I’m a lifestyle photographer creating thoughtful visual stories of places, makers, artisans, and small brands with sensitivity and curiosity.
Always looking for moments of beauty and light…
ALANNA O’NEIL
Fellow photographers, let’s share stories…
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On The Journal
I’m going to say something controversial as a photographer. Even more so because I live in Maui. Maybe you’ve even wondered why I don’t share sunset photos…The truth is I think sunset photos are boring. Simple as that. It’s not that I don’t appreciate a stunning sunset mind you. The rainbow palette ranging from soft blush to fuschia truly is one of nature’s awe-inspiring marvels. Witnessing a Hawaiian sunset on the beach is a prized experience for any traveler to our islands. The reverence for that fleeting moment as the sun slips below the horizon, leaving its bold and colorful mark in the sky is a moment locals and tourists alike appreciate. A moment of pause and reflection, even gratitude.
What is a good photography practice?
Keeping our files organized?
Studying light?
A streamlined editing process?
While all of those practices are necessary skills and part of business housekeeping, there is still one that I believe, that overrides all of them. One that by nurturing it daily, refines our photographic eye. And that one practice is the practice of active observation. Not only is being in the place at the right time important to capturing a moment, but it’s actually seeing and finding moments right under our nose (or eyes.)
There is a power in words. Slight nuances in verbiage can affect how we see. Do you take a photo of something or about something? Photographer James Popsys came up with this theory and I want to elaborate on it in regards to visual storytelling. Is there a difference? I think so. Visual storytelling is so much more than conveying information through our lens. It taps into our humanness and our emotions, the subtle intricacies that we can relate to.
Award-winning recipe developer and photographer Suze Morrison creates captivating and emotive visual stories from her home in the UK. She is wildly talented and infuses her work with hints of the natural world. She shares her stories using natural and artificial light, which are undeniably striking. Her love of home cooking and food comes across all of her photography and videography work. You can see more of her beautiful work here.
This post will be a little different than my last posts as I'm not very technical, but I think it's an essential topic for visual storytelling. And that is the relation between a F-stop and visual storytelling. As you know, an f-stop, such as f 1.4, f 2.8, f 5.6, f 11, etc., indicates the amount of light coming through the aperture. (The f stands for focal length) So, a wider f-stop, meaning the opening of the blades is wide open like a big pupil of our eye, is classified by a smaller number, such as f 1.4 or f 2.8. A wider opening of the aperture means more light can come in, thus a smaller f stop number.
I've received so many nos in my life. No, thank you; we are all set for this calendar year. Thank you kindly for your inquiry, but we source all our photography in-house. We are not looking for any partnerships, but we wish you all the best. Unfortunately, she can not take on another proposal this year. She wishes you the best of luck with your book. Do any of these sound familiar?
Styling in food photography ranges on a broad spectrum. On one end, it can be minimalistic and clean to overly styled, erring on the verge of contrived. I think the right balance is somewhere in the middle, where it feels and looks believable but intentional. A slice of life, if you will. When I first started shooting food photography for clients, my styling was all over the place. Finding my stride and developing my eye to know what looked right took me a while. It boils down to practicing in various scenes, using different elements, props, lighting, and backgrounds. As always, it begins with telling a story.
Creating a compelling portfolio is one of the most important tasks for new photographers. It’s not something that happens overnight; let’s just say that. While you may be so excited to get your work out there, it isn’t just as simple as picking a few favorite photos of yours and uploading them to a gallery or website. A well-rounded portfolio takes time to put together, with a lot of thought and intentionality behind it. Even if you don’t have a large body of work or roster of client work to pull from, there are subtle ways you can begin to carve out your portfolio.
Taking the leap of faith to work as a full-time photographer can be nerve-wracking, to say the least. Security is a fundamental human need. And the creative world can be a bumpy business road to travel. Creatives tend to put so much pressure on themselves and their work. Balancing our creativity while financially being able to support ourselves is something every photographer goes through at some point. I have yet to meet a "successful," published, well-established photographer who didn't have some growing pains and financial struggles. In the early days of my career, I believed that if I wasn't working full-time as a photographer, I hadn't "made it," or I was just a hobbyist.
To photoshop or not? Just one of many questions any photographer will ask themselves…In this new age of AI (quite scary in my opinion!) it’s an all too familiar question we may ask of any image we may see. AI is an entirely different topic that I don’t feel like addressing in this post (or ever! if that says anything about my feelings about it within the world of photography.) The art of photography itself is subjective, there is no “right” or “wrong” way to photograph. It all comes down to the choices made by the photographer: the settings, the style, the light, the subject, and the composition. What you don’t include in the frame is just as important as what you do.