So many different things inspire me. I love looking at fashion, accessories, sketches, paintings, sculpture, vintage items, the various elements in nature; I am always drawn to water, especially the ocean.
Of course I love looking at other photographers' work too.
I'm not looking to copy anyone's ideas or style. I am attempting to understand their ideas and figuring out if I 'get' the message they are sending.
Good photography makes you feel something. Anger, sadness, outrage, passion, happiness, desire, greed...the whole gamut of human emotion. If you don't feel anything it could be because the photographer didn't know what he or she was trying to say.
Some photographs are made to sell things. Nothing wrong with that. BUT if you don't want to buy what they are selling, it may not be that the item is boring, it could be due to bad photography. Have you ever seen a line of accessories in a magazine spread and nothing appeals to you? You think, "ugh I hate that look." But then you go to the mall and see the same kind of accessories at your favorite store and suddenly you can imagine yourself wearing that huge cuff bracelet, or the asymmetrical necklace that looked really stupid in the magazine. What happened? Well, the photography didn't do what it should have. It didn't sell the items properly.
Photography is super important whether your project is a fashion line, accessories, automotive, industrial, real estate, acting, music, or family portraits. What is the message that you're trying to send?
Do your photographs say what your clients are trying to express?
If not, why not?
Try studying all kinds of photographs and art. Look for fresh inspiration and try to understand the message in everything you see.If you can hone your artistic eye to see what each photograph or other item is saying, you will be well on your way to speaking through your own images.
Thursday, September 29, 2011
The Deborah Evind Leadership Program and Portland Community College
I am honored and so proud to have been a part of this photographic and video project.Video here
I was asked to participate in photographing each alumna for the inagural Gala fundraiser for the Deborah Evind Scholarship Program.
In the video, whenever you see the flash pop, that's me taking photos of the ladies holding signs with messages about how being involved with the Women's Resource Center changed their lives. :)
I'm even one of the interviewees (b&w dotty shirt).
Most important, though, is the work that Deborah Evind did when she created the WRC at PCC, and the programs she began while running the center. Through her vision and her hard work, she has changed the lives of thousands of women and their families by helping women to stay and succeed in school.
On a personal note, having sat and talked with Deborah about my hopes and dreams for the future, and getting real about what it would take to get there, I began to realize that I was fully capable of handling college and that I deserved to be there. My involvement with the WRC gave me the incredible opportunity to participate in the 2009 production of The Vagina Monologues, and to be the photographer for several seasons after that.
I met many talented, intelligent, beautiful women and made friends at the Center that I never would have met otherwise. Talia, Ellie, Angelica, Angela, Eva, Tanya, Oscar, Peter, and so many more. <3
Thank you Deborah. We will remember you fondly and vow to carry on your important work.
I was asked to participate in photographing each alumna for the inagural Gala fundraiser for the Deborah Evind Scholarship Program.
In the video, whenever you see the flash pop, that's me taking photos of the ladies holding signs with messages about how being involved with the Women's Resource Center changed their lives. :)
I'm even one of the interviewees (b&w dotty shirt).
Most important, though, is the work that Deborah Evind did when she created the WRC at PCC, and the programs she began while running the center. Through her vision and her hard work, she has changed the lives of thousands of women and their families by helping women to stay and succeed in school.
On a personal note, having sat and talked with Deborah about my hopes and dreams for the future, and getting real about what it would take to get there, I began to realize that I was fully capable of handling college and that I deserved to be there. My involvement with the WRC gave me the incredible opportunity to participate in the 2009 production of The Vagina Monologues, and to be the photographer for several seasons after that.
I met many talented, intelligent, beautiful women and made friends at the Center that I never would have met otherwise. Talia, Ellie, Angelica, Angela, Eva, Tanya, Oscar, Peter, and so many more. <3
Thank you Deborah. We will remember you fondly and vow to carry on your important work.
Monday, September 12, 2011
Photography quotes
"Your photography is a record of your living, for anyone who really sees." ~Paul Strand
“It’s one thing to make a picture of what a person looks like, it’s another thing to make aportrait of who they are.” ~ Paul Caponigro
“A portrait is not made in the camera but on either side of it.” ~ Edward Steichen
"When words become unclear, I shall focus with photographs. When images become inadequate, I shall be content with silence." ~Ansel Adams
"I will love the light for it shows me the way, yet I will endure the darkness because it shows me the stars."~ Og Mandino
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