WilliamCA
TPF Noob!
- Joined
- Dec 21, 2008
- Messages
- 19
- Reaction score
- 0
- Can others edit my Photos
- Photos OK to edit
Hi i'm WilliamCA, new guy here. Just joined a couple of hours ago.
Well I guess i should tell my story so people can help me. Nine years ago i took a photography class because i was thinking of becoming a journalism major. I had borrowed a old camera from my aunt. It was a seventies black and with a flash attachment that no longer worked. But i loved it anyway.
One of our projects for the class was to find something unique for a small group of photos. Well I decided to break the mold. But i couldn't think of a single idea. Then a friend suggested I do nudes. I said, "No". Mainly because i had no models. My friend suggested that she would model for me and another friend of her's would. So...two days before i was to turn in negatives that I could process in a dark room. I took pictures of my two models. The first one was a 6 ft tall 20 yr old BBW, and the other was a skinny woman in her late 50's.
I know, i know, not exactly pictures of beauty in many peoples' minds. But i found myself inspired, not only by something that was unique, but the fact that my two models were not ashamed of their bodies. They were perfectly comfortable with who they were. I couldn't say the same for myself. I realized as i took my pictures, that i had spent years comparing myself to everyone else, trying to emulate a few, just in hopes of finding success or being accepted.
So I took the photos and developed them. My teacher was shocked. I think she gave me a C+ or a B-. Mainly because she thought i had broken the mold a little too much and that my pictures were risque. I found out later that she was a lesbian...go figure!
After that i left school and concentrated on work, i left journalism and photography behind. But i kept going back to those pictures again. I realized i was so happy in that class. I constantly felt inspired and maybe even accepted. I wanted to start taking pictures again, but I had no camera, and no money to buy one. So years passed before I decided to start again.
And now here I am. I decided to a ambitious project. One where i would do artistic nudes of older women and BBWs. I knew it would be hard, but I had no idea how hard. I finally purchased a Nikon D40. Since it had been on layaway for at least 7 months, I was so happy and i had had a lot of time to come up with ideas and a few models in mind.
Well things quickly went to hell in hand basket. Most of the models i had in mind either had changed their minds, or could no longer be found. I was running around like a lunatic for the first two weeks trying to find new models, trying to get the few models i had, to cooperate. And basically growing frustrated. I had one model that i was able to get sample pics from and i was happy to have started but i wasn't happy with the way the pictures looked. I had used the flash too much and every picture looked the same. But i got some great ideas and learned some do's and don'ts.
After two weeks i finally calmed down and realized that this project was going to take some time. Perhaps a lot of time. Models would come and go. Instead of focusing on a select few models because i just wanted them because i thought they were perfect. I decided to just play it by ear, dumping models who were a pain, wishy-washy, time consuming, or had no time. Some were put on the back burner. Others i thought i may come back to later if i cared! After all this i decided to just enjoy my camera and the holidays!
Well yesterday I got a call from my model CeeCee. CeeCee is a 47 yr old, light-skinned black woman with a plump belly and a sweet demeamor. CeeCee had made time for me and was a happily willing subject! So i went to see her again. I had an idea for using different natural lighting, but most of all i wanted to be simple. In fact that would be the basis for the shoot and the published result. Simple photos. She agreed to do nudes and i was nervous but excited. After all was said and done i went home, and found some disappointment.
Some of the photos were blurry, but most of all, none of them seemed to look right. They didn't have that professional look or the look i had seen in so many photo-books. Several comments from another forum didn't help. They were luddites but two said that I had taken amatuerish shots of my girlfriend! That didn't help my ego any. And the more i looked at the photos the more i was disappointed.
I realized that i needed different environs and different sets of lighting to give me different views and even new content. I quickly came up with a few ideas. But my own critique still dogged me. I kept wondering if i was just wasting my time and if i was truly no good at this and should just give up. I finally decided to edit some of my photos to see what i could do, or what was wrong.
I felt even more pathetic afterwards because nearly all of the pictures looked better in black & white then they did in color. In fact they looked 10 times better! I really began to wonder if I should give up. But i decided to look for real help first so I've arrived here. I'm kind of at my wits end. Still some what determined to keep going, but wondering if i just doing everything wrong. I've read the instruction guide, viewed a couple of quick lesson dvds that came with the camera. But i still feel as if i'm coming up short. I just need help and i have no where to turn it seems, but here. I would post some pictures but i'm not sure they would be accepted since there are some nudes and such.
But give me some advice or encouragement, please!!
