Clauss Family Portraits

If you’re a follower of this blog or of my work in general, it’s evident that I don’t typically photograph people.  On occasion, you may see an image or two of a human being here or on my Flickr stream, but it falls into one of a few different categories:  (1) my wife, my muse; (2) street photography; (3) travel photography; (4) project-related photography and (5) work shoots (of which you won’t find on my personal photography sites).   Outside of those instances, family portraits, senior pictures, wedding/engagement pictures and child portraits have never been featured.  I consider myself a fine art photographer with a focus on still life, inanimate objects, architecture, decay, project-based photography and generally subjects that don’t require human interaction.  Yes, individuals are unique and fascinating (in most cases); however, it’s not what interests me when I’m behind the lens.  

I’ve begun to establish myself photographically over the last four years and while I’m happy with this fact, it brings about many requests from friends and family members.  It’s been my experience that the general public unknowingly thinks of photographers as having one specific purpose – portraiture work.  If I speak to someone outside of the photography or art world and I tell them that I’m into photography, they usually ask if I take senior pictures, family pictures, etc.  For some reason, that’s what’s been ingrained in their memories when someone says photography.  Ansel Adams, Annie Leibovitz, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Alfred Stieglitz, Robert Frank, Diane Arbus, etc. are never thought of.  Perhaps it’s because our (America’s) lack of focus on art education; I’m not sure, but that’s a debate for another blogpost.  Regardless, my photography has automatically been associated with the aforementioned styles.  Most of the time I politely decline; other times, I have agreed, but for one reason or another, participants change their mind about having the portraits.  Well, a few weeks ago I was asked by good friends if I would be willing to take family portraits.  Normally, this wouldn’t have been a complicated request, but this shoot would include their newest family member - their two month old son.  I thought about it for awhile and I decided that I would go ahead and help them out.  

If I was going to break out of my comfort zone, I wanted to do it my own way.  I immediately asked if they would mind if I shot black and white and instant film in addition to digital.  They didn’t mind, so I began brainstorming.  I checked out some of the portrait photographers in the area to see what type of work my new clients might be expecting or hoping for.  I developed a creative shot list and started thinking about different locations to use.  We initially set the shoot for a weekend day during the week of Oct. 21, but the weather forecast was not being kind to us.  With temperatures in the mid 70s during the week, I was able to accommodate a shoot on the evening of Oct. 25 with the option of a follow-up shoot on Oct. 28.  I asked them to meet me at Menke Park in Troy at 5:30 p.m.  I arrived early to scope out locations, lighting, leaves, etc.  Once they arrived, I was ready to get to work.   I knew we had very little time to work with the light changing every minute, but little did I know I was in for an even bigger surprise.

The moment baby Logan was taken out of the car, my carefully planned shot list went out the window.  Having a two month old on a photography set is like playing roulette.  He was tired, cranky, happy, crying, content and hungry, but never the emotion you were hoping for at a specific time.  I realized that my Hasselblad would have to stay in the bag and I was going to focus on getting what I could with my digital camera and my Polaroid SX-70.  I shot for a little over an hour, using the remaining light and providing a small amount of direction.  I decided it was best to let them naturally interact with each other and just shoot.  This is the exact opposite of how I normally approach my photography.  I take a great deal of time to set up a shot, use one to two exposures and then move on.  Moments with family and children sometimes happen so quickly that I found myself firing away.  I don’t prefer this type of shooting, but it served its purpose for this job.  Afterwards, I immediately went home to look at the images.  I was surprisingly happy with the shots, but I pushed for one additional shoot with the hopes of using some different techniques and cameras.

The second shoot was scheduled for Sunday, Oct. 28 at Charleston Falls around 12:30.  It was chilly and windy, but I was hopeful that the overcast day would provide nice lighting and I could experiment a little more than I did the prior shoot.  I found some great locations and I was upbeat about the possibility of Logan being in a better mood for this shoot.  That, unfortunately, didn’t happen.  He was crying more than the previous shoot and the colder air didn’t help him or his parents.  We shot at about half the locations I had planned to and the Hasselblad stayed in the bag for a second consecutive time.  I got a nice mixture of usable shots that complimented the images from the other shoot.  

While it didn’t go exactly as I planned, I adapted to the situation, I enjoyed the nice change of pace in subject matter and I delivered images that I was satisfied with.  I hope that they enjoy and cherish them as much as I enjoyed shooting them.  I wouldn’t mind doing a shoot like this again, but I would prefer to have more control over the situation so that I could shoot more conducive to my style and output.  As they found out, regardless of the true style or nature of the photographer, it never hurts to ask.

