Make Photographs, Not Excuses

For my new readers, I teach high school photography.  Almost every assignment is to be photographed on the school campus.  Every year I get the same complaints, 

“It’s so boring to take photos on campus.  There is nothing here I can photograph!”

I tell them they are only limited by there own imagination and creativity.  Look beyond the norm.  One of the challenges of being a photographer is to find a photo in every situation.  

Look at the world in a different way.  Change your position.  Create art from the everyday.

This leads me to the adorable photos posted here.  My neighbors sister Ali was visiting from Chicago.  She had been following my work online and wanted to have me shoot photographs of her daughter Angelina while she was out here.  

Before they knew it, Ali’s trip got filled up with activities and they had forgotten to have me take photographs.  As they were on the cusp of returning home, we would either have to take the photographs in our neighborhood or not at all.  I knew how important these photos were to them and I was determined to make sure they got them.  

I live in a townhouse complex.  Nothing very scenic or exciting from a photographers standpoint.  I could have let this be an EXCUSE for not taking the photos of Angelina.  Instead, I got in there and made it happen.  If I had used excuses I would have missed out on taking  photos of this little doll.

After the shoot, Angelina’s cousins insisted that I take a couple photos of them also.  Not the ideal shooting location again, yet the following two photo of my neighbor girls have become some of my favorites. They have made it into my permanent portfolio.  

If I had made excuses (and believe me there were a million I could have made about this shoot) I would have missed out of some beautiful photos. 

 Make photographs, not excuses!

Ali, I am sooooooooooooo glad that we made this shoot happen! Wish you guys lived closer.