This month marks National Photography Month and in an age where anyone can be a photographer, it’s important we utilize the skills and devices at our fingertips. Like different genres of films, arts, and television shows, photography presents a plethora of different routes, whether it be photojournalism, portraiture, or abstract, there is a different aesthetic for everyone. Without further ado, these are some ways you can get involved and practice your photography skills to celebrate.
Join the MoMA Photo Club
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In honor of National Photography Month and their new exhibition Fotoclubismo: Brazilian Modernist Photography, 1946–1964, the Museum of Modern Art is inviting photography fans to join the MoMA Photo Club, where every month they encourage participants to get outside and get creative with a new photo challenge. As per a press release, many of the amateur artists featured in Fotoclubismo used photography as a part-time evening and weekend hobby when they weren’t in classrooms or offices. One of the main goals for the MoMA Photo Club is to embrace a “collegial, competitive spirit” that connects “all of us with the achievements of amateurs across the history of photography.”
With many different Photo Club guests from around the world to help launch each prompt, or photo challenge, Conrad Anker will host the first theme – Abstractions from Nature, an invitation to look at the natural world from a different perspective. For anyone willing to participate, the MoMA encourages that you take a closer look at the world around you, seeing familiar parts of nature with a refined perspective. Once that’s finished, share the photos using #MoMAPhotoClub for a chance to be featured on the MoMA’s social channels, their website, and digital screens in select New York City subways.
Take Annie Leibovitz’s Masterclass
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Masterclass is a virtual learning platform that connects prospects to industry-leading professionals, many of whom are of celebrity stature. For instance, Annie Leibovitz, one of the most renowned photographers of our recent time, teaches an entire photography masterclass. Back when her iconic photo of John Lennon and Yoko Ono hit the stands, no one could have probably guessed that in a mere 40 years they would have the opportunity to learn the photography craft from the person behind the lens of that photograph.
Within Leibovitz’s Masterclass, she offers lessons in lighting, editing, and working with your subjects, among others, totaling an entirety of 15 different lessons for aspiring photographers to learn from. Masterclass also offers a workbook to coincide with the lesson, providing different notes and tasks for viewers to retain. Masterclass is currently $15 per month.
Visit Photography Exhibits
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Fotografiska is an internationally renowned destination for photography, having started in Stockholm and expanding globally to Tallinn, Estonia, and New York City. The museum features some of the best photographers, both emerging and established and is the perfect place to visit during National Photography Month. Fotografiska recently began exhibiting Virgin Mary. Supermarkets. Popcorn. Photographs 1999 to 2020, by artist and photographer Miles Aldridge through Oct. 17, 2021. As the photographer’s largest United States retrospective yet, it features more than 50 works shot entirely on film that spans the artist’s entire career. Fotografiska is also currently exhibiting Tom of Finland’s The Darkroom, Adrienne Raquel’s ONYX, Pixy Liao’s Your Gaze Belongs to Me, and Hassan Hajjaj’s VOGUE, The Arab Issue.
Support Modern Photographers
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Supporting photographers is the basis of what keeps the craft alive. Luckily, today it has become easy to do that with social media and the accessibility to the internet where we can look up anything and anyone at any given time. Be sure to follow your favorite artists on social media, blogs, and websites. Repost their work with ethical practices in mind – for example, giving credit to the original artist or photographer and not using their work as a way to make a personal profit. Research different ways to get involved and support the art form. Learn from professionals. Donate to charities that promote photography lessons and accessibility to children such as 100cameras, which works internationally with children who have had challenging experiences, teaching them how to process and tell their stories through photography. 100cameras further provides a platform for those children to sell their photographs and give 100% of the proceeds to “fund the most pressing needs in their communities, enabling them to see the impact of their contribution.”
Get Out There and Get Creative
While lessons on how to use a camera are useful, there’s no reason why anyone should wait to start. Grab a phone, a camera, or anything with a lens to get out there and get creative. Take photos around the home, in the community, and on vacation. That’s the beauty of photography – there are no rules or bounds to subject possibilities. Take your work and create a blog, a website, share it on social media, or create a scrapbook for only your eyes. Decide who sees your work, if no one at all. But don’t hold back. Go out, see the world, and capture it. As Annie Leibovitz once said, “One doesn’t stop seeing. One doesn’t stop framing. It doesn’t turn off and turn on. It’s on all the time.”
