Just do it! A familiar slogan we know from the famous Nike sports apparel company. Aside from athletes, that’s a motto that I believe a photographer should also live by. It’s those moments that you weren’t quite planning for but you saw it and you went for it and got it.
I was on a shoot with Ashleigh McLean, a model I’ve networked with in an effort towards a common goal in producing awesome pictures and marketing ourselves. The shoot went well. We got photos we were satisfied with and we were wrapping up for the day. I packed up my gear and we were about to head out from on location. As we were walking away from the last shoot spot I looked up at the spire on the pedestrian bridge that we were on. The way the light fell on the spire caught my attention.
I thought in my head for a minute, “I’d really like to get this in a photo… nah we got enough pictures today let’s keep moving.”
We were walking off as I said to Ashleigh, “that looks really cool doesn’t it?” pointing to the spire.
“Yea, it does,” she says as we continue to walk away.
But then something just bugged me in the back of my head… just do it. So I turned back and told Ashleigh let’s just get one more shot. I didn’t feel like bustin’ out any umbrellas or softboxes since everything was broken down, so I slapped a grid spot onto my speed light.
After I took a couple test shots for lighting, I told Ash, “let me try something.”
I dropped to the ground flat on my back, as I pointed my lens up I moved Ashleigh into the frame along with the spire. At the same time Ash stood there and looked up ever so naturally. Then there it was… as I looked through the view finder everything came into focus and for that split second I saw the shot I envisioned. SNAP!
It was one of those instances that define what photography is all about. Now this may not be the most amazing image you’ve ever seen or even the most amazing image I’ve ever taken. Here’s the point. It’s seeing something in your head before you take it, the vision. It’s recoginizing something beautiful, knowing the potential behind it. It’s noticing when the moment is, understanding that light will change and with it the moment will change and be gone. It’s seeing the vision coming to fruition for that very brief moment, at times it’s a fraction of a second that the expression is there and freezing it forever within a photograph. That’s what it’s all about folks!
So next time you see something that catches your eye and you think, “that would make a great picture.” Just do it!
The photograph above has NOT been digitally enhanced or “photoshop’d.” It’s a direct result of photography.
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