The past few weeks I have been working on my latest photo shoots. I don't feel that the photos really resonate, in any special way. That's not to say the photos are bad, they are just nor really in the exciting range for me.
So one day when I really wanted (needed) the accolades, I reviewed old photos from a photo shoot that was a breakthrough day and posted to flickr so my friends would make comments. (Yes, I am a comment junkie waiting all day to see who "liked" my work).
The scene:
A cold gray spring day
It had just rained and there were huge water droplets all over the flowers
I was with a group of photographers at a specular iris garden
I rented a macro lens for the day
I shot pictures until the card was full. Alternating between the macro and the 200 mm lens. Lots of great bokah, lots of water droplets, tons of gorgeous well framed irises in all colors.
So what was the breakthrough? I concentrated on specific areas of focus deliberately allowing for softness in the macro images. This gave me several photos that have great color but an almost an abstract feeling. An entire day of wonderful photos of my favorite flowers and many that really take my breath away.
Four things contributed to the breakthrough.
1-All my photoshop and lightroom learning has made me a better darkroom processor. While most of these photos only needed a slight tweak, that makes all the difference in the finished product.
2-The photo shoot was the result of an evening workshop on shooting flowers and a morning visit with the teacher and class to the garden. Small hints on how to take better photos (more dramatic lighting, remember to change your perspective, etc) gave me a bit more confidence and more knowledge as I was taking pictures.
3-I just finished looking at a flower photography book. The lighting and colors in the book inspired me and I realized that is what I am trying to achieve. So instead of just pretty flowers, I am searching for soft colored backgrounds and light that really add to the image.
4-It was the perfect day and location to take pictures. Nature was with me.
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| Very narrow DoF |
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| Brilliant color saturation great contrast with green background |
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| I like how I caught the color and light in this photo |
We all go through cycles, Shelley. There will be times of breakthrough and times of plateau. It's hard when we are at the plateaus because we remember the breakthroughs, but they are often just as important to keep working through. There is often a new breakthrough waiting for us, if we don't give up.
ReplyDeleteI love what you've pulled out of the time of breakthrough for you with the flowers. These colorful images really pop! What elements of this moment can you bring to your photography today? Maybe buy yourself some flowers, and take a little bit of time to play!