Small Is Beautiful

I don't know about you, but I've often wondered why I even bother to share my stories on my blog or post photos on Flickr when there is already a cornucopia of awesome bloggers and mindblowing photographers out there on the world wide web.  It's hard to fight the feelings of insignificance and unworthiness that creep up every time I post a story or a photo, as I nervously wonder if anyone else out there will find what I have to share even remotely interesting. 

Fortunately, I discovered the Small Is Beautiful Manifesto (curated by Magpie Girl and our own Jen Lemen), and boy, what a load off my back that was!  Read it for yourselves, and you'll know what I'm talking about.  While that little manifesto was written with bloggers in mind, I think it's just as applicable to photographers.  I really do believe that our photos matter, regardless of who actually sees them.  If a photo you capture holds meaning for you, or stirs your soul, or makes you laugh or smile or think or cry, then it matters, even if the profundity or joke or wisdom or sentiment may elude every one else.  If you are passionate about photography, then taking photos for the pure love and joy of it is more important than how many views or comments you receive on Flickr or your photoblog.

Go ahead.  Experience the freedom that comes from believing that Small Really Is Beautiful.  You won't regret it.

And feel free to share a link to a photo that matters to YOU. 

*Edited to add: Just to be clear, the  book pictured above is E.F. Schumacher's book about "economics as if people mattered" and NOT the Small Is Beautiful Manifesto, which is not a book at all, but a short statement of beliefs that will take most people less than a minute to read.  So don't be afraid to click on the link! 

Superhero Photo Challenge: Get a new perspective

I adore this photo from a recent portrait session. We had been shooting belly photos and family photos for hours already and I was getting that anxious, oh-my-god did-we-get-the-shot-yet? feeling and don't let on that you're not sure, just keep shooting! And smiling.

We went outside and I was immediately intimidated by the light. Bright sun, little garden with narrow paths, not the big expanse of green (and shade) I was hoping for. I began plotting my speech about how I could come back to do a re-shoot if we didn't get what we were hoping for...

At some point it occurred to me that when you're stuck, it's time to get a new perspective. I laid on the ground and looked up at her belly and was so delighted by what I saw. I hadn't really noticed how BIG she was until that moment and how amazing and beautiful and hilarious it was. From this place of total delight and seeing her anew, we were able to get some really fun shots.

I am a life coach as well as a photographer and so much of our training is about getting our clients to see their lives or a situation from different perspectives. This is how we have breakthroughs and discoveries! Whenever we are stuck, it is likely that we are literally stuck in a perspective, or a way of looking at things. Don't you love that moment when you say, I've never thought of it quite like that... and how it kind of blows your mind wide open? That's a new perspective.

Your challenge this week is to try out a new perspective with your camera. Lay on the ground and look up at the sky, climb a tree, get in the grass and look through the blades, put the camera on your head, spin around, don't look through the lens at all... Show me some wild perspectives, ones that make me say, I've never looked at it quite like that before...

Superhero Photo Challenge: out the window

One of the greatest pleasures in life is the window seat on an airplane. Are you with me sisters? My husband and I have to do some serious rock, paper, scissors every time we get situated.

I always have my camera at the ready and feel a childlike giddiness when I see the world from this perspective. I am suddenly an astronaut seeing the planet for the first time: it's rich topography amazing me with its color, clouds and organic forms. It takes my breath away every time.

This week's theme is to shoot out the window. It could be an airplane, a car or even your bathroom window. As usual, leave your link in the comments and add the tag "superhero photo challenge" to your flickr page.

Hot tip: If you don't already know this, treat your airplane photos with levels or curves in photoshop (auto levels usually does the trick) and watch the landscape pop!

get on the floor

One of the best ways to shake things up a little bit it is to take a photo from an unexpected angle. In our daily lives we tend to view things from about 5 feet up (give or take several inches…I know, I know). But try laying, squatting, or kneeling on the floor or ground with your camera and notice the difference. It’s a whole new world from down there! Those of you who have small children are probably not strangers to kneeling down and getting on their level, whether it’s to take a picture or to give a hug. That’s a great way to capture your little ones in their environment.

But there are a lot of other subjects that look amazing when shot from down below too like buildings, nature, and streets scenes. And there are a few different ways I tend shoot from the ground. One way is to get down low and then shoot up at something, like the shot above or this one from southhollisqueen. I also love the look of a super low, parallel-to-the-ground shot like this one from veridianblue. Or there’s the less extreme, but effective technique of kneeling but still shooting slightly down on a subject like jen_maiser did.

Okay, I’ll let you in on a little secret. You don’t always have to physically get down on the ground for this to work. You can use Sarah's Just Shoot It technique and hold your camera closer to the ground or actually on the ground and hope for the best. If you’re anything like me, it might save you from having some seriously sore thigh muscles the next morning.

So get on the floor and show us your results in the comments!

Perspective