Deweese Photography

There used to be a time when going to a photography studio was an occasion for excitement, joy and wonder. I began recently to wonder whether that could still be the case, considering that the age of the point and shoot has made photography so incredibly accessible to the masses. Thanks to the internet and immediate information available at your fingertips, everyone seems to have at least some vague ideas of what pixels are and how they comprise an image. People are up on wide angle, telephoto, and macro and they seem to all have at least Photoshop Learning Edition so they can manipulate images “like the pro’s.” Well…with all this immediate knowledge and millions of people pushing pixels, is there anymore a use for us photogeeks that have invested our blood sweat and tears into this business? As I explore that question, I could easily begin to create an argument that a “point & shooter” could never properly dress a bottle of beer and light it like the pro’s. Or, one of “those people” could never style and light a plate of food and make it look scrumptiously mouth-watering in a photograph. I could give a litany of complex lighting scenario’s that would require technical and creative prowess. However, if I did that, I would digress from the original intent of this blog, to answer the question of whether there could still be a “Wow” factor in getting your photo made by a professional photographer. I was presented with the answer recently at a holiday party my wife Angelina was throwing for her clients. She asked me to set up a Photo Booth in our sunroom so she could have pictures of people for her testimonials on her website (I’m forever on retainer for her, its in the pre-nup). So, I reluctantly set up a mini-studio, I kind of half lit it, as if putting too much effort into it might turn me into stone or something. The truth is that I just wanted to relax and enjoy everyone at the party. So the time came and people began to arrive. There was some initial awkwardness with the first few people not knowing one another, sitting in our living room facing one another, asking questions that don’t rate high on the interesting calculator. As an observer of human behavior, I began to notice how uncomfortable people are with those they don’t know well. There is something there about “looking good” that stops them from fully expressing their inner thoughts and from summoning their inner child, like they would have at a party when they were five. So, a lot of sitting completely still and acting interested in the person across from them talking about how they baked the macadamia nut cookies they had brought. As more people funneled in, the energy of the room starting to rise, the excitement for me beginning to take hold as I love to be surrounded by the creation of community. Before you know it, there were at least fifty people crammed into our kitchen, dining room and living room all excited to be at this party and the level of interesting conversation rising with each glass of wine consumed. It hit me like a flash, get these interesting people into the photo booth! My built-in mechanism for getting people in front of my camera took over and one by one people magically appeared before me. There was a wonderful automatic connection created between me and the subject. For photographers, we have photography to share, it’s the thing that will never let us down in a social situation. If we have a camera, there will never be a moment where we don’t know what to say, because we can always say “cheese.” (excuse the corny reference to olan mill’s phraseology). So, there I was clicking away, interacting with people like they were my long lost siblings, united at last thanks to Jerry Springer. And then it happened, that moment when being a photographer created simultaneously the WOW factor for both me and my subjects. It was a moment that had them saying, that was great, so much fun and has them still talking about it to their friends on facebook. I will defer my closing remarks to the imagery that was created in that moment. It speaks louder than any text I can peck out in this blog.

very willing participants in adventurous photography

My friend Brian Fagnani just came for a visit. We had fun talking about the photo shoots that we have lined up. The other great thing that happened is that we worked as a team to scare my wife Angelina out of her wits. She didn’t know Brian was visiting and when she called to me from upstairs, I asked her to come down for me to show her something. When she walked into our dining room, Brian jumped out and she leaped into the air. Fun times! This is my first blog. Hello world!

Wow, am I really doing this? A Blog. Actually, I have always enjoyed writing. It is an escape from the hum drum of everyday life. Really, it is like when you are a kid and you played with your G.I. Joes, you could do it for hours. It only ended when the loud crash of explosive noise came from your obnoxious sister when she entered the room and kicked into oblivion your favorite idol. That, followed by your getting up and pummeling her as hard as you could with your little fists. Strong Suit anyone?