photo of the day: thirds

Last week was career day for Wicomico County freshmen at Salisbury University, and I was privileged to present for (I think) the third year in a row. I'm supposed to talk about what it takes to have my career (photographer) and I do, but I like to take a good portion of the time and show the kids simple ways to make their photos more effective. After all: they're the same age I was when I picked up my first real camera, and about 95% of them have access to a camera of some kind (I asked). So anyway, I went over several points with them, and thought I'd share at least one of my examples here: the rule of thirds.

If you've messed about with photography at all you've almost certainly heard of the rule of thirds--place your focal point on the third line instead of in the middle--so it's nothing revolutionary. I actually had a hard time finding illustrations for this point, since I almost inevitably shoot with lots of negative space in my images. But then I happened across this pair of pictures, and they're an excellent example of several things, not just the rule of thirds.

Part of being a photographer is choosing what to show in photos, and a good photographer can make a really bad venue look impressive. I was shooting at the Atlanta Botanical Gardens here, but as you can see from the first image, it's still possible to make an incredibly beautiful location look lame! Distracting foreground, unattractive walls, and a bland pose combine to make the first photo incredibly eh. (Yes, "eh" is a technical term.)

So I moved a little closer, stood up a little taller, turned my camera to make a vertical instead of horizontal, and added action to the photo, and it turned into one of my all-time favorite images. I mean, look at that expression on the left! Gold!





So I guess I'll sum up this post (and this week!) by telling you what I told the kids last week: I don't care what kind of a photographer you want to be; your job is to see things differently. If you see the way everyone else sees your photos will look like everyone elses. Push yourself to see in a new way.

See differently, people.

PS: I have three photoshoots lined up for the weekend, so there will be much activity next week! It's getting to be wedding season again, so we'll see if I actually manage to keep posting with any kind of consistency at all. But being busy is a good problem to have, right?

the wedding of n&m

So this weekend I was in Atlanta, Georgia, shooting the wedding of this lovely couple. It. Was. Gorgeous. The bride has an incredible eye for detail, and everything about wedding was perfectly handled. Only 28 people were present, so only the couple's closest friends and family were there. There was only one attendant on each side--siblings--and the focus was on spending time with those nearest and dearest. Instead of dancing and cake at the reception, there was an amazing six-course meal.
The wedding was the Atlanta Botanical Gardens and the reception was at a former industrial space called King Plow. The light was amazing, the setting was gorgeous, it was 75 degrees. You couldn't have ordered a more perfect day. Anyway, enough of my blathering. On to the pictures.