I’ve been an amateur photographer probably since I was a child, I always liked to snap pictures of things around me. Then again, didn’t we all? I bought my first digital camera somewhere around 2006 and literally took thousands of shots since. I became more interested in photography as an art in 2008. As I type it, it’s been only 4 years since, but a lot has happened when I look back at it. To end this boring introduction, I plan to stay amateur for the rest of my life. I have an everyday job just like you and I want to keep the beauty of a hobby into photography and not turning into a boring job, even if this means never getting money from it.It’s not about money and being “professional”, in the end, it’s about loving it. In fact, I don’t like the term “professional” and I think few people can relate to it. Anyway, here is a list of random stuff I’ve learned from owning and especially using a digital camera.
- portraits are cool when done to expressive or widely known (important) people. There are expressive people out there, but usually it’s none of your friends or relatives. When portraying friends and relatives, your photos tend to be dull and boring for the audience, although if your audience means your friends, they won’t tell you that. Which leads to..
- never ask your friends or your mom about your photos. Just don’t!
- friends will always want you to picture them wherever you go and expect to have the pictures back on mail asap. You know it!
- people like vintage filter cause it reminds them of childhood and beautiful lost times. There’s nothing bad in it, get over it! Although..
- bad photos reek through vintage filters
- pictures of cats tend to be dull and boring. There’s nothing you can do about it! However, pictures of dogs don’t
- there is no such thing as “good light” and “bad light”, there’s only “light” and if you complain you may not know how to use it. Brooks Jensen also stated this. However, it doesn’t apply to flash, which is something of a “light replacer”…
- never ever (unless 100% necessary) use the flash in your photos
- there is nothing more fake and soulless than fashion photography. Sorry, facebook friends! In most cases, there is absolutely no essence in a fashion shot, like any staged shot, no matter how “artistic” it may seem, it’s empty. Wedding photography is included. The exceptions are rare. Which leads to…
- there are not many “models” that can give life to your photos, people that you’re gonna feel like they’re photographing their soul, that would make you smile inside by looking at their picture. Few people can do this and no Photoshop will be needed then
- if you’re gonna try fashion and glamour, try to keep your model human by not achieving that blurred plastic look, unless it’s client requested. This is so popular and looks way bad, artificial and fake
- everybody owning a camera has a “Photography” page on facebook :)
- which reminds me of this cliche: “Owning a camera doesn’t make you a photographer, as owning a pen doesn’t make you a writer or owning a piano doesn’t make you a pianist” and so on, the whole list of cliches. This is a malicious quote and if you hear this from someone, just ignore them. Not because it’s not true, but if you love photography and want to practice it, there’s no other starting point that I know of than owning a camera and using it
- use social media. Whether it’s Instagram, Facebook, G+ or whatever, share your pictures with the world, but be careful…
- 1.000 “Likes” don’t necessarily mean a good photo
- thrive for constructive critique, although it’s rare, your goal is to become better, not to have your ass kissed
- even when receiving it, do not listen to everything people have to say. Learn and adapt their ideas to your own
- if you want to learn photography, there is no reason you cannot do it. You have all the means at your disposal and no excuse. This isn’t a privileged status anymore, anyone can be a photographer
- you have to be prepared to put effort in it, success won’t come overnight. If you look at pictures you took last year and are ashamed of taking them or ask yourself “why the fuck did I shoot that?”, you’re on the good way
- there is no guarantee you will become great. That doesn’t mean stop and quit, you are a work in progress and only by work you will become better
- people don’t understand HDR and, therefore, misinterpret and misuse it
- do not expect to be encouraged by other photographers, instead, usually, expect to hear a long list of what they have done (this is mean, but true)
- what worked for one man may not work for another, so be careful when listening to do’s and don’ts. The only certain way of achieving something is work
- by all means, learn the rules and break them whenever you think good taste precedes them. The weak minded will be driven nuts by this!
- people don’t understand color in the fact that there is no color in your digital devices in the first place. Color is obtained by your display’s software by mixing pure black, pure white and 254 shades of gray (I won’t go into full detail, google it) and that’s why one picture may look different when viewed on different displays. Therefore, whatever shot you take is edited from the very start. If you like to believe otherwise then know that…
- any shot should be edited by chemicals or software, there is no such thing as a “good shot straight from the camera”, another cliche of photography. I know Photoshop is like Satan for some people, but the only times you can holler that is when it’s used to create fakeness, like liquifying the fat hips of a front page magazine model. And that ain’t “photography”, if you ask me. Otherwise, put the extra effort and care to edit your shots
- people don’t understand the versatility of phone photography. The phone is the only camera you have at you at all times, use it! Most smartphone cameras do a great job in proper lighting conditions
- don’t expect your efforts to be appreciated. People will look at your sunrise shots from the top of a mountain and will never think you had to wake up at 4 a.m. and actually climb that mountain with 10 kilos of equipment on your back to take the shot
- don’t expect that if you climb that mountain, you will get a good shot, but..
- lack of accessibility usually creates interesting photos
- your best lens is your tripod
- don’t expect success on all your photo sessions, be prepared to fail, you’ll spend all your life taking mostly mediocre shots. That doesn’t mean you’ll take no good ones
- it doesn’t mean you will, either :)
- you will need luck to get a good shot and luck is rare, but you should always be prepared for it (this means phone photography, usually, unless you carry your camera everywhere with you. I know you don’t, tho)
- if you shot 2.000 pictures and only have a good one, it was worth it!
- people are more concerned with numbers and talk more about gear and iso speed, aperture and so on than on the photo itself. Don’t be like that! Look at the photo, don’t turn it into math. In most cases, you’ll never use those numbers
- nothing is original and everything has been done before. Get over it!
- people like to talk a lot about styles and specializing into only one kind of photography (like street or landscape or fashion). Don’t care about that unless you really like just one particular style, just do anything and have fun along the way
- as master street photographer Eric Kim puts it “You just have to live, life will give you pictures”. Then just “f8 and be there”
- if you’re starting out, don’t be concerned with gear. The kit lens is all you need. Better than that, use your phone and don’t buy a camera at all. Very expensive gear won’t turn you pro faster, you need a photographic eye and that is trained by practice. Money won’t help you on this one. But…
- money can buy books. Definitely buy them! Read books, watch tutorials, read forums, do whatever you can to assimilate knowledge. And practice…
- however, if you can call yourself a photographer, all the expensive gear is worth
- practice, practice, practice. Don’t try to skip steps. There is no photographer on Earth that didn’t start the same as you
- always have personal projects, you’ll do more of these than actual jobs. Even if you do land on a job, keep the personal projects going
- there is no “no time”, if there is, you’re probably not enjoying this. Otherwise, you will find time
- the difference between doing something and not doing something is by actually doing that thing. Change “I want to…” into “I did…”
- evolve and always adapt to the times we’re living in. Phone photography is a good example. The weak minded will be driven nuts by this, too.
- success depends on your education, but also the viewer’s
- you will need experience to understand everything and why one photo is better than other
