July 25-28
We've only been in the studio for a couple days but I've already learned so much! This place is huge and nothin like anything you would find in the states, honestly after spending some time here I can see that even the way they view photography is incredibly different. Prior to this trip, I hadn't really had the opportunity to mess with lighting all that much and so there hasn't been a moment where I wasn't learning something new. There are so many different ways and styles to light a photo and that just blew my mind! I think the coolest thing I've learned at the studio so far was how to use an analog (film) camera. It was such an old camera and the way it focused and took the photo was just such an interesting concept. So far, we've learned how to set up and light a scene to photograph products (some of the photos above show it was in a house setup, which made me realize very few, if any, of the advertisement photos I've been seeing were in a real house) as well as work with still life. The owner of the studio, Olaf, showed us how changing the light or the way the light hits the scene can completely alter the way it makes you feel.
I was really nervous coming on this trip because this is an entirely new style of photography for me and that was a bit intimidating, but I've learned so much from being at the studio (as well as the other students on the trip) and it has been so fun and informational. One of the most important things that Olaf said was that sometimes the mistake is what makes a photo better and that taking a photo is like hunting, you have to keep watching and adjusting but also, you can't stop until you know you've taken the best shot. The idea that a mistake could make a photo better was definitely a new concept for me but I love how he explained it. He said that anyone could set up a scene perfectly and anyone can get the technical side down to light it perfectly, but you need something that sets you apart. There needs to be something in the photo that no one else can do and that was life changing to hear, especially given that I'm a perfectionist and the idea of messing up originally didn't seem all that great.
