fiannabean1

Thank you so much for your time and insights Caroline! 🌸❤️🌼

Hello! Thank you Caroline and Sony for this event! Here are my questions for Caroline. 1) How long did it take to build a significant community around your work? 2) What are some tips and strategies for an artist wanting to grow a community around their work? 3) Approximately what percentage of your income comes from print sales and how long did it take for sales to become consistent? 4) What other income streams have you established around your art?

I am focusing on doing more creative work that includes some self-portraiture and cinematic video, as well as working with tweens.

I shoot both photos and video. I feel cinematic video is hardest to shoot, maybe because I haven't been doing it as long, but there is so much technical stuff to learn in shooting and editing. Still, I really enjoy it! I'm starting to put some on my youtube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/@melaniemyhre1227

I like DaVinci Resolve for video editing. It's easy to use and fairly intuitive. The color grading tools are especially nice. There is a free version that has more than enough tools for most editing projects. The paid version (which is very reasonably priced in my opinion) includes more specialized tools and creative effects.

My advice would be to go as lightweight with gear as possible. The 70-200GM would be out for me, but if you don't mind the weight, its a great lens choice. Be prepared to do A LOT of walking and wear comfortable shoes. Between switching trains (the stations are huge spaces with lots of stairs) and walking to shrines (lots of hills) we sometimes walked 9 miles in a day. Gear can get very heavy! Many places like trains and shrines can be very crowded, so maneuvering extra bags of gear could be problematic. I brought my A7iii, 24-70 f2.8GM and a 50mm f1.4, but I plan to have either the Sony Alpha 7CR, or the Sony Alpha 7C II and the Sony 16-35mm f/2.8 G Master II lens when I go back next summer.

Thank you Jessica! Caroline, thank you and I love your story! I admire that you overcame your fear to do something good for the source of your fear (bees) and something good for the environment as well. By changing your POV, you turned negativity into positivity; and are now enjoying the sweet rewards (Honey-yum!) I also really love your work!!!

I love shooting in locations with flowers. Flowers usually don't bloom for long periods of time, so locations are always changing, and I'm always on the lookout for new opportunities. I found this lovely set of Azalea bushes, and even though the location was small, I knew I could make it work by compressing the scene with the right lens. It just happened that I found another benefit of compressing the scene that day... I chose two sisters as my models and I envisioned them surrounded by the lovely blooms, but something happened that I had not accounted for. The day of the shoot, I discovered that both girls were terrified of bees, and the flowers had multiple bees busily gathering pollen. The girls (understandably) didn't want to stand too close to the flowers, and they were cautiously watching the bees, making it nearly impossible to get relaxed expressions. I needed to come up with a solution, so I chose to use the Sony 70-200mm f4. So what does 'compressing the scene' mean? In photography, it's a phenomenon where the background appears to be closer to the subject and larger in comparison than it actually is. The effect is achieved by using a telephoto lens. The longer the lens, the farther back the photographer needs to stand to keep their subject the same size in the frame, and the larger and closer the background will appear. As you can see in the image below, the girl is not standing very close to the flowers and I am standing in the street to get the shot. The Sony 70-200mm f4 gave me the compression I needed as well as a beautifully sharp subject against a creamy bokeh. Here are my settings: f4 1/250 ISO 80. I used a Godox AD400 strobe for my light source for all the images. f4 1/250 ISO 80 She became a little less afraid of the bees and stepped a little closer! f4 1/250 ISO 80 Now for the second sister, and my funny 'photographer face'..... I love how this image turned out! I was also thrilled to learn that this image helped me to earn the 25 Most Influential Teen Photographer award this year! f4 1/250 ISO 80 f4 1/250 ISO 80 f4 1/250 ISO 80 Both girls had a fun experience and became less afraid of bees. They felt stronger and braver for facing their fears and loved their photos. I was able to create the images I wanted, including an award winner. Choosing the best lens for your vision is an important part of the creative process, but don't be surprised if you discover additional benefits you hadn't expected. It's all part of the fun of the creative journey!

Thanks Tony!

Thank you! It was a fun shoot. I like to involve the moms. They have fun doing an activity with their kids, plus they like to take BTS shots like these!

When thinking of locations to photograph portraits, we often think of locations on a larger scale. We look for locations with the most dramatic scenery or the most overall impact, but we may be overlooking some great opportunities in seemingly less dramatic areas. Some of my favorite portraits were actually photographed in very small, difficult or mundane locations. I sometimes choose these kinds of locations to get out of my comfort zone and challenge my creativity. These photos were created in spaces that at first seemed unappealing- a tiny median in a busy parking area, a small bed of grasses in a downtown area, and a smoke shop next to a restaurant. (I was photographing a 12 year old girl for this shoot, so a smoke shop background was a particularly unappealing choice.) The first photo was created in the parking area with the tiny median. The bed of flowers was about 3 1/2 x 3 1/2 '. The model was lying on the sidewalk with just her upper body in the flowers and I had to stand on the asphalt to get the shot. The models' mother stood near the top of her head with my Godox AD400 strobe and parabolic softbox pointed straight at the top of her head to create a soft butterfly light. Camera settings: F2.8 1/250 ISO 100. This next image was created in the grass bed. (You can see the size and location in the BTS photo below.) For this image, the strobe was placed to my left, close to the model, and slightly above her eye level. Placing the strobe closer created more dramatic lighting, even though it was a bright sunny day. It was a breezy day, so the wind created a bit of magic with the grasses and the models' hair. Camera settings: F2.8 1/640 ISO 100. This image was created using the smoke shop as the background. (You can see the area in the BTS photo below.) The green lights added a cool vibe to the image and complimented her red dress and bag. My strobe was positioned just to my left and fairly close to me. I added a speedlight with a red gel pointed at the shop window for a subtle flare. Camera settings: F2.8 1/400 ISO 200. What are some things you do to challenge your creativity? Have you ever deliberately chosen a difficult/unappealing location to create something cool? Images created with: #Alpha 7 III (a7III) #FE 24-70mm F2.8 GM