Most of my work has been in painting, I dabble in other mediums but I am comfortable working with acrylics. This week, I took another step out of my comfort zone in an attempt to expand my skills. I was, again, humbled by a friend who asked me to take head shots for her professional portfolio. I was immediately interested in the challenge and terrified of the possibility that I would do a terrible job. I have been wanting to expand my skill in photograph but I am never brave enough to ask people if I can practice on them. This was a perfect opportunity for me despite me feeling very exposed as an amateur photographer. I accepted the challenge and began researching poses for head shots that would both be professional and comfortable for my friend. I wanted to make sure that she would walk away with photos she actually liked. Once I had researched the only thing left to do was to practice on my wonderful friend and volunteer. After some test shots we both quickly realized the poses that worked best for her were ones where she needed to look up towards the camera. Throughout the entire shoot, I made sure to show her the images and get her feedback. Then we would go back and try some new shots. Having been a client to many a photographer, I realized how much I valued the chance to give my input or requests for certain shots. I trust my photographers completely and choose them because I appreciate their composition or style, however, because of those initial things I so loved about them as photographers I often have specific things in mind for my photos. This is where I value the chance to chat with them about what I am wanting. For me it was incredibly important that I share my shots with my friend, especially as I am just learning the skills, and get her feedback on what she liked or didn't like. Occasionally, I would like a photo and she would say "nope, don't like that one" and that was a gift in itself. I would hate to think that just because I liked one shot meant that she had to like it too. I remember way back when I was a lot younger photo sessions were so different. The photographer would take a bunch of photos, then you and your family would go back and look through the photos and choose which ones you liked. Now often (and not that it is a bad thing because it takes time) you are sent a set of photos and that is what you get. There is no looking through all the options or choosing the ones you really love, the photographer does that for you. For some people I know that would be heavenly because choosing can be stressful, for me I like the chance to look through everything so I know I didn't miss out on that one shot that I absolutely love. Now, granted our session was short, all of 30 minutes, but we sat together afterwards and scrolled through the photos. I did a quick edit of them and then we looked at them again and she said yay or nay as we went. This left me feeling far more confident that she got what she was looking for. It was also encouraging to hear her say how many of them she actually liked! This boosted my confidence in my abilities. At the end of the session she even volunteered to come back and be a guinea pig any time I needed one! This is my next challenge. To be brave enough to ask people to let me try out some things on them. I am still so self conscious about my work and my abilities that it is hard to ask for someone to practice on. What if they turn out terrible? What if the person hates the photos I take? What if? What if? What if? But what if I didn't try at all? The only thing I am risking is the opportunity to improve and grow as an artist. I am missing out on the chance to be creative, and that is the worst thing to risk, a loss of creativity. Yes my photos will not always be good, yes people may not like the photos I take, but this gives me the opportunity to grow. I cannot get better until I fail and learn from my mistakes. As a teacher I am telling my students all the time, failure is not bad, mistakes are steps towards growth. It is time that I take the bold step in the direction of believing for myself the things I believe so sincerely for my students. So thank you to my dear friend for putting your trust in me to take photos of you that you actually liked. Your trust in me has been a stepping stone towards believing that I can grow as an artist and that I can, in time and with dedication, create something beautiful. I only need to trust myself and those around me. Below are the shots from our mini shoot! Enjoy! Model Credit: Alison Holmes
0 Comments
|