Photo Resolutions

With the new year upon us, it's typical for the resolutions to begin pouring in.  I'm not one for making resolutions, but I have some photography resolutions that I would like to make in 2011.  I've been photographing for a full two years now and I'm approaching the year anniversary of using my new camera.  I've gotten to the place where I'm ready to start expanding my technical skills and I'm ready to start expanding my portfolio and taking on long, themed projects.  So, with that being said, here are my photo resolutions for 2011:

1)  Undertake Project 365 - For those of you that don't know, Project 365 is a year long photo project; one in which I'll be taking photographs everyday.  I will post one photograph to represent each day of the entire year.  This is a daunting project and I will probably need some encouragement from everyone as the year goes on.  As much as I love photography, I'm sure I'll get tired of lugging my camera(s) around everywhere I go and I'll get tired of trying to find new and interesting things to photograph.  Or even making old things appear interesting.  It will be tough, but I'm determined to complete this.  I know I be extremely satisfied at this time in 2011 when I reflect on my year in photographs.  So, if I begin to waver, please help to keep me on track.  I will be creating a separate blog page for Project 365 and they will also be posted on my Flickr profile page as well.

2)  Take a photography class in the fall - The reason this is one of my goals is because I feel that I can't teach myself all of the technical aspects of the camera, lighting, techniques, etc.  I can read and I can experiment; but I will never be able to fully grasp the technical nature of photography and how it can improve images without taking a few courses.  I plan on doing this in the fall because I am three courses away from completing my B.S. in Marketing at Franklin University.  I will be finishing that degree up by the 2nd quarter.  Once that's out of the way, I will have a lot more free time to spend on perfecting my photography.

3)  Begin working on a (or multiple) themed series - Shooting anything and everything can be very interesting, however, there's something very appealing about strictly focusing on one subject.  Putting together a series is a long project.  It's visually appealing and it forces the photographer to evolve because new angles, techniques and perspectives have to be employed to keep the series engaging not only to the viewer, but also to the photographer.  Partaking in series work will not only help me grow as a photographer, but it will hopefully open other doors for me as well.

4)  Develop an idea and create a stop motion video out of my photographs - I recently came across a stop motion video from an individual taking a video class from the Columbus College of Art and Design.  It was hauntingly beautiful.  So much so that it inspired me to try something similar.  The process is fairly easy and I have the editing programs to produce such a video.  The hard part is coming up with an idea, making it work and creating a cohesive, finished product.

5)  Start shooting more film - As some of you may know,  I have a 35mm film camera.  It's a Canon AE-1P.  I really like it; however, I've only shot one and a half rolls of film.  I want to shoot more film in 2011.  Like a lot of us, I like the immediate gratification of my digital.  I love being able to review the shot I just captured and I love being able to upload it to the computer almost instantly and begin cataloging the image and posting it to various places.  With that being said, not seeing your image as you shoot it creates an air of excitement.  I can't tell you how much I anticipated seeing what I was able to capture with my first roll of Kodak 400 Tri-X black and white film.  I want that feeling to continue.  Is digital easier and quicker?  Yes, but that doesn't always mean it's better.  I will slow down and make a concerted effort to take only my film camera out on shoots this year.  In addition to my Canon, I've received a few Lomography cameras as gifts in the last quarter of 2010.  I have a Holga, Fisheye No. 2, and a Diana F+.  I like the experimental and alternative quality of the images that these "toy" cameras produce.  So, you may be seeing some different stuff from me this year as well.

6)  Create my best work yet - I feel that I've grown as a photographer over the course of the last two years.  I feel that my work shows it.  However, I would like to take a giant leap forward this year and create some of my most inspired work yet.  I feel that I have it in me; I just have to accept that I'll have uncreative moments and every image will not be a show stopper.  If I can remember those things, I should be able to achieve this goal.

7)  Show my best work yet - I've been showing my work for about a year now.  I'm a member of the Edison Photo Society at Edison Community College and as a club, we have three member shows a year.  I've also entered my work in a number of other shows and contests.  As each show passes, I'm becoming more comfortable with the idea of showing my work.  With that being the case, I'm in the process of scheduling my first ever solo exhibit.  It's not finalized yet, but it will probably be taking place during the month of August.  I'll keep everyone up to date on the specifics, but my goal is to show my best work yet at this show.

8)  Have fun - The one thing that I have to remember is one of the reasons that I love photography is that I enjoy it and I have fun doing it.  No matter how serious I get about photography, I can never let it stop being fun.  If so, my images will never be as good as they could be and I won't achieve any of my photography resolutions.

So, those are my photo resolutions for 2011.  I hope everyone has a terrific new year and 2011 is better than 2010.  Please feel free to encourage me or offer constructive criticism along the way to insure that I achieve my resolutions.  Cheers and I'll see you along the way!