A photographer’s creativity, vision, and tenacity make one succeed while others struggle. And self-assigned projects are the perfect opportunity to develop and hone these qualities. Self-assigned projects also offer photographers the chance to explore and develop their skills in a specialty that they are looking to break into. This is even more relevant in the age of Instagram, which can be as important as a photographer’s portfolio website. Posting images from self-assigned projects can not only show a photographer’s skills but also let their personality shine through.
Photographer Chris Ranier spends 40 years capturing sacred sites and moments across the world
Chris Rainier, a documentary photographer and National Geographic explorer, has been devoted to exploring and understanding the sacred. What does sacred mean for different people and different cultures from all corners of the globe? Is it a landscape, a nature’s wonder, a man-made building, or a language?
Searching for answers to these questions, Chris spent the last forty years traveling across all seven continents and photographing what different people see as sacred. He collected it all in his book Sacred: In Search of Meaning, and today we share with you some of the magnificent photos he took on his long journey.
This ambitious art project provides soundtracks for photographs
“What is the relationship between photography and sound? In today’s visually-dominated culture, how can we use sound to respond to what we see around us?”
That’s the question Cities and Memory poses on their homepage, and their answer is the Sound Photography project. The website’s newest endeavor allows audio artists get to create soundtracks based on photographs submitted by volunteers.
Photographer banned from Facebook because of naked mannequin photos [NSFW]
Canadian photographer Julia Busato had her profile banned from Facebook because of a photography project she’s been running. Some Facebook users criticized her photos of naked women posing behind a mannequin, and reported her. As a result, Facebook banned her and she’s unable to access her personal profile and page.
This photographer creates wildlife and underwater photos without leaving his studio
Do you dream of traveling the world and taking photos of wildlife all over the globe? And does it sometimes get you down if you can’t do it? Egyptian photographer Amr Elshamy has the same dream, but he turns it into a reality – without leaving his studio. He creates “wildlife and underwater photography” using toy models of animals, a minimal amount of gear and a couple of props. And the results are pretty cool.
How to Find Your Style in Photography
Many of us are trying to find our “style” in our photography.
1. Photography style
But what exactly is “style”?
For me, “style” in photography is about consistency of subject-matter and consistency of aesthetic (how the photo looks).
For example, if you want to build a definite “style” in your photography — seek to work on a photo project, where you focus on a specific subject-matter. You can focus on a specific person (personal documentary), you can focus on a certain city (your own hometown), or you can focus on a certain social issue.
“Shoot Portraits, Not People” – a provocative project that brings guns and cameras together
In this hectic and violent world, photographers use the term “shooting” for totally different purposes. Jason Siegel is a photographer who combines the two meanings in a controversial and thought-provoking project called “Shoot Portraits, Not People”.
This is his first non-photography based art project. In order to make it, he used photographic equipment built into high-powered weaponry. Thus, he combined different techniques and different types of art into a unique project.
This couple travels the world apart – but their photos bring them together
We recently shared a story about a couple of photographers who travel the world together with their home being wherever they are. But another couple has their photos inspired by traveling, only they do it in a completely different way. They don’t meet during the travels, but their photos do! And when they are stitched together, they make quite an interesting project named HalfHalfTravel.
Beautiful models with disabilities crashes the disabled stereotype
Many a time, disabled people are perceived as a minority (which they are) and in that group, there are women, which are perceived as a minority of their own. But the Raw Beauty Project (previously) is really showing the power of photography to empower those who would otherwise considered a minority within a minority.
The project says that it “celebrates women with disabilities, educating viewers to redefine perceptions and beauty, unleashing potential for all“, and I have to agree.
31 Self Portraits Series Made For Halloween
Photographer Amanda Chapman has been giving Halloween the proper treatment since 2012. The project called 31 Days Of Halloween started when Amanda’s husband was diagnosed with Cancer and Amanda was looking to give something positive for the family to focus at.
Her definition of “something positive to focus at” was 31 Days Of Halloween – a month where Amanda shot a different self portrait with full makeup as a character from one of her favorite stories.
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