When learning a craft, one can spend hours upon hours reading books, searching the web, drawing inspiration from  other works, and attending workshops. But at some point, they must stop and actively create their own work. Spending too much time studying tutorials and other works leads to feelings of inadequacy: 

"I'm not good enough." 

"I can't do that." 

"I'll never make it." 

"I don't know where to start." 

An additional debilitating condition is when you view works upon works and start to get overly critical. You view these images and ask yourself:

"why do people buy these images?"

"These images aren't that good. How does this person make it?"

"That's not art. I can create a better piece than that." 

Stop it! Stop the negativity. You are only hurting yourself.

If any of the quotes sound familiar, it's time to get off the computer, shut the books, and pick up your tools and equipment. Don't worry about what others will think. Create art for yourself. Believe in yourself and your artistic vision. Don't worry about what is successful and why can't you make it when you think you are better. It's destructive behavior. Art is subjective and it appeals to people in different ways.

The more you create, the more you can draw inspiration from your own work, study your own work, and improve your own work. As you produce art, your technique will improve. But if you continue to mire yourself in everyone else's work, if you continue to be negative about yourself and others, and if you don't start producing your art, you will never create anything.

It is beneficial to study others works and draw inspiration, but it is also important to withdraw from that, draw inspiration from everything around you and from within yourself and create your own piece. There is no original theme or concept. What you should do is make that theme or concept uniquely yours, through your style, your storytelling, and your experiences.

This was a quick session. Matt went to school with my neighbor, a young man I watched grow up since he was seven. So this was one of those "It's a small world" and "I suddenly feel really old" sessions. 

The best way to improve your images is to learn to look for the flaws. You should be critical of each shot so that you can get it right while you are in the middle of shooting. To approach your photo:



Look: Look closely at the photograph. If anything jumps out at you as good or bad, take note of it.

Interpretation: What does the photo say to you? How does it make you feel?

Technical: Is the photograph technically accurate? Is there dust? Is the exposure good? Is

there any unwanted blur? Are the colours accurately represented? Is the White Balance off? What’s the contrast like? Could you have used lighting differently? Would a bigger or smaller aperture have been  beneficial?

Artistic: Is there a good balance between the foreground and the background? Would the photo have worked better with a different prop / model? Is the composition pleasing?

Good: Note what you find good about the image.

Improvement: Note thea areas where the photo could be improved.



Here are a few more questions that you can ask yourself when viewing your image:



Do I have everything I want in the frame?

Very often, it is easy to keep your eye in the viewfinder and miss the entire scene. Move your face away from the back of the camera every so often to assess the scene and determine what you want to frame in your image.



Have I included things that I don't want in the frame?

Another mistake is that we don't crop in tight enough to our subject. Think about your composition and subject. What do you want the viewers to notice? What do you want your image to say? If you want to include some background elements to tell a story, step back. But if the story is solely in your subjects eyes, for example, crop in tight on your portrait.



Is there a distracting element in the background?

Many times we focus our eyes on our subject and don't pay attention to what we are including in the frame. Look at the entire frame to make sure your not including a garbage can or bright, shiny windchime, for example, that will draw the viewers eyes away from your subject.



Do I have have a merger?

If your subject has something in the background that is growing from their head (a tree or flag pole for example), move a foot to the left or right to reframe your shot.



Is the composition pleasing?

I've had the pleasure of studying art, so composition has become second nature to me. That doesn't mean I always get it right. We are constantly learning. Making mistakes is the best way to learn. Composition is a long and complicated subject. I will takle different theories in other blog posts. To make this simple for this post, make sure your subject is in one of the golden points, if that works for the shot. This is where the users eyes are naturally drawn. 



Is the image sharp?

If you shoot at too slow of a shutter speed for handholding the camera, you will get a blurry picture from camera shake. If you use too shallow of a depth of field, you will have an out of focus shot. Also, ensure that you have focused on the area where you want the viewers eyes to be drawn. For example, in portraits, the eyes should be your focal point.



Have I blown out details that I wanted to include?

This is a personal choice (as i've just learned). Technically, you don't want any blown highlights or underexposed shadow areas. However, for artistic quality, you may want to blow out the background and only have the subject sharp. Or you may want the light filtering through hair so you shouldn't worry about blowing out the hightligh area. It is your vision, but make sure what is in the camera is what you had in mind.

Victoria and I discussed the kind of looks we wanted to shoot well before we met. We both had the same ideas of softly, romantic looks and faux fur. But a funny thing happened on the day of the shoot. As we assembled the pretty, flowing chiffon gown, we realized it looked more like a 1920s style. Luckily, I had pearls and a cloche hat to finish the look. 

Additionally, Michelle, the MUA, brought a gorgeous little fascinator for the romantic looks. So we ended up shooting more headshots than anything else to make sure we captured the pretty scarves, fascinators, and hats. 

