I've spent quite a bit of time in the studio the past few months. It's become a bit of a love/hate relationship.
Most of the work has been for a client, which means there are specifics and guidelines that I've had to adhere to. It's been an interesting beast. A while back i had wanted to take a step away from technicals and focus more on capturing emotion. In the items I've been shooting there definitely exists that element but it swung my overall direction back to the side of technicals. Part of this was the demand for a very specific look within a set of guidelines. That itself isn't bad, it's as i stated in past blogs a way of narrowing your focus and path. At times it limits creativity which again isn't exactly a bad thing either but in my case i began to notice a change, or rather a handicap that started to become a difficult obstacle to overcome.
It was becoming too comfortable with where I was. I started to, and still do, have a very studio/ commercial oriented approach to most anything i shot. You can do a lot with it, but you can't cram particular styles or visions within the framework of that approach. This is where the separation of one's work as a craftsman and one's work as an artist needs to exist. Turning off that single minded approach has grown to be difficult at times, especially when shouldering the weight of a tight schedule and heavy workload.
Regardless, having the knowledge of one's own weaknesses and shortcomings is generally a great first step in the direction of overcoming the obstacle.
I love working in the studio but i need to step outside those guidelines and bring the elements i find there back with me. The images that I've shot that to me have been timeless have almost exclusively been outside the studio, a little ironic considering how much time i spend working on my techniques there. So, there is a barrier there that needs to change. I guess it's just a matter of time at this point.
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