Has anyone read back far enough to recall that in the very beginning I sent a proposal to a magazine? I have just had it confirmed that they have hired someone to do the very thing I was proposing to do for them. Given the timing of the situation, I doubt that they took my idea and hired someone else. I’m sure the deal with this other photographer was in the works before they got my proposal. However, at least I know they thought it was a good idea. I’m crossing my fingers that I can learn something from this new source.
I’ve been quiet the last few days because I’ve taken my own advice and started refocusing my efforts toward studying as much about photography as I can. Coupling that with the fact that it’s warm here and my children require supervision when playing outside, I haven’t had much time to blog. Still, my efforts will be rewarded, hopefully. I picked up a book called Designing with Photos by Allison Tyler Jones and Donna Smylie. In all fairness to the authors, the target audience of this book is scrapbookers who seek to take better pictures. Given the target audience, I think it was a good book to help someone who knows nothing learn a little something toward taking better shots. It was a little too basic for my purpose but I did find it to be a beneficial read. It certainly made me feel better about exactly how far I’ve come and it reinforced some things I thought.
A couple things the book said that I enjoyed. First -
The first thing that comes to mind after gazing at a masterpiece painting is probably not, "I bet Van Gogh used really good brushes." Why then, when you take a really nice photo, do people say, "You must have a really good camera?" A camera and all its accessories are just tools. Granted some are nicer than other… but in the end, these tools do only what we make them do. The vision is within the photographer alone.
I just had someone say something similar to me this past weekend. Truth be told, I was offended that she didn’t see that the picture in question was more than just the output of a good camera. The second thing I liked was their discussion of proofs.
A photographer works with proofs, taking lots of shots per subject and then using the resulting prints (or proofs) to determine which shots are best.
They go on to suggest taking your digital images to a one hour photo lab or a warehouse lab to have them printed on real photographic paper. They also discuss the cropping "Ls" to create or buy in order to get a better visual on where to crop your prints. This was a new thought for me and I think I might try it the next time I do a photo shoot. There is just something about holding the prints in your hands to get a better feel for the final product.
The third lesson was actually an answer to a question I’ve posted here previously.
We used three rolls of film during this photo shoot. Out of all those pictures, we really only expect to get one that captures the moment magically. Most professional photographers average one to three usable shots per roll of 36 exposures. Doesn’t that make you feel good?
My answer is YES! The pressure is relieved now. Not every shoot will produce something portfolio worthy. Whew! What a happy moment it was for me to read that! Then they go on to quote Ansel Adams who said,
Twelve significant photographs in any one year is a good crop.
I liked some of the assignments and I thought some of the pictures were really super. I particularly enjoyed seeing one photograph before it was cropped and how much better it was after they cropped. Obviously, I’m familiar with cropping a photograph but with this particular picture the after crop made it a superb picture when the before was just good. I’m not sure I would have seen the potential in the before shot had they not shown it to me. I think learning to see the potential of a photograph was the lesson I got out of this book that will be the most value to me.
