Well hello there!
Today on the blog is a personal post. This past summer was my two year anniversary of shooting and I was looking through photos of my first few shoots and I was amazed at how far I've come. I still have a lot to learn and I'm working on perfecting and understanding my craft and style but my images are better now that I have more understanding of my camera, light, editing, etc.
I also wanted to share this post today because I have a heart for encouraging people in the process of what they're learning. I am passionate about being real in a "social media highlight reel" life because we don't get to see the behind the scenes stuff on Facebook. We don't get to see the work and practice people have put into their craft and we don't hear about their insecurities or struggles. We just get to see the best of everyone's lives. I have put so much work into my photography and I'm constantly studying images I love. I have had shoots that I've hated and I have had shoots that I have thought were my best work. If you look back through my Facebook page you'll see how I have progressed and I'm not ashamed. I just want to be real and show you where I have come from and that practice makes perfect.
So with all of that said, here are a few then vs now's of my photography:
(and yes, we did recreate some of the poses on purpose)
As you can see, I have learned a lot! Understanding the settings of my camera have been huge! Sometimes I still feel stupid when using my camera because I'm self-taught but generally, I know what to do when I'm shooting. I just don't always know what the technical term is for something or that it even has a name lol.
Also paying attention to light has been crucial. You can get so many different looks in an image depending on where you place your subject in relation to the sun. I still have a lot to learn about lighting, but I feel mostly confident about it.
Lastly, editing. Need I say more? As you can tell my "then" images were oddly colored. The girls almost look pale and their shirts are supposed to be white but have a tinge of blue in them from the editing I did. One thing I've learned about editing is to keep the colors true, unless you're intentionally trying something artistic of course- but in this case, I was not trying to be artistic lol.
So there you go. I hope this post encourages you to keep going and to keep practicing whatever it is you're working on. No one likes the process but it is literally the most important part of the journey. We'll all get there one day.
Alicia