How Do I Get the Right Light?

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Even an amateur photographer learns that sometimes the light is only the way you want it to be for 30 seconds. You have a very short window to get a particular scene the way you might want. And sometimes you miss it, and nothing comes out. Right. So let's talk about mindset. Yes, perhaps I should give an example. The cover of the book is a picture of me with my infant son. There's not a lot of light in the winter. He was able to make maybe seven or eight exposures before he started fussing and the moment had passed.

When everyone is carrying a camera in their pocket, what raises the act of taking pictures to the level of fine art photography? Jessica Todd Harper, the award-winning portrait photographer, says that it's equal parts mindset and technique--and lots of setting the stage to seize that perfect light. Listen as Harper speaks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about her desire to capture the complexity of life in a single image, why family relationships and home life are her chosen subjects, and the integral role beauty plays in her images, despite its diminished status in art today.