#project365: the end

Wednesday, December 5th, 2012 at 20:36

In April I started a project to post a picture every day for 1 year. I learned a ton about photography, but after a while I really had to go out of my way to find a good subject for my pictures. I didn’t want to shoot the same thing over and over again (hello, zoo).

It was clear that a good picture takes work. You have to think of what you want to shoot, draw it, then execute it. Execution might take many forms, including waking up early for the right light, getting a model to pose for you, travelling to a specific location, getting the right people together, or finding the right props.

How much do you want to work for 1 picture? Do you want to hire a hair & make-up stylist, scour 2nd hand markets for props, hire a studio and 3 models? Some of this comes down to money. Some of it to time, and some to creativity.

Another example – anyone with a 50mm lens can take a nice soft focus picture of their meal, but good food photography involves the right props, the right background, the right “composition”. In this way studio photography is a bit like designing.

My main conclusion is that I should spend more time making the pictures I want to make. Instead of posting 120 more images and finishing the project, I’d rather end it prematurely with a plan.

A plan to make less pictures, but better ones.

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