Photography

Behind the Scenes: Ad Age Agency Digs

May 2, 2011 By Becky Leave a Comment

Last week, Advertising Age debuted a new series called Agency Digs, a peek inside advertising agency offices based on guided tour style of MTV Cribs. The very first office featured was the New York office of the agency I work for, Cramer-Krasselt. Check out the video, it’s pretty cool.

Lucky me, part of my job that day was to take some behind the scenes photos of the shoot. Before you ask, yes, Corona Extra and Crocs are clients.

One of my favorite things about our New York office is that employees can bring their dogs to work. A few of the office dogs were there the day of the shoot. Who doesn’t love having pups around to pet and play with?

Filed Under: Photoblog Tagged With: Ad Age, Agency Digs, C-K, Cramer-Krasselt, Photography

How To Take Better Portraits

April 19, 2011 By Becky Leave a Comment

Taking portraits is one of the most fun parts of being a photographer. When you manage to snap a great shot of someone, one that totally captures personality and evokes a feeling, it’s a great way to bond to your subject forever. Capturing just the right image can be a challenge, especially when shooting outdoors. While the environment can be a little more challenging than a controlled light setting, natural light can be your friend when trying to achieve an effortless, natural look.

There are several simple things you can do to take great portraits when you’re shooting outdoors. Follow these eight rules and your portrait taking skills are sure to improve. I’ve included an example illustrating each point so you can see what it looks like in practice.

1. Get in the shade
Trying to position your subject in the shade will help eliminate the need to squint their eyes because of the bright sun, so the face and eyes will be more relaxed and natural. Plus, when you’re shooting in the bright sun, it’s easy to over expose the shot. In the shade, you can shoot with a larger aperture without risking over exposure and will have more uniform light no matter what your subject is wearing and the colors you’re working with in the background.

2. Know your angles
Pay special attention to the shape of your subject’s face and the way they naturally sit and place their arms. Try to work with a position that comes naturally, but be mindful of some common portrait issues.

Be sure the eye line between you and your subject is natural and doesn’t look uncomfortable. If you are higher than your subject, you will tend to get a flattering face and body angle. Have your subject sit while you stand. You don’t need much height difference, even standing on a higher step or standing up on a bench should be enough.

Have your subject open their shoulders a bit toward you, keep the chin down and be sure their face is positioned to catch the light. Using this angle will also eliminate the “double chin” issue many portrait subjects are uncomfortable with. Many times, it’s all in their mind, but this is a good way to help prevent it.

3. Use light and shadow with purpose
Strategic use of shadows and contrasting light angles can help set the mood of a portrait and make it a little more “artsy.” There’s an element of mystery when shadows are used correctly. Have enough light to tell the story and just enough shadow to leave something to the imagination. During your shoot, play around a little bit with your subject’s angle relative to the light to see what works best for their face.

4. Get the candid moment
Sometimes the best portraits happen when the subject isn’t focused on the photographer. It’s okay to have distractions around and it’s important to be ready with the camera even when your subject isn’t posed and ready. Keep your finger on the shutter and keep the subject in focus. If you see a moment, a look, a special twinkle in the eye, snap the shot. It’s not always about eye contact and smiles.

5. Use a reflector
One of the best investments you can make for your photography career is buying a set of reflectors. You can get them pretty inexpensively, a set of 4 colors (white, black, silver and gold) for under $25. Sometimes it will make most sense to shoot your subject with the light at their back, and in that case, having a reflector handy to push light back onto their face will make a huge difference. It will help achieve some sparkle in the eyes even when the main light source is behind your subject’s face.

If you don’t have reflectors handy, you can use something as simple as a piece of white poster board or a white sheet. These won’t work as effectively, but in a bind, with limited supplies they will often do the trick.

If you have someone with you to help assist, it’s easier to adjust the angles as needed. If not, keep some clamps with your camera bag or tripod so you can set up a reflector and still have both hands free for your camera.

6. Focus on the eyes
In any portrait situation, your focal point should be right between the eyes. If you need to adjust your camera’s focus points so they’re in the right position in the frame, check out your camera manual for how to make the necessary changes. Don’t worry if you’ve lost it, most can be found in PDF format on the manufacturer’s website.

If you’re shooting with a lens with autofocus, be sure to lock in on the eyes then move the camera to create the framing of your subject you want. If you’re shooting manual focus, it’s a little more tricky. Keep your own eyes locked on your focal point until you’re sure you’ve got it.

