FotoFamilyMemories.com

The ancient Egyptians choose the form of the pyramid to build everlasting monuments to themselves on the plateau of Giza.
Today, these monuments still stand and are considered to be among the seven wonders of the ancient world. Modern photographers often look to them for inspiration and have found in them a form that endures the ages. Portrait photographers often pose their subjects in a pyramid form in order to accomplish two objects, namely to fit everyone in the frame while still maintaining visual interest in the portrait.

Recently, Tim Vansant shared an old family snapshot taken years ago on his grandmother’s 75th birthday. What a great thing is it to have a snapshot of his grandmother, mother, and brothers and sisters to record such an auspicious occasion. The picture not only records that moment, but through the period dress of the subjects and background decor, the viewer of the photograph is transported back in time to epoch in which when the picture was taken.

Just as the Pyramids of Giza hold hidden treasures and stores of memories, so too does Tim’s family portrait. If you have a sharp eye, you will discover some hidden gems in the photograph which will help you to improve your own photography skills. For example, subjects 2, 4 and 5 seem to be looking off to the right, while subjects 1, 2, 3, 6 and 7 are looking straight at the camera. In composing your photographs, try to engage everyone so that they are facing the same direction. (Tim doesn’t remember exactly what was going on, but he thinks it was probably his uncle distracting some of the people.)

Another hidden gem in this portrait is in the backdrop. It looks like everyone is gathered around Grandma’s chair. As a result, there is some furniture and papers present around the edges of the pictures. If time permits, and your models are willing to wait a few extra minutes, try to clear the area of debris and unused furniture. This eliminates anything that might detract for the people who are being photographed.

One final suggestion would be to add more light. An expensive lighting kit isn’t necessary. In an improv situation where the flash on the camera is insufficient, create some temporary studio lighting by taking a lamp and point the top of it (where the light comes out of the lampshade) towards the group. You may need to experiment a little, holding the light above the group, shining down on them, or bouncing the light off an adjacent wall so that it reflects onto them. You must take care not to create new shadows

I am very grateful that Tim was gracious enough to share this photograph with us for critique here. I hope you will find inspiration in this article to go out and create your own photo family memory (another great pyramid) while taking portraits of your loved ones.

If you have a photograph that you would like me to analyze, praise or otherwise talk up, and you think it would be useful to teach or inspire other people to create their own photo family memories, please send it to me at texaiano - at - gmail - dot - com. You can also start the ball rolling by dropping me a note.

Now, go enjoy your family and make the world a better place by working on some photo family memories of your own.

Your Fellow “Creative Genius ” ,
Texaiano

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The other day in church, the choir sang a version of one of our traditional hymns set to the music of Johann Pachabel’s “Cannon in D”. It was very beautiful and calming, and since I have been working a lot on FotoFamilyMemories.com late, it got me to thinking.

According to Wikipedia, a cannon is:

…a contrapuntal composition that employs a melody with one or more imitations of the melody played after a given duration (e.g. quarter rest, one measure, etc.). The initial melody is called the leader, while the imitative melody is called the follower which is played in a different voice. The follower must be created from the leader by being either an exact replication of the rhythms and intervals of the leader, or a transformation of such…

So, in other words, a musical cannon is a melody that gets repeated over and over again with different instruments or in different styles. The chords are the same, but you never know how they will be dressed up next. Perhaps the most famous cannon is Johann (Paco) Pacabel’s “Canon in D major”, or as it is formally called “Canon and Gigue in D major for three Violins with Bass Accompaniment”. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pachelbel’s_Canon)

What struck me most about Pachabel’s “Cannon” was it’s versatility. I like that so many people are able to take his original cannon and express themselves by making it their own. I am not talking about people who go and record it in their style of music, adding a few bee-bops or drum rolls; rather, they are able to totally remake the song in their own style. I mean, Pachabel’s “Cannon” is played by classical orchestras in its original form, then played as a wedding march, a graduation commencement march, and a Christmas carol. Furthermore, it has been incorporated into modern Rock, Rap and R&B Ballads.
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Pachabel’s “Cannon”