Meetup - part II

Today I went for round II of photography meetup at the Bronx Botanical gardens, and it was awesome. Before the meetup was scheduled to happen, I had asked the organizer of the meet up, David, if I could do a quick presentation to the fellow joiners, and he agreed. So, I went searching online on all the photography blogs and forum I follow for the topics I wanted to cover, and then I put together a one-pager with bucket loads of useful information. Don't worry, the page wasn't covered in words, it was just the right amount to keep the readers interested!

Ok, I will share with you the most important information about photography that I put together after researching the blogs and forums. This information can be categorized into three basic elements:

PHOTOGRAPHY IS ABOUT...

Who we are: Every picture we take, every angle we calculate, speaks of the kind of person we are and that then gets reflected in the shots we take. Trying to copy some other photographer's style would not do justice to our pictures if we do not exploit our own style, our own self.
This is something I have learnt over and over from all the professional and seasoned photographers, and I truly feel that like anything in life, doing something where we remain true to ourselves is the key. So always remember, who we are!

What do our pictures say: We may not need a fancy equipment or super cool lenses if we don't understand what we would like to convey through our pictures. Therefore, being very clear about the story we want our pictures to tell is very important to getting avant garde quality to our shots. There is no shortcut to this. The only way to get this clarity is through practice, practice, practice! Doesn't matter how many times we get it wrong, the art is to finding a way to tell a story or convey a message through our pictures, and this also ties in with the first element about remembering who we are!

Why are we doing this: This is might be the most important element to photography. If we are pursuing this passion because someone else is doing it, then we should pretty much stop right now, right here. Because there is no point to it. However, if we know deep down why we are immersing ourselves like crazy in this field - maybe because we have a keen eye of presenting things in the most unique way or maybe we cannot live another day without pursuing this art - then we should absolutely feel good and confident about being a photographer. Yes, it can be pursued as a hobby too, nothing wrong with that. But, remember, hobby is nothing but a selfish indulgence into something that makes us really really happy and fulfilled. Either ways, the intentions should always be in the right place.

So, these are some of the things I talked about at the meetup. I also shared some websites that one can learn so much from. Honestly, I felt so good sharing this information with the fellow joiners....it was like I was sharing my full cup with them!  And, yes, it also felt good when all of them thanked me for this totally unexpected voluntary act. Its always a win win when you do it with love!!!

I will be adding some pictures I took soon! Hugs!

UPDATE: Here are some pictures by moi!

Meet Tobi - he was part of the group, and I asked him to pose for my camera, and he obliged kindly - DankeTobi

Meet Fawn - ever fabulous lady who also posed for my camera! Thank you sooo much dear!