If you’re shooting with a zoom lens, try zooming in as close as you can, focusing on the eyes, then zoom out until you’ve got exactly what you’d like in the frame. It can be tough to tell from far away if you’ve got the right focal point. This is a good habit to try to solve that common problem.

7. Check your background
Don’t underestimate the importance of what is behind your subject. Solid or big blocks of color are easy to work with, as are simple geometric shapes like brick walls or steps. If it’s too colorful or contains too many different shapes, it can detract from of the portrait subject. Also think about where your subject is positioned within the frame and how much of the background you want to include to help drive the eye to where you want it.

8. Make ‘em laugh
If your subject gets too focused on posing or smiles too long, the face can become tense and the smile will start to look a little fake. Be sure to mix it up a bit an keep it fun. Try to make your subject laugh once in a while, and be ready with your camera when you do. That is the time to snap the shutter a few times.

Don’t know how to bring some fun into it? Try being quiet for what seems like an awkward amount of time. Subjects will often laugh to help ease the tension. You might also try simply saying “dont laugh!” in a humorous voice. Somehow, people tend to laugh only once told not to. Be smiling, keep the conversation lighthearted and make it easy for your subject to feel comfortable with your camera in their face. Of course, if you’re close with your subject, feel free to mention some inside jokes or comments you know will bring out a giggle.

Your job as a photographer is to really capture your subject’s personality and produce an image they’ll be proud to use as a representation of themselves. What questions do you have? What issues do you face during outdoor shoots that aren’t addressed here?

Filed Under: Photoblog Tagged With: becky johns, Photography, portraits

Springtime Photowalk in New York City

April 17, 2011 By Becky 11 Comments

Few things are as lovely as springtime in New York City. I spent a few days in our New York office for work last week and managed to snag about an hour of free time to wander around with my camera. Lucky for me, the trees were in bloom and flowers were starting to pop up in the parks. The office is at 20th and Broadway, a short walk from several great places to snap photos: Union Square Park, Madison Square Park, the Flatiron Building and the interesting architecture in the Flatiron and Fashion Districts.

I decided to stick with the 50mm f/1.4 lens for this short photowalk, to play around a little with depth of field and capture the wonderful spring colors. Of all the lenses I’ve shot with, the 50 seems to bring out the best, brightest colors since it lets in so much light.

Filed Under: Photoblog Tagged With: Broadway, Flatiron, Flowers, Madison Square Park, New York City, NYC, Photography, Spring, Union Square Park

SXSW Interactive 2011

March 17, 2011 By Becky 1 Comment

I just returned to Chicago after being in Austin for five amazing days for South By Southwest Interactive. Such a great conference, in such a great city. Austin welcomed the gathering of the internet with open arms. You’ll surely read a lot of blog posts about attendees’ takeaways, but here’s a visual look at what SXSW is like (at least through my eyes and lenses).

The Austin Convention Center was the main hub of all the action with several additional venues for presentations and panels. A peek at the venue:

Downtown Austin was the perfect place for a conference like this. Just large enough for the massive amounts of people to spread out a little bit, but just small enough to make it possible to walk just about everywhere. Restaurants, food trucks bars and sponsored attractions lined the streets. Each day, there was no shortage of parties, throughout the afternoons and late into the night. Some were book launch parties, others thrown by major sponsors, but a lot of the fun happened in random bars along 6th street.

And there are the people. It’s widely agreed that the best part of SXSW is the fact that so many online friends can gather to connect in person. I experienced a sense of not really “needing” social media while I was there, because my internet was all around me. Of course, as a photographer, my friends expected me to be carrying a camera with me wherever I went. Here are some of the awesome people I was able to spend time with during the week. Some old friends, some new, some met in real life for the first time, but all totally awesome people I am thrilled to have spent time with.

Most shots were taken on my Canon EOS Rebel XTi with the Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 lens.

Filed Under: Photoblog Tagged With: event, food, Photography, portrait, South By Southwest, SXSW

New Lens: Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM

March 8, 2011 By Becky 1 Comment

Sunday night during the glorious twilight hour, I went on a photowalk with my friend Josh to test out my new lens. I’ve had my eye on the Canon EF 50mm f1.4 USM Lens (affiliate link) for a while and finally decided to invest. We spent a couple hours walking around downtown Chicago. Thought I’d share the first shots from the new glass.

Love how quick this lens is, could shoot at pretty low ISO for the amount of light and had great control. Great colors, most of these photos needed very little editing in terms of levels or saturation. Love the bokeh out of this thing. I highly recommend this lens if you’re looking for a 50mm. And, it’s absolutely worth the extra money over Canon’s 50mm f/1.8.

