Recognizing Inspiration

    As a board certified behavior analyst, today's photojournal prompt is particularly exciting.  What Kat has presented us with is called a task analysis - a breakdown of a more complex skill, like tying shoes or.. making a photograph.  It clicks with my brain's scientific way of thinking.
     When I am at work or trying to figure out my next steps in life, small or big, I always come back to a concept I learned from a marcus buckingham podcast - strengths and weaknesses.  He conceptualizes strengths as things you are good at, yes, but also - ready for it? - things that strengthen you.  He says that things you are good at, but hate, are not actually strengths, but weaknesses.  And worse, because you're good at them, people keep throwing them at you.  I am an excellent interviewer but I hate it - but I get assigned most of the interviews, during which I am just dreaming about being somewhere else.  I am also an excellent materials-maker, and while I am laminating, creating visual supports, etc, time just flies by. I'd do it even if I didn't get paid.  It's a thrill.
    That's what we're looking at here, as well - our strengths and weaknesses in the photographic process.  (PS - something you suck at but love to do is neither a strength or weakness - it's a hobby, lol).
   
     My strengths in the photographic process are: -seeing a subject - since I had my little epiphany, I can sharply identify what exactly it is I wanted to photograph, what about that subject, and am beginning to conceptualize how I want to present that to a viewer. -I love most of the exploration except when technicalities get in the way.  -Review is a thrill, and less and less a surprise (as in, oh, I thought that would be great and it was awful kind of surprise).  -I love sharing with others and receiving feedback.

    My weaknesses are: -Editing is boring.  I also don't have proper editing software, and further, my ultimate goal is for the photographs to require little editing to begin with.  I'm not yet into the editing-as-creative-process part - probably because I haven't been exposed and I don't imagine I'll ever have time for it.  -I never get an end result although putting photos up on the blog is often disappointing because out of their context in my photostream, they're often not as exciting as I thought.  I also find the cropping or color or something about a printed product to be very disappointing when I get them back.  I don't think printing processes have caught up with the digital aspect ratio or something.

     One area of frustration I continue to come up against is lack of equipment to do what I want to do - e.g., my girlfriend would like me to take her new portraits in exchange for providing interior design for my cottage. I want to agree, but I don't have a good portrait lens, reflectors, or the skill to get good SOOTC shots, or any training regarding posing and making people look good - even though it's one of my motivations.

    One area that I see I get jazzed up about over and over is exploring the subject - and letting it reval itself.

   


  a. Intention to photograph b. Seeing a subject c. Exploring/studying a subject with your camera d. Review of your images e. Editing of your images f. Getting an end result – on the wall, on the web, etc. g. Understanding your images h. Sharing with others i. Receiving feedback