I’m terrible with blogs.

I havent done a whole lot lately, but one late night recently I did a random photo shoot with some friends, Haley Patterson and Sahar Joudeh modeling prom dresses!  Photographer and friend of mine, Jake Simpson came over also and helped out a lot!  It was really fun, mainly because us girls got all ready in prom dresses and every girl’s favorite part about “prom” is the getting ready part! (and yes, I did end up taking the pictures wearing a big poofy prom dress.) The idea behind it was basically…. that we didn’t really even have an idea behind it!  Haley said, “lets do a fun shoot”. I said, “Okay, what do you want?”  She said, “something flowy!”  I said, “got prom dresses?” and BAM. we ended up doing a shoot in prom dresses at 1:00 in the morning. Although the result I suppose wasn’t exactly “flowy” but you can never expect a shoot to go exactly how you said it was going to be at the beginning. It was one of those shoots where one thing just led to another and you just kinda went with it!  I’m really thankful Jake let me use some of his lighting equipment and showed me some things.  

I’m learning that lighting really is one of the most important elements in what makes a photograph great.  The other thing is vision.

I’ve been having a few conversations with photographers lately about it and I greatly appreciate the little motivational speech Atlanta photographer, Zach Arias and California photographer, Syl Arena gave the other night at a mixer I attended recently. They got into talking about how being a great photographer comes down to vision, networking, a few other things. 

I look around and it seems like EVERYONE is becoming a photographer now because everyone not only loves taking pictures but nice cameras and editing programs are so accessible and affordable to more and more people these days.  And in reality… everyone in the future is going to be able to get their hands on technology that can “do it all for you” where technical skill is going to be worth nothing and all you have left is vision. I hear more and more from people who have bought a really nice DSLR that’s much nicer than my little Rebel Xti and say “Yeah I just got it! but i dont know how to use it!”  Whatever you do, don’t EVER tell a photographer “You’re photos are great! You must have a really nice camera!” That photographer might smile and laugh in response, but only because they’re trying to keep themselves from ringing your neck.  The thing is…. you can get the best camera out there but it doesnt mean you’re photographs are going to look better. It doesnt mean your photographs are going to more interesting. It’s NOT the camera that makes the photograph.  

I sometimes envy those who have nicer equipment than I do, but then I just have to remind myself that it’s not always about the equipment.  Experimenting with what you do have and what you can get your hands on forces you to be more creative.  Everything comes down to vision. I’m starting to have to engrave that into my head now because getting caught up in getting more “stuff” can only help to a point. If you don’t have vision or the determination and perseverance to constantly challenge yourself creatively and to follow through with that vision, then you might as well stop with what you’re doing. To be honest, I sometimes just want to give up with trying to think of something more creative or just look at my work and say, “This sucks!” But I know I can’t just simply give up.  If you have passion and feel like you have the vision or at least can work on your vision as a photographer, then go for it!  By the end, it really comes down to those who have stuck through not only their success but also their failures.

Also, as artists we need to constantly have others critique our work.  Constructive criticism is very important in growing as an artist.  Constantly hearing from others, or telling others… “Good stuff!” “I like it!” “Nice!” is great and all…. but we love to hear from those that specifically say…. “Nice composition, great colors, maybe watch out for cutting off your models’ limbs in the frame though.”  Stuff like that really helps.  If you aren’t in school and cant ask classmates, then get involved in a workshop near your area.

The last thing I just want to bring up that I’m learning that’s important is social networking.  Wow.  Networking is amazing.  Befriend other photographers, befriend musicians, befriend graphic designers, befriend makeup artists, fashion designers, models, people who run businesses, people who know people…. whenever there’s a chance to help someone out, do it, b/c they can help you one day!  Trust me.  The main way photographers are successful doesn’t necesarily mean that they’re MORE talented than you are…. it might simply mean that they just had some really great connections!  So don’t be afraid to get you’re work out there to people.  

I know that i’m not a GREAT photographer.  I know there are soooo many things I need to work on and I really need to practice more, but I know that I do have some potential and maybe if you’re a photographer reading this, you might feel the same way about yourself.  Just get out there, shoot, try new things, mess up, try again, be patient, don’t be afraid to show you’re work to people, take constructive criticism and make connections.  You never know….