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Discussion
8 Years Ago
When I was learning to play golf my instructor told me one thing that I remember to this day and as a beginner, it's what helped me the most. He said to keep the head of the club on the ground as long as possible. He said many, many other things; too many to absorb all at once, but that one tip stayed with me and enabled me to connect with the ball, which is all you really want to do as a beginner.
I was watching an art video the other day and the instructor said to think of painting in the early stages as sculpting and that everything is made up of planes and light plays on those planes in different ways.
Bingo! Light bulb! A-ha moment!
What tiny piece of advice were you ever given about your art that lit up the light bulb and made all the difference?
I'm on my way to the dentist, but I'll check in later... Wish me luck!
K.
Reply Order
8 Years Ago
Less is almost always more...not just in visual art, but in many other arenas such as writing...clutter can kill or confuse the message, feel and purpose of any form of expression.
Clarity of meaning is not always that easy to achieve. What I think is cool about art (of all forms) is that a single work can mean different things or leave different impressions with different people...which is fantastic as long as they can come up with their own clear interpretation based on who they are, where they come from, their life experiences, etc.
I actually like when people can tell me that they don't like something I've created because it left them with a negative feeling/impression/thought - the important thing is that the work was clear enough to them to mean something - even if it was just negative.
Conversely, If too many people say, "I just don't get it", then the first thing I ask myself is, "is the work just too cluttered or otherwise too unclear."
8 Years Ago
on the coattails of Shawn....
If you take it out and don't miss it, you didn't need it.
THE most important lesson I learned was to learn the rules of good design....until you do, you cannot begin to challenge them.
8 Years Ago
if an object in a scene doesn't help the image - then don't include it. so like that stray tree on the path, stuff in a window, a stray person etc, don't include them or clone them out later. otherwise people may be looking at the wrong object.
---Mike Savad
MikeSavad.com
8 Years Ago
A guy when I first started shooting put it in a way only he could -- "Learn to shoot on manual, dumbass! Your camera doesn't know you're shooting trains and needs to be at 1/500!"
8 Years Ago
A light bulb goes off in photographer's heads when they realize they are capturing light.
8 Years Ago
It's pretty crude...But one of my art professors said this..."Never whore yourself." Sorry for that word, but that is exactly what he said. And it's stuck with me. I never give my work away for free or for less than I want. I choose my charities to give to annually of course, but when someone asks for my work for nothing or next to nothing. I do not do it. In the morning, you just feel better about yourself.
8 Years Ago
My dad: "Just mind your business, kid, and do your work."
Last 2 words to me: "Behave yourself."
Taken under advisement...works the charm.
carmenhathaway.com
8 Years Ago
Try everything...The techniques in one discipline are often totally transferable to another. For example all screen printing techniques transfer to Photo Shop because each layer can be seen as a separate screen also etching and sculpting techniques apply to oil painting with a set of palette knives.... and don't worry about messing work up ... You learn far more from failing than you do from instant success.
8 Years Ago
learn how to use the camera BEFORE your vacation. also bring the manual along or a PDF version on your phone in case you need it.
if you have good settings for something - write them down. i have a list in my phone for different things - parade, fire works, frozen wings macro, racing pigs, etc. this way i can just look that up, and enter it. be sure to write down your usual settings as well. i haven't used my camera in months, i totally forgot what the settings were.
---Mike Savad
MikeSavad.com
8 Years Ago
This is awesome! So much good advice to add to my toolbox. Keep 'em coming!
(good report from the destist, btw...)
8 Years Ago
No matter what you do,the brightest light will always fall on your mistakes ; learn to squint,a lot...
8 Years Ago
Karyn,
On the flip side, one piece of the wrong advice can make all the difference as well.
The average adult stopped drawing in 3rd grade because someone told him his picture didn't "look like a real____."
How much of an impact is that?!?!?
8 Years Ago
while it sounds excessive, always bring a small first aid kit with you. a bandage is something i didn't have when i needed on. paper towels are a good idea, and something to stop yourself from bleeding like a styptic pencil. don't use the powder it gets everywhere.
i also have a small damp cloth with me, it lets me clean my hands and serves as an ice pack (when against my water bottle)
ALWAYS carry water. don't rely on sinks and fountains. when you are near one get new water and keep it filled.
always have something to clean your lens, that's meant for a lens - not a shirt, it will scratch despite what the old timers say
if your bag is new, take it out for a day trip to see how well you can find things, see if it digs in. i've modified my new bag about 6 times so far, and its not even photo season quite yet. my old bag had dozens of modifications and i still have issues with it.
always carry a small lens cloth that you don't like. use that one to clean windows - fingerprints and smudges can ruin a shot. dampen a corner for more action. be careful pressing on older windows -- i almost broke one. you can only clean the one side, both will be dirty... sorry perfectionists.
while i never needed them, try to carry extra flash batteries and always have 2 back ups for your camera. one of my back ups was dead when i tried using it. refresh all the batteries before a trip even if you just did them a week ago. have extra spare batteries in the car, just in case your secondary back up fails.
learn to take the next shot while shooting the current one.
learn to break a room or a location up into pieces as you shoot. in case there is so much stuff to shoot your lost. this systematic approach covers it all. do the room, half room at an angle, then just keep getting tighter and tighter on each part of the room, shelf, etc. then move to the next angle. you'll end up with many images, but at least you know you should have gotten everything.
if you want to get fancy get a polarizer to fit onto your flash (i had to do it with a junk round one), mount one to the camera, cross them (use a mirror to see that they got darker). and now you have a polarized flash. use it to shoot things without glare. leaves, fish, etc. but the light will be flatter. and in the dark it will be hard to see what your doing because the polarizer has to be on there the whole time. make a mark on both things so you can align them faster.
---Mike Savad
MikeSavad.com
8 Years Ago
When I told one of my art teachers in high school that I didn't think I could be a painter - that I was only good at cartoons - he looked at me almost with disgust and said "You can do ANYTHING." I've never forgotten it.
8 Years Ago
The best quote i can remember hearing when I was learning photography was "Photography is light.....so if the light sucks...the photograph is going to suck."
8 Years Ago
J L....thanks for the reminder....in my early 20s...first media/radio job applying for -- under 'other qualifications' I wrote "I can do anything. "
I was hired :)
carmenhathaway.com
8 Years Ago
Marlene, when I started painting I only did abstracts because that way no one could say "that doesn't look like a tree." It took a while to believe in myself enough to try to paint a thing, and then it took even longer to try painting people. Doing something new is scary and challenging but necessary if one is to grow.
Glenn McCarthy Art and Photography
8 Years Ago
One thing I have learned is..."We're not shooting with film anymore! With digital you can take lots of photographs and choose the best."
8 Years Ago
@Sharon - not to beat it up - but a whore is someone that gets paid for their service - if they give it away free to all - they are just like doing it. LOL
8 Years Ago
never shoot with a camera strap - the neck strap type. especially the one that comes with the camera. first off they all mark the camera you have and everyone knows what your shooting with for 100's of feet around. but there are snatch and run thieves that can cut it off your body, if they see it dangling, and your near the street. a motorbike comes up, slices it off. its usually more popular with purses but i can see where a camera is an easy target.
keep that camera in a bag you can easily get too, especially in the city. my camera has a handle on the side. it's made from parts of another device that was also a camera handle. but it's been modified with foam rubber (the type from a cane or bike handle). and that's pretty comfortable, while it remains right in your hand at all times. it never leaves that spot.
---Mike Savad
MikeSavad.com