Personal Pride In Making Photographs
by William Lulow
Many commercial photographers, myself included, are used to making photographs for our clients. Someone will call and say “I need photographs of myself for a brochure or website”, or, “I need pictures of my products for sell sheets or websites” , or even, “I need shots of my corporate event.” There is always someone who needs images for one reason or another. That’s why I always love to make images just for myself. These are pictures that don’t have to sell anything or really be used for any other purpose other than my own personal satisfaction. When commercial photographers do this, they are just exhibiting their love for the process itself.
That’s exactly what I have been doing for the last several weeks on a vacation to Hawaii. The islands are a magical place where it’s hard to take a bad image. Nearly everywhere you look there is a photograph waiting to be made:
If it’s not the color of the water, it’s; the swaying palms that make photogenic subjects. Great compositions just seem to be there. All you have to do is look:
You also have to be able to see a good composition before you make the image. I am constantly challenging myself to find good compositions in everyday scenes. I have discussed strong compositions in previous blog articles, but today I just wanted to speak about the love of making images themselves
The pictures I just finished making on my trip to Hawaii were just for the love of doing it. It took me back to the reason I began my life-long love affair with the science and art of making images at the beginning. There is something very rewarding in making a photograph that you can just hang on your wall to view at your leisure. The techniques and the science are still there, but the result is a work of art. If done properly, you can create a lasting piece that you never get tired of looking at or displaying. Plus, it will last beyond your lifetime to be enjoyed by subsequent generations. I just enjoy looking at my own images a lot of the time. For one thing, they are a great way to remember times gone by and another is just the sheer joy of knowing that you created something.
So that is the real reason for taking pictures. It’s the same as for making music or any other form of art. It’s an enduring endeavor, one that lasts a long time. It’s also one that you can’t stop yourself from thinking about even when you are not actually engaged in the process. I am always looking at a scene, or the light or the way objects are arranged in front of me and thinking of them as a photograph. It is the reason that most of us ventured into this profession.
So it makes no difference the subject matter. What’s important is that the process is respected and an object of beauty, even if that object is ugly like Irving Penn’s cigarette butts, is created.
It also should make no difference if anyone else likes your images or not. If you are a commercial photographer, again, your job is to please your clients, so you have to know how to do that. But the beauty of just photographing for yourself is that YOU are the client. The only one you have to please is yourself! That accomplishes a couple of things. One, it makes you think more about what pleases you and two, it forces you to think more about how to do it! That’s the beauty of just working for yourself. Most great artists began painting, drawing, sculpting or photographing because something drew them to do it. Being a commercial photographer and deciding to shoot for other people is a choice one makes. Just taking pictures and learning both the science and art of it is more something you cannot control.