Well, I've finally run into a problem with my home studio. There is not enough space for movement. Even simply going on point and extending was difficult during this shoot. 

We worked through the challenges anyway and came away with some beautiful and graceful images. 

Cindy is a dance teacher. She plans to open a studio in the middle of this year. I am very excited for her. She has some great ideas and I really appreciate that she wants to bring dance lessons back to being about dance and enjoying the grace, movement, and art. 

For lighting, I originally put Cindy on a white backdrop and washed the "stage" with light. I love directional light, but when moving, it's difficult for your subject to stay on the mark. So, this approach worked for when Cindy would spin and twirl across the set. 

The problem with the high-key look is that is doesn't look like a stage performance. Also, the vinyl backdrop was a bit slick and I didn't want our dancer to get hurt. So, I switched to more directional lighting, changed the backdrop, and went down to the studio's bare wood floors. Ah...now there's the look I wanted. :-)

These are the companion pieces to my Ice Prince series. Kamelot's Silverthorn album heavily inspired these pieces. Even though the Ice Prince and Princess themes aren't the same as the album's concept, which a gothic murder mystery in Victorian times, the music set the mood and atmosphere for this shoot. The entire album was on constant rotation in my playlist as I was planning, designing, organizing, and shooting these concepts. 

Once again, I used glitter for the snow. My husband isn't so amused with the mess, but it's worth it for the effect in the images. Yes, we even had glitter stuck to the ceiling. I think it will take several months before the glitter is all vacuumed and swept.

Feathered Headpiece by April Reams Ramoni from Anarchy Arts
Beaded Headpiece by Donna Macauley
Client is Cindy
Makeup and Hair by Mrs. Kelly Louise
Photography, concept, and retouching by Donna Macauley

I ran across this link to Dallas Logan's blog regarding Facebook likes and I thoroughly agree with his points. However, I then found myself wondering if I should hit like on his link. :-D

Like is not Love: http://www.dallasjlogan.dreamhosters.com/blog/like-is-not-love/

I am so sorry to have to post another lecture about ethics. However, after a bit of a run in, I feel I must educate others about ethics in the artistic and moral community. 

It is unethical to:

• use another photographers name as reference without permission in order to entice a model to pose for you.
  
• shoot over another photographers shoulder or elbow in on a concept that they took months to put together.
  
• steal a look or concept from another photographer and shoot identical images with a different model.
  
• ask another model to pose nude or pose for you during their session with another photographer.
  
• troll another photographer's site to steal concepts, styles, and find new models (if you use the other photographers name without permission when contacting said model).
  
• have underage models pose in provocative ways. (I know this one is up for debate in the photo community. All the way back when Brooke Shields made her controversial Calvin Klein ad or maybe even earlier, this has been controversial. However, I do not believe in it and will never ask my models to pose in such ways.)
• steal another photographer's image and post it on your page. If you have permission to use photographer's image, always give the photographer credit for their work.

It is ethical to:

• view many different photographers images to gain inspiration, but never to copy their work.
  
• politely ask a model to shoot with you without dropping unauthorized names.
  
• create your own concepts or make existing concepts your own by using your own creativity and imagination.
  
• ask another model to pose for you on your own time and away from other photographer's sessions.
• post another photographer's image with permission from the photographer and giving credit to the photographer
  

I am a very patient person and I give others the benefit of the doubt. I am all for being inspired by others work and I am never jealous of another photographer's talent. I look at their work and admire it and draw inspiration for myself to get better. However, I do not condone unethical behavior and I will break contact from anyone who uses unethical practices. I am not a photographer who would do these things and I expect the same respect. 

This session was bittersweet. Anthony will be moving next month so this was our last shoot together. Anthony told me I was the first photographer he worked with when he moved to Michigan and I am the last photographer he's working with before he leaves. I will miss him. He is eager, artistic, and professional. He trusted some of my ideas even when there was no example to show him. I wish him well with his move and in his future. There are big things waiting for him.

Model: Anthony Marquez
MUAH: Mrs. Kelly Louise
Photographer and concept: Donna Macauley

Shannon and I have corresponded back and forth since the first time we shot together. We both have similar tastes in imagery and we work well together. She showed me several images that I could only describe as softly romantic so we decided to plan a shoot around that theme. 

However, Shannon was able to borrow this fabulous red dress. As soon as she showed it to me, the creativity wouldn't stop. Oh how I love princess dresses. The odd thing is, I like photographing them, but I don't wear girly clothing. Go figure? Anyway, when I saw the dress, I also knew I wanted to pair it with a headpiece that I had. 

Kelly created some very beautiful and soft make up and hair looks for Shannon. She also brought some jewelry to help with the looks.

Considering how well this shoot came together and how well we all work together, this set a great tone for 2013! 

Model: Shannon Sills
MUAH: Mrs. Kelly Louise
Photographer and retoucher: Donna Macauley