Ask the Artist: wolfpup2000

Interviews by Fans
Title:	Ask the Artist: wolfpup2000
Interviewer:
Interviewee:	wolfpup2000
Date(s):	May 23, 2010
Medium:	online
Fandom(s):	Fan Art, Supernatural
External Links:	interview is here, Archived version
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wolfpup2000 was interviewed in 2010 for Supernatural Roundtable.

Some Excerpts

First of all, I want to thank missyjack for the invite to participate and explain my "inspiration, creativity, and technical expertise" when it comes to taking con photos. I was completely surprised and extremely honored, as well as slightly puzzled on how to tackle the request. How do I describe the process of taking photos? Most ppl these days have cameras and take photos to one extent or another. I'm not a professional photographer. To me, taking photos is simply a past time that I've always enjoyed. I've never had a photography class, and I know very little about the technical ins and outs of good photography. I'm simply someone who experiments until I'm happy with the results. That means I won't be able to relay any technical expertise to you guys. If you're looking for the best use of aperture and other camera settings given poor lighting in con environments, I'm not going to be able to shed any light on that issue for you (no pun intended). With all the cons I've attended, I find con lighting to be the biggest obstacle to tackle. Believe me, I share in that frustration!

The next question I asked myself was what would ppl find interesting? I guess I should start out with information regarding my camera. It's nothing horribly fancy. I would love to have a digital SLR, but if you've ever priced them, you know that they are pretty darn expensive. For those like me who are on a reasonable camera budget, I'm currently using a Canon Powershot SX20 with a Speedlite flash. I have to admit that I'm a bit of a Canon snob. I've always owned Canons and I doubt I'd ever buy anything else. I still cling desperately to my old manual Canon film camera. I just love it to pieces!! But alas technology finally caught up to me and forced me to go digital. *sigh*

As for inspiration? Well, that's certainly easy enough to answer. When it comes to taking photos, it's hard not to be inspired by Jensen and Jared. Although I love taking pictures of both boys, I've found that Jensen comes across as more photogenic. Not only does the camera seem to love his facial structure, his mannerisms and postures in con settings are a lot more dynamic than Jared's. I don't mean that Jensen is more energetic or outgoing, he simply holds himself in more interesting poses.

Taking interesting con photos is one of the hardest types of pictures I've ever tackled. Your angles and direction are limited by having to stay in your seat; you can't interact your subject with anything except possibly the microphone; and you certainly can't control the lighting. What does that leave you creatively? Well, basically only one thing I can think of, and in my opinion it's the most important: how the shot is framed. Prospective on the best way to frame a shot is going to vary from one person to another. As with most things, everyone has their own personal opinion on what looks best. For instance, I always remember being told to never cut off the top of someone's head no matter what. That's a great rule of thumb when dealing with group shots or full-bodied shots. However, with closeups, I will often cut the top of the head off to get the photo framed the way I want it. Most of the comments I get in regards to my photos are in relation to how much folks like the framing of my closeups. However, I have also received several comments asking why I cut the tops of the boys heads off all the time. *g* Again, this is my personal preference. And I have to admit that when it comes to taking pictures of ppl, I love closeups because there is more framework involved and that's what makes it visually interesting.