me, was the corrections in photoshop! They gave us three images that had to be fixed and it was really hard! We had a picture of a deer that was PURPLE and we had to fix it! Next were a couple of images that we had to turn into a panorama. The third one was an image that was completely twisted and distorted and we had to put it back to the way it was supposed to go. I feel like I did well, but I know they were all off a little. It was hard!!

Mom and Geoffrey came to the Awards Ceremony with me. I didn't place in the top three, so I am looking for other options for tuition waivers next year. A couple of my teachers have sent me things to look into, so hopefully even though I lost SkillsUSA, I will still be able to accomplish my goal from it. Thanks for all of your support everyone!