Establishing style I've never done an actual "shoot" before. All of my portraits have been constrained by my working environment...and the fact that I'm both the subject and the photographer. Tough. I think that maybe it's because of this that I haven't exactly figured out what my "style" is. I have, however, figured out what I do and don't like to some extent.

I don't like texture overlays that are overlaid over an entire photo (that was a lot of "over"s). I feel like they flatten and take away from a photo. I think it can be used well sometimes, but most the time it looks kind of cheap. BUT...I do like grain. Not in everything, but I think it can really add a certain mood/interest to some photos.

I don't really like sepia. I think maybe I just don't get it. I do like black and white, though! I also love desaturation to almost every degree.

I generally don't like selective saturation. It's fun for snapshots and it can look great if used correctly but most of the time it looks kind of cheesy in pro photos. Probably not something I'll be using any time soon.

I love overexposed but contrasty shots. I also love super contrasty photos in general. Maybe that's why I like black and white so much...it's all about shadow, light, and contrast!

I do kind of like overexposure in general, though I suspect it's because it makes my undereye bags disappear.

So I have a list of some personal preferences. I have a "shoot" on Saturday (excited and freaked out!) so I guess I'll finally have a chance to see how my list will apply in real life!

Labels: personal

  ¶ 4:22 PM 0 Comments

  Starting off Nevermind the generic template and the lack of real content. That will all change soon...I hope.

This blog is to track my progress as a photographer. I'm currently working with a Nikon D40 (considered a "baby" DSLR) and a whole mess of lenses (yay!) but am looking to upgrade my camera sometime in the near (I HOPE) future.

Lately I've been considering trying my hand at taking pictures for money. The kinds of photos I think I'd enjoy taking the most are engagement/couples, boudoir (OH YEAH), and fashion-esque. Whatever that means. I have never been paid for my photos before, nor have I ever had a formal "shoot" where I actually get to direct people. I have no clue whether I'm going to be good at it or not but I'm going to give it a shot and see where it goes :)

What I'm doing now is asking (erm, maybe begging) people to "sit" for me so I can try and create some sort of portfolio in exchange for a disk of high-res, edited jpegs. This effort has been somewhat successful thus far! If I'm lucky, that means that this photography blog will actually have some pictures on it before long. AWESOME.

But where do I want this whole endeavor to go?

Short-term

Goal 1 Put together a portfolio
Get some good, quality work out there to let people know that I'm competent.

Goal 2 Get ONE paying gig
Short term, right? :)

I find it hard to put my goals out there for all to see...mostly because if I fail, everyone knows I tried and failed. What I'm hoping is that by putting things out there, I'll be held accountable for my failures...and my successes.

Labels: goals, personal

  ¶ 5:26 PM 0 Comments