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| birthday boy who DOESN'T like parties! |
I've just started the second part of FIND YOUR EYE with Kat Sloma... AND, just returned to work full-time... AND, spent a long weekend out of town (hence, the lack of postings!) |
This post is my FYE homework response to "BREAKING RULES" when using your camera. I must say, this assignment has me thinking a lot about how & why I take pictures... but here are some thoughts:
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| "water noodles" ~ capture the ordinary |
Wanting to explore another "creative" venture (other than scrap booking, collaging, journaling - other creative interests), I began using a camera as another way to "corral & capture" the ordinary details of my life.
DETAILS... I love them! so much that I typically discard photos that appear blurry or out of focus! This is a rule I'm working on breaking! At the beginning of this course, I hadn't thought about the "story" behind a picture ~ instead of discarding the picture, I'm learning to look at the "power of motion" (even if the picture is blurry!).
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| "birthday water slide" ~ powerful!!! |
THIRDS... In many photo blogs & photography books, the photographer talks about the "composition of the subject" being captured in THIRDS. If you really don't understand what I'm talking about, you can read about this rule HERE. It's a great composition technique, but I do break this rule if I think the photo lends itself to being front & center. Generally, I break the rule when I haven't paid attention to the background (& I'm trying to block that out) or I want to remember the detail of what I'm photographing.
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| "front & center" ~ Mom's porch sign |
SAFE SUBJECTS... Some of you may have noticed (or read in this course postings), that I have a habit of photographing subjects that I deem safe... like flowers or objects... notice I didn't say people, activities, or anything that isn't stationery!
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| "pirate cake" ~ this ship is NOT moving! |
But, I'm working on this! a lot of my recent photos involved splashing water! moving bodies! & activity! It's hard for me to save (& share photos) that aren't neat & tidy (meaning detailed). I know there's a great action photo waiting to be captured! SO... this rule is meant to be "squished" with the touch of my fingertip!
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| "we're in this together" ~ blurry? but tells a story! |
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| "remembering the height" |
Imposing these rules is short-changing my creative possibilities! so, I'm ready to make the LEAP! Hopefully, I won't embarrass myself? and that brings me to my final thought!
WHO... am I capturing photos for? like everyone else, it's nice to get those "WOW! love how you captured the detail of that flower" but, my photos are a visual journal ~ so I'll be able to remember the emotions, smells, sounds, tastes of a particular day, time and place.
TELL ME ~ why do you take photos? & what rules have you imposed on your "creative" pursuit of snapping a "memorable" photo?
Christine - your words really hit the bulls-eye with me. I have convinced myself that I cannot take photos of people or anything that moves because I canot seem to get the hang of capturing motion. That is why I take photos of shadows :) But I think you are correct that this rule definitely needs to be "squished". Kudos to you!
ReplyDeleteI loved reading your thought process. I used to strive so hard for perfect photos and I'm finding that there's often more of a story in those photos that are less than perfect. Life isn't perfect so why should our photos be. Great stuff.
ReplyDeleteI struggle with photography. It's easy to take pretty photos of objects, and it's hard to photograph people. Like you, I am a perfectionist. You've given me something to think about. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteI love your idea of rules being squished! Let's throw the ones we don't like on the floor and squish them! :) It is hard and uncomfortable to break the rules, once we identify them. You are starting to get out of your comfort zone when you do that. But that's where the growth happens. Great for you, embracing the reality of photography and life - it's not perfect!
ReplyDeleteChristine, I really like your thoughts on photography...."so I'll be able to remember the emotions, smells, sounds, tastes of a particular day, time and place." I find a bit of my own reasoning in that. Love your photos of your life with your family.
ReplyDeleteThere is a great thought process, Chris. I found that I don't really think when I take photos - I try to capture what my heart sees, different angles... I experiment a lot, just try things out. This is the way I learn and improve my photography. What I know for sure is that my heart is in there - I can get totally lose track of everything when I'm taking photos. I'm in the "zone" and it is most satisfying.
ReplyDeleteWe both think alike on our people shots! I've been thinking about this a lot more since I posted my journal. I take photos of people I love! I'm not their photographer, I'm their Gramma, mom, sister, or wife! I shouldn't expect the photo to be in perfect focus or the background clear. These are life shots not portraits!! Let's "squish" those rules and just enjoy capturing the everyday moments of life!
ReplyDeleteVery recognizable, I also almost instantly discard an image which isn't sharp and I find photographing people is very different from a flower, something I should do more often. Maybe that's an unwritten rule for me that I should brake.
ReplyDeleteI think you succeeded especially well in your opening photograph. It's excellent, such a strong image.