Prayer Wall

A giant print of the Last Supper took up the entire stage of the church behind the pastor. His words were spoken effectively and with precision.

The ears of 1,000+ people were listening.

This resulted in hundreds writing their prayers on a (provided) post-it note and placed it onto the giant print.

Photography Inspiration

Today I was thinking "what inspires people to shoot certain things?" Sometimes photographers will copy something they have already seen. Or, capture it in a slightly different way. Some simply guess and hope for the best. Others draw up every detail and create what was in their mind.

Although I have a folder on my computer that is also on synced to my PMP of images of other photographers that I really like, I have not once went to shoot and looked at them. I have ideas in my mind, but they are always foggy at best. Usually a generalization of an idea. I like this and it works for me. I believe it's because I have a small foundation for what I want to shoot, but I don't tie myself down with too many details for during the shoot things can move more naturally.

Just about every shoot I have done in the past few years feels very winged. I try and make the best with whatever situation, equipment, clothing, and weather was available at that time.

I'm slowly getting better at looking around and seeing what would and wouldn't look great in an image. I'd imagine most things could look great in an image if it were captured in some interesting eye-catching way.

I think it would be fun to get a few photographers together and all shoot the same scene, like this old loading dock in the image above, and see how each person interprets it. Of course the other photographers couldn't watch what the others are doing because that would alter the natural creativity of each person during their time to shoot.

In the end everyone could compare and discuss their ideas during their shoot and what it looks like in the end. I believe this could quickly open doors for everyone into thinking about capturing/creating images in a different way.

Then, everyone go re-shoot the same scene together and see what comes of it. I don't have time for any of this, but it seemed like a great idea. If you do it, e-mail me results and I will blog it! :D

Updating and upgrading your photographic knowledge for 2009

If you are like me there is a list in your mind of things you want to learn or try with photography. Doesn't it seem as if there is always something that gets in the way of learning those new things?

Well, it's a new year and it's time to move forward in our photography thinking!

For some it might be as easy as finding the information that you need to execute a new photographic tool. For others there may not even be a list yet for you don't know what to learn. There certainly seems to be a whole lot to learn! Don't allow that thought/feeling to overwhelm you. Start small!

If you don't know what to learn I would suggest learning everything about your camera first. It's the central device that will be apart of every photo shoot you will ever do. You could learn about external flashes, but you don't always need those for a shoot, but you will always need your camera.

Read the manual, find something you don't know about and make use of it. I still read my manual for my camera and flash from time to time to refresh and apply tools that I haven't used before. Take it with you when you do laundry or to the DMV, it's usually a gurantee you will be waiting there for awhile!

The image above is of Ty. Since there was one prop nearby and I didn't want to use it as it's typically used I had Ty hold it to the side. He rocked this shot in only four frames!

Perfect Practice Photography

I once heard someone say "Practice does not make perfect. Only perfect practice makes perfect." This saying has stuck in my head for years and has effected many aspects of my life, especially photography.

As photographers we are striving to make the best image for the purpose it's intended for. I keep this quote in mind when shooting. I strive to shoot everything I can as 'perfect' as I can. Whatever I miss only becomes more work in post production!

The lovely blond is Charlotte. This was our first time shooting together. We shot for exactly 10 minutes. I was pleased with the result.

• Canon 20D
• f/2.8
• 1/160
• 50mm

Please WAIT !!!

Exactly. Wait... It's difficult to do, especially when starting out in photography. Our inherent feeling is to not wait, to go, to move, to be what I would say overly active. I still move around too much during live shoots, out of sheer excitement I would say. At times it can be a struggle between 'shooting' and 'producing.'

What's the difference? I personally see 'shooting' as a "press-the-shutter okay we are done" type of approach where obtaining images is the goal. Compare that to a 'producing' approach where everything is considered before the shutter is released. Lighting, positioning, camera settings, lens, angle, distance, personal vision, professional vision, and timing. Maybe not a complete list and maybe not in that order, but all should be considered before pressing the shutter.

You know that feeling you get while looking through an entire shoot of images and there is that one image that makes you feel excited inside? This is the feeling to start searching for before squeezing the shutter release. I promise the pain that there is in starting to approach photography in this manner will fade quickly once you see how good you can be when actually taking the time to 'produce' an image!

The shot above is a band hailing from Peoria Illinois, Cygnus Loop.

Canon 10D - Manual Mode
f/5.6 @ 1/90th
24mm (17-28 Tamron Lens)
Flash - Vivitar 285hv