Tweet

Episode Categories

Do This Today, Be A Better Photographer Tomorrow

Inspiration, Photography, Pre-Production, Pre-Production Aug 26 , Episode 118

Enter this week’s contest:

This exercise has helped me so much, and I know it will help you too. Find a photographer who’s work you admire, images you would like to create, and the direction or style you would like to have. Post a link to the photo in a comment, and tell everyone why YOU think the image is good. What about the image speaks to you, what do you FEEL when you look at it. WHY. Ask yourself WHY. When you come up with enough answer, and can’t think of anything more – you have not only figured out what you enjoy about their image, but you have also made a list of things that will make other people feel the same things about your images. You just figured out how to get better. Where to spend your time, and that anything is possible.

Contest is open all weekend, Judging closes on Monday.

« 5 Secrets to Compositing

The STUPIDEST Thing You Never Knew You Needed »

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ameliafletcher Amelia Fletcher

Great choice and analyzations. Keep up with your own series they are stunning! I can tell you have put a lot of thought into the lighting and tones they are beautiful
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ameliafletcher Amelia Fletcher

Oh no! Have you tried using another internet browser?
Anonymous

Love this photo Mariah, and love your explanation
http://profiles.google.com/titus27 Stefano Tealdi

thanks a lot Amelia And thanks for being Pheatured!
Chik_c

i luv this pic!!
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=774644682 Ben Benson

Aaron, one thing that is great about this is inspiration… the minute I saw Irwin Olof’s photo I thought of Edward Hoppers painting and how that painting may have influenced Olof to make a great image and again how Olof’s image can influence one of us to make a great image. This concept comes straight from Ira Glass’ speech that you posted, which I had heard before, about liking stuff and you trying to re-create what you like until you develop your own style.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Wouter-van-der-Linde/1118709648 Wouter van der Linde

Thanks Amelia!
Have a nice day!
http://www.facebook.com/berniharrisphotography Berniharris

This post is sooo good! Thanks everyone for showing me artists ive never seen before!

I always get frustrated that my work isn’t getting any better and isn’t striking enough. I shoot things that are easy for me rather than what i want my work to be and i love how you are encouraging us to step out of our comfort zones!

Anyway, my favorite photographers at the moment are Iain Crawford and Nick Knight. I absolutely love the use of graphic colours, texture, mess, movement and slight darkness to both of their images. Although they are highly retouched and perfect, they are still experimental and emotive. LOVE them.
http://www.facebook.com/greggardner73 GregGardner

Drewshoots blows me away with his lighting on location. I strive to be able to light like he does. I love his outdoor portraits because he uses the sun frequently as a back light and pushes it, but exposes the models with lights in a way that makes them look amazing. The beauty he creates makes my jaw drop! I can instantly tell his portraits apart from everyone else. His style can be applied to a very commercial realm but is unmistakeable and he accomplishes this without the standard Flickr tricks or a lot of photoshop.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/optimus_prime/5730685093
http://www.facebook.com/greggardner73 GregGardner

I realize he may not be as exciting as some manipulation-based artists (I personally love doing manips!) but his stuff always amazes me. Here’s another example too…

http://www.flickr.com/photos/optimus_prime/6079090630
http://www.cap-photography.com Andrea Peipe

I love how to took those images apart and explained how they were made! Dave Hill seems like an awesome guy, the images I just saw are amazing, esp. the adventure one!

I like a few photographers, one of them is Julie Blackmon, esp. her Domestic Vacations series. I saw some of them in a magazine once and I just love the way they are, what they portrait, there is always something playful in them that makes me smile. I esp. love the image called “Time out” where a little guy with a Superman cape is having a time out. (http://www.julieblackmon.com/Portfolio.cfm?nK=312)

Also, there is of course a lot of photographers on Flickr I really like, one of them is Anka Zhuravleva (http://www.flickr.com/photos/anka_zhuravleva/) because of how she creates stories with her photos. To me, they are all emotional and all really special and I love that her photos kinda create stories in my head when I look at them.
http://twitter.com/onSanity angelica

love this image, hadn’t seen it before
http://twitter.com/onSanity angelica

love love love!
http://twitter.com/onSanity angelica

hey aaron, thanks so much for this post, it is SO inspiring to see what photographers other like and why. I’m going to choose 2: javier vallhonrat and his possessed space series. he plays with shapes and the actual frames are the same shape, there is something peotic and fascinanting, and at the same time it is original, it makes you look at it twice, think, wonder… but ultimately there is this dream land thing it brings you into.
http://mfilomeno.com/javier-vallhonrat/photos/books/the-possessed-space-1992.html

the second is Ouka Leele. I don’t think she even uses photoshop, I think she paints the images. but the result is just amazin. here are some of her pics http://sunpaintedpicture.blogspot.com/2006/08/ouka-lele-and-creative-portraiture.html