The world always seems brighter when you’ve just made something that wasn’t there before.
Neil Gaiman
Since becoming a high school theatre teacher, I’d be hard-pressed to say I didn’t have a lot of art and creativity jammed into my everyday life; but it’s been all of the same type. So, this Spring Break, I decided to revisit an artistic hobby in which I’m still a beginner–photography. My dad was an excellent photographer and I benefited from his abilities in having a thoroughly and beautifully documented childhood. But I never bothered to study the craft from him. I never took a photography class in school. It wasn’t until my thirties that I took any interest in composing a shot. Now I dabble. Needing or choosing to monetize my artistic work in so many other areas, keeping photography a non-business art form has been a rejuvenating boon. Still, it’s been over a year since I really tried to take photos and not just snapped pics. So when my friend asked for a photo shoot for her LARP characters, I was so excited to say yes.
You don’t take a photograph. You make it.
Ansel Adams
Here’s the most useful piece of advice a professional photographer ever gave me–a good photo is as much about what you leave out of the frame as what’s in it. I love the movement and stance of this shot with the sword drawn and cloak swirling, but in the location of the shot, I definitely neglected that foundational advice. I’ve either got to hold myself more true to policing the background of my shot, or get lots better at Photoshop!
The camera I was using before this, an expensive but old DSLR, may have been capable of getting clarity from an action shot like this, but I couldn’t wield that tool effectively enough to get an action shot like this. Now I’m shooting with a Google Pixel Pro. Even though it’s a phone, it’s still probably a more powerful tool than my abilities deserve, but it’s so novice-friendly. And the fact that my phone can shoot in Raw is mind-bogglingly exciting to me.
The camera is an instrument that teaches people how to see without a camera.
Dorothea Lange
I’ve been a big fan of the Rule of Thirds for a while, now I’m starting to attempt the Golden Ratio. I can picture the rule of thirds without any grid help on my camera screen, but not so with the Golden Ratio. Even with grid lines, I still struggle with the way the photo composition should naturally swirl the eye across the image.
The camera always points both ways. In expressing your subject, you also express yourself.
Freeman Patterson