Photo Composition and Perspective

Boring you with yet another definition of composition or perspective is not my agenda here.  If you don't know what it is then please educate yourself and look it up; there are plenty of wonderful resources available to you.

I would much rather show you.

Mt. Trashmore Park, VA, USA

Move closer, move further away, move up, or move down but move! If you have a zoom lens and not interested in the benefits of exercise, save yourself the trip and adjust your lens.

Keep shooting the same subject until you are satisfied you have gotten every possible angle and then use them to get a feel for what you like. By doing this, you will observe things differently and develop your own personal style.











Also, don't be afraid to go back and re-shoot your favorite spot or person (camera only, please) or whatever your chosen subject may be.

Franklin D. Roosevelt Park (FDR), South Philadelphia, PA

Visit at various times a day or night, lighting can be so dramatic.  What about a change of seasons or weather?  You may be surprised at your results!

Yup, still FDR Park...

Mt Pleasant Mansion, Philadelphia, PA

Wild Horse at Corolla Beach, NC

  

Photography, for me, is all about having a great time, enjoying the moment in a way most people don't slow down enough to appreciate.  With a few adjustments, you can learn how to capture that moment even better.  

Are We There Yet? The Art of Timing

A few fortunate beings on this planet have an innate ability to know when to act and when to wait. Many others are like the child in the back seat of the car with whisperings of "Are we there yet? Are we there yet?" as little Susie kicks the back of your seat to a beat only she can hear, only to ask more insistently five minutes later when a whisper becomes a shout and then a shout becomes a whining plea of "Are we there yet?"  

Most parents will start with a patient, "No, not yet" but as you up the ante may soon come back with a frazzled, "Does it look like we're there yet?!" Not to be outdone, the child now recruits her siblings in a chorus of "Are we there yet?" to which the only decent reply is, "Who wants to play the quiet game?" and suddenly the parent is not above bribing their dearest offsprings with a monetary reward for who can stay silent the longest.  

Not only is there unreasonable expectations about the destination itself, and God forbid it doesn't meet our ideas of where we are supposed to be, but there is a whole lot of disillusionment about how long or short it should take us to get there, wherever that may be, whether it be a physical destination or a goal.  

Now add timing into the mix.  If timing is everything then when do you act and when do you wait?  I, myself, have certainly had times when I have pushed, pulled, stood on my head, did back flips, and nothing has come of it, except the thumping of my own head from banging it against a wall (silly me), until one day it happened on its own accord with no assistance from me at all.  

On the other hand, there have been times when I felt as if I was procrastinating only to find that the timing couldn't have been better.  It was as if the stars had aligned perfectly for my very own benefit! What gives?  How do we know the difference?  How do we know when to take action and when to sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride?

In photography, especially with action photos or images dealing with people or animals, if you hesitate, you miss the shot.  A person may have walked in or out of the frame, the perfect expression was suddenly replaced with a frown, or any number of things varying from subtle to very obvious can happen. I expect this is much like life.  

If we get a nudge to act on something and we sit on it, we may lose it or it may change in some way. This is not to say the opportunity may not come again or that it may not come in another disguise, but why take the chance?

Is it always going to be appropriate to act immediately?  Maybe not so perhaps it comes down to intuition and discrimination.  Experience will teach us better.  If we missed it one time, we may gain it another and so on and on it goes.  Besides, who says you won't gain something better by taking that detour?

What does this all have to do with photography and your Etsy business or with any business? Many of us give up before we begin.  We have a few false starts or nothing seems to be working so we sit back and wait when we need to take another step.  Or we take many more steps when a little patience may have gone a long way.  

Sometimes we have to do all we can do and then let go of our ideas of how it's supposed to go.  We have to leave room for God or the Universe or whatever or whomever you believe in to do Its part and if you think it's going to come easy, well, you may want to reconsider.  It may but chances are it's another way for the universe to see how serious you are about attaining whatever goal you are striving for.  

In the end, everything is in its rightful place.  It just may be different from where you thought so if there is something you can do and it feels right then act.  If not wait but whatever you decide, don't give up!  

"Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day-in and day-out."  - Robert Collier

Be flexible!  Allow for transformation.  There may be a worthier plan than the one you have in mind but if you are too attached to what your own vision may be, there won't be any room for anything else and you might miss out on something better.

Lastly when in doubt, take it moment to moment, love what you do and do what you love because as Elizabeth Kubler-Ross says, “It is only when we truly know and understand that we have a limited time on earth – and that we have no way of knowing when our time is up – that we will begin to live each day to the fullest, as if it was the only one we had.” 

