Who Are You Taking Photographs For?
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- Опубліковано 16 січ 2024
- The best piece of advice I can give beginner photographers is 'Follow your creativity'.
This may mean ignoring all the 'rules' that people will try to get you to follow. It will mean resisting the pressure to make photographs to please other people.
It means following your own ideas, feelings and enjoyment of photography.
And it means you will not be wasting years of your life going in directions that other people send you on.
Follow your own creativity and passion. Take photographs for yourself.
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Greg you make me smile you are right take pictures for yourself and if anybody else likes them it’s a bonus
Joined a photography club recently, not too bad but they seem a bit obsessed with the regional association's photo competitions. A significant number of the meetings are judging the club's entries, or going over what the regional judges will be looking for. I still can't tell you what any of those tips are. I never paid attention. The competition scene seems like the oldschool version of chasing social media likes - like locking yourself into someone else's prison. Too stifling for my tastes.
I _do_ post photos on social media - in the same vein that I might one day enter the competition - but I like it to be on my terms. I agree 100% with what you say: I post photos that _I_ like. If anyone else clicks the little heart below them, that's a bonus.
I’ve always worked on the idea that rules are for the obedience of fools and the guidance of the wise. The rules for me make a good starting point and a guide for ideas.
The downside is that the rules can take you narrow paths which can stifle creativity
I've never set out to shun the photographic world. It's always been just me. However, I think I'm probably quite glad of that really.
Finally, someone that talks the truth. No bullshit just the truth! Subscribed
Thanks, welcome aboard
well said
Loved your video, do much truth in it👍
Thanks Greg, very much agree. My photography increased and my frustration decreased once I realized this - photography is for my interest only. One person I tried to please was my wife. I use to stop myself from taking photos my wife wouldn’t like (she likes bright and colourful and I like darker and moody). It isn’t only social media we strive to please. Your message is spot on. Thank you.
The only composition tip that I've found helpful is to find the currents. Imagine water flowing, and let your eyes drift in the current. Keep the currents you like, and try to eliminate the ones fighting against the ones you want.
A good metaphor.
You have pulled back the curtain! Good work.
I went to photography school. I graduated with a college degree in professional photography. I have spent every day since graduation trying to shake off my education; the curriculum totally destroyed my artistic sensibilities and ruined my ambitions. When I review my catalogs from before school, and compare them to after, I am struck by how honest my work was. I'm seeking to recover that authenticity in my work now. Anyhoooooo, thanks for posting this essay. Spot-on analysis of the state of photography.
I found the 'rule of thirds' to be extremely helpful especially at the outset of my digital photography life because it provided me with a basis for simple compositions, when the unstructured alternative was typically, at least in my own case, a complete mess that only occasionally I found pleasing to the eye. You're right that strict adherence runs the risk of inhibiting creativity somewhat, but I suspect that genuinely creative and gifted artists or photographers will find a unique style whether they follow such rules or not. What I find far more objectionable is the generic term 'content creator' because to me that's generally got more to do with attention seeking than talent or originality. I've never entered a photo contest and avoid most social media, but I'd like to think I could spot a fake image when I saw one, although to be honest it's getting harder with each passing day. But anyway, I enjoyed your presentation very much and agreed with practically all of it.
To me the term 'content creator' brings up an image of a cook in a prison or a dickensian workhouse, dropping ladles of gruel into a row of bowls. More about putting something out there to be simply consumed, rather than something 'nutritious' or to be savoured, so to speak.
"What do you do?"
"I create."
"What do you create?"
"Content."
🤷♂️
Thank you for this one - very much to the point, and I agree. I may add that it takes a sort of strong and self assured type of character to maintain the "doing it for myself" line. Some audiences you would be hard pressed to avoid, and that is your immediate (physical) social environment such as family, friends, ... when you work hard on a photo according to your own standards (and knowledge) and you receive a sense of not understanding, diminishing or putting down - well, you've got to be strong. As per usual.
So true Greg. Thank you for this video, but then, people like you and I know this already!
Amazing video, let’s rule against the rulers.
That was a great episode Greg. A really good topic with some interesting truths and a dilemma with telling the difference between a real photograph and one done by AI in which fooled the upper echelon of the so called photographic society. Interesting indeed. I love the way you put together in simple layman terms in just being who you are and doing what make you happy for you own enjoyment and not conforming to the needs of the social masses etc.
