It might be obvious to some of you that I have never had any formal training in photography. I happened to have a camera and three years ago my nutrition mentor asked if I could take some pictures for her. I thought, "sure, how hard can it be?" Well, quite, actually. Cooking, plating, composition, styling, lighting, depth of field, change of focus, food photography trends, angles, plus the fact that I would usually be cooking for my family and they would be sitting there hungry waiting for me to stop faffing about and get the food on the table. Cold, inevitably.
I was fortunate enough to be able to buy several books, do an on-line course, and best of all spend two days with one of my all-time favourite food photographers, Lisa Linder. (check her out on www.lisalinder.com) I learned so much from her.
Now when I go back through my old photos and look at those early ones I am tempted to delete them - they are truly horrible. But I decided to keep them as a reminder of the progress I've made. I try to do a little photography most every day if possible and I think that doing a little bit of something challenging means you invariably get better as time goes on. It's just a matter of tracking it to see over the course of a year or few years how it changes.
I once watched a talk by a woman who kept a blog where she drew something every single day and posted it. Her initial drawing was nothing special but by the end of one year (and end of her challenge to herself) her drawings were amazing. So much so that she decided to keep going.
If you think you'd like to challenge yourself by learning something new, getting in the best shape of your life, picking up a new skill, training for something in particular....I urge you to document your beginnings and hold on to them. Because reflecting back on the journey is glorious. And it's a terrific reminder of just how much progress you are indeed making, even if it feels slow or you feel like you're taking a step backwards. Ask yourself - what would you like to get better at doing?
I am still learning. There are countless buttons and settings on the camera that are still foreign to me. But I keep trying. And I can see the progress. Here are a few old and recent photos for your viewing pleasure. Let me know about your personal progress. I'd love to hear from you.