Remember, there is always another mountain to climb, another level to go so listen.

Don't Rain on my Parade!

Rain and parades don't mix and neither do numerous photos of the backs of people's heads with some glimpses of color swishing by.  Good parade photos require a good location, street corners usually work out well, or if you can get a pass to be on the road amongst them, even better.
 

2012 Mummer's Parade, South Philadelphia, PA, USA

Maybe a little too close - This guy doesn't seem very happy to see me!

Close ups are great but sometimes you want to be able to show more of the action.  Don't be afraid to zoom back out.  

 

Some other tips:

-  Experiment with your lenses.

-  Walk with the parade.  Shoot from different angles.

-  Know when to blur your background and when to make it part of your photograph.  Ask yourself, does it add anything to the photo?  Where do I want the viewer's attention to be?  

-  Most of all, don't forget to have fun!

Capturing the Magic of Christmas

Picture this:  Christmas morning before the children have awakened.  The soft light of dawn is slowly creeping through the windows, the lights are synchronized dancing around the tree, the gifts are packaged perfectly with care, and you carefully snap those first few shots before mayhem ensues. 

Photographer Unknown

Okay.  Let's be more realistic.  This is probably you the night before because I don't know about you but I was never out of bed before my kids on Christmas morning.  Don't you wish they had that same enthusiasm jumping out of bed for school each day? 

You take a few precious photos to prove it looked just like an image right out of a Christmas catalogue, crawl into bed hoping for a few hours of sleep, and then the first screams of joy hit your eardrums and reverberate off of each and every brain cell with an equally loud echo.  Ah, let the games begin.  

 

One more hour, PLEASE!!

After bargaining for one more hour of sleep, you hide under your pillow while stockings are yanked from the fireplace and dumped onto your newly polished hardwood floors. What seems like only minutes later, cherub faces covered in chocolate treats and candy cane sticky hands come peering into your sanctuary with a choir of "Please, please, please, may we open our presents now?"  

Fully surrendered, you grab your camera and prepare yourself for the most adorable photos that everyone will admire and will no doubt share all over Facebook.  How could they resist?

By the time you manage to pick up your camera, aim and fire, amongst a blur of wrapping paper frenzy, a few "Ohs" and "Ahs," you pause to make sure you got that last pic because that was absolutely the cutest when you realize not only was Susie's sweetest smile completely hidden behind Johnny's arm but all of the gifts are opened and your perfect pictures nowhere to be found.  In a panic you flick through your digital previews and sudden all your hopes are dashed of winning any Christmas photo contests this year.    

What is a photographer to do?  

First of all, slow it down!  Certainly racing down the stairs and blasting through unwrapping presents has its own charm if you like it like that, but it will not make for great, or even good, pictures. There's nothing wrong with one child at a time, one present at a time, rule, at least until you've gotten a few acceptable shots or you are ready for your coffee.  Trust me if your little boy or girl knows that a few angelic smiles is all that is standing between them and the rest of their gifts, they will give you their full cooperation.

Photographer Unknown

Second of all, don't be a control freak.  Let them be themselves and capture that!  They will have more fun and so will you.    

Photographer unknown

Third, if your pets get in on the action, please let them!  They may be some of the cutest photos you get.

Tip:  A photo of a child with their gift from Grandma and Grandpa, Auntee Jen, or that special someone makes for a more personalized thank you card.  

Is It Real Or Is It Photoshopped?

All throughout history, even before Photoshop (believe it or not), photos have been manipulated. Here is one of the more well-known photos.  (Photo Credit Unknown)

There was a time when many people saw a picture as the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth but, as you can see from this article, it just isn't true.

http://www.fourandsix.com/photo-tampering-history/?currentPage=3

Now that photos are digital and photo editing programs are in high demand, it's easier than ever to make a few adjustments here and a few adjustments there.  By the time a photo is "edited," you may have well over 100 layers as in some modeling pictures, anything from whitening the teeth to downsizing the waist and enhancing the breasts!

This one is for my nieces.  Don't believe the hype, ladies!  No one is born perfect but a few photo editing tricks and anyone can look it.

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/video/time-lapse-video-shows-models-photoshop-transformation-20738180

What's my point in all of this?  Question everything!

Now that we have that out of the way, manipulating photos can be fun and your imagination, not the sky, is the limit.

Make a photo look like a painting.

 

                     Play with framing and layering.

The possibilities are limitless!  Have fun!

