Weekly Writing Challenge: Image vs. Text – There’s More Than One Side To A Story

I actually started this post last night, and then ran out of time. When I saw the Weekly Writing Challenge, I decided it was the perfect reason to complete it!

Not for the first time, I found myself taking an old photograph and reworking it. Sometimes it’s an old favourite I want to experiment with. Other times it’s just for the sake of honing a new technique. And sometimes it’s to tell a different story with a single image.

This photo has gotten a LOT of mileage. It’s a very basic photo, so it’s easy to work with. This is the raw image. I actually shot this against a yellow, sunshiny background, but with changes to my lighting settings, I ended up with a black background.

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My first instinct was to create a head shot from this photograph. So I cropped it closely and allowed my expression to tell the story. I appear wistful, perhaps thoughtful in this image.

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When I started experimenting with overlays, this image immediately came to mind. The solid black background was perfect for adding a texture to tell a different story. One that shows me gazing into a window – perhaps wishing for a place like this to call my own.

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Three stories told by the same photograph. Where the story begins, where it was headed and where it is now.

But there are always new interpretations of any tale.

To be continued…

(Someday)

A Head of the Pack

Boy…I was SO tempted to go with a different title for this post, but I decided to keep it G-rated 😀

Head shots are one of the most challenging types of photos to do because the attention to detail is critical. If you get it right, it’s a close-up not only of the subject’s face, but also a glimpse into their soul. I don’t do one on every shoot, even though I do try to capture at least a few shots that I can play with. Eh…it doesn’t always work out. But I’ll keep trying, shooting those tight photographs and working on my technique. I want to be able to offer at least one to every person I photograph. Stay tuned as I work on realising that dream.

I also kinda fudge on what a true head shot is. Generally speaking, it should just be the face and possibly shoulders. But I extend that to include the upper body – basically, chest up.

That’s what I did with this photo of my friend, Fox. He has beautiful eyes and I wanted to show them off, but it just didn’t seem to work with a tight head shot. So, I extended the cropping to allow me to include an overlay that I think helps create a mood that reflects more about him.

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This photo of my cherished, Tylar, is actually a re-work. I wasn’t happy with the original, so when I started playing around with overlays, this was one of the first pictures I experimented with. It’s still not perfect, but it not only shows Tylar’s beauty, it gave me an opportunity to express my love for my dear friend.

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I’ve used myself as a guinea pig for head shots more than anyone else, because if I fail, I am not disappointing anyone who is expecting a usable finished product. I shoot photos of myself for a variety of reasons: sometimes to relax, sometimes because I want to test a new prop or pose, and sometimes just because I get the itch to try out new techniques and I want new material to work with.

One of my favourite effects is called Orton. It gives a dreamy, romantic mood to a photograph. It doesn’t work with every shot, but when it does, I’m overjoyed. I think in this photo, it worked. I love the warmth and softness it conveys.

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I’ll be revisiting this topic as I improve my technique. I’d love to hear what you think about head shots – either shooting them, having one taken of you and even if you think I’ve succeeded.

Or not. 😉

The Boudoir Whale

Odd title for a post about photography…but it came up today in a silly conversation and it just stuck in my head 🙂

To try to tie it together, I’ll be spouting about the enormous possibilities – oceans worth of them – when doing bedroom shots.

When I think of boudoir photography, I think of very soft, hazy pictures of women in filmy lingerie. There is a huge market in this type of work for women who want to give their partners a little excitement and spice up their love lives (now, why do humpbacks suddenly come to mind? 😀 )

This photo is one that exemplifies the sensual style that typifies boudoir photography.

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But I often choose to swim away from the pod when it comes to my photography. (Don’t krill me; I know that was bad!)

This picture is also a boudoir shot, but it is whimsical and sweet, rather than steamy and sexy.

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Yes, I have breached convention with this photograph, but I love lobtailing in the face of the norm 😉

And that, my dear readers, is my whale of a story!