No new thoughts

The way to a great picture...

Hmmm... It is based in knowing how to work your camera WELL, comfortable with yourself and willingness to make other comfortable (knowing what it feels like to be them), PRACTICE and for me I also like to scope out where I'm going to shoot before it comes time.  I want to know the lay of the land well before I get there.  I want to know what areas I want to use, have ideas of the shots that I want (but make sure you are willing to go with the flow... things don't work out how you plan and more often then not if they did it wouldn't be as good ;P) but take my word for it: Jasmine Star actually posted about something similar yesterday.

Exposure challenge

So, I recently decided to make myself a challenge:  I want to take as little pictures as possible.  Sounds strange I know but this is what I mean.  Often it is practice with digital photography to just snap away but I want to use the mindset of film photography while using digital equipment.  So I have made a challenge between myself and my husband (Chris) to try and make each shot perfect (as humanly possible), each shot count.  

I have desired to hone my skills in this area for a while but I have been delving deep into educating myself further on photography.  New equipment, thinking outside the box, challenging myself not to do just the same poses as before but completely rethinking each time.  And I came across a video of a couple of different well known photographers, one of which was of course Jasmine Star, who were talking about knowing your exposure settings so that in any given light you already know at least a starting place.  I am already pretty comfortable with knowing my settings for lighting but it was a challenge to both not get comfortable, to try new settings, to make sure that I pick up my camera each day... it is harder than you would think.  It is so easy to get distracted by the day to day.  But when I do pick up my camera, when I do take the moment to play around... such joy.  There are few things that I have as deep of a passion for as capturing the beauty of life... taking the moment the groom whispers something in the bride's ear and it cause her to sheik with laughter... that moment, that exact moment... it won't happen again, and I captured it for them to have with them always.  That.  That I love.

  

Nothing like feeling stupid

I love photography!  I love being able, being allowed in for a short time into people's lives to capture the moments between the frames.  The pictures that they don't know I take.  The ones that capture them just being, truly being who they are and comfortable in that.

As a way to make sure to challenge myself I look over other photographer's work over and over making sure to take in things at new angles, new poses, new lighting and make sure that I am not comfortable with being where I am.  Recently, within the last month or so, I came across Jasmine Star.  Do not ask me how I had missed her so far.  Maybe it was because I was looking for all forms of photography, maybe it was because I was looking at fashion for inspiration, maybe it was because I am just plain stupid ;P.  I don't know but I just came across her and am delighted to find this new form of collaboration that is brewing within the art of photography.  I love the joy for the art that is pushing past the territorial feeling that is so easily sprung.

I have been doing a lot of studying lately, new lenses.  New thoughts on straight on flash.  I have really enjoyed it.  If you have any suggestions.  Anything that you have enjoyed and/or thought humorous please share