Advice Opinions

[acorn]

Hello Guys,

I have been one of the silent majority that Larry has been mentioning, and it seems to me that he and a couple of others are the more experienced photographers. It is to them that i now pose this question...of course, anyone else is welcome to respond (just don't flame anyone else ok?)...i do hope that the question can be answered most truthfully and as honestly as possible. These aren't technical questions, but more of philosophical (if i can call it that...haha!)...i really hope i can get some answers, cos i am really seeking...if not, at least to ensure that i am not the only one who goes through these...

to tell you the truth, i have begun doubting my own abilities, and my eye for getting THE shot...i would consider myself a novice, but have a keen passion for photography...i have been shooting for about 3 years with a crummy Ricoh Caplio (really bad experiences with that) before i got myself a D70 to further this passion, but my budget doesn't allow me to get the fancy equipment, accessories and glass with the right f-stop, range, etc...so i try to make do with what i have...i know this sounds trite, considering the fact that many people have taken great shots with PnS cameras, but at the same time, many others have also taken great shots with dSLRs worth thousands.

Here are the questions (a few actually)....

1) is there such thing as a bad day for photographers, where all your shots turn out rubbish? what do you do then?

2) ideally, i (and almost all photographers i think) would like to have a sniper mentality to get THE shot (one shot one kill)...however, is it wrong to have the machine gunner mentality? (to fire off randomly at will, and hope to get one good shot)

3) what makes a good shot? what if i really like it, but no one else does? does it devalue the shot, or my abilities as a photographer?

4) have you taken a shot where you think it's great at first, but the more you look at it, the worse it looks?

well...these are the questions...fire away guys...

Azza.

 

[ilkka]

1) YES, but not too often, What i do, wait until it passes over ;-). OK, no jokes, try even harder becuse in most these cases i have to deliver! 2) The best way is to know your equipment, learn to adjust shutter speed and F: stop without lifting the camera to your eye! 3) Composition, balance between colors, contrast between colors, grayscales, harmony! 4) Yes! many times, but when it's OK you can feel it in you! I meen, it feels good, i nailed this shot, picture of the year! ilkka

 

[marsu]

Hi Azza,

Interesting questions! I'm curious to see what others will have to say. Here are my responses:

> 1) is there such thing as a bad day for photographers, where all your
> shots turn out rubbish? what do you do then?
Oh yes. Some days I go out with 20 lb of equipment and don't shoot a single photo. Some days I go out with a Minox and get shots I like. I think that's normal - some days I don't feel like listening to Led Zeppelin, some I do. No need to force things to happen - if we are talking about a hobby of course!

> 2) ideally, i (and almost all photographers i think) would like to
> have a sniper mentality to get THE shot (one shot one kill)...however,
> is it wrong to have the machine gunner mentality? (to fire off
> randomly at will, and hope to get one good shot)
I don't mind the machine gun approach for sports but otherwise I like to take my time, compose my photo, and think about it before firing. I learned that when I started shooting medium format. Digital does not make you think like that, unfortunatelly. I notice that if I do take a lot of photos of the same subject without taking the time to "think" my image, none of the images comes out that great.

> 3) what makes a good shot? what if i really like it, but no one else
> does? does it devalue the shot, or my abilities as a photographer?
"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I'm always willing to take advice when it comes to technique and composition, but there is always a part of the image that appeals to me for reasons that someone else will not see. Be ready to be critiqued by people whose judgment you trust, if it's constructive.

> 4) have you taken a shot where you think it's great at first, but the
> more you look at it, the worse it looks?
Oh yes. And the other way around too. I took the habit of looking at my old negatives once in a while and there's always some image that I missed 10 years ago but that suddenly jumps to my eye.

Manu

 

[Frwilliam]

>Wow! Another photographer on line. when I went to Art school I used >medium format all the time and they constently harped of time taken >resulting in full frame composition. Because of the type of work I have >done the 2 1/4 is away and I use and F3 but the results of image building >are due to undersatnd composition and and taking the time to use the rules >when taking shots in smaller formats. Taking an image every second or so >does not allow for this time with the image. Maybe this is why sme people >comment that digital images are flat next to film, lacking films >subitlties. When I expose I do not say "I took the picture" but say "I >made that image" because with time that is what one does. You build an >image.

 

[acorn]

>[Hey Manu,

Thanks for your response...appreciate it!

Azza.]

 

[zakk92001]

One thing to be aware of when taking photos digitally: don't try to evaluat e too much from what you see on the LCD of the camera. It's too small, and nothing like the real life image that you still have next to you. Many times, I've been on the verge of deleting photos because they don't look good on the LCD, just to discover later that, in full format, it was just the motive I was looking for.

Even if the possibility to view the result there and then is one of the (few) advantages of digital photography, the traditional workflow, where yo u concentrate on the next motive as soon as the previous one has been taken, works much better. Taking a few rolls of films now and then is not a bad idea, both for the practice and for the pleasure of seeing the result a few days later without "knowing" what is there.