break on through

I'm impressed by this tiny sprig, breaking away from his peers and finding an opening in the wall. On the other side, his buddies are all bunched together and intertwined. But this tiny stem found an opening and grew toward the light. I'm not much of a risk taker, but there are times when I feel like shaking things up with my photography business. It's an ongoing process to set myself apart from the competition while still staying true to my style. I often come up with wild ideas and plans, but most of the time my practical side wins out. One of these days though, I might just surprise myself and break away from the pack.

Have you taken any risks lately? Tell us about it and show us some proof!

Comments

[Chantal]

I take a risk each day, trying to dare myself, but photos of it? No I don't have those... too bad..

[Marcie]

It always scared me to point my camera at strangers and capture their fantastic faces. Challenging myself and pushing beyond - I finally dared and did:
http://www.marciescudderphotography.com/home/2011/7/22/attitude.html
http://www.marciescudderphotography.com/home/2011/7/21/spice-and-sugar.html
http://www.marciescudderphotography.com/home/2011/7/20/sidekicks.html

[rakusribut]

great pics, marcie
did you just point and shoot or did you ask first?
how did the people you photographed react to their pictures being taken?

i find it really hard to take photo' s of people i know, because it somehow feels so personal, so intimate, to really move into someone' s personal space and take a shot
there seems to be some kind of spectrum, where on one end it is really difficult to do this with people i am not (yet) familiar with, with whom i have no history or with whom i have only a ' loose' connection, and at the other end it is also really hard to photograph people i really love or have known for ages, like lovers or family members

some months ago my friend Osman, a refugee from Sierra Leone, was fooling around with a pair of glasses he found lying around the house. I decided to overcome my shyness and fear and asked him if he wanted to pose for me, even though i really don' t know him very well and we are not (yet) ' familiar' with each other
i took some shots with the glasses, some without, and some with his own (very ' urban' ) sunglasses
i' m glad i took the risk, ' cause i' m really happy with the result, even if i felt uncomfortable with every shot i took....:-))

http://www.flickr.com/photos/61760618@N08/5966118123/in/set-72157627260487088/

an example at the other end of the spectrum is when i spent 9 hours at the ER with my mom, who was really ill and tired and frightened most of the time. what really got to me was the endless waiting, hours where nothing happened and we didn' t know what was going on or what was going to happen
i got bored too, i must admit and started fiddling with my iPhone. then decided to take some shots of the ER and, later, of my mom lying in that hospital bed. she was totally out of it and had no idea i was taking pictures of her. at the time i felt like a voyeur, an intruder, but i really wanted to record this ER-experience somehow. so i kept on shooting
a couple of week later my mum died
she never knew i took her picture
but i am really glad i did. whenever i look at the photo' s the whole experience comes back again, very vividly

http://www.flickr.com/photos/61760618@N08/5689908228/in/set-72157626876857698

sorry for taking up so much space here, but i really wanted to share this

[Jen]

Earlier this year, I decided to go into business as a family portrait photographer - yikes! Until the birth of my daughter, my focus was travel and landscape photography, so this is all very new to me. But, I find that I love capturing people's natural smiles, love, and personalities even more than the landscape photography I did for so long. I am wondering though if the butterflies before a shoot will ever go away?


Some of my recents sessions:

http://www.jenniferkrafchik.com/2011/07/oliver-and-family-maryland-on-location-family-photographer.html

http://www.jenniferkrafchik.com/2011/05/gabrielle-maryland-newborn-photographer.html

http://www.jenniferkrafchik.com/2011/07/the-f-u-n-family-maryland-on-location-family-photographer.html

http://www.jenniferkrafchik.com/2011/05/tatiana-sasha-and-rico-maryland-family-on-location-photographer.html

[koreen]

I'm shooting a wedding today. Gulp!!! That is risky! The idea that this is a once-in-a-lifetime experience for the bride, groom and family, and if I screw up the photos, there won't be another opportunity to do them. That's what's going through my mind right now.

I've done weddings before, but as the primary photographer the pressure is high.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/koreenphotography/4996275419/in/photostream/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/koreenphotography/5052174604/in/photostream/

[PHope]

Great post. I think my recent *risk* was deciding to take my photography more seriously and moving to the next level. Seriously, I had the jitters about letting the real-life professional photographers I know see that I was working on it too... Taking photography classes, practicing, learning and growing have made all the difference.

Here are some of my recent posts: http://www.petinahopephotography.wordpress.com.

[Val @ Mental Chew]

Fun little risk. I left my 4 year old son in the house since he wanted to play with his cars and took the babe outside with me. This is not something I do regularly, but I thought I could lure him out and...

http://www.mental-chew.com/2011/07/need-want-like-love-peas-strawberries.html

This is the follow up:
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fOAVPjlmR0U/TiONS53DAaI/AAAAAAAAAek/C-svh9a73gQ/s1600/IMG_6230.JPG

[Junelle]

I branched out into freelancing projects. I think there is so much fun to be had in a creative challenge where you have to come up with ways to *make visible* an idea that is in another's head?

It has stretched me and given me new confidence~

http://www.yesandamenphotography.com/

[Charul Ajmera]

Risk.. whenever that word comes across me, my mind automatically diverts itself to the tiny creatures like a simple housefly. They live the most risky (rather uncertain) life and yet have a attitude which is so free of any kind of fear whatsoever, that it amazes u every time u see them.

Here is one such risk-taker!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/charul_ajmera/5590976115/in/photostream

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le housefly. They live the most risky (rather uncertain) life and yet have a attitude which is so free of any kind of fear whatsoever, that it amazes u every time u see them.

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