I was looking at photos by some of my favorite family photographers such as Gill Maheu (www.gillmaheu.com - blogged here: http://betterfamilyphotos.blogspot.com/2009/09/inspiration-from-other-photographers.html ), Kristi Hedberg (www.kristihedbergphotography.com), Rachel Devine (www.racheldevine.com) and Sarah Quiara (www.sarahqblog.com). Besides the fact that they're all women (deep insight there, Mic...), I noticed that they all have a very lighthearted feel. In contrast, the recent photos I've made have a "serious" look (check out that pumpkin photo... :) ).
I have all sorts of good explanations for the serious look. In part, I wanted to create drama, possibly influenced by spending a lot of time observing fashion photography. Another factor may have been to improve my technical skills, using hard light, restricted light, controlling lighting ratios, etc. etc.
In the end, though, it's not the direction I want and those reasons don't matter. Photos influence emotions, and there's more than enough seriousness in the world these days. I want my photos to show optimism and happiness. It may take a bit of time to "detox" and shift direction but the time for that is perfect, with our second child due any day now.
Along those lines, I'm going to pay more attention to the positive, starting with this: the Good News Network (www.goodnewsnetwork.org). I'm new to that site but so far the news I'm seeing is indeed positive and newsworthy. Headlines include:
"Art Gallery Thieves Have Change of Heart, Dropping Off Loot at Church"
"Russian Spam Site Shuts Down, Dramatically Decreasing Spam Worldwide"
"Muslims and Christians Come Together for Charity"
That's the kind of news I want to see all the time, and I want my photos to be a reflection of that. Cheers!
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