Basically Advanced's Blog

Do you prefer portraits or landscapes?

Landscapes are easier, to me, because I don’t have to tell/suggest to them what to do i.e look this way, move that arm, don’t wear this etc. You gotta take what you can get when it comes to landscapes because there’s so many different ways one scene can look.

Q&A Round Two

What Camera and lenses do you use?

- I shoot with the Canon T3i/600D. Mainly for lenses I use the nifty-fifty aka fantastic plastic 50mm 1.8 II. Sometimes I use the kit 18-55 if I want that 18mm wider angle. I also use a cheapo Rikonin 85mm 1.4. It’s manual focus-only and manual aperture adjustment but takes good photos and has more reach than my 50mm or 18-55mm. I never use flash in part because I don’t have one, nor do I know how or have gained an interest in flash photography yet.

How many “Likes” have you gotten on a photo? Was it your favorite?

- Well I took a picture if a long exposure in downtown Jefferson City over the summer. I think it had 55+ likes. Also my picture I took of a sunset over the UCM Student Recreation and Wellness Center got somewhere around 200. I don’t care much for “likes” though. 5 or 6 constructive or comments as to “why” someone does or does not like my picture is more appealing and helpful as opposed to likes. Sure, likes share it and shows that someone appreciates the photo, but it personally to me feels much better to hear what the photo says to each viewer.

I don’t have an idea on a favorite photo of mine yet, not much for portfolios even though I critique my own photos very heavily. 

Recommend any photo books?

- I only have two, Street Photography Now and Complete Guide to Digital Photography. I don’t really recommend the latter because it just keeps beginners get familiar with photo terms, equipment, and types of photography. It doesn’t help with getting away from using auto modes or inspiring vision. Street Photography Now does that for me personally, and I feel like any coffee table photo book is a good investment. Not saying that you should buy every book and look through them to get ideas, but they do help in letting you see things in a possibly different way from what you’re used to; that photographer’s field of view. I’ve read up on Ansel Adams, Zach Arias, and a few other known photographers. It’s best to choose your book selection around your current photography area of interest. Some of my outside of photography interests are drumming, biking, and old school cruiser skateboards (think smaller longboards or Lords of Dogtown movie.) I chose Ansel for his black and white, and Brian Day for the fact that his candid photography really tells the story that YOU see in the image, not what he captions because he rarely adds commentary to his photos. I would never tell you to look at books and other photos to replicate another artist, but rather gain inspiration and ideas.

Favorite style of photography?

- Though I get more praise and feedback from city-scapes, I think street/candid photography is my favorite. I would say a majority of street photos are processed as black and whites, which almost makes it seem cliche’ to me, but gives the photo a simple look at the same time. Sometimes color can be distracting from what is going on in the image. Going into street photography, I would say that kids are the “best” to photograph, but I’d be extremely cautious about pointing a camera at kids. What’s interesting about them to me is that they have no care in the world to how they are seen in public, and far from the reserved look of an adult. Something like seeing a kid run down a bridge away from his/her parents holding ice cream with the parents chasing shows emotion, fun, and excitement for the kid, haha. Again, I stress that while kids may be the coolest, I don’t really do it. 

You’re really good!! Why don’t you major in photography? You have the eye for it.

- Thanks. For as many times as I’ve received a response like this, I still don’t know how to answer it. Not providing an excuse not to be, but I like the major and minor choices I’m in now. I don’t want to put down anyone by saying that photography, to me, is more or less learned rather than taught. Make sense? I mean you can take a class and earn a degree, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll be good, or develop your own style. Think of being a photography professor, I bet it’s hard to critique countless student’s work without your own biased opinions or favoritism towards a certain angle, color, or framing of a shot. You can learn all about composition, the rule of thirds, post processing etc. but sometimes the best photos don’t necessarily follow the “rules” because they aren’t rules, just guidelines. If I was to pursue photography as a career, I would, based on my personal interests, get a degree in either journalism or business, because they could still turn into multiple career options as opposed to a bachelor’s in photography.