Welcome

This is a space to share my photographic process to inspire others to learn and grow their photographic art.

I am Laura Benedict. I am an author, amateur photographer, and lifelong learner. I picked up a DSLR in 2017 and tagged along with my mentor on many photo trips, soaking up as much exposure as possible.

Together, we photographed horses, the night sky, and the Grand Canyon, among many other amazing things.

I am forever in her debt for introducing me to the wonderful world behind the camera!

I created my photo blog in early 2024 as part of a marketing course. I continue with the site because

I love sharing my photos in a more creative way than is allowed by social media sites.

Since I created this site, when I post photos to social media, it’s usually to show off my latest baking or crochet project.

I will also post one photo (and the appropriate link) announcing a new blog post.

I have expanded the site to include commentary on an introduction to photography course and my creative process.

My Favorites

Besides the fact that creating a website was required in a marketing course, the “My Favorites” section was the justification for creating this website.

It is a place for me to post my favorite shots from a trip. I start each post with a title (I try to keep it informative and fun) with the date of the trip.

I group photos by a theme or common thread that is not always evident to the viewer and so provide a short (usually one sentence) commentary on the subject or theme featured. By only writing a little, I keep the focus of each post on the photos.

I also like the challenge of creating a story with few words.

I am amazed at my progress over the last year: both in my photographic talent, but also in my use of this medium to share my work.

I am also surprised that the photos I post aren’t always those that I intended to post.

I hear this concept from authors, that the characters tell the author how the story progresses. I have also heard an author say that they write to know how the story ends.

In a similar way, I post to see the story my photos tell.

Photography Courses

As is probably obvious, the “Photography Courses” section is a fun place to post the photos and lessons learned while taking the courses noted in the sub-heading titles.

I only have ART 1050 right now, but it’s a good start.

I am not a photography instructor, and these posts are not intended to replace instruction.

However, I like posting my learning process because it keeps me humble and encourages me to learn more.

This is a place to discuss the process of going through the course, what I learned at each step, and how I could do better next time.

I have already seen improvement in my work and my critique of my work.

While most artists don’t need help being critical of their work, the introductory course has a checklist of items to critique and assess as objectively as one can do of their own work.

This is a useful tool for improvement.

In the Weeds

I started my “In the Weeds” section because I received questions about my creative process.

For instance, people asked how I composed my shot, how I chose to post a particular photo over the others in the session, and how I adjusted a photo using editing software.

This is a space to discuss my challenges at getting a shot right, or not.

This is a space to remind me that I’m always learning and will never be perfect.

There is always room for improvement; just keep shooting.