Getting Started
Woke up thinking about Nan Goldin's photos. Those messy real moments stuck in my head. Grabbed my old digital camera and thought: hell, why not try making something raw like her work today?
Setting Up
Went straight to my living room where morning light hits messy. Didn't clean anything. Left coffee stains on the table and kicked dirty laundry under the sofa. Told my partner to sit on the floor in yesterday's t-shirt. They looked confused but went with it.
Shooting Process
Didn't use flash. Just natural light from that half-broken window. Kept snapping while they sipped cold coffee. Zoomed right into the crow's feet around their eyes. Got real close to chipped nail polish on their fingers. They laughed saying "this feels weird" and boom - got the shot with crooked teeth showing.
Technical Struggle
Camera kept auto-focusing on the damn wallpaper pattern instead of faces. Had to go manual mode which I barely remember how to use. Got frustrated. Shot 20 blurry photos before one turned out decent. White balance went yellow from the old walls but left it - looked kinda cool actually.
Post Work
Uploaded to laptop. Scrolled through garbage shots for an hour. Only liked two. Added slight orange tint and upped shadow darkness in free editing app. Cropped weird bits out. Didn't smooth skin or fix anything. Saved as messy JPEGs full of noise.
Final Result
Printed them cheap at pharmacy kiosk. Paper feels thin but photos look human. Framed one cracked smile shot with sticky tape on torn cornes. Hung it crooked above our TV. Partner hated it first but now points saying "that's us hungover on Sunday". Feels truer than all my Instagram stuff.
What clicked:
- Real life ain't pretty setups
- Bad lighting shows real textures
- People's tired faces tell stories
- Forced smiles suck - weird moments win
