You know how every fairytale starts with âOnce upon a time in a land not so far awayâŚâ? Well, that could be the introduction to LightWeaveâs images. Every photo is a well balanced combination of clothing, location, makeup and patience to give the viewer a taste of magic. We asked LightWeave about their techniques and their secrets behind their magical photos.
1. I love photography because: it allows me to relive moments that exist in this world and the world subsisting within my mind. Itâs hard to explain verbally to another person the feelings you had in a particular moment such that the other person will be able to feel those same emotions. Photography gives you more power to cross that gap. I love piecing together all of the elements that contribute to the final image in order to create a story. The clothing, the makeup, the location, the props, etc. all come together to make the picture a storyteller.
2. My camera lets me: capture both thought and feelingâmaking each expression a permanent part of my life. If a picture does not evoke some sort of emotional response, I delete it.
3. I find my inspiration when:Â I am reading my scriptures or praying to God. I feel itâs important to take time each day to ponder about life and the people we interact with each day. I also get ideas while I make the costumes for our shoots. Something about picking out fabric and sewing that helps me tap into the creative side of my mind. From time to time Iâll find some inspiration while I lay in bed staring at the random plaster shapes on my ceiling. Images can come from the simplest of places; but no matter when the final image comes from, it will always exist first in my mind before it exists in real life.
4. One of the photos I am most proud of:
"His Arms" because it conveys one of my favorite emotions, which can only be felt during times of peace and comfort. The child in this picture represents every one of us. We all have a source of peach and comfort, and this image depicts mine.
5. My favorite place to shoot is: just about anywhere I have a camera in my hand and my children close by. With photography you can transform just about any location into something magical and ethereal. It doesnât take thousands of dollarsâ worth of props and a stunning location to make great photographyâalbeit these things can help. It just takes creativity, and a willingness to see ordinary places for what they can be through the lens. The great thing about photographing children is their natural curiosity and imagination will more than make up for any lack of creativity you might have.
6. One of my favorite photos on ViewBug is:
"Constant Awe " because it makes me feel warm and cold at the same time. It does a supreme job utilizing proper contrasts in both luminance and color. Just a great composition.
7. These are 3 quick tips Iâd like to share with fellow photographers:
1) The greatest photos are generated from the passion for a certain subject matter. If you donât have a passion for a certain type of photography and are doing it only because you see other people doing it, then donât waste your time. Stick to what you love and your photos will naturally look better.
2) Be unique. Reproducing the same composition as someone else will only confuse all of us. This goes back to taking pictures of what is at the root of your emotions. Finding your root first will help guide your mind, which is the source of creativity. Along those same lines, if you want a single photo to make a large impact, donât post similar photos taken at the same shoot. A rookie mistake is to post several photos from the same shoot because they all look amazing. Doing so will make all of the photos look less attractive individually.
3) Take pictures like crazy, but only during the moments when your surroundings are tapping into your emotions. Taking pictures all the time regardless of how you feel will result in hours of sifting through useless photos and a greater percentage of finished photos that are ineffective. If your end goal is to evoke a change in the emotional state of the viewer, then you need to be sensitive to how your surroundings change your own emotional state. If your state has changed drastically, itâs time to whip out the camera and start shooting faster than a knife fight in a phone booth.
8. One photo that was difficult to shoot:
"Knightâs Meadow" because I took this picture at the beginning of spring, when storms were rampant near our home. The feelings generated by the storms that hit our area were too much not to go out and shoot with our eldest son. While we were in Knightâs Meadow, the clouds dominated the skies and the lighting was absolutely terrible. My son was squeezing his little teddy bear, probably to keep safe from the darkness that surrounded us. We felt discouraged by the lack of any light, when suddenly a burst of luminance shot out of gap in the clouds just before sundown. The light completely illuminated Knightâs Meadow, and for just a brief moment we captured one of the most priceless images of our son looking up into the sky. The rarity and fortune of this shot made it almost impossible to duplicate.
9. The biggest secret behind the photo: patience. It took several locations and many doomed shots before we caught this one. The biggest factor to making this photo so great was the right moment when the light entered the scene. The light alone made the shot go from ordinary to completely magical. Itâs important to always wait for those moments, and if they donât happen, continue waiting and watching . . . they eventually come. Let your children be themselves. Donât try to mold them too much or they will not become a natural part of the scene.
