By: Kevin Guo
I started taking photos in high school when I was a junior. In the beginning, I just captured whatever was in front of me without thinking about approaching it from different angles or shooting at a different time. It was simple and easy, just clicking the shutter. That was how I originally thought about photography.
After a while, I got bored looking at my photos. It was just boring pictures which had no good framing, concept or content. Then I moved on, I kept making new boring pictures. When I looked at my photos I didn't feel satisfied. Suddenly I realized that I had to stop shooting photos to avoid creating boring projects. I stopped making images and began considering what would make my photos alter to creative pictures.
When I was sophomore at UNL, after a year thinking about how to add creativity to the photos I took, I finally picked up photography again. When I was taking photos I started thinking about the framing more. I began to think about how I could approach the photos from an interesting angle and what I could do to make the subject look visually appealing, and so on.
For example, when I was shooting portraits I would shoot from a lower angle and then move to a higher angle. I also would choose a different time to shoot the same model. Sometimes I take photos in the morning around sunrise and sometimes I frame the model at noon when the sun is high up. The different times give me various lights. In the morning, which photographers call the golden hour, the daylight is redder and softer than when the sun is higher in the sky.
Because the contrast is less during the golden hour, shadows are less dark and highlights are less likely to be overexposed. I also rose this idea about how to combine concepts to my creation. In this way, the photos were not the way they used to be. It became meaningful and attracted viewers’ attention. For instance, instead of just photographing interesting stuff I turned to attach concepts into the photos. I would come up with an idea and develop that concept to my photos. I would continue to photograph a subject which related to my content.
I need to ensure the pictures are cohesive. After that, I keep trying to bring life to photos. It is easy to create a boring piece, anyone can accomplish that. But it’s hard to continually perform creative projects.