It is finally great to find an outlet that allows me to show other people how I see things. I’ve always thought I saw things a little differently than other people. I imagine everyone does. I remember coming up I wanted to fit in but that meant I had to change in order to do so. I enjoyed being a little different and that hasn’t always made me easy to get along with. I find it hard to find people on the same page as me.
So when a respected photographer said my work was original and that he enjoyed it, I felt that it was reassuring that photography was a place where the way I see things matters. Anything original matters in a world of norms and replications of disposable imagery.
One of the hardest things to do is to get someone else to see something from a different point-of-view. It can sometimes be excruciating watching someone in self-destruct and you can’t help. If only they could see things or themselves as I see them. If seeing something from a different perspective would be easy, consider how many less physical and mental health challenges we would face. “If you saw it this way, you wouldn’t do that.”
So, having an ability to capture how you see a subject can have a desirable effect. The subject themselves may feel better about themselves or when presented an image in a similar medium (a photograph) as they see across marketing, they criticize and judge themselves less harshly as when they look in the mirror. In a well taken photograph they look better than they think they actually do.
I think if there’s one thing that stands out to me about my thought process in a shoot it’s this. Don’t try to be different, just don’t try to be the same. And at some point you just have to trust yourself and your viewpoint. Then you have to make your viewpoint somehow stand out. When I’m working with a model, I always think about how I can fit into their portfolio by standing out a little from their other work. I also enjoy thinking how I can present an image of this person that is different from the images that are released of them by other photographers.
Now, how original my work is, I really don’t know. And originality and quality are not linked in any measure. Just because it’s original doesn’t mean it’s good. Besides, being different carries huge consequences. Stepping out from knowing what’s liked into what you like is the hardest part of this artist process. Who the hell am I to challenge the rule of thirds? Or to push my highlights sometimes. Or do do something different than what is shown to work?
Sometimes, if it feels right, then do it. Be willing to suck, be willing to only get 25 likes, and be open to criticism because you can’t put your head up without someone trying to pull it back down. “Stay in the crowd, it works” they will tell you.
As always, I thank you and I bid you adieu.