Just came back from a short break, had a recharge, and a re-think: After all these years, I’ve accumulated a fair bit of experience shooting weddings, both abroad and in Singapore. I’ve grown older and wiser, but I asked myself, “Have my photos become better?” Professionally, I think the photos are as good as the clients make them out to be. As long as they are happy with the photos, I consider the job well done. On a personal level, I’d always think I can do better than the last wedding. The day when I think I can’t outdo myself is the day my photography career ends. I read a friend’s comment recently, and it says:” Experience is the opposite of being creative”. Is it true? I can’t give you an answer yet, but the words certainly struck a chord. For example, a few years ago, when Santorini is still not a pre-wedding hotspot for local couples, I was fortunate enough to shoot an actual wedding held on that lovely Greek island. Normally, I’d do some homework before a shoot, such as looking at what some other photographers have done. There were none by local photographers, and even though I found a few wedding photos taken there by overseas photographers, those were not up to scratch. With excitement, trepidation and fear, I flew there and let my journalistic instincts take over. It was as intuitive as it was stylised, as I allowed myself to be captivated by the magical light and magnificent beauty; to be moved and inspired by the love story unfolding before me. Experience probably didn’t play a big part here. Rather it was the fear of letting the couple down, the fear of letting myself down that summoned every single usable “creative” cell for the occasion. What I needed was a step outside my comfort zone. After I made that step, I realised eventually, my comfort zone became wider and wider, and that’s when I have to keep challenging myself to try new things. Trying new things might give rise to a new set of problems….people do not know what to expect from me. Well, depends on how I see it, it might not be a problem after all. I am a photographer first, and businessman second.
//kc
by kc
2 comments