I had an interesting conversation today about pictures posted on my facebook page. As a photographer that works for a newspaper and owns my own studio and who teaches fine art photography at the local college, I make a lot of very diverse work. Today's conversation involved pictures i took of a person building a model portfolio(not related to the picture above) and the senior portraits that I'm in the middle of doing a lot of at this time. To me they are distinctly separated work, but when they are presented on a fb page and a website i can see how the lines are blurred. In my newspaper work i really try hard to keep the work distinctly separate because the ethics of journalism practices are sound and for good reason, but what about the studio ethics? Is there a line and should there be where one form or style of work needs to be kept distinctively separated? Maybe? I'm not sure how to do this yet. I make photographs everyday as anyone who follows me on instagram or likes my facebook page can see. the truth is i love to make images, and the type of shoot i'm doing dictates the type of style in which i approach it(though it usually ends up looking like my work). To me the work is the work and I'm out to make the best work I can, whether its a portrait, a head shot for a website, a portfolio or telling a story... the camera is an extension of not only my eye, but my thought! And my thoughts are pretty diverse!. The picture above was a shot of al girl who is building a portfolio of images that came about from just playing around with and idea of light and hair and movement. This particular one was done with my iPhone and i think its a beautiful image, but certainly not one I'd do for a senior portrait or to tell a story in the newspaper. But i am glad that I think about these things, because it helps me understand how to better do my work and present it to others! Not sure how to separate the work so its doesn't become confusing! i love making images in all different styles for people! Photograph by Richard S