People only see what they are prepared to see.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
I truly believe that learning does, and should, never stop. We all learn stuff every day, whether thorough our own deliberate eduction, or from the lessons that the universe and its inhabitants teach us. Or, indeed, from online classes such as the one I’m taking with lovely Brooke Snow….
As photographers we must continue to hone and cherish our craft, listening to the lessons we learn from each shoot and from our subjects. ‘Good enough’ is not enough in a competitive world where we all have a camera, quite literally at our fingertips almost 24 hours a day. And in any case, I love learning for learning’s sake (and get bored easily!) so shudder at the idea of creatively standing skill. So I joined Brooke on her online course for Advanced Pro photographers to seek advice, encouragement, inspiration …… and accountability!
Our task this week; to explore the opportunities in being prepared- to plan a shoot in detail including shot lists and posing ideas (as opposed to ‘wing and a prayer’ shooting, heaven forbid, ahem), to pick a new location, and exhaust its possibilities. These are my favourite images from the shoot, although choosing only three was the hardest part of the task and I’ll post the rest tomorrow as I love them all!
So here is my daughter Sophie, now aged 16 (eek) and we had a particular reason for doing a shoot (which I’ll write about tomorrow…) which gave her some pictures for her portfolio and gave me a chance to try out Lydney Docks as a location- (admission, I have shot here before, but a long time ago!)
We put together a shot list and posing guide with snippets from NME magazine and the style pages of the Sunday papers. I can’t say I followed it as such, but it certainly helped me think more about the shoot in advance, and I love the idea of ‘exhausting a location’ with different angles and emotions and poses rather than fussing around after a few shots to find new and exciting backdrops, which, when you’re lugging around camera equipment, a heavy guitar case, and the sun is rapidly sinking along with a teenager’s patience, is a TOP idea!
Let me know what you think- and thanks Brooke for your guidance and inspiration!
3 comments
Wow u are back with a vengeance!
Holy canoli! These are great! I especially like the first one where she’s sitting and looking at the camera–very interesting angle.
Maz, You behind the camera and your gorgeous daughter in front=magazine shoot! What incredible shots and processing. I especially am inspired by your composition in the second shot and the amazing colors in the 3rd. Can’t wait to see more!