Throwbacks, Light, and Finding the Spark Again
Throwbacks, Light, and Finding the Spark Again
I've been struggling mentally for quite a few years now. I've talked about it a few times here on the blog.
I mentioned going through old images recently — and I found a few sets where I still have all the originals. I thought I'd thinned them out but apparently not.
Walking through these photos... gosh. I grew so much in 2011. It's wild to look back. There was still so much to learn, but in the beginning of that year — before we moved back to Minot — I was surrounded by some truly amazing and talented people. I was welcomed in to hang out and shoot. The lighting was already set up, so I just got to play and experiment. Towards the end of that day I actually took the lighting into my own hands and started directing it myself.
It's just so cool to look back on.
natural light, white fabric reflector
One of the things I was reminded of going through these — you can use a light colored blanket as a reflector. It sounds so simple. But that soft wrap of light you see here? That's it. That's a blanket doing the work.
staircase, warm natural light
And this one. Simply moving yourself or your subject can take a potential image from mediocre to incredible — or take one amazing image and turn it into something completely different. Same people. Different angle, different light, different everything. That's the magic.
gold reflector, warm drenched tones
Then there are gold reflectors. Oh, gold reflectors. In the right circumstance they can bring the warmth of a summer evening into a photo that has no business feeling that warm. Look at this image. That is a gold reflector doing exactly what it's supposed to do.
I also remembered that light itself can smooth wrinkles and soften blemishes — but my philosophy around that has shifted over the years. I'll remove a temporary pimple. But if something has always been a part of you, a part of your story and your growth? I keep it. That's not a flaw. That's you.
Going back through these ended up being something of a spark for me. A want to play again.
I know — I've been saying that lately. Probably sounds like a broken record. But I need the reminder. Constantly. Because after a full day away at work it is so easy to just completely shut off.
And I don't want to shut off. I want to keep finding the thing that makes me want to pick the camera back up.
A quick note — these are fast edits. I haven't gone through the full lot yet, and once I have I may revisit some of these properly. Consider this a peek into the process, not the finished gallery.
These photos reminded me I already know how.
xo Susie