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Showing posts with label style. Show all posts
Showing posts with label style. Show all posts
Friday, November 5, 2010
Friday, May 21, 2010
Real talk.
Listen. There is bad photography. There are bad photographers. There are photographers with incredible technical skills and no people skills. There are photographers with wonderful people skills who couldn't compose a shot with the rule of thirds printed out from wikipedia. People have different skills, for sure. But by FAR, the most important skill a photographer can have is self awareness. To have the intuition to know yourself, and adjust your actions and you words accordingly. If you think you're amazing, and you just plain aren't, well then that's a problem. For you. If you think you're terrible, but are actually quite good, that's also a problem, from a business sense. The same principle applies to business sense, by the way. You cannot expect to run a business and act and speak as an amateur. If you want to charge people money, you can't whine and complain about something your kids are doing to your PAYING CLIENTS while expecting them to take you seriously. You can't do eight different things half-assed then wonder why none of them are successful. If you are completely unaware, and have no sense about your own abilities, you will fail. No question.
How do you obtain self awareness? Through a combination of humility, intelligent discussion, and being open. If you are incapable of any one of these things, your process will be stunted. As will your artistic growth.
One of my biggest pet peeves with the portrait industry right now is copycats. Everything looks the same. And I think it's a symptom of lack of self awareness, on many levels. For one, there are master photographers out there with a specific style and voice who are open and willing to share their knowledge and skill with those who want to learn. This is a wonderful thing. And the freeflow of knowledge is an important and vital thing in a creative industry. The flaw, however, is that so many photographers are not aware of their own ability, and even more tragic, their own voice and point of view. So they take classes, pay for seminars, read books, blogs, beg other professionals for tips and tricks. When what they are really seeking is an actual voice. Because they have none. Nothing identifiable as their own. You wanna waste your money and your time and your effort trying to be a watered down version of someone else? Go for it. But don't expect anything in return. Certainly not my respect. Certainly not the label of "artist" or "professional". There is a massive difference between inspiration and just plain copying. And it's apparent.
Every day I get closer to finding my own voice, my own perspective. But I can, at the very least, say that I am always myself. I have never once, not ever, seen something incredible and tried to copy it. (Oh, how do you do that? I wanna do that!) Never once asked someone how to do something so I could try to do the same. I am aware of my own abilities, my own point of view. And for that, I am proud.
How do you obtain self awareness? Through a combination of humility, intelligent discussion, and being open. If you are incapable of any one of these things, your process will be stunted. As will your artistic growth.
One of my biggest pet peeves with the portrait industry right now is copycats. Everything looks the same. And I think it's a symptom of lack of self awareness, on many levels. For one, there are master photographers out there with a specific style and voice who are open and willing to share their knowledge and skill with those who want to learn. This is a wonderful thing. And the freeflow of knowledge is an important and vital thing in a creative industry. The flaw, however, is that so many photographers are not aware of their own ability, and even more tragic, their own voice and point of view. So they take classes, pay for seminars, read books, blogs, beg other professionals for tips and tricks. When what they are really seeking is an actual voice. Because they have none. Nothing identifiable as their own. You wanna waste your money and your time and your effort trying to be a watered down version of someone else? Go for it. But don't expect anything in return. Certainly not my respect. Certainly not the label of "artist" or "professional". There is a massive difference between inspiration and just plain copying. And it's apparent.
Every day I get closer to finding my own voice, my own perspective. But I can, at the very least, say that I am always myself. I have never once, not ever, seen something incredible and tried to copy it. (Oh, how do you do that? I wanna do that!) Never once asked someone how to do something so I could try to do the same. I am aware of my own abilities, my own point of view. And for that, I am proud.
Friday, April 2, 2010
Style and taste
Recently, I've been thinking alot about style. As in, one's style of photography, one's style of interacting with people, one's own personal style.
Style and taste are not mutually inclusive. They are tangents of each other. You may have bad taste, but a style specific to you.
Anyhow, I suppose I'm in the process of defining my own personal photographic style. It's not about being pretentious, or condascending. It's about a definition, and understanding that yes, there is such a thing as bad photography.
I can't say exactly what my style is, yet.
But here's the thing.
If you like the photos you can get at the mall, my style is not for you.
If you think a muslin backdrop is pretty, my style is not for you.
If you want photos of your kids holding props and wearing funny hats while someone shakes a rattle, my style is definitely not for you.
So, with that, I will try to explain what I am about.
I want to be a witness.
I don't want to be the cause of an action in a photograph, I want to be a testament to that action's existence.
It's a struggle, to be sure, because it's so easy to want to control everything and force a photo. But that's not what I feel makes a good photo. Definitely not what makes a great photo.
So, if my style makes sense to you, then cool. Let's go.
If not, have fun at the mall. Pick me up a Cinnabon.
Style and taste are not mutually inclusive. They are tangents of each other. You may have bad taste, but a style specific to you.
Anyhow, I suppose I'm in the process of defining my own personal photographic style. It's not about being pretentious, or condascending. It's about a definition, and understanding that yes, there is such a thing as bad photography.
I can't say exactly what my style is, yet.
But here's the thing.
If you like the photos you can get at the mall, my style is not for you.
If you think a muslin backdrop is pretty, my style is not for you.
If you want photos of your kids holding props and wearing funny hats while someone shakes a rattle, my style is definitely not for you.
So, with that, I will try to explain what I am about.
I want to be a witness.
I don't want to be the cause of an action in a photograph, I want to be a testament to that action's existence.
It's a struggle, to be sure, because it's so easy to want to control everything and force a photo. But that's not what I feel makes a good photo. Definitely not what makes a great photo.
So, if my style makes sense to you, then cool. Let's go.
If not, have fun at the mall. Pick me up a Cinnabon.
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