Hey! It's marissa. =]

Hey emmm

I just wanted to let you know that you shouldn't think your photography is bad! You're working your way up, and that's what everyone does. I use to say the same thing, but I just tried harder, examined a lot more professional photography [that I liked]. And the more you do, the more you shoot and the more you experiment, the more you discover your own personal natural eye and reach that certain kind of essence in your own work.

I've improved a lot. Just think outside the box, but don't take that phrase as a "Oh, I have to do what's different." Because there's no clichés in photography that you can do that make your work not your own, because in the end you went out, and you physically aimed and took it. Photography's such a deep art field, but to amateurs or others not interested in it it's just "a picture." I know I sound lame, but again, you'll improve! I can definitely see a potential photographer in you. Don't lose hope! Rather than be jealous of others' work, use it to your advantage by examining what about it you like or admire and find intriguing. Study key photography terms that will help you understand the fundamentals of photography. They aren't terms/rules that set limits to one's photography. They're there because they capture the aesthetics to the human eye that make a photograph visually attractive and GOOD at first glance and face value. This all sounds really dumb, but just take what you feel.

In regards to your work specifically, I think you should fool around with your environment more. And you definitely want to get more experience with editing. Photoshop has SO many capabilities. Of course there's the basic lighting & contrast and saturation or whatever. But fooling with the color balance, the hue, the midtones, and highlights of a photo can make it a lot different. But don't think of it as skewing the original photograph, it's really not. That's what digital photography is about--using digitally-run cameras to photograph things and usually using some sort of software to enhance* (not change/alter) them.

In the real world, you can tell when one's work is over edited, and ruins the original photograph. But there is a subtle editing that exists out there that really makes a photograph look beautiful and not "different". Editing takes just as much creativity as anything else does. There's a lot of judgment and opinion to it. And only certain editing works with certain photos.

Just start finding new places--like you mentioned on your LJ. We still haven't hung out! I can take you around and we can have a photoshoot! I love teaching things, and if you ever needed help I could give you tips on where to go.

I hope I don't come off as like...all superior, I'm really not. I'm not trying to act like an expert. I'm an amateur. I just know the basics--taking the basics by the horns and utilizing to your advantage is what is hard. And taking it a step up is what takes talent, which I am still discovering.

EMM!!!!!

i'm glad you finally got a deviantart!