Photography / Toolbox

Creative Toolbox

There are times as a photographer when things all fall into place and the gods smile down and provide amazing subjects, fabulous light, and gorgeous locations. Getting all three of those things to collide in the same place and time is a luxury…and one that comes maybe once or twice a year. Unfortunately, the lack of any one of those three things is not an excuse for making pictures that don’t align with my established values for my images – that they be authentic, imaginative, and delightful. So when conditions are not ideal, I have to pull from my creative toolbox to make photos of which both my clients and I will be proud.

Each photo can have more than one of each of these qualities, but every photo I give to my clients should feel like at least one of those three things. Making this happen requires an intention to create photos this way – they don’t just pop out of the camera being any one of those things when the shutter snaps. It means paying attention to what is happening in front of my lens and knowing what to do to have a picture turn out the way I intend.

Essentially, it boils down to two things – watching for the right moment and using your camera settings to make that moment come to life. And it goes beyond just nailing exposure; sometimes it means breaking the rules.

So I’ve pulled out the items in my creative toolbox, based on each word that I use to describe my images. Some of the items in the toolbox are things that I can control, others are things I look for before making an image.

Authentic:

* Capturing people as they really are, without heavy posing
* Candid moments
* The moments in-between when my clients aren’t thinking about a pose
* Looking for emotions
* Wide(r) angles of view

Imaginative:

* Using blur from motion or soft focus (slow shutter speeds and wide apertures)
* Overexposure and washed out light
* Shooting through or into reflective or thin materials
* Creative framing or cropping

Delightful:

* Vibrant colors
* Happy faces
* Exuberant poses
* Bright backlight or soft light

In any given situation, it’s never as simple as just pointing and shooting. Every picture takes thought, knowledge, and intention in the moments before the shutter clicks.