squirrels
No longer a newbie, moving up!
- Joined
- Nov 3, 2012
- Messages
- 908
- Reaction score
- 437
- Can others edit my Photos
- Photos OK to edit
Some discussion on another thread started me thinking about how much emotional involvement plays a role in experiencing other people's photos and taking my own. I suspect this has been discussed before and I'm just not searching with the right terms.
When I approach a photo I am bringing all of my own experiences with me. Right now I'm spending a lot of time focusing on being a mom. I also have my own memories of being a little girl that roughly half the rest of the population has. So it is more likely that picture of a little girl playing on the beach is going to resonate more than it would for someone who is male with no children and didn't spend time each summer on the outer banks as a kid.
Similarly I've for the most part just found cars a way to get from A to B. So if I look at a car picture and say "Wow" I can probably think that there is something going on there other than the subject matter. Of course I do have a strong love for bright colors and shiny things, so if you show me a detail pic of a car with shiny bits and colors, I'm more likely to say "Oooooo!" I'm like a magpie or a raccoon. I don't just have mom goggles, I've got a whole suitcase of goggles all different colors shapes and sizes.
As I thought about this today and PR's post, I wondered if taking pictures of things I don't like would force me to become a better photographer or if I'd just transform the subject matter into something that has a pull for me ( "Ooo! Shiny! Hey, lines!").
In art class, more than once I had to draw or paint upside down to try to focus more on shapes than subject. I don't know if there is a photographic equivalent without standing on my head or hacking my camera.
I also think that many (all?) times the whole point of the photograph is to make you feel something.
So now I'm wondering if emotional resonance makes me more or less qualified to cc and photo or to take my own.
What do you think?
When I approach a photo I am bringing all of my own experiences with me. Right now I'm spending a lot of time focusing on being a mom. I also have my own memories of being a little girl that roughly half the rest of the population has. So it is more likely that picture of a little girl playing on the beach is going to resonate more than it would for someone who is male with no children and didn't spend time each summer on the outer banks as a kid.
Similarly I've for the most part just found cars a way to get from A to B. So if I look at a car picture and say "Wow" I can probably think that there is something going on there other than the subject matter. Of course I do have a strong love for bright colors and shiny things, so if you show me a detail pic of a car with shiny bits and colors, I'm more likely to say "Oooooo!" I'm like a magpie or a raccoon. I don't just have mom goggles, I've got a whole suitcase of goggles all different colors shapes and sizes.
As I thought about this today and PR's post, I wondered if taking pictures of things I don't like would force me to become a better photographer or if I'd just transform the subject matter into something that has a pull for me ( "Ooo! Shiny! Hey, lines!").
In art class, more than once I had to draw or paint upside down to try to focus more on shapes than subject. I don't know if there is a photographic equivalent without standing on my head or hacking my camera.
I also think that many (all?) times the whole point of the photograph is to make you feel something.
So now I'm wondering if emotional resonance makes me more or less qualified to cc and photo or to take my own.
What do you think?