Imaginative Arts: Journeyman

 Photography and Creativity!

We have learned all about light, composition, posing and candid photography so this month we are going to do something different. 

One of the reasons I love photography is because it allows me to take pictures of everyday life in a more creative and aesthetic way. For example, when one of my kids makes a cool dessert I can take a pretty picture instead of a lame snapshot. When someone wins an award, dresses up for Easter or is engrossed in their hobby -- these are all opportunities to create a beautiful photo instead of just pointing and shooting with my camera. 

Some objects or everyday life stuff we capture takes a little effort and creativity to turn it into a beautiful and interesting photo. Sometimes that will mean changing up our perspective and other times that means adding a creative element or staging the object. 

Study and Learn: 

1. Read this article to get some ideas of ways to take an everyday object and make an interesting photo. Note that I don't think all of these ideas have merit when taking picture of a pinecone (which is the example in the article) BUT all the ideas could be applied to a different object with good results. The point of this article is mostly to get you thinking outside of the box. 

2. Look at the examples in this article. Especially pay attention to how everyday objects became beautiful or artistic because of how they were captured. 

Here is a simple example. The story of how my husband and I met has to do with cereal, so each year we eat the cereal in celebration of when we first met. Last year I wanted to document that tradition. I could have easily just snapped a pic of the boxes of cereal on the table. I could have taken a picture of my kids eating the cereal at the table. Instead I decided to take one extra minute and set up a photo using some creativity. What I got was a much more meaningful picture that is a lot more fun to look at. It doesn't take a ton of effort to take a more creative photo of everyday objects!

Here is another super simple example. Which photo of our South American feast do you prefer? As cute as Jennah is, I think we can all agree that the first photo captures the variety, beauty and fun of our feast much better than the second photo. The difference? I just stood on a stool. That's it. :D 

Another example. Shaylie had a mural job painting pineapples on a bathroom wall for a client. I wanted to help her document the process so I snapped that first photo of the supplies. I immediately knew that I was lame and could do a lot better with a ITTy bit more effort. In the second photo I arranged the supplies on the floor, got rid of distractions and had a much better photo. Is the second photo going to win me any awards? nope. haha. It's just a better photo and it didn't take much work to improve it. 

Know and Understand:

Take a GREAT photo of an object that matters to you -- yes, it has to have meaning. So even if it sounds fun to take a cool photo of colored pencils, that probably wouldn't work unless you love art and drawing with colored pencils. Pay attention to your light and composition, we are building on our skills so don't leave those out. 
Before noon on Wednesday email me your BEST photo. If you send me more than one I'll pick the one I think is the best for the slideshow. 
There will be winners and the way to win is to show a photo that had thoughtful/intentional lovely light, solid composition and shows how to creatively take a boring everyday object and make a portrait out of it. Go for the gold and shoot for having ALL THREE elements in your photos!

Become and Serve:

Watch this message from Elder Uchtdorf. I have never forgotten the first time I heard him speak these words at a women's broadcast. The truth of the words struck me -- we are creators! That's part of our divine heritage as sons and daughters of God and he has placed in us that desire to be like Him, to be a creator. How do you feel the spirit moving you to create in your life? Do you create peace in your relationships? Do you create art or music? Do you create ideas that bring people together for good? Ponder on the ways you've been inspired to create and say a prayer thanking Heavenly Father for those blessings.