Allowing yourself to fail is one of the keys to creativity. Trying new things, experimenting and not caring if you will be successful. If you are working with a new camera, try all the modes, push the edges of the settings, see what it can do. For post processing software move the sliders all around from end to end, explore the menus, try the different presets and see what you like. As a friend of mine likes to say “Nobody gets hurt.”.
Recently I was reading an interview with a commercial photographer. He believed that being willing to experiment was his edge in getting assignments. He indicated that most commercial photographers are afraid to take risks and play it safe. The art directors that picked him wanted something different – they knew he would push the envelop.
Right now I am trying a new technique (new to me) I learned from Harold Davis’s book, Photographing Flowers. This technique involves the manual blending of HDR image sets as applied to flowers that are backlit by a lightbox. I am finding it challenging to recreate his exact “look” (it is okay to start with imitation and let it evolve to your own style in time). I am also combing these images with texture overlays. The blog image is one of my first attempts. I am not totally happy with it yet, but thought I would share it with you.
I will go over this technique in a more detailed fashion in a future blog.
