INTERESTING WAYS OF NARRATIVE

There is something very romantic about diptychs. When used appropiately they can tell a story or just function as a complement for a plain photograph. For years I've seen this form of composition in many photos and I've always had this attraction towards them. I believe it is a very refreshing for of narrative for photography as popular as it is though. I think many people use them without thinking of the elements involved but those cases are not relevant, what's relevant is the beautiful stories told by talented artists who manage to amaze us with their photographic and compositional 

skills.

Night by rooze

diptych by andrewpershin

Take me home by Roinja

street beat VI by anzya91

I found these examples amazing because some of them have the goal to present contrast, texture, narrative, and continuity, but always a connection in between the photos. I think it's a very refreshing way to communicate a message and a concept. 

ABOUT RETURNS AND FORESTS

Nah, I'm coming back to this blog. I decided I'll keep this to post personal insights and personal photography, the other one will be related to client work mostly. Maybe at some point it'll be a fusion... I don't know, I'm confused. Anyway, I decided to embrace what I started and I started this to let out some things related to the photography field. Now, what I'm about to say now is not to crush anyone or to make bad comments about other people's work, but I've been wondering, what is it so interesting about people being photographed in the woods? I mean, seriously. Probably when it first came out it was an interesting setting for photoshoots, and I still think it's interesting for lifestyle photography since you have to focus most of the time in the person not the location (but of course you can also take full advantage of location to make the photos more interesting), but for artistic photography, I feel it's kind of dead now, unless the photographer offers something else than a girl spacing out as if she's having a spiritual encounter with Jesus H. Christ, and smoke bombs. 

Of course I'm not innocent; for some time I wanted to live or travel somewhere near the woods to emulate the same photos I'm talking about now, but after seing so many of these elements, over and over again, I find it very annoying, why? Because I feel many people are more excited about their setting engaging the viewer rather than the model or the photograph itself. I think being in the woods and having tons of smoke bombs should be used as a prop not as the main subject, and there are many ways to use them for your advantage. 

The dreamer by tyler_mcgown

Tyler's photo is a good example of how you can use these elements to make your photo more interesting rather than letting the environment and props take over it. 

Untitled by single moment

Compared to this example where there is a lot going on, the smoke bomb seems to serve no purpose other than being a distraction from an already confusing composition. It seems as if the smoke is coming from the girl's behind; again, very distracting.

For photos without a purpose, without a concept, a smoke bomb can go terribly wrong. Of course it might be appealing at the beginning since it offers an ~enigmatic~ ambience, but other than that, putting smoke bombs in your shot will not make the photo better... if not, they can only make it worse. I really don't want to be mean, again, I'm not innocent from being curious about trying to experiment with smoke bombs but if I ever do it, I'll try to use it as a prop instead of making it my focus, unless I want to do a study on smoke or gas.

So my final thoughts are:
1) Smoke bombs will not make your photo amazing.
2) Being in the woods will not make your photo instantly magical.
3) Never place your smoke bomb near someone's ass because, well, you know what happens.
4) If you happen to have smoke bombs and a forest nearby, use your props and location to your advantage, don't let these take over your photograph. Don't abuse of your elements.

CHANGE

Hello! I'll be moving to this blog!
New Blog

JUANMA & FRIDA

Today I got the opportunity to shoot with two beautiful young friends. I had it planned for a couple of weeks ago but everything ended up being in the same day. I felt happy with myself because for once I felt I controlled the photoshoot. Most of the time I tell whether it is my clients or people I want to photograph "DO WHATEVER YOU WANT" but now I felt more confident to tell them what to do, which makes me feel more comfortable and also they feel relieved for not having to figure out what to do next. Still, I need more practice but I'm glad with the results; I'm very, very happy.

SOME WORK

I wish my absence had something to do with having a lot of work but the truth is I have been lazy, very lazy. These are some shots from a client session I had yesterday. They were very nice, a little bit serious, but it was okay. I was very nervous though, it's been months since I had a paid photoshoot and felt all the pressure. It ended pretty quickly but the truth is, I had a hard time because I really tried to take them out of their comfort zone, that being, posing in front of the camera to smile. The younger brother was very helpful, that is why in some photos they look relaxed; that's what I was looking for, I loved the kid.

I'm waiting for my client to confirm these 20 photos I chose from the session because I need to print them and order the photobook, so I can start preparing the photobundle I'll give to her. I'm so nervous.

I've had other people asking for my photography services but when I tell them my prices they never reply back. The thing is, in my city the photography business is a terrible competition. While I might not be the best photographer in town, I feel that my prices are reasonable for the quality I offer, but there are other people who charge less but obviously offer lower quality services. Which is okay, I much rather have clients who really want to pay me for what I do, than people who are just feeling like I'm the only photographer they can pay. It's hard, but I hope that little by little I can start putting my work out there for people to see. I've had brides contacting me for their weddings and when I tell them I charge 500 dlls, they back off. I don't know, I seriously feel that, while I'm not super cheap, I'm not charging that much, but hey, that's okay I guess.

COMPROMISES

I've had this thoughts about life lately. I've always known that life is something ephemeral but the idea has been ringing inside my head for weeks. I guess I must be growing up. 

I'm actually quite happy because yesterday I met the Photography professor at my University. I wanted to ask him if he knew about a repair shop for my damaged Pentax, and he ended up quite happy to know I was into Photography. I told him about my film cameras and he was so excited. I was actually sad because my advisor told  me that Photography I wasn't going to be for registration next semester, but the professor told he that he was thinking about giving it next semester! And he encouraged me to take it. I suppose not many people are that excited about cameras as I am, and I still think I'm not such a great enthusiast! I think I broke the ice when I told him I had a Diana + and an Argus C3. He was happy and I was too! I really, really want to take that class next semester so I can finally know how to develop my film, and also to have constructive criticism from someone who's down to earth. He seems pretty cool.

WHOOPS

I've been slacking off. My mind is all over the place but I think I feel better now (I was feeling sad a couple of weeks ago). I have a lot of stuff tod o and I haven't even started yet. There have been some events that have left me with bittersweet emotions, all of them involved with my job as a photographer (if I can call myself that, and if I can call what I do a job). I still haven't figured out how to manage my business but I started to build some packages for whenever a job oportunity arrives. 

I'm thankful for having such great acquaintances at school, I didn't think I was going to make any friends this semester and apparently I already have some people I hang out with. I'm planning on having a photoshoot with one of these people for his lookbook profile. Let's see how it goes.

And these are some photos I took of my friend at the beginning of this month. She was so nice for letting me photograph her, all though they didn't turn out the way I was expecting, I was glad to have a photoshoot with a new face. Definitely looking forward to shoot with her again.