More photos from this photowalk here.

Filed Under: Photoblog Tagged With: 50mm, Canon, Chicago, lens, photowalk

It’s Okay to Mess Up

February 16, 2011 By Becky 3 Comments

One of the biggest problems with the PR industry is that, for the most part, public relations professionals do a poor job of giving a good name to the PR industry. When examples of bad PR pop up, we tend to spread them around like wildfire, mostly because they’re just so extraordinarily horrible that we want to have others join us in shaking our heads.

Not often do we highlight examples of good PR – what it looks like, how it’s handled, why it works and how the model can be adapted for other situations, so this is my attempt to break the mold and give some love to someone doing it right.

The thing is, it’s okay to mess up. Not everyone is going to make the right call all the time. And in the age of internet bandwagons at their worst, people are quick to team up behind the opinion of one influential person, causing a firestorm that may not have been easy to anticipate.

You’re not always going to come out of it looking good. Sometimes, damage is beyond repair. But, you can at least try.

If you screw up, and people find out…

Be transparent about it. Really, just admit that you messed up. Read this post by Peter Shankman. It does a really great job of explaining why you’re probably going to get caught.
Apologize. “We’re sorry.” “We acknowledge that we made a mistake.” “Our information was incorrect.” “Our message was in bad taste.” “We misjudged the way things were going to play out.” “We improperly used an outlet of communication.” Take your pick. But say you’re sorry and explain that you understand where you went wrong.
Try to correct it. Provide updated or correct information, explain where the glitch happened and what you’re doing to fix it, share your plan for making sure it doesn’t happen again. You can’t always make things right, but think about a reasonable response to the issue you’ve created – and then do it.
Say thank you. If you have a network of friends and fans in place that come to your defense, thank them for doing so. You’re highlighting the fact that people still like you even when you screw up. Thank your customers for continuing to choose you. Thank the person that brought the issue to your attention, even if that person continues to be a naysayer. Thank your audience for understanding that you’ve made a mistake and you’re trying to make it right.
Change the subject. Once you’ve made a legitimate, respectable attempt to turn things around, move on. The more you talk about it, the more others will, too. Life goes on. So should your message. Bridge appropriately and bring the conversation back around to the place you want it.

To see a great example of what this looks like in practice, not just in theory, check out how the Red Cross handled this twitter gaffe.

An employee accidentally tweeted an inappropriate message via the corporate account. That person clearly misused Hootsuite and sent a message meant for a personal account out to the followers of @RedCross.

So they owned up to it, admitted the mistake, apologized, thanked everyone for understanding and circled the conversation back around to the mission of the Red Cross.

Keep your eyes out for examples of companies handling issues like this in a professional, timely, appropriate way. It wasn’t a “corporate speak muddled” press release. It was an honest, clean, simple, straightforward admission of an error and an attempt to fix it. This is good PR. One for the history books.

What other examples are out there of companies handling PR in such a great fashion?

Filed Under: Miscellaneous, Photography, Social Media and Blogging Tagged With: Gary Vaynerchuk, Peter Shankman, pr, Red Cross, social media, Twitter

Commit to a Creative Life

October 27, 2010 By Becky 5 Comments

Every once in a while, something comes across my path that makes me stop dead in my tracks. My brain hyperfocuses on what I’ve experienced and I’m paralyzed by trying to process it. That happened this week when my friend Erik shared a video called The Dark Side of the Lens. Created by Astray Films, this is the true essence of a person fully committed to living a creative life.

In the days since the 140 Characters Conference I spoke at last week, I’ve had discussions with a fair number of people about looking at the world like a photographer. Learning to notice beauty and looking for ways to translate special things in a way others can experience. For those that are still searching for what I meant by it, please watch this video and listen carefully to its message. The poem is included below. Take each word to heart and try to feel what it’s like to yearn to tell the story of the way you see the world when that view is different than most.

Creative people do what they do because they love putting something beautiful into the world. They find magic and create ways to share it. Whether through writing or photos or videos or telling stories—however you share your ideas, I urge you to do so creatively. Truly creatively.

You will no doubt make sacrifices sometimes, putting yourself at risk while believing in your vision. Every single one of us has a different perspective. Share it. Create with it. Make magic.

“Life ‘aint a race—something I was raised to embrace.
My ma always encouraged us to open our eyes and our hearts to the world.
Make up our own minds for experience and be inspired.

I see life in angles, in lines of perspective.
A slight turn of a head, the blink of an eye,
subtle glimpses of magic – other folk might pass by.

