Worked like a charm
I would say that the most common phrase for getting over the hump is that past the midpoint of the week, Wednesdays, are considered the Hump; as in halfway to the weekend.
I don’t know about you, but to me, there’s a lot of other kinds of humps one has to get over in life. For example, that first piece of sushi that actually has fish in it. Your first attempt at riding a bicycle, or the first time you try to parallel park.
Ok, now getting over the hump in photography. In both my online classes with the BPSOP and in my “Stretching Your Frame of Mind” workshop I conduct around the planet, I often talk to my students about getting over the hump. This means different things to different people. For example, one student keeps forgetting to straighten the horizon (the epitome of distraction), while another might not understand the concept of balancing the Negative and Positive Space until he does it for the first time; figuring out that it makes his photos stronger. All photographers have some sort of hump to transcend.
I will tell you this, all my students forget to incorporate my “fifteen Point Protection Plan”, checking the four corners, and the Border Patrol until they use it for the first time and understands how important it is. Btw, that doesn’t mean they won’t forget it the next time…because more than likely they will!!
One of my all-time favorite expressions is, ” I don’t photograph what I see because I never see what I want, so I photograph what I’d like to see. If I’m composing a photo, and I need to change something or ask someone (usually a stranger) to move over a step so a pole isn’t growing out of their head, I have no problem asking…not if it will make for a better photograph.
If I had to list one hump that the majority of my students have a very hard time getting over, it’s approaching a stranger to ask them something that would improve their photo; or to even take their picture.
Another one that might rival it is using a tripod. What I often see is someone carrying the tripod in one hand and the camera in the other. It’s a pain to stop, put the tripod in place, take the camera and attach it, compose your shot and then take the camera off the tripod, put it back in your hand and the camera over your shoulder or in your hand.
No wonder people don’t take a tripod when they need to, and when it comes to being freaked out because everyone is watching you, it’s still another hurdle to get over.
When I use a tripod, it’s usually during the Blue Hour, sunrise and sunset, when you’re shooting with a slow shutter speed. I keep the camera on the tripod and then put it over my shoulder. It becomes one piece of equipment and thus much easier and faster to use.
I guess I’ve been doing it for so long it has become second nature to me. I figure that all they can say is no. The key is to not walk up to someone with the camera in your hand, which is sure to intimidate…especially nowadays when everyone’s personal space is up for grabs.
In the above photo, I was walking inside this tent at a festival and saw these two people right outside it. I was an interesting shot, filled with visual interest., The guy was moving around for her and for the most part, the lines forming the windows were always going right through his eyes.
I told them what I was trying to do and if he would listen to me directing him so that I could get his head unobstructed in the window..worked like a charm!!
Visit my website at www.joebaraban.com, and check out my workshop schedule at the top of this blog. Come shoot with me sometime.
JoeB
