The Importance of Mentors – By Guest Blogger Elisa Bricker

Creating a photograph is exhilarating. There is power in the creative arts, and the ability to compose, manipulate, and work with a subject is a cultivated skill, one that continually gives me joy and makes me happy to be a photographer.

I remember learning to shoot film from my grandfather and father using a hand-me-down 35mm film camera. After shooting the rolls I had purchased at a nearby store, and impatiently waiting for them to be developed by a local lab, I would sit down for one on one critique with each of them. We would talk about lighting, composition, metering and so on. Those hours spent in mentoring were invaluable to me, and fueled my desire to learn more and do better.

Shot on KODAK PORTRA 400

When I began shooting professionally, I purchased a digital camera. I soon realized that I was spending endless hours at my desk editing my digital images and trying to make them look like film. But why make them look like film when it’s better to use film itself!

Shot on KODAK PORTRA 400

In this digital age, I’m flattered when others see and appreciate what I do with film. I see in both previous and current generations – people valuing the artistic process and the medium I use to create images for them.

Shot on KODAK PORTRA 400

While I am a hybrid shooter (using both digital and film), my first instinct is to choose film, whether I’m shooting personal work or professionally. I absolutely love photographing my subjects using film. I love the process of using it – of thinking more deliberately, and taking time to create. Film helps me to slow down and really see the world around me.

Shot on KODAK PORTRA 400

That’s where having my grandfather and father as mentors made all the difference. Learning film on your own can be a daunting experience.

Because I love film – especially KODAK PROFESSIONAL PORTRA 400 – I want others to fall in love with it as well. My husband Edward (the owner of Contax Rental) and I created a film workshop in partnership with Belle Lumiere Magazine because we recognized the draw that film creates and how intimidating it can be to try shooting film without training.

We want to give photographers who are new to film an outlet to experience, ask questions and master the basics. We’ve set out to encourage photographers to get excited about film, learn how to choose the best equipment – film, camera, light meter and lab – and then guide them to use these tools of the trade to their benefit.

Holding a camera in our hands is all about learning and seeing. If we can open people up to seeing that larger world, we might just empower a whole new generation of film mentors.

For more information about our upcoming workshop in Nashville, Tennessee visit: http://www.bellelumieremagazine.com/bloomsbury-farm/

Elisa Bricker – Photo by Eric Kelley http://www.erickelleyphotography.com/

Elisa Bricker is a film-based wedding and portrait photographer who lives in Charlottesville, Virginia. Her work has been featured in Martha Stewart Weddings, Once Wed, Southern Weddings Magazine, Southern Living Weddings Magazine, Weddings Unveiled Magazine, The Knot, Style Me Pretty, & More.

When Elisa is not photographing weddings, she is traveling and photographing her surroundings for pleasure, spending time with her husband Edward, their son, and their little pup who loves to curl up at her feet while she reads.