Cameras help me translate, interpret and understand what I see.
It’s a simple act that keeps me grinnin’.
I never set out to become anything in particular,
only to live creatively and push the scope of my experience for adventure and for passion.

They still all mean something to me, same as most anyone with dreams.
My heart bleeds celtic blood and I magnetize to familiar frontiers.
The raw brutal cold coastlands for the right waveriders to challenge—
this is where my heart beats hardest.

I try to pay tribute to that magic through photographs.
Weathering the endless storms for rare glimpses of magic each winter
is both a blessing and a curse I relish.
I wanna see waveriding documented the way I see it in my head,
and the way I feel it in the sea.

It’s a strange set of skills to begin to acquire.
This is only achievable through time spent riding waves.
All sorts of waves on all sorts of crafts.
It’s more time learning out in the water,
floating in the sea amongst lumps of swell,
you’ll always learn something.
It’s been a lifelong wise old classroom teacher of sorts
and hopefully, it always will be.

Buried beneath headlands, shaping the coast,
mind-blowing images of empty waves burn away at me.
Solid ocean swells powering through deep cold water,
heavy waves, waves with weight,
coaxed from comfortable routine,
ignite the imagination,
conveys some of the viny spark,
whisper possibilities,
conjure the situations I thrive amongst and love to document.

We all take knocks in the process – broken backs, drownings, near-drownings, hypothermia, dislocations, fractures, frostbite, head wounds, stitches, concussions, broke my arm – and that’s just the last couple of years. Still look forward to getting amongst it each winter though.
Cold creeping into your core, driving you mad, day after day,
mumbling to yourself while you hold position and wait for the next set to come.

The dark side of the lens.

An artform that to itself and us, silent workhorses of the surfing wake.
There’s no sugary cliché.
Most folk don’t even know who we are,
what we do or how we do it,
let alone why they pay us for it.
I never want to take this for granted so I try to keep motivation simple, real, positive.

If I only scrape a living, at least it’s a living worth scraping.
If there’s no future in it, at least it’s a present worth remembering.

For fires of happiness and waves of gratitude.
For everything that brought us to that point on earth at that moment in time,
to do something worth remembering
with a photograph, or a scar.

I feel genuinely lucky to hand on heart to say I love doing what I do.
And I may never be a rich man,
but if I live long enough, I’ll certainly have a tale or two for the nephews.
And I dig the thought of that.”

Filed Under: inspiration, Life, Photography Tagged With: Creativity, Magic, Photography, Surfing, The Dark Side of the Lens

Photographers See Things Differently: The #140Conf Talk

October 25, 2010 By Becky 5 Comments

Last week I had the opportunity to speak at Jeff Pulver‘s 140 Characters Conference in Detroit. The conference explored the effects the real-time web has had on communication, business, different industries and the relationships people have with each other. I talked about photography and my Friends in a Frame photo series and the many parallels they share with the real-time web.

For those that weren’t able to be there, I wanted to share what I talked about that day, because I think it’s important for anyone that creates any kind of media or content to consider. The point I tried to make is very simple: learn to look at the world like a photographer.

Once you’ve learned to see the world through a camera, nothing is ever the same. There are beautiful things everywhere that most people never notice. I truly believe it’s a privilege to see the world the way I do: as a collection of extraordinary moments.

The greatest thing about being a photographer is learning to recognize when to snap the shutter. There is a certain point at which any situation has a certain gravity—it makes you feel something. Capturing that moment is essential because when you do, that photo tells a story. It’s quite literally a snapshot of real time and allows that moment to be shared in a way no other media can accomplish.

The real-time web works the same way. Each tweet, post, comment or other share point is a singular capture point in the stream of time. In order to share via the social web, at some point, we have to capture a moment, a feeling, a thought, an idea, an emotion—some nugget of life that tells the story we want to share—and we have to build it into media in order to share it. When the way we used the web became social, it changed the function of what we expect from media. Photography in particular.

In the beginning, photos were art. The cost to entry to become a photographer was very high in terms of equipment, time, production and ability to share. You had to truly love it, and love what you were creating, to justify those costs. But when this art was added to the written word in newspapers, it became media. Suddenly, it was a visual way to convey information that writing just simply never could. You know the saying “a picture is worth a 1,000 words?” Well, that’s where it comes from. Photography was the first media that could visually capture real-time.

