Photo clichés
I was going to write a blog about photo cliches, but in doing some research to find some good examples, I found a million blogs about photo clichés. How cliché!
So, suffice it to say, I avoid them. Sure, in my early days, I’ve done the model with a gun; the model on the train tracks; the model in a cheerleader outfit; the sunset silhouette, the bumble bee on the flower, etc. I think it’s necessary early on in any artist’s career to emulate what others have done.
In addition to photography, I am a musician. When I took jazz piano many years ago, it was a common exercise to study those who had come before and learn their solos, note for note. Not just play them, but transcribe them. It’s a great exercise to get an idea of just how it’s done – what’s the thought process going on by the player and how do different scales work within different chords ands chord progressions.
However, when it’s time to get out on stage to play for real, it’s generally not the best idea to play that Coltraine solo note for note, like someone just aping what’s been done. You have to develop your own style. Sure, elements of what you’ve learned to copy will be a part of your style, but it’s the mark of competence and skill to effectively hide the source.
Perhaps the best way to do that is to study several different styles and incorporate what you like about each of those into your own – turn them upside down, sideways, backwards and inside out until it’s unique to you. In Steven Spielberg’s earlier films, you can see elements of Hitchcock, Ford, Capra, and many, many others. Now his own style influences up and coming filmmakers who wish to emulate him.
There. I’ve done it. The cliché blog about clichés.
Tags: cliches, jazz improvisation, jazz solo, knoxville, Knoxville model photography, model, movies, photo blog, photo cliche, photography, portraits, sam comer, Spielberg
