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I was asked to speak for a whole day at NAIT this past weekend for the Professional Photographers of Canada fall seminar. I was honoured to have been asked and I felt I had a lot to share. The business of business is not easy. It is a ton of work. That load is eased by the fact that I get to be in a business that I absolutely love what I do.
I covered a lot of material. I heard myself repeating a few points throughout my presentation because I believed in them so much. There are so many people who consider themselves photographers that don't know the very basics of camera functions let alone any of the guidelines that make a well-crafted image. It is easy to set yourself apart from the rest these days with a little education. I tell photographers to learn the rules before they break the rules. To those who don't want to put forth the effort to learn the "rules" - I say this. We inherited our profession from the old master painters from the past. They spent a lifetime of study on lighting, posing and mastering what they do - which is why we have world class art museums today. Those who are getting paid to photograph need to know what elements will help their subjects look the best they possibly can - with lighting, posing, composition, etc. Once you know those rules, then break them with your "style". Why? Because you will know how to break them with beautiful light, believable posing and artful composition while retaining your "style" and making your subject look flattering. i told a number of stories to illustrate my points.
I spoke about how the world wants what you can bring to it. Criminals "launder" money, artists "launder" ideas. Picasso said (something to the effect of), "Lesser artists copy, great artists steal". Take the ideas and inspiration and run it through your own washing machine and spit out something unique rather than copy others in the industry. If you copy, you will always be the student rather than the master. If you bring your own ideas to light your pictures will have the stamp of your soul on them and you will become the innovator. Those who copy will always be the student rather than the master.
I also spoke about one of my favorite things in the universe...light - I don't just light to illuminate, I light to draw my subject into their environment. Light to sculpt their form onto the flat surface that is your image. I try very hard to purposely place every piece of light. If there's light somewhere in my image that I'm lighting - I meant it to be there. We owe this to the painters of the past to carry on their work with modern-day tools.
I am at home in an art gallery and I also spoke of my experiences and what I have learned by observing art in world class museums, or studying painters' styles that directly relate to photography.
I care about this industry immensely and I care about photographers being able to make a living at it. It brought me incredible joy to be able to help other photographers in my industry by sharing.
I love my job...k - now back to designing more wedding albums and editing photos. :-)
1 Comments
Nov 14, 2012, 2:50:50 PM
Carmen - As one of your students, thank you again!!