Be a ________.
Posted by mattantonino | Posted in N2M, Tricks, education | Posted on 14-01-2010
3
During the last few months one of my major goals has been to shoot more food photography. I am really interested in the subject, I enjoy all aspects of it, and I think I can do it well (eventually).
So my past few months have been focused on learning – studying food photos, “becoming” a foodie, learning styling techniques – I never wanted to jump straight into food but rather be a food person who knew how to photograph. I’ve been studying food, food photos, collecting recipes, deciding on what I want to focus on. In learning to “be” a food stylist/chef you learn about presentation.
Thus my thought for the moment – become involved in the shots you want to shoot. You shoot sports? Go PLAY sports more – referee for the kid leagues, shoot hoops more at the park and watch more games. See how the pros present sports. You want to shoot business people? Get deeper into business – meet with SCORE, talk about business planning and attend a seminar so you can see how someone has designed their speech. Desire to shoot more animals & nature? Interact – get out there, follow wildlife, hunt (with or without the gun), track animals – learn their behaviors.
— Related tangent —
When I first started learning to be a wedding photographer I listened to everything wedding photographers said. Advertising, marketing, sales, websites, SEO, photography & lighting, everything! Eventually it dawned on me that photographers were good at making images. I should learn advertising from an advertising specialist. I no longer pay much attention to wedding photographers when they speak on subjects other than booking or shooting weddings. The thought is very similar to what I’m talking about above. Learn to be great at your subject – not just aware of it.
Sometimes when I want to shoot something I just pull it up, shoot it, wonder why it doesn’t sell. I think the main reason is because someone else understands the subject while I just wanted a good photo of it. Can I take good photos? Yes. Absolutely! I shot models for years – and then I realized that because I don’t enjoy it all that much, the images weren’t high-class. I can shoot well enough but the connection wasn’t there. The question is – how involved are you in the shoot?
It doesn’t make sense for a city-dweller to go shoot cows and barns. It doesn’t make sense for a sporty jock to shoot ballet. Who are YOU and what can you shoot better than everyone else?
Related posts:
- Food 101 This post is more for my benefit – to look...
- Preparing Our Next Shoot Our thought process on a new photo shoot works something...
- Away we go! Hi & welcome back! NiltoMil is officially off and running...
- Really great start! We need to plan our dishes for this week -...
- New sponsor: Corbis I just wanted to take a moment to thank our...
Yeah, you definitely have to get “inside the head” so to speak of whatever you’re shooting, and what types of styles you want to improve in. Get inside that mindset. Shooting stuff you don’t full understand, you’re either going to end up with images people don’t want or half-hearted executions. We all have to our homework – go all out or get out. Otherwise we’re just spinning our wheels for nothing.
The last line absolutely hits the apple.
“Who are YOU and what can you shoot better than everyone else?”
This is THE essense of genius, not just talent.
To be stunning, you have to be full-hearted. Half-hearted doesn’t count.
Thank you for a wonderful thought. If I recall it often enough, hopefully I’ll have a peaceful mind when my time is over.
Exactly Todd – we need to make PROGRESS – not just spin the wheels. Move forward. I have a LOT of homework left to do but at least I’m making progress.
@ Zhdanov – thanks for the comment and I’m glad you got something great out of the post!
Time to go be STUNNING.