Today at the Lubbock Advertising Federation luncheon, we all sat captivated as Kenny Braun spoke about his photography. Well, to be honest, he didn’t do much talking until the Q&A section. But if a picture is worth a thousand words, he gave quite a lengthy lecture.

As he moved through his early photography, he told us his first hobby was hunting. It was a natural transition to photography, though. As with hunting, you have to be patient, waiting for that perfect shot. And if you get something good, you hang it on your wall.

Kenny went on to speak about his personal and professional projects. He told us that if you have a connection with what you are shooting, if you really care about the subject the audience can see it. And we saw it in many of his photos.

He told us the story behind many of his pictures. Some were assignments; others were extremely personal. Some were funny, and some were sad. But what struck me how each one had a unique story.

He then talked about his process. He said in his early days, he wasn’t paid for expenses so he had to use a few frames as possible­–sometimes as little as four. He said it was all about finding the picture. When I asked him how we did that, he answered simply, “Follow the light.” He said find the light, and that will take you to the picture.

While the technology has changed dramatically over the years, Kenny mentioned how the art of photography hasn’t progressed much. You can look back at pictures from the Civil War and still see the same ideas.

This was not a bad thing, though. He said that even if you take the exact same picture as someone before you, you would still bring your own experience and aesthetics with you, making an entirely new picture.

I for one learned a lot about the thought process that goes with good photography. Of course, I loved Kenny’s work that he showed us. It’s always great seeing another creative person’s point of view, even if (or especially) they are in a completely different field. Thanks Kenny.