How many times have you sought validation for your photography from others? When you first start out, every (or most) photo you take feels important.“Look! Look what I learned to do!”You set up flowers in your kitchen and practiced lighting—(If you change the “you” to “I” and “me”) I took my camera on walks with my children so I could snap photos of butterflies. I uploaded those photos to the photography group I joined and… Had someone say, “This is good, but not quite there.” What the heck did that mean? Or, I proudly displayed a photo where I had just learned to select a single color and turn everything…
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Every photo you take can never be taken again. Simple truth. Even a photo of a statue—take the same photo again, and it’s a second older, or the lighting has shifted. When someone says, “This photo can never be taken again,” it can lose some of its impact if we apply it to every photo captured. More often, we apply that sentiment, this photo cannot be retaken, to photos of fields that were later paved over with asphalt or replaced by apartment buildings. Buildings demolished. Moments captured between two people who are no longer with us. A child whose grown and on their own now. We once moved into a…
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Have you ever noticed that lol now looks like a person throwing their arms up as if to say they give up on this conversation? Just me? Okay then. Moving on. Sorting through old photos on a hard drive, I came across a classic example of how just changing where you stand when composing a photo. In this case it was a field trip to Gettysburg Civil War Battlefield. The lighting, the blue sky, and the history surrounding me. Perfect place for a school trip and practicing photography. I took this photo, looked at my screen and realize it would like much better with the stature facing me. So, I…
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What’s wrong with this photo: No, I’m not expecting you to track down my email/phone number/home address and give me your opinion. Nor do I want you to, life is scary enough as it is. Just answer in your head, ok? Or, if you must, write it down somewhere, but this isn’t a test. I know what bother me, what bothers you? This photo wasn’t planned out, although I’ve been eyeing this location as I sped by on the highway for awhile now, always intended to stop when the lighting is good and I have the time. Well, I finally stopped, short on time and iffy on lighting because I…
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The many of photography blogs I’ve come across these days do less talking and more selling. There is a reason I have more photography bags than my closet can hold. Those blogs that don’t mainly sell provide tons of information—how to set up lighting, tips on the best camera settings for sunset photography, or how to start a photography business. A quick internet search will give you more advice than your brain can absorb. There are even sites that collect links to other sites. Of course, it’s worth keeping in mind that even the “standard rules”—like the Sunny f/16 rule or the famous rule of thirds—work in most cases, but…
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Have we ever truly answered why certain things—photos, in this case—appeal to some people and not to others? What makes two individuals look at the same image and notice entirely different details? A play of light, a shape, figures seated in isolation will catch my eye. I can barely raise my camera fast enough to compose the scene and capture that fleeting moment in time. How many times have I uploaded photos into Lightroom—often stumbling across ones I’d forgotten to process (oops)—and spent time tweaking and editing in an attempt to recapture the moment, only to realize that they hold little appeal for others? Yet somehow, the photos I took…
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Why write a photography blog? I’ll let you know when I remember. Let’s talk logos instead. I’ve spent hours—real hours—playing with logos. It was easier than dealing with the themes available in WordPress, but I’m not ready to talk about that yet. So, logos. Years ago, I went a little crazy watermarking my photos. It didn’t matter what the photo was—I even accidentally watermarked personal photos of my kids. Even then, the watermark was nothing fancy. Everything was great, I was happy, then one day, I read an interesting article claiming watermarking was stupid and only arrogant people did it. Having a random relative ask why my name was on…