Quote of the day: “Action and reaction, ebb and flow, trial and error, change – this is the rhythm of living. Out of our over-confidence, fear; out of our fear, clearer vision, fresh hope. And out of hope, progress.” — Bruce Barton
Direct Flash Photo in Improvised Portrait Studio (i.e. my living room)
Last night I took some family portraits for some friends to use on their Christmas card. The light wasn’t good. The background was limited. And I am still uncomfortable using a flash for portraits. I had asked my friends to come over in daylight hours, preferably for an outdoor shoot several weeks ago, but it didn’t happen. Now I was faced with a less than optimal shooting situation, and I was tired and in pain as well. Not a pretty situation!
I had done some experiments and discovered that bouncing the flash off the ceiling gave the most natural lighting and best effect. That required me to hold the flash with one hand while operating the camera on the tripod with the other. Attempting to do both without help led to a lot of blurry photos and even after I enlisted my husband to hold the flash, I still had more blurry photos than usual. Sigh… Bigger frustrated sigh…
Did I mention that I don’t like taking portraits? I always feel so responsible for capturing great photos that people like, that it takes the joy out of photography for me. Instead of going with the flow and following my heart, I’m in “pleaser” mode somehow and always feeling like I’m not quite good enough. It drives me crazy that I do this, because I usually end up with very nice portraits.
So last night, as after almost every other portrait shoot that I’ve done, I felt totally inadequate as a photographer and quite grumpy about the whole evening as well.
What happened to “Go with the flow?” you might ask. Well, sometimes I lose my center and it takes awhile to come back home again. Deep centering breath…and it’s ok! In fact it is to be expected! Someone once told me that airplanes with their magnificent computerized navigation systems are off course more than 97% of the time. Yet the airplane reaches it’s destination, because the software checks repeatedly, “Am I on course?” – “No, ok, change course a little bit.” Life is not about setting a course and following it perfectly, it’s about setting a course, noticing when you’re off course, and correcting, again and again and again (with great compassion, gentleness and acceptance).
Some day I may learn to go with the flow when I’m taking portraits.
Wishing you a good day full of joy and kindness.
0 Comments