Lighting Exercise

I had to do a lighting exercise recently, and there is nothing as fantastic as going back to the basics.
I specifically had to use a natural window light as a light source and wanted to capture the texture created by the light shining through the petals of the flower.

I could have used a reflector to direct more light onto the center of the flower to light up the central details, and I could have also upped the exposure a bit but, my intention was to attract to the finer details that you do not see with direct lighting.

I love the final result and cannot wait to frame it and hang it in my home.
Perhaps I will try some of the methods above to get a variety of different images. I had a lot of fun "playing" though, adn ended up with many images that I can work with. It reminded to keep it simple in stead of overthinking the technical aspects of photography. And I discovered how I can help myself to see the light and shadows at everything I look at, thereby enhancing the images that I want to take.

Photography and the weather!

The weather doesn't always work with the photographer and most photographers love shooting on cloudy days.
This doesn't mean that you cannot take stunning photos on sunny summer days!

Sometimes you just need to creatively look at a subject and look at how you want to catch the light and represent the final impact of the image.

Light shining through the leaves of a flower, reflecting off the many interesting objects next to some roads.

All of these make amazing subjects.

Play with the concept, and try to capture it.

I have found it very difficult to look and see the lights and shadows that make every photo an image with dimension. I still battle with it on a daily basis. Sometimes that effect you saw in your mind's eye just eludes your creative process completely.

Frustrating beyond imagination it might be, but I have learned to relax, lock everything else out of my mind and just to enjoy the moment.

Smelling the air, looking around (even if you have to pretend to be a tourist), and just absorbing the moment. And most importantly, I have learned not to rush myself.

Putting pressure on yourself to achieve is sometimes more destructive than the strictest critic.

Enjoying and taking your time with each project, is an unwinding process with amazing results.

Regardless if you sell your photography, or just do it for the love of it, it will be perfect for the emotion that you invest in it. Good emotions lead to creative interesting photos.




For those who are interested in buying a print, or contracting me for a project, feel free to contact me through my website or e-mail.
http://www.ericaeaton.webs.com
erica.eaton@rocketmail.com