Not shooting people

Hi everyone. As most of you know, I'm a people photographer. If I'm not shooting people at a wedding or event, I'm working on my fashion skills with models. If I'm not doing that, I'm shooting my family. I took a good hard look at my images 6 months ago, and noticed it was seriously lacking in shots that didn't involve people. And the images of other things that were there, weren't very good. So I tried to figure out what I could do to remedy that. I didn't want to set up lights at the house and shoot still life, I wanted something that could help me in my actual line of expertise, shooting weddings. Which entails shooting the rings, shoes, dresses, centerpieces, flowers, cake, the interior of the banquet and church, the exterior of the church, maybe a beautiful bluff overlooking the water.

You get the point, wedding photography is so much more than just the "wedding couple", that if you want to do it right, you need experience and a bag of tricks to draw from to help you get all those shots. Now that's not to say I wasn't shooting those things, I do. I just thought I saw a little room for improvement.

The great thing about digital photography, the practice is free, and results are instantaneous. No more shooting a roll, then off to the lab to see what you got. If you see an area that needs improvement, you can focus on that and practice to your hearts content. So, I determined that I needed to focus on randomness. That should be easy, right? That could include ANYTHING. Way to focus and make a decision Frank. But I really want to improve at a lot of things in my photography.

So what did I do? Back in May I set off with a 2 other friends to photowalk Olvera Street. I had just gotten the new 5D MKII and wanted to put it through it's paces. It did admirably, and I walked away with several keepers that had no person in the frame.

Then it was off to Scott Kelby's Worlwide Photowalk in July that took place in Chinatown. My account of that is here: Frank's Blog on Chinatown. Now we were up to 50 people. The image I shot of the lanterns reflected in the pond won the local event, and was entered into the worldwide contest. To say I was hooked is an understatement. Photowalking with friends is a great way to remember what you love about photography in the first place. We shoot because we want to share. But why start sharing at the end of the process when the image has been printed? Why not start sharing at the beginning of the process? You know, at image capture?

Why not go off with a friend to shoot something. You probably have lots of other friends that also like photography. Maybe you both have kids. Take your kids to the park to shoot. The kids get some fun and exercise, and you get to share your excitement and passion with a fellow shutterbug. Your kids also get to see you doing something passionately. what a great thing to pass along to them. Even if they don't get the "bug" they will remember fondly that you were doing something you loved.

Like old cars? Head off with a buddy to a car show. Lot's of photogs there. Like beautiful sunsets? When was the last time you sat at the beach and waited? That is also great practice. One of the nuances of photography that needs to be learned is patience. Capturing the decisive moment. Wedding and sports photographers know this and practice patience.

The next step is to share what you each shot. I love looking at images that someone shot who was standing right next to me. What a great way to learn what types of things are appealing to other people. They may be shooting over your shoulder, but with a different lens, different framing, a different aperture, the image looks nothing like yours. What started off as a need and way for me to improve my images, turned in to a very fun endeavor. So if practice and work become fun, what's not to like? And by sharing with a fellow enthusiast, you are making friends. And that may lead to something else. Like shooting a wedding together for some $$. Or shooting the kids sports teams for $$. Or creating still lifes and having a gallery. Who knows? The possibilities are endless. Maybe you could put together a calendar to raise money or awareness to a cause you are attached to.

In the last few months, I've come across several Pro photographers willing to share their passions too. Maybe they aren't telling you what f/stop to use, or what mode to shoot in, but they do share their passion. They can be found here:

David duChemin He also has an excellent ebook available for $5 here: 10
Zack Arias
Chase Jarvis
Joe McNally

They all want the same basic thing. To share their passion.

It led me to wanting to share my passion with you. That's why Jeffery Saddoris, Nicole Rae, and I started this: Faded & Blurred We want to share our passion with you. We want to walk with you, and stand next to you and see the twinkle in your eye. We've got that twinkle. We want to share it. We want us all to grow, experience, shoot, live, breathe, and share. Have a question? Ask it. Don't know how to do something in Photoshop? Post the question. Have a charity that needs some assistance? Tell us. Need some exercise? We have walks coming up. Our 1st walk last weekend had almost 70 participants. Info on our upcoming walks are here: Photowalks. What's the worst that could happen? Meet some new, like minded friends? That would be horrible. Just remember, we want everyone to share what they've taken away from it.

So have I shot anything new that I'm proud of? That doesn't include people? Yes, I have...