Making Plans: Brainstorm Session #1

In the past six or so years that I have been a practicing photographer (can I actually call myself that), I have been working on and off to hone my skill. As I’ve stated before, this year I want to take time to reestablish my love of photography and really grow in the art. I’ve taken steps toward doing this by purchasing The Photographer’s Playbook which has certainly gotten me excited and thinking about new things to try, and I’ve converted an old sketchbook from my puppetry class into an idea book for my photography. And then a few days ago I had this brilliant idea (well brilliant for me and my skill level anyway). And I’ve decided that with the interest many of my friends have shown in the idea, I want to share my brainstorming process and give them the opportunity to provide feedback, pose questions and solutions, and be as involved creatively as I am in making this year’s worth of photography a great one. So let’s get started!

Photography Mission 2015

I am sitting here in the dark in my bedroom because I always feel awkward turning the light on when my roommate is here. Never mind that our windows face east and that the sun starts setting around 5:30 making our room pretty dark by 6 pm. But she doesn’t seem all that concerned with the inability to see, so I leave the light off even though I’m sitting right next to the switch. You might be wondering what any of that has to do with photography, and I can assure you that it has everything to do with the subject. How? Well, I recently invested in a wonderful book:

Monochrome Monday #77

Nearly 4 months later and I have finally come out of hibernation. I will begin by saying that I never intended to go that long without posting. Fall 2014 was the craziest semester I’ve had in a while, and with winter break coming to a close and spring classes starting next week, I figured I’d take this opportunity to get myself back on track. Welcome to 2015! A brand new year and another chance to get this whole photography and blogging thing right and back in action. I have already vowed to my little piece of the world on Facebook that I would be working towards more photography in 2015 since 2014 decided to be the year of little-to-no downtime. But I’m making the vow here, too, because I miss blogging and being behind the lens. With that said, I figured I’d start the new year with a Monochrome Monday because I haven’t done one of those in ages:

Something New: Felicita’s Beach Shoot

There comes a time in an artist’s life where they enter a sort of metamorphosis, if you will. Just as great musicians alter their sound or a painter embraces a new technique over time, photographers often experiment with new locations, new models, new equipment, and new styles. In nearly six years as a practicing photographer, I have come a long way. Though many things have stayed the same (like my equipment and my love of portraits), lots has changed. The quality of my images, the number of images I take and have to weed through, my intentions…and that’s exactly what my most recent photo shoot showcases. But it wasn’t an easy photo session, and I want to provide some insight as to the what, how, and why behind this slight “MPS makeover.” Take a look:

Shattered Comfort Zones (Sneak Peek)

This won’t take long; it’s time for bed. But I wanted to go on and throw it out to the universe/blogosphere that earlier this afternoon, my entire world as a photographer was completely shattered. I don’t typically do anything risqué (more like never) and, honestly, I haven’t really thought much about it given that the bulk of my photography has just naturally been things like senior pictures and quirky themes my friends and I come up with when we’re bored. But this time around, I was asked to try something that was not only new to me, but new to my model (now a seasoned pro as far as McClish Photography Studios goes) as well. I want to discuss it in-depth once I have the time to really sit and write about it, but until then I figured I would pretty much just drop the bomb, let it fester, and see what happens. Today, I conducted my first ever swimsuit photo shoot:

That Hawaiian Life

Oh my goodness. Am I actually blogging right now? Well, hello there. Long time no see. We can attribute nearly all of my lack of dedication to blogging and picture taking to quarter-life crises and the start of yet another school year. Mostly the latter at the moment. But I figured that, since I had the time this morning, I would post just a few pictures from the start of the school year as a reminder that my passion has not been forsaken and that I miss being behind a camera (any camera) greatly.

Great Expectations

Well well well. Long time no post. It has been quite the busy summer for me. Working with children was exhausting but totally rewarding. Trying to see as many of my friends as possible while in town was challenging but worth spending time with those I did get to see. Experiencing the beginnings of a potential quarter-life crisis was unwanted…still is, actually. Anyway, I return to my ever-far-away island in just a matter of days. Today was laundry day #1 because I should probably consider packing rather than waiting until the absolute last possible minute. But because I sprained my ankle pretty badly at work last week, I am having a hard time maneuvering large baskets of clothing up and down the stairs to the washer and outside to our clothes line. So I’ve called it a day after finishing two out of three loads. In the mean time, as I ice my ankle, I figured I’d update the world on some of the photography I’ve managed to squeeze in this summer:

Monochrome Monday #76

Long time no post. I promise I haven’t forgotten about you all or my photography. In fact, I think about how much I miss being behind my camera everyday. But work and life’s other obligations have been keeping me busy. Still, I figured that since I had a little time to spare this evening, I would post a new Monochrome Monday.

Summer Photo Shoot Promo (Sneak Peek)

Good evening! At least I hope it’s a good evening for you. I am sitting here on my couch with a fractured foot (yeah, I managed to break my left foot almost a whole year after breaking the right one; I am on a roll…and I should really go to the doctor to see how bad the damage is) and covered in bug bites, but it’s worth it because of what I have to show for my efforts. Well, let me clarify – the broken foot was a thing before I even got back to Nashville but it’s being made worse by the fact that I constantly stand for 9 hours a day, 5 days a week. But the bug bites are the result of making the poor decision to wear a tank top, shorts, and flips flops during a photo session with my friend Lauren earlier this week. And it’s that very photo shoot that I came here to give you a little sneak peek of:

Monochrome Monday #75

Good evening! It’s been a while since my last Monochrome Monday, but things worked out in my favor to present one to you today. So let’s hop to it: