Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Tip time!

It may be a couple of days late this week, and it's probably not as much a tip as how I work, but here's this week's little photo tip.
DON'T BE AFRAID TO CAPTURE EVERY EMOTION.

* A classic example of choosing NOT to stop taking photos when, in the middle of a family Christmas card shoot my little man thought it funny to pinch his big sister... (Yes, this was one of the sequence chosen for the cards... this is childhood and sibling relationship at it's finest.)

True, I am one of those photographers that runs for the camera when my child is in the middle of a tantrum because (shame on me) I actually find it quite funny when my daughter (or son for that matter) is in the middle of a full blown screaming fit over the smallest of issues. However photography is not only about capturing all those posed 'smile at the camera' moments of birthdays, visiting relatives, holidays etc... What you have in your possession is a tool to capture the moments of LIFE as they unfold.

* Forced to take a photograph of the grandchildren present at a birthday party... lack of co-operation... naturally I had to continue photograghing. - I'm not one for setting up a lot of family photographs, so capturing how children react when being forced into a situation like this is how I like to work.


'Project 365' is a means for me to capture this in my own life. Though I have always been a very visual person there are days I don't feel like picking up a camera, and lets face it, when you're in the midst of something heartbreaking or dark you don't think to capture the memories of these times. But think of it this way, some songs transport you back to a moment in time, a time of your life you look back on with sadness, or absolute joy. Photography can do this also...


* On a personal note, after losing 2 babies (through miscarriage and fetal death) I struggled to come to terms with the loss on a visual scale... I spent a day photographing, meditating and crying, among other things and this was one image that seemed to capture some of what I was feeling while crying alone in the childrens garden at the cemetary where I was told the ashes were scattered. Having nothing to hold was worse than not knowing 'why' in the rawness of it all at the time, but capturing an essence of what it was I was feeling brought a reality to it all. Something to look onto and remember... This is part of our family history... Part of who we are as a family. Not a happy time, but life deals us all hands.

Photography is a tool to capture history, the story of your family. I love that my parents thought of this as I grew up. Being able to look back at the history of my own life is something I treasure. The fact that my parents didn't turn off the camera when one of my brothers had a tantrum over not being able to climb onto a train engine in a park, or that they thought it important to capture more than one image of me in a humidi-crib after being born prematurely. These are part of the bigger story of my family.


* Yours truly... So glad my parents captured these moments.


That's not to say that you shouldn't capture those standard 'smile at the camera' photos, just be aware that you have a tool to capture a more whole story of who you are.

Why not start a 'Project 365' yourself?

1 comment:

  1. great article! I am doing my own 365, and not everyday is a great photo, but I think that reflects the day and the essence of the project.

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