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07/03/2006 07:22:39 PM · #1 |
I'm feeling at a photography low point right now. So post your biggest photographic disappointment and how you got over it.
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07/03/2006 07:26:27 PM · #2 |
You mean challenge entries or work with clients?
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07/03/2006 07:30:00 PM · #3 |
Originally posted by yanko:
You mean challenge entries or work with clients? |
Any photography related disappointment. Doesn't matter where or when.
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07/03/2006 07:32:11 PM · #4 |
Are you talking about a creative block--lack of ideas, that sort of thing, or is it something else that has you down in the dumps?
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07/03/2006 07:34:39 PM · #5 |
bought a brand new lens and it only works in landscape mode. Rocks in landscape mode but gotta send it back. But its a great lens. :p
bought a brand new camera that works in every way except manual. I use manual a lot. gotta send it back too. But its a great camera. :p
Went to probably 100 photoshoots over the last year and either missed the shot I wanted or the shot I wanted wasn't there. Made due with what I had. :p
Created some images people don't seem to like. But, I just find someone who does. :P
Photography never disappoints me. I get discouraged, tired, lazy, and bored but that is me, not photography.
If what you are doing is not working, try something else. Its how you look at what you do, not what you do, that makes for disappointment.
Look at it as a learning curve. You may be at the beginning right now, but just think of where you'll be in a month. And where you'll be at 6 months. And a year.
Take a walk through my challenge entries starting at the beginning. I do it about once a week to remind myself that I have to keep learning and trying. You'll only go as far as you want to.
good luck, keep trying, and always hope for the best. |
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07/03/2006 07:35:18 PM · #6 |
Originally posted by micknewton:
Are you talking about a creative block--lack of ideas, that sort of thing, or is it something else that has you down in the dumps? |
I have a lot of ideas, but not the camera to be able to perform them. I'm really frustrated right now, and just was curious to see if anyone here has faced any big disappointments and could relate.
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07/03/2006 07:35:39 PM · #7 |
slump:
i had a 'good idea', really cool was going to be great.. spent 100$ on equipment to make it happen - waited two weeks forthe 'stuff' to arrive
even told a couple people about what a great images this was going to be //
nope
100-200 shots over three days - not one worth it
zip nothing nada zilch
(*&!@(!*&)_@(!!!
soooo.. shot something else ;)
just got to move on ..
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07/03/2006 08:01:19 PM · #8 |
Originally posted by moniepenny:
Originally posted by micknewton:
Are you talking about a creative block--lack of ideas, that sort of thing, or is it something else that has you down in the dumps? |
I have a lot of ideas, but not the camera to be able to perform them. I'm really frustrated right now, and just was curious to see if anyone here has faced any big disappointments and could relate. |
Well, at least you have the ideas. I have just the opposite problem--more camera than I need, but short on ideas. :D
To be honest, I come up with lots of great ideas all the time. I create some terrific images in my mind. The problem is that most of them would require way too much time, effort, money, or some other thing that would be difficult to come by. IOW, they're just not feasible. I really admire the people here that can create great images from simple, basic objects.
Your problem is probably easier to fix than mine is. All you need is someone that's willing to loan you the gear you need. Renting equipment might be another option.
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07/03/2006 08:08:22 PM · #9 |
Not really my biggest dissapointment but:
Took a ton of great images, only to realize they were all shot in ISO 800.
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07/03/2006 08:09:20 PM · #10 |
Originally posted by Zoomdak:
Not really my biggest dissapointment but:
Took a ton of great images, only to realize they were all shot in ISO 800. |
I did that on the Environmental Portrait challenge! LOL. |
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07/03/2006 08:26:49 PM · #11 |
My biggest disappointments are when I get home and dof is terrible, I didnt see a really obnoxious distraction or the shot is soft. Those usually don't see the light of day, but getting all hepped up over a shot I think is going to be great and seeing I got it ten times and all are fuzzy.. ugh.. I was disappointed in this one. I spent a lot of time on it and went with an understatement. I got over it.... really..I did... |
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07/03/2006 08:28:42 PM · #12 |
Originally posted by rblanton:
My biggest disappointments are when I get home and dof is terrible, I didnt see a really obnoxious distraction or the shot is soft. Those usually don't see the light of day, but getting all hepped up over a shot I think is going to be great and seeing I got it ten times and all are fuzzy.. ugh.. I was disappointed in this one. I spent a lot of time on it and went with an understatement. I got over it.... really..I did... |
I can relate to that. I hate when I think something is sharp but turn out to be out of focus a bit. I just need to look at my shots better in the LCD screen by zooming in.
Message edited by author 2006-07-03 20:29:33.
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07/03/2006 08:35:26 PM · #13 |
I've been disappointed from forgetting to check my camera settings before starting to shoot before. I've been disappointed from missing a shot that I really thought I'd gotten (both in a photoshoot and, sadly, at a wedding once). I've been disappointed because I felt that I couldn't shoot something I wanted to shoot and felt hindered by the equipment I used but in the last year or so I've found that the greatest disappointment for me have been those times when I wake up and realize that I haven't shot with anyone in a month or two and that I'm just itching to get behind the lens. I spent a day just bummed a couple of weeks ago because I hadn't shot anything but paying gigs in 2 months and I had to wait all day to call up someone and setup a shoot with him. Mine was pretty easily remedied.
