A few months back while making an editorial photograph of two young girls (sisters) one asked about what I DO on my job… now I am at her home with lights and cameras etc… my first thought was: “Open your eyes for a second!”
But as I thought about it I understood her inquiry. So in my explanation to her I told her there are two ways I can do my job.
In the real world of commercial assignment photography, I am entrusted by a client to come back with an image that tells the story needed for them. I can either:
- Find the story with images that are already there. Like grapes on the vine waiting to be plucked. My job is to find them, hiding under the broad leaves of the common place, and being sure they are ripe and sweet when taken.
- Create an image starting with a blank canvas. Add lights, subject(s), props, and a heavy dose of imagination. This is where the interpretive powers come to play. There is what I call “The Red Couch” syndrome. I say “Red Couch”, and you immediately have a mental picture. I’ll bet you a winning lottery ticket it is not the same thing that I am seeing in my cranial theatre. So my job as image creator is to define the “Red Couch” so the two visions begin to align.
Interestingly, when I first came to photography I did most of my work in style #1… and over the years it evolved into style #2. Now, over the last 12 months, I am moving towards a balance between #1 & #2.
I love them both, and they are VERY different.
These images are from an Annual Report I just finished for an insurance company, all shot in Style #1.