Thanks. Many people have their creativity squashed when they get conned into thinking they have to follow some set of rules to have their images accpeted.
Presumed authority lol 😂😂😂😂😂
Awesome words btw!!!
A brilliant summing up of the photography pitfalls.
Hello. I always shot photographs, because I enjoyed it. I'm 57. I have been into photography since I was 8 years old.😊
I do it because its fun. I suppose sometimes I take something for the local club.
I like this. So many good points made. Look at Photojournalistic images of years gone by. They tell great stories and often don't have the highest technical quality. The story overrides so much. Technical brain vs Artistic Brain. If shooting for a hobby you need to look at what is needed to acheive your STYLE and photograph for yourself. Well done Greg. By the way I do have an instagram account that i was badgered into starting but dont use it. a waste of time when you don't need ego boosting.
Thanks Jane, I understand your point about photojournalism, as that's what I did for years. Cheers
Wise words
Thanks for sharing such a great video Greg! I shoot for myself, and that’s where the pleasure lies.
Well said!
You really speak to me, mate. I love your content for no other reason because it makes perfect sense and communicates directly to most of us.
I'd say there's one rule to photography, HAVE FUN WITH YOUR PHOTOGRAPHY! ;)
This one of the reasons I hated working for local newspapers, you always had to shoot to the style of the paper or the whim of an editor...(most local papers didn't even have a picture editor, so they always chose the worst shot...
When I moved over the wire service it was much more free.. we could shoot nice news pictures and as long as the picture editor like the stuff (and they were all photographers, we could send out the best shots and clients were free to use it or use AP.... If you could get enough publications compared to AP, then no comment was made, which basically meant you hadn't f'ed it up..
I saw an interview with Larry Towell and he said he hated doing editorial assignments, and mostly shot personal project.. Nice if you can get the work.
No like you l’m retired as a professional and can shoot for myself.. do a Larry Towell and find my own projects.. Online photobooks has meant I can plan, shoot and get a book printed, at not very much cost, just for me...
Well said.
I'm a spray and pray photographer, always have been and I like to ignore the rules. It's something I've been saying on my website for years. The other thing that winds me up is hearing "your photographs should tell a story" - to which I say horseshit!!
Your photos are whatever you want them to be. The catchphrase on my website is "capturing moments in time:" and its far more likely that the only person who knows the "story" is going to be me, everything else is a matter of interpretation i.e.: what do you get from the image?
I like photos that tell a story, but that's not the purpose of every photo.
I like how a lot of these channels that talk about creativity and finding your niche are the first people to tell you what you’re doing wrong. Of course there are tropes but if you can’t step outside of them, what’s the point? Everyone would take the same shots, with the same settings, and own the same gear.
Thanks for this. We're all suckers!
Just subbed to your channel, I like what you are doing. Cheers
I take photographs for myself now and contrary to your great opinion, I do not give advice on tube.😂 Cheers.
Who am I taking photos for? Me. I'm convinced part of photography is just hunter/gatherer behavior manifested by "hunting and capturing" images. My photos mean nothing to others. It's just a personal endeavor that gives me satisfaction, memories and a way of looking at and appreciating things. A meditation of sorts. And just for clarification to those who elevate the term "Professional", above all else. Just remember a Pro is someone who does something for a living, though probably very well. Amateur comes from French, one who loves something. (there's also an ancient Latin contribution in there somewhere). And that is a perfectly valid pursuit.
A meditation indeed :) Interesting point about the meaning of the words, I shall have to research that. Cheers
Thought provoking (and excellent!) video, Greg.
I've been chewing over this. Perhaps I've been lucky with the UA-cam algorithm has been kind to me, I haven't had much experience with the gatekeepers and 'you must/must not' photographers.
I think the question 'who are you taking photos for' is the capital question, and actually a very very challenging one.
Following this thought through to its conclusion, if you're taking photos for yourself, you're happy with your creative journey, your overall quality then all power to you, 100%.
There's very very few creative geniuses - true creative geniuses - that can make their own style, make waves and inspires others. I'm certainly no creative genius.
I think in our growth as a photographers, there's certainly benefit in seeking advice from others IF you are looking for a desired outcome i.e. you're after commercial success, or wanting to emulate a style or a photographer, but it's up to you to sift through that advice for yourself.
