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November 21, 2009 |
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Created and Maintained by: The Photoimaging Information Council |
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Articles |
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web.jpg) 2. Don’t be afraid to try new things, and to be silly and human in the process. Sometimes photographers get so wound up in being cool, they forget about being human, and their images look static as a result. If imagery is going to have impact, it’s got to be believable. I’m very comfortable with becoming foolish. It’s ok, you’re not going to get cancer from it.  3. Become a good listener. I see many wedding photographers who think it’s all about them and their artistry. That’s part of it, but you have to listen to your client too because they’re the ones paying you to do your job. If you listen, you’ll become in tune with who they are and get more meaningful expressions from them.  4. Go for expression over perfection. The expression is almost always the key component of an image. If you’re posing the couple, don’t overanalyze your posing and concentrate on it so much that you forget about the most important element, the expression.  5. Keep an open mind to new ideas. Just because you’ve done something the same way for such a long time and it seems to be working, don’t say, If it’s not broke, don’t fix it. Every human being is so unique that it’s not a good idea to use canned poses. Instead, look for new ideas you can use on specific clients.  6. Get inspiration from magazines and movies. Movies can give you a lot of ideas on lighting and creating mood. A recent movie I loved was The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, which used amazing tonalities in the cinematography. Think about the mood you want to set and work within that, not against it. If you want a dreamy, sensuous look, you probably don’t want to shoot in bright sunlight with bold colors.  7. Where possible, work with an assistant. Having an assistant allows you to think on your feet and be creative. While the assistant carries your gear and sets up equipment for you, you can be thinking, visualizing and interacting.  8. Don’t go crazy taking thousands of pictures, shooting everything that moves and breathes. Become decisive about your shooting style. If you’re just moving around and shooting like a machine gun, you’re taking away the craft – you might as well give a monkey a camera. It’s also a practical thing: the more pictures you take, the more you’ll have to edit.  9. Adapt simple Photoshop actions that you can apply to images to maximize your workflow. I’ve used actions by Craig Minielly and Marcus Bell, and I’ve recently developed my own, Cantrell Picture Works Photoshop actions. They instantly create effects like vignetting, infra red, and such, that can make your images more dramatic. Because it takes such a short time to apply them, you don’t spend all day working your butt off in Photoshop.  10. Keep your camera equipment in good working order. It sounds like a no-brainer, but people forget. Also, keep it simple. You don’t need every lens created. Lenses don’t take pictures, people do.
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