Just because you don't take good photos...

Just because you don't take good photos doesn't make you a bad photographer.



What does? Taking a lot of photos makes you a good photographer.

I'm speaking in the personal journalistic sense here.
Beautiful photos doesn't make your life amazing. The memories and stories behind the photos do.

Looking at our photos we have great photos and a great life. But if someone is looking at our photos and thinks their life is not as good because their photos are not "professional" has the wrong attitude about their photos and about their life.

All my terminology is really ambiguous. Let me define my terms for this post.

Good photographer: Someone who actually takes lots of photos.
Bad photographer: Doesn't take photos, and ends up without a photographic record of their life.

Great photos: photos that record a memory
Bad photos: almost anything from a cell phone camera, I hate cell phone cameras, use them as a last resort. But if that's all you have bad photos are better than no photos. Bad photos are photos without a story or a memory in them. You've probably looked through a collection of old photos and wondered why you took a photo of some object. I have. Unless it was your first car, then there is a story.

The moral of this post. Take lots of photos.

Get over it and get the shot!

I have yet another great reason to carry a point-and-shoot camera, but not an excuse.

The big heavy expensive cameras have their place. Never discount their usefulness. They are very useful but sometimes obnoxious.

For my day job occasionally I carry a video camera out into public. It isn't a camcorder that you carry on vacation. It's a broadcast quality camera. Then add the headphones and wireless mic system and it starts to look really complicated and obnoxious. I mostly shoot in a studio type setting, but the first few times in public with this set up felt well, embarrassing with everyone looking at me. There's this pressure as people watch you to see what you video tape. Eventually I got over it but with that kind of setup in public, people watch you.

I was talking to another photographer about her new DSLR and how she didn't like carrying it around because it was a little "embarrassing" hanging around her neck, and she looked like a tourist or just felt dumb with the huge camera hanging off her neck.

Eventually if you shoot enough you get over it and you don't care. At least I did, with my big setup. The interesting thing is now when I take my point-and-shoot outside and start to work for an interesting angle, I'm once again self-conscious because I'm focusing really close or at an interesting angle with this tiny amateur camera. A "professional" looking camera gives you an excuse to work for a "professional" angle. Now without a big setup I just feel weird.

Anyway the point is get over it. Just get the shot. Practice, you'll stop caring what passers-by think.

Photography is art

solitude, originally uploaded by EyeFidelity.

I was looking through the Point-and-Shoot photo pool on Flickr and came across this photo. I like it. Someone else may not.

That is why it is art.

Right now on Digital Photography School there is a post titled "15 Creative Uses Of Overexposure" It is interesting that there are so many degrading remarks about the photos. Although some people love the photos, and some people are extremely negative. Again, this is what makes it art. Someone likes it and someone doesn't. I think the interesting part is the unusually high number of negative remarks for this more positive community.

But the same goes with my photos. Lately I've taken some pretty lame photos, stuff that I don't like, I didn't really take the time for the shots, I was forcing the shot or whatever. The end result is not something I would gloat about.

In summary I have two points

1 Even though I may not like my photo, someone else may.

2 We all take photos that don't turn out the way we wanted. Sometimes to liking and some to our disliking.

Again, this is why it is art.

I'll close with some photos that I don't like, but maybe someone will.

The best time to take photos

The best light to take photos is at twilight. This is not because of the sensational light, which it is, but that the strength of the sunlight and the strength of other minuscule human powered lights become the similar making the sun the best (sensational) fill light ever. AND the light is not as direct.

I walk home from work about this time of day, at this time of year. It gives me a feeling that spring is approaching.

Try it. Take a photo at morning light or at sunset. Some of the best photos are captured during this time. In fact this is the best time to take photos of Christmas lights.

1 Use tripod. Your shutter speed will be slower because you should...
2 Turn off your flash. Keeping your flash on during this great light will change how hast long your shutter is open, if you are shooting in P mode like me.
3 Get some sky in there, and some human powered lights too.

Here are some other examples to try to replicate. And my favorite of the point-and-shoot Flickr pool is here.

Don't underestimate self portraits

I briefly mentioned self-portraits previously.


Every self-portrait tells a story. When you do something awesome, take a self-portrait, when you do something lame take a self-portrait. The above photo is a perfect example. I flew home really late one night. My wife picked me up and when we got home to the door we realized she had locked us out. It was a rental and it was really late. We couldn't get keys from the landlord until the next day and we didn't want to pay a locksmith for a 2AM call. We were hungry and went to the grocery store for food. She was decidedly upset about it all. I laugh at the moment, she still cringes a bit inside.

We ended up sleeping at my sister-in-law's apartment, and were able to get the door open the next day.


Self portraits are a photo journal. For one family reunion my family went skiing. For most of the day we stuck together and had great fun. This photo was taken when we brothers decided we wanted to take a few runs down the "most difficult" chutes. I think it was the steepest stuff I've ever skied. We don't get to ski together often.


Share your personality. Hands down the most fun thing to do with my camera is kite aerial photography (or kap). I absolutely love it.

Express yourself. Just as writing is a free form of expression so is photography. A self-portrait is much like a personal diary. It is an expression of something internal. Self-portraits can be personal and special and they can be fun and playful. Please, please I ask you to take a look at these amazing self portraits by dcapfoto on flickr. You will not be disappointed.

And remember you don't have to take an amazing photo for your self-portrait to be amazing it all depends on your "self".

From the Archives

I was in New York City for one day. I had only a few hours left to kill. So I went to Central Park. Central Park is so big. I had no idea how big it was. I was in the middle of this big city and I couldn't even tell. I just started walking around. Every turn I took I was more and more astounded at where I was. Then my path collided with another path and I looked up and saw this path and bridge.



I felt like I was the first one to ever find this bridge after years of being hidden. I felt lucky. So I took a picture. Really I may have snapped one or two, I can't remember but it turned out great. This photo and it reminds me of my first time exploring Central Park. After I took the picture it was time to head back to the airport. And off I went.