While we are sailing the blue seas, I have asked my friend Kelly, a fantastic photographer who lives in New York and a dear friend of mine I met through blogging years ago, to guest post for me. Kelly is exceedingly talented. I have had the distinct privilege of being mentored by her over the years. Should you or someone you know be looking for a smashing photographer located out east, Kelly at www.KellyVasami.com comes highly recommended by me as one of the very best out there.
And now, enough from me. I’ll let Kelly take it from here.
I’d like to start out by thanking my good friend MckMama for asking me to be a guest blogger on her fabulous blog! I am a long time reader and just like all of you, I instantly fell in love with MckMama’s fantastic writing, her fresh perspectives on parenting, and of course, her fabulous photographs. Since the moment in 2005 when we were expecting our son Jake (now almost four and about to be a big brother), I’ve been blogging about my experience of being a parent. Soon after Jake was born in early 2006, I became a professional photographer. Fast forward four years and I am a busy professional wedding and portrait photographer in suburban New York City who enjoys working with brides and grooms with discriminating tastes and big budgets. It’s a glamourous-sounding job that is incredibly demanding, and completely fulfilling. I started out like many of you aspiring photographers – the girl who was always taking her camera everywhere and shooting like crazy for myself and my friends.
When MckMama first asked me to guest blog, it took me a little while to decide what to post about, but as I was looking through my photographs in preparation for an update to my website, I began noticing a common theme in some of my favorite photographs, and something I stress to potential clients: my unique perspective when taking photographs. We can all look at the same subject, yet we will each see the subject differently. Many times, I will challenge myself when photographing something like a bouquet, or wedding rings, or a pair of shoes. I’ll take what I consider to be the “safe shot”, and then I’ll look around for all the different ways I could see my subject. What would it look like if I were standing directly over top of the object and shooting from above? How about if I get down flat on my belly and take a picture from that angle? What if I shine a light on the left side and then shoot from straight on?
This is something that everyone who enjoys photography should be doing, and it doesn’t require a fancy camera or expensive lenses (okay, it does help sometimes, I’m not gonna lie). It’s just a little challenge that I want to pose to all of you, regardless of what camera you have – even a camera phone will work for this exercise! When you go to take your next shot, look at it from a different angle.
To practice this myself, I took Jake to a place that isn’t pretty, isn’t scenic, and doesn’t have great light. But it’s somewhere lots of moms may find themselves: the laundromat. I took a few safe shots – snapshots really, just to get some cute shots of my smiling son, having fun on a typical Wednesday errand. Then I tried something different. I got down on Jake’s level and shot with a wide-angle lens to capture the two rows of washers and dryers. The directional lines lead your eyes right to my subject. I liked this a lot more than the snapshots.
Next, I wondered what Jake would look like in the laundry basket as I photographed him from above. Yup, me and my third-trimester self got up on the nearest ledge and took another picture. And yes, there were people in the laundromat wondering what a big pregnant lady with a fancy camera and zero laundry was doing taking all the pictures. In a laundromat of all places. I learned early on that potential embarrassment needs to be completely ignored if you ever want to get a good picture.
Next, I took him over to the dryers and had Jake play in the basket. I shot nice and close up to him, off-center. He’s not facing the camera, he’s not smiling, and yet, I love this portrait of him. The leading lines again take your eye through the photo. You follow the angle of his arm as well as the lines of the dryers to an out-of-focus patron on the other end of the laundromat, giving a sense of the environment.
After that, I decided to break the rules a little. I hoisted Jake’s cute little behind up on the ledge of the dryer. (Jake made me try it out first. Again, my not-so-cute, no-so-little behind went where it did not expect to go. I told you I ignore the potential embarrassment!) I love to use objects to frame my subjects, and you will find it adds visual interest:
Once Jake was hoisted up there, I looked for something else that most people wouldn’t normally think to take a picture of, but something that I will look back on and remember: Jake’s current favorite pair of shoes, the black sneakers he asks to wear every single day. In a few months he will grow out of them and move on to something else, but now I have a picture to remember them, creatively shot vertically and off-center (again, adding visual interest).
Scrapbookers, this tip may be of particular interest to you. While Jake was distracted opening and closing all of the unused washers and dryers, I was shooting little details of the laundromat – up high, down low, on my knees (brilliant move at 8 months pregnant), up close, far away, inside the washing machine. I came up with tons of quirky shots that, once placed along side of each other, told the story of where we were, how this location is different from any other location, the little tidbits and details that set the scene:
Once our laundry excursion photoshoot had come to an end and my little explorer was tired, I found him spread out on the little seats. I resisted my urge to freak out over the germs he was probably getting on his face, and instead crouched low for one more portrait:
It was a fun exercise for me to take a camera into a place I had never photographed before, in a location that wasn’t beautifully outfitted with orchid centerpieces and dramatic uplighting, and still challenge myself to see the beauty in this environment.
Now it’s your turn. Think of where you normally go in the course of your typical week (the grocery store, the place where you get your oil changed, the playground, etc), and don’t be afraid to take your camera with you. Climb up on things. Don’t be afraid to get your knees dirty. Get on the floor. Lay on your belly (wait, no, not the pregnant ladies!). Let people stare. You might be getting the creative picture that you and your family will be able to cherish for generations.
Oh, and if you’re afraid to take this little exercise out in public, that’s fine too. Stay at home and photograph your kids, your pets, or your husband, in their environment. Take the shot from at least five different perspectives and distances, as well as at least five details of the space your subject is in. Yes, you will look a little silly. You might even get a little dirty. It’s all part of the fun.
It’s MckMama again. Didn’t Kelly do a great job!? Thanks, Kelly! Do ahead and try out her techniques. And if you do take a look a things from a different angle, put the photos on a post and come back and leave a link here in the comments so everyone else can go see your work.
See you again soon! I wrote a post for you tonight, but it got lost as I tried to save it. Grrr. But I’ll write again later…for now, it’s off to game night with the other MckPeeps!
Comments