                                                                                                                             

Is a Photographer an Artist?

Life had me flying in a few directions simultaneously and something had to take a temporary backseat; unfortunately or fortunately, depending on how you'd like to look at it, it was my photography and everything that went along with it, including this blog.  Maybe other areas needed my more immediate attention and that's okay.  The important part is, I'm back, and ready!

A photographer, in some circles, is not considered an artist.  What is so great about photography, especially in this period of time, when so many can pull out their cell phone and capture a photo any time they want and of anything that catches the eye? What could possibly be so special when we are inundated with images from all over the world?

At surface value, I might agree if you are only taking an image for what it appears to be at first glance; however, if you look into a photo, a really good one, you will see a story.  Maybe you will be able to view it from an objective point of view or maybe it will be purely subjective, based on your own life experiences and what you are ready or able to see at that moment.  Isn't that the most wonderful gift about photography?  It appears to be real, the mind accepts it as real, but, depending on what the creator of the image has chosen, it can be altered by layers of other photos or edited in Photoshop in some manner. The final product can be a complete illusion.

To me the definition of an artist is someone who has the creative ability to take the mundane or the ordinary, the often overlooked, and assist you in looking deeper and/or aide you in viewing it in a whole new way.  No matter what the medium is, if you can do this, then you truly are an artist, a creator.

Up next...Images and How They May Affect Your Life

Exploring Pet Photography

Pets are wonderfully therapeutic!  I have known the value of this since I was a child and even before as they have been my partners in life.  We have had everything from turtles, birds, rabbits, cats, dogs, and even farm animals like horses, goats, turkeys, geese, etc.  An intimate relationship between us formed and now I consider them part of my family no matter who they belong to, and I greet them in that way like a long lost friend or sibling.

It's hard to believe I found this scrawny guy (um, or more appropriately he found me!) in the pouring rain, clinging to my ankle, as I loaded up my boys for school.  He was missing an eye and need of some serious love and care.  He is one of my success stories as he still lives in his happy home (about 14 years now?).

If you have any sort of kinship with the animal kingdom, you are going to want to photograph them; and, as I have advised previously with taking portraiture of children, the best and easiest way, for me, has been capturing them in their own element.  When we force things to happen or try to set up our own expectations of how we think it should go then we are also setting ourselves up for a bit of a tumble or a learning experience.  Pet portraits are no different!  Besides, when you don't force things and allow them the space to happen, the results can often be much better than you expected!

These photos that I share today have not all been personally my pets, although they have all been a valued aspect of my life or contributed to it in some small or big way.  These are a few I have rescued and placed in loving homes over the years.  It seems if you help one, the word goes out and suddenly more come your way in need of assistance!  It was my honor and joy to do so!

Help!  I'm being abducted!

Found with a momma cat who had a litter with her and was pregnant again.

I always did love a good book, especially one with a happy ending!

When All Else Fails...Experiment!

Selling art can be hit and miss, especially when it comes to photography.  Digital photography has revolutionized the way people take and make photographs and now everyone has a camera, even if it is only a phone camera.  (By the way, I'm not knocking those phone cameras.  Some of them take some pretty nice photos and if any cell phone companies would like me to test their cameras...why I'd be happy to!)  What does this mean to photographers?  We have to be even more creative.

First things first, if your art isn't selling, it doesn't necessarily mean you have to make dramatic changes right away.  It especially doesn't mean you have to drown yourself in a gallon of ice cream smothered in all the toppings because you have allowed negative self-talk to convince you that you are the worst person/artist/entrepreneur...fill in the blank...ever and now you need some serious comfort food to fill the void!  (I know how artists can get; we do tend to be a little sensitive, to say the least.)

There is a list of questions that can help in the decision making process on what step to take next. Is there variety?  Are you presenting a large selection of your work?  Is the price right? What are other artists doing?  Is their art selling?  Are you marketing your work appropriately; taking full advantage of social networks?

If you have taken an honest look at yourself and your work, and it still isn't going anywhere then it's time to make a change.  For me, it's experimenting, which I'm now in the process of doing so I can't tell you how it will turn out yet.  I'll have to get back to you on that later.

What I do know is the old saying, "If you do what you've always done, you will get what you've always gotten" seems to hold true so being creative and using your imagination is a good way to go.  There's always a way, as I'm learning, to take something old and make it into something new.

         This is my first experiment.  Where oh where will it go?

Truth is, it's fun to try something new.  Why not give it a try?  There's nothing to lose!