Meet my Robot Friend

I've gotten creative with my "Companion" with regards to our Christmas exchanges.

This isn't anything new but rather an accidental tradition where we set a limit on our gift exchange. I think as children and perhaps young adults, somewhere, the message and the purpose of Christmas got a little lost among the growing list of "WANTS". I was talking with a friend about gift budgets for 'companions' and told her my budget was $75CDN. That's enough, I think. But she gave me a blank stare and responded with a "what are you ever going to get with that much???"

It's a good thing that in addition to my very expensive tastes, I have some less expensive tastes as well. I have a knack for geeky toys and games. Good thing for the gifter, huh? Meet my Robot Friend, Awesom-o.

He comes with two shopping bags too!
I took this photo of my subject on my laptop just to get started with my photo project this week.

This is how cool Awesom-o is! Complete with the toothpaste eating disheveled Eric Cartman on the inside. Boy, he looks exhausted.

I thought I'd mix it up a bit and place my subject in a jungle-like setting to mimic the trauma that could have potentially caused the expression on his face.
My initial take was poorly lit because of the bright background. I decided to experiment with lighting.

The first one came out too bright with my flash and washed out the original bright background.

I attempted the desk lamp at a downward angle facing slightly away from the subject to reduce any unwanted shadows. This is clearly the incorrect type of lighting and I'll need to find something with less of a yellow tint. Maybe I'll consider using a reflective board to bounce the outside light off the front of my subject next time.

This post is primarily for the photo blog/challenge I've decided to set up for myself (along with my colleague). I have a DSLR Canon T2i and I want to learn how to take better photos. I hate getting somewhere and having to make a billion adjustments only to realize I've lost the shot. The goal is to snap a minimum of 3 photos in a given week and then post by the Sunday. You'll probably be seeing quite a few of these types of posts. And who knows, I might get better at this ;)