Fun Projects

Last semester, I took a photography class at the local college for fun. Don’t ever do that to yourself. I hated the limits the class put on my creativity; I felt like I was constantly under scrutiny even when my professor praised my work. Some good things did come out of that class though; I made a new friend, and I gained a new model.

This is Halee:

She is an amazing dancer and a college student. We met through mutual friends, and I asked her to help me out with my photography project. We shot at a little park in Niceville that I played at when I was a kid.

My assignment was to photograph something that was “obviously blue”. Originally, I had showed my professor this photo of a young ballet dancer.

But my teacher was not impressed because it was too straight forward and not creative enough. Really? Would you like to just imagine the color blue is there? Aggravated, I turned to Halee for inspiration. I finally gave up and decided to ignore all instructions and just have fun.

The first picture here is the original concept that we came up with. I made Halee crumble up blue chalk in her hands, and then had her hand print on her face.No, I didn’t smash her hand onto her face; it was done very gently and carefully.  The second photo is the one you would be more familiar with. I outlined the handprint with markers to add more texture.

This project was a lot of fun, and I will definitely be doing more of them. I have in mind a series I’d like to create of color-based photographs. I think it would be really neat. If you’re interested in being a part of this project, I will have more details for you soon. Send me an email by visiting my website.

Anyway, I hope everyone has a lovely weekend!

Until next time,

Aislinn

Portrait of the Artist as a Young Photographer

My story really begins long before I ever picked up a camera.

Although,I started in photography a few years ago professionally, I have been dabbling with a camera since I could walk. My mother has always been the family photographer; when I was little, she would take pictures of me constantly. I learned very quickly what a camera was and what buttons to press to make the camera flash. My fascination continued; in elementary school, I was always awed by the color wheel and how the colors work together so seamlessly to create a spectrum of infinite combinations.This was the first hint of my creative side; over the years, my creativity grew. I tried painting, drawing, cooking(or the artful ability to burn food if you ask my mother), singing, yet, I could not seem to find my niche.

As a teenager, I would steal my mother’s camera and photograph nature and myself occasionally. Eventually, I received a camera from my parents as a gift. I taught myself by trial and error.(If I click these two buttons at the same time, will the camera blow up?) My friends and I began taking pictures at parks and in my backyard for fun. I would have my “model” act out poses shoots from America’s Next Top Model. Miraculously, my friends turned out to be great models, and I had a knack for taking pictures. I am so thankful to my insatiable need for knowledge. This need fueled my constant research of new techniques and ideas for photo shoots. I will never be through learning new ways to shoot or edit photos.

I have come into contact with many other photographers and several of them have taken me under their wing. Over the course of this blog, I will probably mention these awesome people who have influenced my life. Some of my favorite photographers include these mentors, and I am extremely grateful.

Ok now on to the fun stuff:pictures.

This past week, I had a photoshoot with my favorite model, Andrea. We used a hand made dress from a thrift shop and a hat found in my closet. I wanted to give the impression of a woman from the 1940s waiting for something. Andrea did a wonderful job following my vision and making it a reality. Here is one of my favorite shots from the photoshoot.

If you would like to see more pictures from this photoshoot, visit my website at www.aisportraits.com
Until next time.
Aislinn