What a Difference Experience Makes!

No matter how many weddings I shoot, I get the same nerves today that I got the very first time I interned as a second shooter. The day before, I meticulously look over my checklist again and again, making sure all batteries are charged and lenses are clear. Because I am naturally anxious (thanks, genetics), even knowing that all my equipment is prepped is not enough to calm the nerves! When all else fails, it helps at least a little to look back at my early work to see how far my work has come.

On the left you'll see a shot from my very first wedding. Luckily I was second shooter, because check out those blown-out highlights - eek! While it is a sweet enough pose, the positioning of the couple could have been far better (just a few feet to the left for a fully green backdrop and a little more space over his head) and the moment a little less stiff overall.


Fast forward a few years to a recent wedding. The photo on the right is so much more natural, properly exposed, and shot with a far better lens! The framing has more interest and shows off the location (which the couple selected for a reason - it was gorgeous!). This was a moment in between poses, when the couple was laughing and enjoying themselves instead of worrying about where to put their hands or how real their smiles looked. Viewing these images the day before a wedding reminds me how far I've come and at least helps me beat a few nerves to get some sleep!

Before you trash those old photos that no longer reflect your capabilities, put a few in a folder that you can look back on when you start to doubt yourself or turn into a big ball of nerves. Whether it's a commercial shot with amateurish lighting or a super stiff portrait cut off at the wrists, be proud that you have learned from your mistakes and remember that we've all made them!

It would be so fun to see some side-by-sides of your "then and now" examples. If you have any to share, head on over to the PSPN Google+ page to show how much you've grown as a photographer! 

Testing 1, 2, 3?

Greetings fellow shooters! Tuesday Ambassador Stanley, here welcoming you to another... testing… can anybody read this, Tuesday? And no, this is not going to be like my last week’s post on Rantom. What I am going to write about is why every student, or anyone for that matter, should test their equipment, regardless of ever having worked with the equipment before. However, I have seen a good majority of students doing just that and it is an excellent thing to do because it makes you more familiar with your equipment before tackling those shooting assignments. So if you think that you may be the only person that pulls your equipment out of the box, puts it together and starts tinkering with it, just know that you’re not the only one. Although, be mindful of the equipment you are working with in order to prevent injuries to beings or damage to equipment whether they are big or small.

Now if you are not one who typically dives into unfamiliar territory, I am sure you are not alone. That is okay though because you are going to school for photography after all. For some people though, school is not enough. One thing that you could do is READ through your manual after breaking into the package and laying out all of your equipment to be assembled later. This should be done on day one of receiving your package because you want to make sure that you have everything and that nothing is broken. If you do not understand something, reach out! There is a plethora of resources available at your disposal like PSPN on Google+, your upcoming or present instructors and if you want fast answers then you better resort to your most favored search engine like Google. Once you have everything all squared away it’s time to setup and test out your equipment. Make sure everything works! Test the highs and test the lows. Make sure your equipment is in flawless working order because I’m sure there is nothing like returning your faulty equipment and having to switch, stop or drop out of your class because you did not meet the deadline. I assure you that I’m not talking from experience.

One thing I learned through my curiosities in life about things I had no prior knowledge of, yet having full access to whatever it is that interested me, was in order to dig deeper about your subject, you have to break it. No, I’m not telling you to go break your equipment because that would be foolish and by no means is that what I meant! What I mean is I was always one who would get a toy, get bored with it, take it apart, study it and put it back together just to play with it again. Maybe that’s the reason why computers had been a hobby of mine for so long because of how quickly it advanced over the years. Now you don’t necessarily have to apply my experience to a specific subject, however, if you apply it to your life you may find yourself subconsciously applying it to subjects that interest you as well. Sure, I know that is a lot to ask but I do not think you would regret making the change.

Was this informative or inspirational? Let me know in the comments below. Have you felt this before? Do you think you are the only one? Are you getting a little freaked out because I am getting into your head and I may possibly know what you are thinking right now at this exact moment?  Ha! Who am I kidding? I cannot read your mind. Stay tuned next week to catch a glimpse of my studio studies as well as my recently published work, and as always, thanks for reading.

-Tues. Amb. Stanley

Long link goes to the image above by a no name photographer: http://static.videomaker.com/sites/videomaker.com/files/styles/vm_image_token_lightbox/public/articles/15346/306-F21-microphone-close-up.jpg?itok=k3IAaLWJ

Go out and Shoot!

leafar

Stop making excuses, just go do it.  One of the requirements of every photo class I have taken to date is that students must take NEW photographs unless specifically allowed to use old work on a particular assignment.  Aside from being a giant inconvenience to you the student, there is a very good reason for it.  It is designed to make you a better photographer.  All the online classes and textbooks can't make up for practice and repetition.  That's what will make you a better photographer in the long run.


I know, you're thinking to yourself, I would never do that.  But believe me, it happens.  I can think 3 examples from my time in school that really stand out.  The first one involved a student that submitted pictures of a school class trip to a pumpkin patch.  While the subject matter met the assignment criteria, the fact that the person was located in the northeast and it was the middle of December led me to believe that the images were not taken during the class.  I grew up in that area of the country and I am well aware of the weather and when schools take kids to pumpkin patches (HINT: it is not in December).

Argles

The second one was a little more obvious and I don't know what the student was thinking when posting the rehashed photo.  On the first day of class we were asked to post one of our favorite images in our introductory thread.  Everyone did as such.  three weeks later we had an assignment that required us to take a portrait outdoors.  When I was looking at the posts of my classmates, I saw a picture that looked very familiar.  I went back to the initial post by the same student and sure enough, there was the same image.  For my own knowledge I checked the metadata on both images and sure enough the picture was taken 3 days prior to the start of class.

In both of these instances I do not know if it was noticed by the instructors and if it was how the student's grades were effected which is OK by me.  I just know I wouldn't do it myself.  A decision that I made during one of my early classes when the following situation occurred. One of our assignments was to shoot a group event.  The instructor defined group event as 2 or more people doing something together.  One of the students in the class turned in pictures from their child's birthday party, the previous year.  When told by the instructor that the shots were unusable (since they were not taken during the class) the student was indignant about having met the requirements for the shoot and that when the pictures were taken shouldn't matter and that there just wasn't any events in their town that they could have taken pictures at.  (What a boring town were there are never 2 or more people doing anything at the same time).  The instructor's response has stuck with me to this day, and I wish more people had been in that class at that time.

"You're a college student now and more is expected from you.  It's not going to be easy all the time"

Garlington

Never had I read truer, more eye-opening words at that point in my educational journey.  I wonder if the other two students in my examples had been in that class if they would have acted they way the did...in upper 200 level classes.

The point is, you are only harming yourself if you are trying to rehash your old work from one class to the next.  Get out there and push that shutter button.  Find the time.  Make the scenario that you need to exist happen.  If you want to be the best in this field you have to work at it, and that means taking new pictures all the time.

Comment below with your thoughts on this topic.  I would love to hear them!

Works Cited

Argles, Martin. Photojournalists. The Guardian. guardian News and Media, 18 Feb. 2009. Web. 21 Aug. 2013. <http://www.theguardian.com/media/greenslade/2009/feb/18/press-freedom-newspapers>.

Garlington, Michael. Fish Mongers Daughter. N.d. Photograph. 111 Minna Gallery, San Francisco.

Leafar. Panda shooting photo. WixBlog. Wix.com, 22 Oct. 2010. Web. 21 Aug. 2013. <http://www.wix.com/blog/2010/10/why-you-shouldnt-say-yes-to-every-offer-of-photography-work/>.