WilliamCA
Well I guess i should tell my story so people can help me. Nine years ago i took a photography class because i was thinking of becoming a journalism major. I had borrowed a old camera from my aunt. It was a seventies black and with a flash attachment that no longer worked. But i loved it anyway.
One of our projects for the class was to find something unique for a small group of photos. Well I decided to break the mold. But i couldn't think of a single idea. Then a friend suggested I do nudes. I said, "No". Mainly because i had no models. My friend suggested that she would model for me and another friend of her's would. So...two days before i was to turn in negatives that I could process in a dark room. I took pictures of my two models. The first one was a 6 ft tall 20 yr old BBW, and the other was a skinny woman in her late 50's.
I know, i know, not exactly pictures of beauty in many peoples' minds. But i found myself inspired, not only by something that was unique, but the fact that my two models were not ashamed of their bodies. They were perfectly comfortable with who they were. I couldn't say the same for myself. I realized as i took my pictures, that i had spent years comparing myself to everyone else, trying to emulate a few, just in hopes of finding success or being accepted.
So I took the photos and developed them. My teacher was shocked. I think she gave me a C+ or a B-. Mainly because she thought i had broken the mold a little too much and that my pictures were risque. I found out later that she was a lesbian...go figure!
After that i left school and concentrated on work, i left journalism and photography behind. But i kept going back to those pictures again. I realized i was so happy in that class. I constantly felt inspired and maybe even accepted. I wanted to start taking pictures again, but I had no camera, and no money to buy one. So years passed before I decided to start again.
And now here I am. I decided to a ambitious project. One where i would do artistic nudes of older women and BBWs. I knew it would be hard, but I had no idea how hard. I finally purchased a Nikon D40. Since it had been on layaway for at least 7 months, I was so happy and i had had a lot of time to come up with ideas and a few models in mind.
Well things quickly went to hell in hand basket. Most of the models i had in mind either had changed their minds, or could no longer be found. I was running around like a lunatic for the first two weeks trying to find new models, trying to get the few models i had, to cooperate. And basically growing frustrated. I had one model that i was able to get sample pics from and i was happy to have started but i wasn't happy with the way the pictures looked. I had used the flash too much and every picture looked the same. But i got some great ideas and learned some do's and don'ts.
After two weeks i finally calmed down and realized that this project was going to take some time. Perhaps a lot of time. Models would come and go. Instead of focusing on a select few models because i just wanted them because i thought they were perfect. I decided to just play it by ear, dumping models who were a pain, wishy-washy, time consuming, or had no time. Some were put on the back burner. Others i thought i may come back to later if i cared! After all this i decided to just enjoy my camera and the holidays!
Well yesterday I got a call from my model CeeCee. CeeCee is a 47 yr old, light-skinned black woman with a plump belly and a sweet demeamor. CeeCee had made time for me and was a happily willing subject! So i went to see her again. I had an idea for using different natural lighting, but most of all i wanted to be simple. In fact that would be the basis for the shoot and the published result. Simple photos. She agreed to do nudes and i was nervous but excited. After all was said and done i went home, and found some disappointment.
Some of the photos were blurry, but most of all, none of them seemed to look right. They didn't have that professional look or the look i had seen in so many photo-books. Several comments from another forum didn't help. They were luddites but two said that I had taken amatuerish shots of my girlfriend! That didn't help my ego any. And the more i looked at the photos the more i was disappointed.
I realized that i needed different environs and different sets of lighting to give me different views and even new content. I quickly came up with a few ideas. But my own critique still dogged me. I kept wondering if i was just wasting my time and if i was truly no good at this and should just give up. I finally decided to edit some of my photos to see what i could do, or what was wrong.
I felt even more pathetic afterwards because nearly all of the pictures looked better in black & white then they did in color. In fact they looked 10 times better! I really began to wonder if I should give up. But i decided to look for real help first so I've arrived here. I'm kind of at my wits end. Still some what determined to keep going, but wondering if i just doing everything wrong. I've read the instruction guide, viewed a couple of quick lesson dvds that came with the camera. But i still feel as if i'm coming up short. I just need help and i have no where to turn it seems, but here. I would post some pictures but i'm not sure they would be accepted since there are some nudes and such.
But give me some advice or encouragement, please!!
WilliamCA
![[No title]](/data/xfmg/thumbnail/32/32148-95f8731a01012cd472d3896791e3b7de.jpg?1619735233)
![[No title]](/data/xfmg/thumbnail/42/42257-4c4b35d60337b1b4ec661332486a33be.jpg?1619740066)