There's a flipside of what you're saying, and you kind of said it. It's people who are their own 'self gatekeepers'. Someone is taking photos for themselves, all power to them. It's when they get defensive when someone says something even slightly critical, and they get major butthurt. If the photographer is playing by the 'no rules' theory, what should it matter what other people say, or don't say?
I could wax lyrical for yonks about this one mate. If a photographer is playing by the no rules policy, awesome. It's just funny when they get butthurt when someone else dares say the sun doesn't shine out of their creative b-hole!!
Thanks :) I'm on my journey, and there will be a distance to travel, as I don't think there's an end, just an exploration to do. I still enter some images in my photo society evaluation nights, mainly to see if the 'judge' can see what I see, which occasionally happens :) As you say, I'm taking images for myself now, and when someone doesn't either like them or get it, I really don't worry. One night a judge looked at my submitted image and scoffed 'is this a joke?', and I still laugh at that response. My photos are for me, and I enjoy them. Cheers
@@GregCarrick I absolutely think there's benefit getting feedback from people.. again, it all revolves around the question 'who are you taking photos for'
spot on!
_...there's no shame in being a hobbyist..."_ A friend, a person with a keen eye and a really sharp mind, accidentally found themselves being able to build a business around their photography and people skills. They took one of my children's best photographs ever when they were in the initial stages of setting up their business. For free. Now this friend confesses that they don't pick up a camera at all unless they get paid. I don't think they hate photography, after all, it puts bread on the table, but I doubt they believe it's a labor of love.
You are 100% right and this is from a certified judge (ex).
Awesome video Greg and spot on for all talking points. To answer the question, I mainly take photos to make records for my granddaughter so she will have a memory book of snaps like in the older days. Then I do some other stuff I like. Unlike many others on the UA-cam circuits, your content is genuine from a professional that has not only mastered the craft, but can convey points and techniques to us to learn from. Thanks for all you do and for sharing your wealth of knowledge and providing inspiration to us all I'm sure.
Sometimes the gear can matter, I don't know squat about film and got a Nikon N90S from a thrift for 15 bucks. I already had glass and the recommended SB26 flash. I shot Fuji Color 200 and got it back from the lab. Now I know why it was a $,1000.00 bucks. In program mode it won't let you down. Runs on AA batteries too and has built in rangefinder for vintage glass, fun but expensive to run if you use it a lot.
Thanks. Yes, the cost of film can be a real show stopper... I only use film nowadays for special one-off projects.
One of those rules which come and go was the “Dutch slant” which 10 years ago was an almost essential style, now it’s totally out of favour. So is it right or wrong? The answer is, of course, yes in both instances…and no
Interesting, I think I took most of my favourite images before I started learning about photography. Not entirely though, learning to photograph animals at eye level and how the direction and quality of light affects the image have been invaluable, along with negative space. So much UA-cam advice is contradictory as you’ve said: only use a 50mm, 24-70 is all you need, shoot for yourself, learn rules invented by others, small sensors are great, large sensors are great etc. That’s where true burnout comes from, trying to make sense of all that nonsense.
didint know that profession was solely about making money. I thought skills matter
It's hard to explain those points to starting photographers, had a discussion with one last week. poor fool would argue for hours that if you don't respect the "rules" you cant be a photographer.
Terrible advice. Unless one fancies themselves as a post-modernist deconstructionist instead of a photographer, the same "rules" that have applied to great art and artist for thousands of years apply to their pictures too. You/they/we/me aren't special just because we feel we are. You have to think deliberately about what you're trying to express in your picture and how you want to present that experience. Despite what contemporary thought push, what is sincere and beautiful generally follow guides/themes/rules whatever you want to call them. They're not rigid and they're not narrow, but they are real. Unless you want to waste a lot of money trying to convince an audience you are special or are content to just be self-satisfied - an artist should study "rules" with respectful good faith to learn how to grow. Art, like other endeavors worth your passion, is HARD. If it weren't everyone would have a solo show at the MoMA or be a Magnum photographer. Recognizing that is the first step to separating yourself from the masses and becoming great.
Spotted the local photo society judge.
@@vermis8344 Spotted the broke gear hoarding instagram poster.
it is possible to critisize his views without alluring to some relativism conspiracies. he is just a person wo is apparently not a good teacher and cant reflect on a fact that his understanding of breaking the rules is not helpful for most hobbysists and especially beginners. you all need a sociology course.
Reminds me of “Art School Confidential” problems with classicists