The only person who is tricked into believing that one bite can make all their dreams come true is the person who doesn’t know what their dreams are. Dream big but be sure of what it is you want. Once you’ve worked that out, go for it with all your might. Keep trying until you’ve achieved what you’ve set out to do, no matter how long it takes. Success tastes 100 times better when you’re hungry for it……Livonne
I took a series of photos about 2 years ago. I was practising my emerging photography skills and wanted to play with costumes and characterisation. I used to do theatre and anyone will tell you, once you’re in costume, you become the part. I find it’s the same with photography. Put a person in a costume and they automatically become more comfortable.
This particular series of photos was one of my favourite ever. I’ve always loved fairy tales and wanted to recreate a Snow White scene. A medieval dress on a gorgeous woman, an overgrown garden and a bite out of an apple and my photo was done. Until I decided I wanted more. So late last year I started playing with it, adding some garden dwarves I’d seen in my travels, a tomb from Cimetière-de-Montmartre in Paris, another tomb from Edinburgh Cemetery and some trees and ivy from various other photos I’ve taken along the way and I was closer to the original vision.
I wasn’t happy with what I’d done. It looked too dark and heavy but I was really at a loss as to how to fix it as I was just starting to attempt composite photographs. So I parked it and walked away. Today I decided to revisit the composition again and finally achieved something I was happy with. I didn’t destroy the original last year when I was unhappy with it because I wanted to study it and find what it was I didn’t like and what I did like about it. I didn’t like the heavy textures or the way her face blended in with the background. I also disliked how much detail I lost with the darkness. The tomb behind the gate was always something I loved and it got lost in the first creation. I did like the original concept though but I knew I wanted a bit more wildlife involved. Yes, I am a Disney tragic and wanted a more cartoon like feel.
If it didn’t work today, I would have been quite happy to park it again and walk away. It sometimes takes a few steps backwards before we can see clearly. Don’t be afraid to leave something and come back to it at another time with fresh eyes. If you try something 100 times before you get it right, eventually, you still got it right. You just found 99 ways that didn’t work. That my friend is NOT failure. That is what makes a success.
Livonne Imagery 