You Can Go The Distance
I remember looking at my photography a few years ago and thinking to myself, This is it? Yeesh. I worked with the equipment I had, tried my best to edit the way I knew how, and used Pinterest to take photos like what I saw everyone else taking. But I didn't feel confident in my work or in my ability to do more than snap a pretty picture sometimes.
Now I'm looking back on those years. Where there was nervousness and uncertainty, there's confidence. I've grown into my style, given myself creative freedom to try things out and just go for it. And no matter what our craft is, those are some important things to do.
I'm so thankful for the people who believed in me and stuck with me. Especially because now I can do things like this...
Take these for example--Michelle. The one on the left is a high school senior photo from 2012; the other from 2016, as she graduated from college as a boss babe nurse.
Key lessons found here:
- My understanding of light and shadows grew leaps and bounds.
- I figured out my way around colors and white balancing, and started to get the hang of posing.
- I learned how to make her feel more comfortable in front of the camera!
I had to practice, to invest, to work at getting better. I had to examine my photos and see their flaws, then find out how to fix them or enhance them.
Let's look at these, of Brooke. The left is a photo from her senior photos in 2014. The right is from early 2019, in a branding shoot for her baking business.
Key lessons found here:
- Lighting is important! If you don't have enough, move to another spot!
- Depth of field creates a lot more interest in a photo.
- The use of foreground and background in a photo to create dimension and interest! Layering, y'all.
I asked questions and looked up the answers when no one else knew them. I also invested in good editing software and spent hours learning it, frustratingly slow as that process was.
Take a look at these photos of Hannah. On the left, circa 2012. One of our first "creative" shoots. The photo on the right is from 2018, from a branding shoot!
Key lessons here:
- Overexposing. The whites on her shirt are totally blown out in the first photo!
- Hues and color balances. See that green undertone on the first photo? Yeah, not the best.
- Simplicity can be beautiful, you don't have to make things complicated to get beautiful results!
And one more, because I'm enjoying this trip down memory lane.
Amber, who was a ballerina and is now a dancer overseas. The first photo was from 2014, the second from 2017. She braved the 10 degree weather to get some epic shots for me!
Key lessons here:
- L I G H T I N G. Shadows specifically, and how you can use them for good or evil. - How to make an idea work in a tricky space. Both locations were finicky, but we nailed the second one a lot more than the first.
The distance between where we start and where we end up is so vast. That's why the process is important--no one arrives at the end in a day. We might never learn to appreciate where we are if we don't take a moment to check the rearview mirror once in a while.
Whether it's something like photography or something completely different, how can you look back and see the growth in your own life? Take a moment to think of a time before, before you were where you are now. You've grown, too. And that's amazing.
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