In The Light...
I truly adore what I do. And it's interesting looking over how it all began and where it all started to where it has brought me. Photography is to me what Everest is to the climber; it's about the journey, yes, but mostly it's about challenging myself and besting myself every chance I get.
If you know me then you know I'm equal parts bizarre, dreamy, impulsive and romantic (and every one of these characteristics has served me well...even the idea of the paper flowers from this same session came to me the night before the shoot...good thing I'm impulsive). If this journey has taught me anything it has taught me that you need all of these things to keep going. What's the point if the photography you do isn't in some respect a dream that comes from your own heart?? Every woman I work with is a reflection of me in some way. It's a reflection of how I would want to be photographed (which, by the way, I dislike very much). And every session I design, create and direct must show multiple sides of that reflection. I want to see strength and power. I want to see vulnerability and softness. I want to see big guffaws and secretive smiles. I want to make images that inspire others to question how in the world I did that.
These 2 images above are from the same session you saw on Friday. Friday's post was all about the sweetness. Feminine, soft, girlie, colorful. Today is all about dreaming, rapture, warmth and light...celestial and transcendental images that bring you inside the image.
When John saw these 2 images he flipped. I mean...he really just fell in love with them (and nothing makes me happier then when I can impress my husband). But it's what he said to me that made me really stop and think about these 2 images: he said he could never have captured them. He would have never thought to capture them and he doesn't believe he could reproduce them. In one respect he's right; light is never the same twice but I know he could figure this out if he wanted to. The only thing I have on John, and others who look at these images and wonder about recreating them, is an intimate relationship with my studio space. I've mentioned before that it can be a difficult space but that refers me back to my Everest comment. I don't use artificial light and I have 3 gigantic windows in my studio that is the absolute biggest deciding factor in every photograph I take simply because of the light they let in (or there lack of on any given day). I was right in the middle of photographing a well-thought-out sequence that had a black backdrop and paper flowers pinned to the backdrop while Justine flicked the fabric of the dress that Kaitlin was wearing. Then the sun came out full blast and cast a bright glare on half of my well-thought-out idea. Yes, I could have easily grabbed fabric and pinned it to the window shutting out the light but then it would have shut out the light I really wanted for this look. So instead I switched gears and used the light, instead of hiding it. As soon as I captured the very first photo above I had another idea and said "Hey Kaitlin, how about you get naked right now?" :) A little surprised but not shy, Kaitlin disrobed immediately and I got the 2nd shot above. In both photos I was going for otherworldly meets light and explodes into this ghost-like image. I kinda like them and had I not been able to rise to the challenge that the sun was giving me I wouldn't have captured my 2 most favorite photos of the day.
The point is that at any given moment you could have an opportunity to create something beautiful and keeping your eyes open and welcoming each challenge as it comes will either result in beauty or, at the very least, a good lesson learned.
This is what inspires me to not only be a good photographer that knows how to use a camera, but to also be a creative director. I find designing my sessions to be a huge thrill...I mean, daydreaming is right up my alley. Along with that is the bliss that comes from being able to think outside the box (or, as John says, cut the box in half and use what you have), move in and out what you can and can't control and just let the day take you where it wants to go.
You never know where you'll end up. ;-)