With social media, things are a little different. Photography is digital and the cost to entry to become a photographer is very low in terms of access to equipment and ease of sharing. Photos are less about art or even about storytelling and now about context, or what I like to call social proof. In many cases, people take photos that do little more than prove some combination of things existed in the same place at the same time. What happened to capturing what really happened? What happened to telling the story of what’s really there and letting that image help paint the bigger picture?

So that brings us to Friends in a Frame. The idea behind the photo series is pretty straightforward: give a person an empty picture frame and capture what happens. What started out as a portrait project became a personality showcase. And it’s because I’m looking at people through the eyes of a photographer, eyes that are able to identify “the moment.”

Most people are really awkward in front of a camera. They think about their flaws, features that make them self-conscious, things they don’t want a camera to see. If my subjects didn’t share them with me, they are things I would likely never notice. The frame offers something else to focus on, something to lessen the awareness of the lens and heighten the comfort of the individual.

The result is a series of photos that tell the story of a group of people and show true personality and the true essence of an individual. Look through the photos to see what I mean.

My point is this: look at the world the way a photographer does. Whatever you’re making or sharing, think about how you can make it capture a moment of real time in a way that tells a real story. Shares a real feeling. Offers a real idea. Take the time to notice things around you that you might not normally look for. See if there is a different way to share your snapshot of the stream of time. Look around. See what happens. And be ready to capture it.

This was my first speaking gig. I’m flattered by all the positive feedback from both friends and strangers about my message. We’re all our own toughest critics, and perhaps against my better judgment, I’ve shared the video of my presentation below. It’s not the whole thing, but it’s most of it. Enjoy.

photo of me, taking a photo, by Stephanie Sweitzer

Filed Under: Events and Conferences, Life, Photography Tagged With: #140Conf, 140 Characters Conference, Detroit, Friends in a Frame, Jeff Pulver, Photography

Value Your Talent

October 20, 2010 By Becky 15 Comments

I’ve been a hobbyist photographer for a long time. I was always playing around with cameras as a kid and couldn’t get enough of taking photos even when I shot on film and had to wait (gasp!) and pay to get them developed (gasp!) before I could see them. And yes, I’m right on that edge of old enough to remember a world before digital photography.

It was something I had an eye for and always kind of knew I had some photo talent. And then other people started telling me I was good at it. At a certain point, something happens to make you take your talent more seriously. For many, it’s the moment you realize others are putting a value on your work—a higher value than you are.

A few months ago I started my Friends in a Frame project and quickly noticed how much better at portrait photography I was getting. Nearly every subject I’ve shot for the series has made one of the photos a profile photo, avatar or otherwise shared via social media. Less than 3 percent of photos I post in the series albums have been de-tagged. And we’re talking somewhere in the neighborhood of 500 photos at this point. Soon, I started seeing the photos pop up on friends’ websites or used as author images for guest posts or multimedia content accompanying interviews. Suddenly, the age-old amateur photographer’s dilemma about when to charge for commercial usage was facing me.

About the same time, my friend Dave Murray pulled me aside during an event and asked me why I wasn’t charging for usage of the portraits I took. He’d used photos I took of him and said he would have gladly paid me for them had I just asked. I rambled off excuses about ‘not charging from day one so I didn’t feel like I could start now’ or ‘the people were my friends and I felt weird asking them to pay me’ or ‘this was supposed to be my fun little side project, not a revenue stream’. And then Dave said to me bluntly:

“That’s stupid. You’re creating good work. People want to use it for their professional gain. They’re willing to pay you. If everyone else values your talent, then why don’t you?”

At that point I realized I was spending a very significant amount of time on what was once a little side project—enough time that I needed to start monetizing or the opportunity cost wasn’t going to be worth it much longer. I had to get over the hump of being afraid to charge for my photography services. I had to value my talent.

So I launched a fan page on Facebook, reached out to some friends who had inquired about my services previously and started booking paid gigs pretty quickly. Showing others that I do value my talent (and my time) made it easier to put monetary worth on what I create. Not only have others been more than happy to do business with me, but many have referred me to friends. The one thing in business that has never changed is that we do business with those we know, like and trust. So why had I been so afraid to do business with friends? Dave was right, and don’t worry, I made sure to tell him he was free to say “I told you so.”

I’m sure many others have faced the dilemma of when or how much to charge for their work. I’ve got plenty of friends that are freelancers, consultants, speakers and otherwise entrepreneurs. It’s been helpful to learn from them how to define the value of their talents and watch them navigate what content or intellect they’ll give away for free versus what they’ll keep behind a pay wall.

