Finding Myself as a Photographer

I have taken some time off from photo-sessions to find myself. I've used this time to discover my photography style, talk to other photographers about their favorite sessions to do and so much more. I have learned so much about myself through the past few months. One photographer may be strong in headshots and another may be wonderful when it comes to nature. Instead of wanting to focus on every style of photography, I have decided to narrow down my "goal list" and focus purely on those instead. As much as I love photographing people, I do not feel that photographing them in a studio environment is my strength. I've seen SO many photographers excelling in studio shot environments. I prefer raw emotion though. I recently photographed a gathering to celebrate an individual's high school graduation, 18th birthday as well a good-bye party for boot camp. I captured a little brother hugging his older brother (he was already starting to dread his big brother leaving for 3 months). It's pure emotional moments like those that really get my shutter clicking! Anyway, I'll be back on in a little while and post some of my new work. Hopefully! Keep shooting, everyone!

Challenge Yourself

I think it's important for every photographer to challenge themselves. I've been doing a lot of  the photography equivalent of soul searching lately; by lately I mean it was a 2 1/2 month journey and still going. I've made a computer file filled with my favorite photography shots and wrote down what catches my eye whether it be the colors, angles and overall composition.

During the past couple of months that I haven't blogged, I busied myself with observing the shots other photographers are accomplishing. I've noticed  that some photographers are settling for a shot. They get comfortable doing it, but in their head they never seem to ask, "How can I make this shot better next time for the next shoot?" I pride myself in always striving to learn something new every day. It's not always photography related, but I try to use it to move my skills to a higher level than it was a few minutes ago. For example, my children (ages 2 1/2 and 1 1/2 years old) are constantly getting into mischief. The other day, they pulled out ALL of their clothes from their drawers. Instead of having a mental freak-out that my chores just doubled for the day I thought, "what would a photographer see?" I knelt down and made a frame out of my thumbs and fore-fingers. I saw lots of colors from the clothes and two very excited kids that were having fun slinging clothes around. With the dresser in the background, I had the perfect "plain frame", the clothing added wonderful colors and textures, the children added joy and energy to the shot. As both a mother that will miss these days as well as an aspiring photographer, I took a mental snapshot of that moment!

The quote I'd like to end today's post with is one that I have written down:

"The camera is an instrument that teaches you to see without the camera." -Dorothea Lange