"I just love this!"
I really do!
I really love these pictures
of our home and family.
One of the ways I can tell
I love them is that they make me
fall in love with my husband
and this life he's given me
all over again.
Considering this is my "before" photo of the edited one above:
Last night I had the privilege to see a presentation by western photographer
David Stoecklein at the opening of the Black Hills Photo Shootout.
I could not sleep when I got home
because I was so excited to work with these photos
that I managed to sneak in taking a few weeks ago
when we did our fall shots for the ranch.
So I stayed up until 1 a.m. last night working with these photos.
David Stoecklein was so excited to show his work.
I loved that!
Over and over again, he would say,
"I just love this one!"
and
"Do you guys like this? Because I really do?"
and
"Isn't that great?"
And I thought, ok, there is a lesson here.
And that lesson is this:
Don't be afraid, ashamed or embarrassed to love your work
and say that you do.
In addition to that,
I wanted to remember a few things
that hit me straight to
the business mind
and
the creative soul.
These aren't necessarily his exact words,
but they are what his presentation
conveyed to me.
What matters about composition
is that
you,
the creative-artist-photographer,
love the shot.
Not rules.
But your gut reaction & emotion
about the story of the photo.
 |
| Big Sky. Big Land. |
You have got to be able to name
the things you do
and
the things you do not like
about your work,
so that you can weed out what you don't like.
This is true about
photography,
art,
life.
Then
your work
your life
will reflect
fulfillment...satisfaction.
Honor people with your work.
Don't make them look stupid.
A photo is a snapshot of someone's identity
Respect that.
{Hopefully I did not do that. I certainly never mean to.}
{My desire with these photos is to honor this life with my husband & family.}
 |
| The Gatekeeper. |
Every picture
should tell a story.
And you need to know what that story is.
Storytelling helps you make adjustments
in your photos to make them better.
{I've been adjusting these stories I'm sharing here!}
Tell the story.
Story and light.
Those are the two key things in creative photography.
Take things that happen by chance
and learn from them.
Whew! That was good advice for me
to hear.
Because these shots working cattle
were taken by chance . . .
Trying not to get caught
snapping pictures
while I was supposed
to be pushing cattle up the shoot.
Learn from what happened by chance.
Get your name out there.
Submit to magazines & publications.
Name recognition is important.
Name and style.
Establish a signature style.
So that your work is identified with you.
Story.
Light.
Honor.
Love your work.
Say you love it.
Name.
Your own name.
And name your likes & dislikes.
So you can link your name with your
signature style.
This is my story.
My story of
family.
My story of our life.
And
I
just
love
it!
{These photos & this life!}
{It's not perfect ~ there's always things we can improve.}
{But it doesn't have to be perfect to be wonderful.}
*
Joining Jen {check out her winged art!} and
these talented artists here:
{All photos property of Jodene (Jodi) Shaw copyright 2011}
