Thursday, March 10, 2011

Style and critique

Well it has been awhile since I last updated my blog and I know I need to get better at it. Oh well I will try.. I can't believe I am almost done with my 3rd quarter of school. Next week is dead week and wow big time pressure to finish some big time projects.. Thats ok though as that is the way the school works and I think I enjoy the stress to  point. Art History final??  well I don't enjoy all stress. Anyway enough about school.
       I have been talking to photographers and some of my teachers who have done photography and the one thing they always say is yeah develop a portfolio but don't put pictures in there of stuff you don't want to do. In other words if you don't like fine art photography don't put it in your portfolio. Also another big thing is make sure you can explain to someone why you put a piece in your portfolio and that means beyond "oh cause I like it" Be able to explain why you like it. The last thing they said is your portfolio helps people see the style you like to work. What do you like to do and  how do you like things to look. When you  do this it helps people understand what to expect from you.  Not everyone out there is going to like what you do but as long as you are confident and continue to learn and grow that should be what is important. I have learned a lot in my lighting class and I have started to develop my own voice and style of what I like. Even in my own class some people aren't as thrilled with my style but we all realize technically the pictures work. You can still follow the rules but at the same time bend them a little to keep your style. Photographers have to continue to grow and reinvent themselves and expand what they do in order to survive in the cut throat world that is out there. The biggest thing that I have learned in this school is lighting is everything. If you fail to learn to use lighting the right way you are putting up a major barrier to you ever being great. Such subtle changes in light can bring a simple photo from bad to great. Once I understood what "Flat Lighting" was and how to avoid it my pictures became much more dynamic and i was able to see light in such a different way. This does have its downfalls too though as i tend to watch TV differently especially dramas and such. I start to see the lighting and how they affect people by the lighting and yeah it is frustrating at times.
         Another topic that kind of ties into the whole bad vs great is that of critique. Like I said earlier not everyone will like your style and you have to learn to accept that. One advantage I have had is I have been with most of the same students in photography for almost 9 months now so we are brutally honest with each others work. That can be hard to deal with at first. Technically we all know what we are looking for and what we like. Sometimes a picture can be technically great but we just don't like it therefore we can offer feedback to that extent and we continue to help each other grow. This becomes hard for me when people ask me about photos I sometimes have to be careful with what I say. I look at pictures so differently now. I always try to find what I like in every picture first before I say what I don't like and that helps with a lot of things. I know I am not technically perfect on everything and I do know I can count on the other students to point it out when I am not and I am ok with that I have learned to accept it for what it is. It is the path to becoming great which one major step is don't just put your pics on facebook or wherever for your friends to look at as your friends will always say things are great. Get them out there to other photographers who have more knowledge and such they will be your best resource. Just be prepared to accept the criticism as it is not always easy.
   Well I guess I have rambled long enough I will sign out now until next time. Keep that shutter clicking cause I know I will.

1 comment:

  1. Boy I understand about looking at TV shows differently LOL For me thought it's the law enforcement on tv LOL I can't help but point out all the things they do wrong now LOL to much time taking classes I guess LOL

    Glad you are really getting in to the learning! I never had the patients for all that. I alway have lighting issues because well I just don't have the patients to get it all set up LOL same issue with my tripod LOL

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