Fabric, Fun, and Trains

…and a little bit of awkwardness.

This past weekend Scott and I hung out with our adorably awesome friend Alex.  She needed some fabric for her Halloween costume (which I will not divulge, but it is going to be fabulous!) so we headed down to the fashion district and had a great time shopping around and eventually found the perfect costume fabric.  :)

Here is where it gets awkward.  I brought my camera so we thought it would be fun to go to Union Station and take some pictures.  This all seemed like a great idea until we got there and I was instantly overwhelmed by all the people, the self imposed pressure of wanting to take great images, and the uncomfortable feeling of trying to direct my models.  Scott and Alex were being such troopers and having fun with it, but I had gotten into such a funk so I asked that we leave.

I was so mad at myself because I was the only one who made me feel anything other than confident and fabulous.  I got in my own way.

After that, I started to realize that as I venture down this photography path, there is so much more to learn than the technicalities of operating a camera.  Seemingly more important, is the ability to elicit true emotion.  It seems that to do this a photographer needs to develop a connection with his or her models and exude a level of a confidence to create a comfortable environment.  If you doubt yourself, your models will doubt you.

Now, I know that I need to feel more comfortable with myself and my ideas. If I am confident and trust myself, inevitably the people I am shooting will feel comfortable, allowing me to capture true “moments” and great photographs :)

We will chalk up this past weekend to a positive learning experience, but not my best photographer moment.  A big thanks to Scott and Alex for indulging me and being great sports.

Here are some of the images I captured.  Enjoy!

Happy Wednesday!

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