“Fairy tales are more than true — not because they tell us dragons exist, but because they tell us dragons can be beaten”
– Neil Gaiman
Month: February 2016
February 22, 2016
Collective Post“Be not discouraged – keep on – there are divine things, well envelop’d. I swear to you there are divine things more beautiful than words can tell.”
– Walt Whitman
Community Critique – Allison
Community CritiqueWe are so excited to bring you our first critique feature from Allison who shoots with a Canon 5d markii, sigma 35mm art lens, 50mm 1.4, and a macro lens.
I love the small area of focus. I think that the choice of aperture is spot on for this type of image. I like the soft spotlighting happening on the hands and toys in the focus area. The dappled light helps with the feel of the image without the harshness of full sun images. I find that the orange toy in the top right corner is a distraction – the lines of the fort/play gym are awesome leading lines however they lead to the out of focus toy which takes my attention from the main component of the image. Maybe a slightly different angle or perspective may help to minimise that effect. I would have liked to see the focal point (hands and toys) drawn up a little in the frame – more onto the bottom third line as some of the other elements in the image draw attention away from it rather than drawing attention to it.
I really like the colour palette in the image. I find that the colours are all beautifully complimentary. The car in the back ground isn’t detracting from the image. I think the blur of the background helps with that.
The only thing I would change to create a stronger image would have been to remove the orange toy as it would have left cleaner lines drawing you through the frame back to the hands. But overall a good storytelling image of a child lost in his/her imagination and having an outside adventure.
First off, let me commend your creativity with this shot! It is not a standard image, which is something I love. It’s great how it tells a story that is so particular to childhood. The brightly colored play structure is abstracted, yet still easily identifiable and the mismatch of toys pushes us to create a narrative. There are some things I think you could do next time to help make this image stronger. It looks like the highlights on the houses in the background are blown. This is a common issue with shooting digitally and for this reason I will often underexpose in camera (so that there are no blown pixels) and then bring it up in post so that I can maintain a greater dynamic range in my photos. Eyes naturally tend to go first to the brightest part of a photo, so in this image the background is competing for attention with the action in the foreground. Along those lines, I would also get lower so that you use the play structure to block out the car, as it also draws the eye and, thus, distracts from the narrative you have created in the foreground. I would also try moving just a bit to the left, which would move the hands to the right, so they have the clean background of the blue wall behind them. As it is now, the hand holding the bunny has the window cutting through it and if that was separate it would help add to the graphic punch of your image. My personal preference would be to not do matte processing on the image. I think the colors could be that much bolder without the matte look applied. For my own work, if I want an image to be matte, I will still process it the same way I would any other image with true black and white points, but when I print it I will use a matte paper. You have a great use of color blocking. I would really love to see you push yourself even further next time and use the bright colors of the play structure to fill the frame and guide the composition.
I like this photo! There is a color, humor and an interesting perspective in choosing not to show a face. The odd mixture of toys captures the quirky little things our kids do. Your shallow depth of field helps to isolate the subject of the hands and toys and draws my eyes there rather than to the distracting background. There is a strong diagonal line that starts in the top right corner and leads my eyes all the way down to the hands. I also like you how used the solid blue background as a contrast to the hands otherwise the they could have been lost with all that is happening in the background.
I think one thing you could have done to improve this photo is take one small step to the right to get some separation between the white horse/blue indian and the toy (Hulk Hogan?) in the back ground.
February 15, 2016
Collective Post“The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost.”
– Eleanor Roosevelt
Featured Artist – Jolene Bresney
Featured, Featured ArtistWe are so excited to bring you our first Featured Artist for 2016, Jolene Bresney of Studiobloom. You can find her online on her website, Facebook, and Instagram. Here she is in her own words and pictures:
Please, introduce yourself and let us get to know you.
I’m Jolene Bresney, a lifestyle photographer living it up (haha) in the Midwest. I’m a wife and mother to 3 kiddos- 1 boy and 2 girls. We love to travel around the world, but equally enjoy spending time at home with family and friends. The outdoors is where I find my peace, I make a point to get outside every day- winter especially! It’s where I do my soul searching and dreaming- my anchor in the daily throws of motherhood. I enjoy writing almost as much as photography- but I can only balance one creative outlet at a time. Someday, I hope to publish a book that combines the two- a girl can dream, right?!
Tell us about your journey as a photographer.
I first fell in love with photography back in high school (do I have to say when that was?!), but didn’t seriously pick up a camera again until the birth of my 2nd child. I have very few photographs from my own childhood, so as life evolved with my children, I saw how incredibly beautiful it was and recognized a void that I desired to fill. I ached to document everything- moments were slipping away, the days and years, unabiding. I enjoy capturing our messy moments as much as the conventional– I am a sucker for honest and raw in every outlet. I pine to capture emotion and have always preferred the unscripted over the perfectly posed. I have major OCD when it comes to learning new things, soooo once I started studying photography, I couldn’t stop. I poured over every book, blog post, and YouTube video I could possibly get my hands on to figure out how to manipulate light and master my camera. I’m still learning to this day. My early professional work was very posed, and I became pretty good at it, but it felt trite and uninspiring to me. After attending several workshops, I began to take my personal work more seriously. Only recently, I have starting sharing it publicly. I was afraid that people would assume I wasn’t successful if my blog was consumed with my kids instead of clients. Big mistake– I have never felt more fulfilled. You attract what you publish. Publish what you love. Best lesson learned. Vow to shoot what speaks to you and you will always have authenticity in that. This is art, not mathematics, so I have fun trying out new things to avoid the creative rut.
What is your daily schedule like? Describe your work/life balance.
During the school year my daily schedule doesn’t deviate much- I start my day reading something inspiring so I can sustain the demands of the day. Daily life with 3 kids and a husband who travels a lot can be hard. I spend my mornings and afternoons working- whether it’s answering emails, editing, housework, etc. I try to get everything done before the kids come home from school. After 3 pm, I’m all theirs. I try to be as present as I possibly can be. I don’t want them to ever feel like they are competing with a device for my attention. I am a mother first, then a photographer. When school is not in session, we have very little routine and it’s liberating and kinda crazy, but I love it! I book my client sessions on the weekends, and I don’t take more than 1-2 per week. I shoot for myself every day.
How do you keep your photos fresh when you’re photographing in the same spaces at home all the time? What is your thought process when you pick up your camera?
To keep my photos fresh, I play with light and shadows. This creates a mood, which makes for interesting art. If it’s cloudy and dreary outside- which it often is in the winter, I don’t fight it. I embrace it, often intentionally underexposing to amp up the mood. Likewise, if it’s sunny I will go for a lighter, airy feel. I incorporate objects to assist in creating interesting composition. I will use doorways and walls, and other fixtures to frame my subject. I like to incorporate prisms and mirrors for creative effects. Challenging yourself to see things in new ways forces you to be creative and innovative in a familiar space.
Most of your work appears to be done with limited light. What are some of your favourite tips for working with low, dramatic light?
Shooting in low light is my favorite! It’s so moody and gritty. I rarely use a flash, if I do, it’s off camera for a creative effect. To shoot in low light, I crank up my ISO, lower my shutter speed, and shoot with a wide aperture. I like some grain in my moody images, so a little noise can be masked in post-processing. My advise is to know your camera’s limitations. My ISO can go past 1000 and still look clean. I work with light that is readily available. Be creative, there are no rules!
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