The right price point (whether or not that price is money) is different for everyone. I’ve been paid in dollars, food, link love and service exchanges. I value my talent, I value my work and I exchange it for something I receive equal value from in return.

Having gone through this learning experience and still figuring out how to navigate a freelance career in addition to my professional one, I offer others creating something excellent some advice. Don’t be afraid to take a step back and look at what you’re creating to see the value in it. Though easier said than done sometimes, you’ve got to value your talent. And if or when it’s right, don’t be afraid to charge for it.

I’ve only been riding this freelance wave for a few months, but a significant amount of people have shown they love and value what I create. Today I’m speaking at the 140 Characters Conference in Detroit about the Friends in a Frame project and how photography is affected by the real-time social web. It’s my first big speaking gig and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t terrified. But I’m looking at it the same way I looked at photography. I’ve been invited to speak because others have put value on my talent. So I’m doing the same.

What do you know you’re great at that you’ve been afraid to assign real value to? Do it. See what happens. You might be surprised.

Filed Under: Business, Life, Photography Tagged With: 140Conf Detroit, Becky Johns Photography, Business, Photography

Look at your world through a new lens

July 29, 2010 By Becky 1 Comment

People ask me all the time why I love photography. To be honest, it would be shorter to try to explain why I don’t. When answering this question, it boils down to a very simple idea: it makes me see the world in ways most people never get to.

It’s funny, really, I can’t really remember what the world looked like before I was capturing it with a camera. I simply can’t see outside the context of the moment I’d snap the shutter anymore. I consider it a privilege that I notice beauty in objects, moments, reflections, colors and textures. The way sunlight dances on clouds, the many shades of green that make up grass, the way seemingly dull brick walls actually glisten when you get up close to them, the way a water droplet on a window make the sky look a different color. I notice these things, all the time, as if I were always carrying a camera and my life purpose was to document the essence of the world.

I wish I had a nickel for every time someone made fun of me for taking a photo of my reflection in something. Or showing up at a bar with my SLR. Or halting the process of cooking to snap a shot. Or cutting a cruise short to turn the boat around to face the rain clouds. Or taking a friend through Grand Rapids carrying a 22×28 empty picture frame. It makes me wonder how I see things so differently than others. And I think the answer is that I’m just using a different life lens.

Try this: pick up a camera and look at something through the viewfinder. Turn it horizontally. Turn it vertically. Zoom in. Zoom out. See what you need to prioritize or focus on to make it into the frame. Heck, forget the camera, hold your hands up in a rectangle and frame your own view. Look through a telescope. Pick up a video camera. Spy through a peephole. Put on sunglasses. Everything changes. Maybe we just need to apply a different “lens” to see what’s really there, what we just may not have noticed.

Next time you’re with your friends or family, just sit back and observe. Watch shadows on their faces and the way their eyes look when facing the light. Look at the texture of their hair. Watch the moment that happens when two people make eye contact, or how their fingers look when casually, lovingly intertwined. Think about snapping the shutter in that moment, to capture how a moment felt, rather than just what it looked like. You’ll start noticing extraordinary moments. And soon, you’ll start living for them.

Noticing the things I want to remember has made all the difference. I happen to really like the lens through which I see the world. And I think everyone might like their world a little more if they put a new lens to it. The best advice I’ve got is to try to carry some kind of camera with you, everywhere you go. Chase Jarvis, an incredible photographer, says the best camera is the one that’s with you. Whether SLR, point and shoot, cell phone, video, disposable, whatever allows you to capture the moment right when it happens is the best camera in the world. I’m a firm believer that good photography has nothing to do with megapixels, look at these photos from the Great Depression to see why. Grainy, noisy and full of life. Each one tells a story.

This isn’t just about the stuff we see either, adopting a new lens on a view of the world can change your attitude, your mindset and the types of situations you seek out. I’m a firm believer that if we got a camera in the hands of every child, our next generation would be just a little bit better.

What makes you experience the world in a different way than others? How do you wish you could capture that? How will you teach someone else?

Photo: Taken with Canon EOS Digital Rebel XTi. Exposure 1/60 sec. Aperture f/5.6. Focal length 25mm. ISO Speed 200.

Filed Under: Life, Photography Tagged With: becky johns, chase jarvis, Photography

Behind the Scenes: Ad Age Agency Digs

How To Take Better Portraits

Springtime Photowalk in New York City

SXSW Interactive 2011

New Lens: Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM

Commit to a Creative Life

Photographers See Things Differently: The #140Conf Talk

Value Your Talent

Look at your world through a new lens

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