Everybody has a different reason why they start being interested in photography. Some people take photos as memories because their memory is not so good. Some people take photos trying to capture the beauty of the moment to show people how amazing it was out there. Street photographers are trying to capture the moment in time to show the tiniest piece of someone’s life. Whatever the reason is, I would imagine as photographers we take those images for ourselves, but mostly to share with others who might have the same interests as you.
I am fascinated by nature and somehow urban landscaping as well. There are people who are going to see a beautiful sunset and just enjoy it, and I will feel heartbroken if I can’t turn my camera in the direction of this sunset. Yeah, sunsets are cheesy, but people still love them.
However, if you love photographing people, it doesn’t mean that a good sunset won’t be enjoyable to look at, but perhaps it won’t provoke the same adrenaline rush as when you see someone beautiful in that perfect sunset light. So, I love my landscapes. It doesn’t bother me to stay for 3 hours in the same spot waiting for the perfect moment, but I can’t say the same for my boyfriend. No, he doesn’t complain or anything, but I know he is waiting… and I walk away from the skies that are about to turn epic because I don’t want to make him miserable. Love is compromising 🙂
And I’ll tell you more, my friend, whatever we do, we need to do it with love. Nothing will work out as well without love and passion. I don’t get much excited about taking portraits of people, but I enjoy photographing people I love. That’s why it is important to fall in love with every project you have and find love in every person you meet.
Moreover, when you do just pretty much anything with love, it always turns out nicer. Don’t just water the flowers, feel how much you appreciate them being there and they will grow much nicer. Sometimes it is hard to be nice and express love, sometimes the people you need to take photos of are assholes, or someone else there is spoiling your mood… so one friend of mine has given me this advice in this case – if someone is an asshole to you, be twice nicer than you usually are to them, it will make them feel bad. And it is not a completely bad idea. At least you won’t spoil your karma for sure.
This morning I had to go do a photo shoot of some designer’s working space quite far from where our office is. I didn’t really wake up in a good mood, even though I was ranting about the importance of programming yourself to a good day… but yeah, don’t we all talk a lot. When I arrived at my office to meet with my colleague who was supposed to come with me I learned that I have to go alone. Bummer, right? Fine, I met those designer guys once already, so here we go. Their office smells so much of paint, I am about to faint. The light is a mixture of nasty yellow light on one side and natural light on the other. But they offer me coffee and cookies, and nobody nerves me out so I am free to move my tripod around to find that very position… and my colleague doesn’t have to be in any event right now (because she is not here) so I have all the time in the world. And it works out, and the photos look beautiful.
And tonight I have to go take pictures of people at some event. There is not much that I like less than doing that, but that’s what a lot of us need to do if we want to make a living. I am going to go and spend two hours of my life taking pictures of people eating and drinking outside after sunset… but you know what, networking is key so if I manage to take any good pictures of any of those people at this event, they might pay me to do it next time for them. So I am going to be nice and friendly, and will try to apply my love to make it work for every one of us.
The image above is from a nasty rainy day in Iceland, and I didn’t feel inspired to shoot anything around when I saw this heart-shaped rock. It was there for me to remind me to apply a bit of love to this day and everything would be fine.
Much love,
Anna
Playing with the Light 