 This past June, I had the pleasure of going out to East Point Lighthouse, in Heislerville NJ, with my local photography club to learn about making photos with star trails. It was my first attempt at star trails--as it was for most of the group, and we had a great time! We stood in the grass, taking hundreds of pictures (that all looked the same), and getting bit by an equal amount of mosquitos! Over the two hours that we took pictures for the star trails, we had time to talk to each other. Some of us made small talk, others had meaningful conversations, but we all made new friends! I'm telling you this to stress the importance of joining your local photography club. Your local club is a wealth of information. No matter your skill level there are things to gain--information, connections and friendships! Believe it or not, I tend to be shy--especially around people I don't know, so it has taken me a LONG time to start to open up to this very special group of people. I made it a goal to participate, and now I am enjoying my time immensely. I encourage you. Find your local club and attend their meetings. You'll be glad you did.
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 I love photography (as you’ve probably already figured out!), but even with my passion for photography, I can run into slumps. I can become unmotivated or uninspired. Life can even interfere with my photography—making hard to find time to get out to shoot. That’s why I PLAN time. I need uninterrupted photography time in my schedule. It’s my getaway and it’s my inspiration. I don’t mean reading time or YouTube time/learning time, but actual-get out there and take some picture-time! It calms me and refocuses me on photography. I have to plan this time on a regular basis. Even when I’m feeling so uninspired that I have no idea what or where I’m going to go to shoot, I still go out there and just start. Once I start pushing that shutter, I get into a zone and my creativity start flowing again. If you want to go anywhere with your photography, then regular time dedicated to photography is what is needed. So, if you aren’t going out on a consistent schedule, I suggest you start making time for it. It’s worth it and will help you grow as a photographer.  Something a lot of beginner photographers do is forget that they can take photographs from more perspectives than just standing. Often, they forget that their knees bend or that their arms raise. I think the longer I shoot, the more I learn to move and get on the perspective of my subjects. For instance, if I’m taking images of a butterfly on the ground, I’m probably going to put my camera on the ground to take the pictures. Often beginners spend their time looking down on low subjects or up on high subjects. An example of this would be taking a picture of a puppy. The instinct of the beginner photographer is to stand over the puppy and shoot down (having the puppy look up into the camera). While that image can work, a more compelling image tends to be to get down to eye level with the puppy and then take the picture. That works with most subjects with eyes—get on eye level. This works with subjects without eyes too. Get on the level with your subject. This fern is a case in point. I didn’t take the image from above. I got down, low to the ground and shot the subject on its level. I don’t think you would have been able to see the fern uncurling if I had shot it from above. Don’t be afraid to take your time, when taking pictures, and slowing down. Examine the scene and find the best angle from which to shoot. Above all else, have fun!! |
What Is This Page?Since I love photography and teaching, I thought I would start a Blog page and share how I take my images, what I was thinking and about me. Categories
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