why I like to photograph everything
As a professional photographer I’ve specialized in different areas over the course of my career. From food to motorsports to people (and beyond), I’ve felt fortunate to be granted many different opportunities. In case you’ve missed the discussion on any of these specialties, here are a few links to past articles on prophotolife:
Food photography: how to think like a food photographer part 1 - part 2 - part 3
People photography: one actor, one weekend, seventeen characters
Motorsports photography: my story, magazine / editorial photography
Sometimes I do feel like the old saying: “a Jack of all trades and master of none”. To be honest, I wouldn’t have it any other way. A natural curiousity about different subjects has allowed me to make a living as a professional but still enjoy photography like an amateur. In the end, photography itself has always been my interest, not a particular subject.
There’s definitely been one thing missing from my photographic checklist and that’s the conscious pursuit of nature photography. My perception of a real nature photographer has always involved big glass, macro lenses, ring lights and weeks spent in the wild. Stories from wildlife experts like Moose Peterson can give a glimpse into that lifestyle but, never having made a concerted effort to photograph in the wild, I’ve wondered what my vision as a nature photographer might be like. Just this weekend, after revisiting some personal photos, I caught a glimpse.
On Saturday and Sunday I loaded thousands of my personal images into Adobe Lightroom 2 to give the program a really good test drive. The first task was to edit family photos shot for a friend and I was extremely impressed and pleased with the speed and quality. So much so that I decided to load in my personal images and do a bit of sorting. Yep, I’m moving beyond the trial and finally(!) plunking down my $299 US for the full version of the software (if you’re interested in the 30 day trial, you can Use it today. Download Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2 directly. Available only at Adobe.com.).
I began tagging various outdoor photos, many of which never particularly stood out on their own. A number of them were shot in my studio parking lot while walking in or out of the front door (talk about close to home). The images were simple, most shot just as textures and backgrounds. But an obvious style did emerge…and that made me feel good. It’s a start.
Though I may never engage in a fully serious pursuit of nature photography, it’s nice to see that the interest has already emerged in ways that I hadn’t recognized before. I’ve seen this with other professionals, also: the food photographer who shoots landscapes that are never seen by others, for example.
It also makes me realize that, while specializing can play an important role in a photographic career, I’m pleased that it hasn’t limited how, when, or why I pick up a camera. Even if the subject has been shot a million times, even if the light isn’t perfect, even if the idea isn’t completely original. Continuing to shoot anything and everything, whether it’s for fun or profit, is the reason I became a photographer in the first place and the reason I’m still in it today, still trying to learn and grow.
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- Jim T.
Hooray for Lightroom!
I’m no professional by any means, but Lightroom has taken away the tediousness of sorting and processing the thousands of images I take of just about everything (EXCEPT portraits!) The problem I find is I’m pretty unreliable when it comes to keywording and labeling photos. I used to be able to remember which folder things were in if I wanted to find them later, but my shoot rate has grown exponentially (almost literally) over the last couple years and I’m falling WAY behind.
Some day, some day…
It’s good that you pick up your cam to shoot so various things. You have your style that can be easily recognized. I like those two texture pics on the bottom. Simple but there is something in them that catches my eye.
Your textures make a nice collection on their own! I guess it just goes to show that you can still get great photos when you leave the fancy lights and business logic behind and just go out and shoot for fun.
Sometimes I do have to work at leaving the business logic behind. There have been periods where I’ve not picked up a camera for fun because “it’s what I do for a living” or “it has to be perfect”. The good thing is realizing that personal work is personal work and it doesn’t have to please anyone else. I do understand when people struggle with that.
My biggest hurdle to using Lightroom was the reliance on my old system. It’s taking some rethinking (and you really have to buy into the Adobe way) but I’m glad to finally be going this route!
I agree Marcin about the two textures at the bottom. The vingette is perfect. Without it, they would just be ordinary photos. Also, those are things I would pass up on a daily basis and never think once they could become such striking images. They have Power Point Background, Science and Geology textbook written all over them
At 70 years + I spend most of my time photographing at the very wonderful Zoo in Memphis Tn. This Zoo is Full of open Air Displays and with the various light changes is a real pleasure and Challenge, I spend 2-3 days each week there and there seems to be something new each time I go there, be it be a new animal, a different light or expression on something I have photographed hundreds of times, the flowers or the people that work or visit the Zoo. A Zoo is a wonderful place to experiment, hone or sharpen ones skills, and it is not great that we have digital photography to keep the expense down.
I’ve been thinking a bit about something I heard in a podcast recently, that photographers are “professional noticers”. I really love this idea, and I think what you’re talking about here fits it well.
A few weeks ago the photography club I belong to went out a local state park. I asked friend in the club why he hadn’t come, and he made the comment that he had shot enough trees. It reminded me of the professional photographer we met at a Flickr meetup who commented that she didn’t use Flickr because she was a “professional”.
I can’t help but think that this jaded attitude has to get in the way. It seems to be exactly the wrong way to see the world when what we’re about is capturing it in new and interesting ways. I remember thinking that when I get to the point where I have this been-there-done-that attitude it’s time to move on. Both artistically and from a business perspective this… visual curiosity is what sets us apart as individuals.
Anyways, thanks again for the post, Jim. They always serve as wonderful catalysts for some good conversation.
“A natural curiousity about different subjects has allowed me to make a living as a professional but still enjoy photography like an amateur.”
Making a living doing stuff that you love doing is one the best professional accomplishments anyone could have, not only you have fun working but you also put all your efforts into it. Nice photos BTW.
For years I avoided shooting cliches (sunsets, fireworks, etc.), thinking they were overdone. Then I realized that the happiest people on earth seem to be little kids because they see everything with such wonder (they’re seeing things for the first time). It’s easy to become “numb” as adults, I admit. While we can’t become kids again, striving for a coninually fresh vision at least makes things interesting!
…and Jim, congrats on your dedication. Zoos are amazing places for a dedicated pursuit, aren’t they? We have a great one here in Cincinnati, also, that has year-round exhibits. Tulips in the spring, Winterfest in the winter, a Jazz series in the summer and continuous opportunities with the plants, animals and realistic habitats.
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