Color Portraits with Mikayla

Something I do not do often is take multiple attempts at a shot. Many digital photographers do a "spray and pray" technique, which I also used to sometimes do for product photography stuff. I don't enjoy curating shots for the best one when they just have subtle differences.

For this outfit, which accompanies the photo shoot in another blog post, I did just that. And then I remembered why I don't like taking more than one of the same photo. I am still getting familiar with this camera, so I take it as a learning experience, but I find when you take two or three very similar photos, sometimes it can be difficult to choose which one. For example, I have my favorite, but when shown to other people I know, there isn't necessarily a consensus on which one is better. I could nitpick details, such as preferring the composition ever so slightly in one, or her facial expression in another. The left one is slightly more saturated, but would I have ever known the difference if there weren't two?

For the following photo, I shot it three times. I did like Mikayla's hand/finger placement best in this one, and gave her the other two photos. It was really unnecessary for me to shoot three photos, I could have used those for two additional shots and try to slow down my hand posing, which likely would have taken less time than three photos.

I find the flash on SX-70 to be a bit tricky. I am using Mint Flashbar 2 and I need to make some sort of diffuser for tighter portraits. I still like the photo and the exposure feels right judging by hair, clothes, and background, but the flash is a bit harsh. I can think of some other solutions but they would require further financial investment. I always am deliberating on ways to improve as I get to the next phase in my understanding on Polaroid photography. I am happy with where the journey is at, but always wanting to know more.

I am thankful to my friends who kindly take time and help me practice. Living in semi-rural/semi-suburban sprawl means it can be difficult to find people to just have fun and create and vibe with. So I got overexcited and took more photos than I should have. I also wasted multiple photos forgetting to wait for the flash to charge. For me, there is an art to slowing down. Even if I have been practicing it for a while, it doesn't mean I don't forget. Of course, I would never charge a paying client for my mistakes, but that doesn't mean I shouldn't be more intentional when doing my own photography. The lessons learned from this shoot definitely helped me with my Art Walk and Free Market portraits earlier this month.

After this photo shoot, I mailed my camera back to the tech for a light leak. I have since received it back and have shot a few packs. The Clay County Fair is coming up very, very soon and I am beyond excited to experiment with techniques such as long exposures! I also will continue doing Art Walk and Free Market photos weather, health, and finances permitting!