Embracing the Emotion in Creativity

Oiy. One of the most critical things in custom photography (I believe) is accurate color. The point is to see the subject as purely as possible – like they appear in real life (maybe minus some skin imperfections. ). And when studying photography, you’ll always be told that starting as perfectly as possible straight out of camera (SOOC) with great exposure and white balance is key. Saves time in post processing and the end result is a wonderfully ‘enhanced’ photo rather than a fixed one.

But, sometimes, creativity is the key. Embracing the situation, as imperfect as it is, and running with it.

I shot these images at my parents’ house while my oldest brother, Boe, filled the air with music. The light was very low so I opened up my aperture to 1.4, bumped my ISO up to 3200 and 6400 and played with focus. I didn’t worry about the white balance (getting “accurate” color in camera).

I just shot. I embraced the grain, the very, very shallow depth of field, the weird lighting.

I just shot, and listened to his creativity of music and was inspired.

In one of the photography workshops I’ve taken part in, the instructor talked of the ‘technically perfect’ image vs. the ‘emotionally perfect’ image. And when I look at these photos, I see and feel the emotion in them.

Off-color and all. Infact, when I first opened these on my computer and corrected the white balance, they lost emotion for me. What draws me to them seemed to disappear as the color became ‘correct’.

It is refreshing to shoot with emotion, fun, and creativity being the driving force, rather than always putting the technicalities and rules first. I suppose that is the beauty, and freedom, of art.

Okay, now I’m going to get back to Photoshop and try to master skin-tones with curves. I just had to take a break and share these to remind myself that not all images have to be ‘perfect’ to be enjoyed.