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07/03/2006 08:43:21 PM · #14 |
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07/03/2006 09:12:33 PM · #15 |
| try ignoring your camera for a couple days or weeks. |
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07/03/2006 09:39:58 PM · #16 |
| Today I was in the garden taking some nice calm flower pictures. Then this robin and a few bluejays started screaming and they were really close to me. I waited for them to see me and fly away, but they kept screaming. My camera was on the tripod, low to the ground in manual focus and by the time I got it off the tripod, I thought the birds would be gone, but they were still there. I finally figured out that there was something on the ground on the other side of the flower bed that the jays were fighting. Stood up to see what it was. And there was a hawk with what I presume was a baby robin. When I stood up, the hawk took off and the other birds followed it for a few seconds. Well. I didn't get a picture and I'm pretty dissappointed in how long it took me to respond. I thought it was a cat so wasn't expecting it to be gone right away. |
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07/03/2006 09:46:45 PM · #17 |
I bought my new dSLR last year. Shortly after, I went on a photographic outing, came home and pulled out my camera bag. I guess I forgot to close the top of the bag and somehow I created enough inertia pulling out the bag that the camera came flying out, landing about 10-20 feet away on the asphalt. The filter that was on was bent up very well...but the glass seemed to be in reasonably good shape. I also put a nice crack above the viewfinder. It doesn't appear to affect the picture--but I'm always afraid it might.
Oh and then I went to the beach after that...and changed lenses one or two times in the midst of wind and spray. Still think I'm pretty lucky--I don't see an obvious problem with my photos that can be explained by lack of intelligence on my part--but still I always wonder. Does that qualify? |
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07/03/2006 10:12:29 PM · #18 |
I've loved photography since elementary school (I'm 45 now). And I have come to realize that I am genuinely average.
I have a liberal arts degree in literature and know my Shakespeare, Milton and Spencer. I know what I like artistically and can appreciate almost all forms whether musical, literary, or visual. I try to take pictures that share the wonder or joy or beauty, or even ugliness I see and imagine. And yet I can't seem to translate any vision for the camera.
Dissappointed? you betcha. But I've come to understand my limitations. Note I didn't say "accept" them. I fully expect to get better, and maybe one day even find that others enjoy my vision. I have days when I don't suck. Then again I have days like yesterday, when I entered the "Straight from the camera" challenge.
For now, I take lots of pictures because it gives me pleasure. I work with Photoshop because it's fun and relaxing to learn. Occassionally I enter a picture in a challenge here and lament my mediocrity. But I enjoy it. Ultimately, art appreciation is uniquely personal. My appreciation, sometimes of my work, sometimes of others' vision is all I need to define it. It should be the same for you. You're young (that's a good thing ..and a complement), and you have a great deal of talent.
Sit out the dry spell or dive back in fighting. But don't feel bad. You have a lot to offer and will ultimately succeed.
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07/03/2006 10:37:18 PM · #19 |
I think my biggest dissapointment was the first time I tried to join istockphoto.com, I had JUST received my diploma in photography, and was hot headed in thinking now I was the greatest.
I promptly submitted my initial photos, and was shot down faster than Shaq could miss a free throw.
I was denied over and over again for all these technical problems I didn't care about because when sized, the image was nice. It was at this point I realized, there's more to taking a good picture than how the picture looks. I was lazy with light, lazy with using my tripods or monopods, and just focusing on a "cool" photo.
I felt so crappy that for like 2 days, I moped around the house and felt terrible about myself and didn't want to take pictures anymore.
Another major dissapointment was when I submitted my first challenge on here. I picked the worst photo from the bunch based on my troubles with technical problems in the past. I worried so much about picking the right picture, I picked the worst possible one, instead of the one I really liked. I received the appropriate ratings for a crummy photo :-)
And a common dissapointment is when I am out on a long shoot, taking hundreds and hundreds of pictures, only to realize when I return home, and transfer all my memory cards, that I had forgotten my ISO on 1600 and every single photo was garbage as a result. It was dissapointing not only because I had wasted all that time, but also because I can't believe I forgot to check all my settings, and because it never occured to me that I was using a ridiculously fast shutterspeed for the light I was in.
And one very common one for me, probably what gets me down the most, is working with editors for non-major publications. I do a LOT of volunteer work for community newspapers, newsletters, etc. I take some fantastic pictures that I love, and get no response from an editor, and little appreciation for the work I put into it. As a photographer, "thanks!" is never enough, especially when it is a volunteer job. I've fallen victim to being lazy on my next job due to this kind of response, thinking, "It won't matter, they won't like it anyways".
I think since photography is a complicated art to master, it will always be full of ups and downs. Especially because it's not always obvious like in some other art forms that something is wrong, until after.
I've learnt from these problems, though. If I am on an important, big shoot, I throw my laptop in my camera bag and my card reader, and get my assistant to glance over each memory card as I switch them out. If I don't have my assistant with me (as it's my wife and she has her own job ) I take a break when I can (half time for example gives me enough time to check a card), and I can pick out anything I can't see on my LCD screen on the camera.
A good way to rebound from dissapointments is to create a photoblog, and share it with family and friends. I have one that I use expressly for the purpose of photos I love, but are technically imperfect, or often even just plain technically bad. I share said blog with my peers, friends, and family. Not all my friends know they are "failed" shots, but I make sure my peers know this, especially my teacher who also views it. Usually a blog like this will get good feedback from non-photography people, so it boosts your esteem.
-Hideo |
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