By Peter Phun
As a photography instructor, if you were to ask, "What's toughest to teach in photography?", I'd have to answer, "How and where to find Inspiration or Motivation."
The concepts, the technical wizardry, the f-stops and so on, students will get. Some obviously faster than others. But eventually that stuff sinks in.
After all, there are only that many controls on the camera if you just stick with available light and a few lenses.
Lots of folks gravitate towards photography because it's relatively easy and inexpensive especially in the digital era.
But few stick around after the initial novelty of the equipment wears off. Those are the ones who tend to buy more gear than they really need.
For instance, the super-wide angle lens. Your view of the world looks neat the first time you mount that lens on your digital SLR.
You can see your toes when you shoot verticals. You can sort of see behind you.
But how often can you use it? Well, let me count the ways. In the gondola of a hot air balloon, in the cockpit of an airplane, for mounting it on the backboard of basket or any other tight quarters when you want to capture a shot remotely.
For most people that amounts to maybe 5 times a year tops and those are professionals. For the average amateur, it'll be like once a year. Rather than become a gear hound, concentrate on mastering and making the most of the gear you do have.
Concentrate of your content inside that viewfinder. Pay attention to lighting. Often great portraits can be done in simple settings. Concentrate of finding the nerve to go up to a complete stranger whom you find beautiful or good-looking and asking them to model for you.
If I wasn't a newspaper photographer in my previous life, I'd have to say I'm not comfortable doing that either. But having done that for almost 2 decades, establishing a rapport with a stranger is now easy.
They can only say, "No thanks."
The best advice I can give beginning photographers is to do some soul searching. Ask what subjects matter to you. If you are passionate about an activity or hobby, channel that passion creatively and use it to capture it visually.
I enjoy animals. I like dogs, so here I favor them as subjects.
You have to do projects that interest you.
Choose your subjects the way an artist with a brush does. You will seldom go wrong.
You'll be surprised how that insight you have translates to unique-looking images.
Without sounding like I'm tooting my own horn, my pilot training from a different lifetime ago, gives me a good appreciation of what to expect when shooting aerials.
Motion sickness aside, my previous experience helps because I am to communicate effectively with the pilot. I know to ask them to "bank," "slow to stall speeds" and etc.
There is a certain amount of drudgery even in the exciting world of photojournalism. I never believed I would tire of working at a newspaper but in the end, not having control over what my subjects were day-in and day-out, took its toll.
So the onus is on you, the photographer, to come up with great visual ideas.
See if these images give you a shot in the arm and inspire you. Peter Phun is an adjunct photography instructor at Riverside City College. He is a freelance photographer, web designer and stay at home dad. He previously worked as a staff photographer for 18 years at The Press-Enterprise, Southern California's 4th largest daily newspaper. Peter is the webmaster for the Mac user group in the Inland Empire. For more information about this Riverside based photographer, visit http://www.peterphun.com
