While trying to decide which photos to use in this post, I went through a few options. You see, I have thousands of photos from this past year on my computer…THOUSANDS! And I love plenty of them! If you remember correctly, I did a 365 Day Project last year as well…so I have been taking more than one photo {sometimes a couple hundred} every day of 2010. The task of trying to narrow down my most favorite 10 or so photos from the thousands I took last year was a challenge that, quite frankly, I was not up to. But, there was this one amazing session from August 2010…the best, most amazing, most beautiful, most idyllic session!
I know what you’re thinking…if this session was so great, why didn’t I blog it? Well, that’s a tricky question. Sometimes I don’t blog my session because I just get too busy talking about other things and then it’s been a couple months and I feel weird then blogging it. But this one was very different. Would it make sense if I told you that I was too intimidated to blog it? Seriously…the disk I gave to these clients had 40 images…a number I scrupulously narrowed down from the much larger number of really nice images. But here’s the thing…objectivity about your own work comes with time.
I had so many emotions wrapped up in this session: I loved the clients, I thoroughly enjoyed our time together, and the session was so “ME”…meaning it hit the nail on the head as far as what type of sessions I’d like to have. It was natural and un-posed and creative and personalized…downright perfect in by book! It was the type of session where I said to the clients “so, could you like bring your canoe?” and they said “sure!” And at the time, I just could not view my work and decide what were the 10 or so best and most reflective images of the session….so it never got blogged…
But since that time, I have noticed growth in all kinds of ways that I never imagined. I’m starting to fine tune my ‘eye’…and starting to be able to decide which of my images are great and which are just pretty good. And that hasn’t come easily…because I look back at some images from last year and remember how proud I was of them at the time…and now they look, at best, just okay. So my skills are improving, of course {hello? daily practice} but also I’m growing within the art and skill of photography and, therefore, so is my objectivity.
Opening the doors of my portrait photography business brought about a lot of change and growth that I did not expect, did not ask for, and did not particularly want. Being that I had previously owned a soapmaking business, I figured the details would all be old hat…all I would have to do is show up and take pictures! Easy! Boy was I wrong…in addition to having to make the excruciating decision of deciding what your time and talent is worth, you also need to determine what to share, what not to share, where to define your boundaries, how to enforce those boundaries when they inevitably get tested, what to say yes to, what to say no to, and how many hours a week you want to devote to all of this. It was, and still is a little, exhausting! I made these decisions, but I find myself here at the start of a brand new year re-evaluating and coming up with a system that fits me a little better. It seems to be a constant evolution at this point and I’m so hoping this year will bring some sort of clarity as far as direction and method for me.
So what are my plans for 2011? Well, one thing is for sure…I want to do more sessions like this! This is me…to a T! I just need to translate that into what I do for others. Also, I want to do work with meaning…I want to show real life, authentic people, genuine looks, and strong connections. Life is beautiful! I believe that with my whole heart and soul and I want my images to reflect that. Will I now call myself a primarily lifestyle photographer…I don’t know. I don’t really know where my lines will be drawn…but I know where I want to head and I’m hoping I’ll figure it all out along the way.
Last year, I dedicated myself to learning to use my camera and use it well and to developing my photography skill. I’ve decided to devote this year to developing my artistic soul! Developing one without the other leaves me here…right here…knowing what I love to do and sort of how I love to do it, but not being certain of my artistic mark. I can only hope that I will come as far artistically this year that I came technically last year. I have signed up for some workshops {and not just photography ones!} for the winter months and I hope that helps to really develop my inner artist!
I will be attending Irene Nam’s Simple Soulful Photography workshop starting on Monday {eep!} and I’m this close to signing up for this painting class…I thought that Rayne and I could both work on the assignments! I do want to say that I’m typically very skeptical about signing up for online e-courses. The world wide web has become saturated with e-courses of all shapes and sizes and they don’t all turn out to be a worthwhile investment. But these two have caught my eye and peaked my interest!
I don’t share this all with you to tell you how much I’m growing or to gloat about my progress {trust me it’s been slow and painful!}…I tell you because I know that many of you are currently on similar journeys. I know that many of you are developing your photography skills and some of you are thinking of opening a photography business of your own. I share with you so that 1) you have a realistic view of how not easy it all is and 2) that you’re not alone if you’re feeling frustrated. Photography is art…and art is a very deep journey of the soul…and that is not easy. You can cover it up with technical jargon about apertures and ISO, you can talk turkey about prime vs. fixed lenses and full frame vs. DX crop, but ultimately, your artistic soul is trying to figure out how to use the camera to reflect itself…and that is tough!
So, now it’s your turn! Share with us your favorite images or session from 2010 and tell us what you’re learning about yourself and about this big wonderful world of photography! I’d also love to hear where you’re headed in 2011!
{{{ps…The Sunday Creative will return this Sunday, January 2nd! If you haven’t already joined us, this is a great way to push your creative abilities with our unique weekly prompts! See you there!}}}
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