Dessa

I was a painter (although not a particularly good one) and a designer (not too shabby) before I became a photographer, so I learned ahead of time to think abstractly about composition. From the beginning through to now, I've always thought as much about the composition as much as anything else. This is a good example of that— the head goes off towards the top corner as if it is trying to escape the boundaries of the photograph. Likewise, the hand is pressing down the middle bottom. Along with a couple other details, the overall effect is that she is visually trying to push out of the box she is contained in. Which, in turn, creates a visually dynamic image. This is a primary part of my thought process— both when I'm shooting and as a final image. I've never really stated this here or anywhere else, but it is truly one of the main things I'm thinking of when shooting. That, and trying to get the lighting right. I'm not ever really trying to tell a story or execute an idea. I hate "ideas"! I don't, however, tend to do this consciously. I shoot too quickly to do that. It's more of an automatic process that I've trained myself to do. I pick up the camera and simply shoot. When I'm editing, I then more or less consciously pick the ones that work in that way...