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This weeks blog is a guest post from David Zwickerhill, a Maine wedding photographer and travel enthusiast.
Photography and the act of documenting our daily lives has been revolutionized by the integration of sophisticated camera technology into our cell phones. This combined with the photography apps available for iOS and Android have allowed those who might have been hindered by accessibility to express themselves creatively and artistically on an explosive scale. People are learning to do what photographers have always done, to see the world through a lens. Once you’ve crossed that threshold, you see images everywhere. In what was once inconsequential and mundane we see beauty. It’s all in how you look at things. And once you are looking for these windows of opportunity you’ll see them everywhere. It can change how you think and how you perceive the world. It can even change your life.
It is my sincere hope that this new found preoccupation with “social” photography will lead to better and more interesting travel pictures. The fact is that no one except your grandmother wants to see you and your travel mates lined up in a row in front of the Eiffel Tower, all goofy smiles and shot from the exact same perspective as a million other snapshots. The concept of the “smile and say cheese” photo was part of the original Kodak Brownie marketing plan and unfortunately we haven’t moved that far beyond it. Pictures don’t have to be candid to be interesting, but they do have to have some aspect of singularity. The same scene shot from a unique angle or with a different arrangement of people can make all the difference. Integrating your subject into their environment will ground the image in the setting. For example, a row of people all arm in arm and toothy smiles could be cut out and set in front of any background. An image where the subjects are scattered and interacting with the environment is tied to its setting. Try it and I guarantee you’ll be inspired by the results!
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