I miss Polaroids. With having a phone on me at all times, my Polaroid collection spends more time on my display shelves than it does on my person. I’ll spare you from my lament on digital everything, however there was something special about being a product of the 80s and having polaroid snapshots from events around the house. That being said, we thought we’d start incorporating a tip or two under Polaroid Portraits in each issue, as we’ve been getting more out reach on Instagram and Facebook for technique and purchasing tips and the like.
I’m an “in person” teacher, physical or online. Everyone and anyone who can hold a camera has a YouTube photo how-to page on this and that. Based on my time on location, in the studio, at Parsons, privately, guest lecturing or otherwise, I keep coming back to bits of photo gold that have worked for me, and that may or may not work for you. Polaroids.
That being said, there are thousands of photographers that can get into the nitty gritty technical far better than I could, or would want to for that matter. However, if you’re looking for a unique perspective to all things KARJAKA imaging, giddy up!
A quickie to start this edition… Are you making an image, or making content?
There is a difference. I’ve gotten this a few times this past week, so it bears repeating… when I go out and snap on the street, or am working with a client in the studio, I’m working on the craft, diving in a little deeper. There’s nothing ordinary about anyone or thing we capture, so I (we) don’t treat it as routine. Personally I don’t spend a ton of time looking at older photos, unless I’m doing a portfolio update, because I know that if I’m taking photos, the next ones ahead empirically are going to better, just like yours will be.
More to the point, I am not focused on this buzz word of content. Content with no quality is still garbage. Maybe you focus on hard light and shadow, or shallow depth of field, or graffiti, or the subtlety of an eyebrow,… who cares what it is, as long as it’s something other than gotta make images for instagram. Boring.
Expand yourself. Get the shot. Take risks and forget the content, unless you what to be a content creator, whatever that means.
