How do you stay inspired in the face of bad photos or lack of confidence?

[chris_vaughan]

I am new to photography in the past year or so and am wondering how people

maintain the drive to develop into professional photographers. I have taken some

shots that I am very proud of but I have taken a great deal that are really bad,

in my opinion. The really bad shots I find very disheartening. Although I never

plan on giving up, I would like to have a more relaxed and confident outlook on

photography as a hobby, a source of income and most of all expression. How do

you all go about doing it and maintaining the joy that it brings?

[nhut-nguyen]

I forgot where I read, but the author said something like this "the different between a profesional and an amature is that the professional wastes more film than the amature" Just keep shooting, it doesn't cost any thing now aday with digital..

[fredrik_steffen]

A friend once said, "the perfect couple aren't perfect because they never argue, they are perfect because they get through it every time". Same goes with everything else in life. Sure there will always be moments when you have second thoughts, but if you really love doing something, (or love someone for that part) you will get through it.

[ed dertinger]

Hi Chris:

 

First piece of advise is not to allow bad shots to dishearten you. We all take our fare share of less than sterling images and you should be able to learn from your mistakes. Try to determine what it is that bothers you about a particular shot and then try to figure out a corrective action for the next shot. Photographic success is largely a result of much practice, false steps, trying again and gradually your percentage of "successful" images should increase. Most pros have taken untold thousands of photos over their careers and they gradually settle in to a style that works for them. Lastly, if you find yourselve getting overly frustrated on a given day, or if nothing seems to be inspiring you just put the camera back in your bag and don't get stressed out over it - just try again the next day.

[ambers-photos]

what keeps me going is when i do take a great photo and how proud i feel about it we all are probably our worst critics so just remember the fun you have taking them not just how they turn out

 

amber

[mrossi]

I love reading books and magazines, plus learning techniques on the web. There's just so many things to take pictures of! It runs hot & cold sometimes, but I found it helps to have a little list of "next adventures" or next things I want to shoot. Plus, if you aim to say "get better at landscape", or macro, or portraits, or HDR, or whatever you choose, you're always trying something new. Books are definitely my biggest help, as are magazines, and shows like "Travels to the Edge" with Art Wolfe.

[brucecahn]

Chris: You are right. Some good ones and some bad ones. The first thing you do is edit out everything that is not pretty darn good. Forget them and make sure you never do anything mediocre ever again. I speak from the point of view of an artist, not a pro photographer. A commercial photographer juggles mediocrity with regularity. You have a searching quality in your work and I see potential. Keep working and be tough on yourself. That will keep you from settling for cliches, which is the norm for most folks.

[m_barbu1]

Chris, I think the answer to your question lies in your question. You are comparing professional photographers to someone interested in "photography as a hobby, a source of income and most of all expression".

 

For you, photography is a pastime. For professional photographers, it's their livelihood. If they don't improve, they don't eat. There's nothing wrong with that, per se, but it can contribute to your lack of enthusiasm.

 

Arnold Schwarzenegger has said that when he's exercising for fitness, he has a different level of intensity than when he is exercising for competition. When exercising for fitness, he has difficulty convincing himself to do 15 reps instead of 10. Whereas, when he is exercising for competition, he'll frequently push himself to do 20 reps, instead of 15.

 

Have you tried troubleshooting why your shots are really bad, and specifically targeting those problems (technical or otherwise) in order to improve your shots?

[gordonjb]

An even keel is the domain of the mediocre. It is OK to take bad photos and to feel bad sometimes about your progress. I take seriously crappy photos on a regular basis, I'm fine with that. Some days you will be inspired and other days - not so much. The important task is to learn from your less than stellar attempts, so the next time around you are better prepared to get the shot you were looking for. Learning, as a process, does not follow a straight line. There will be plenty of ups and downs, stay the course and you will get there.

[d_f11]

You're going to have dry spells. It's a fact - everyone has them. Accept them. Creativity cannot allways be "willed". It flows. I shoot horrible stuff after doing good. Don't allways know why. Like I've said before, much of my good photos were accidents that came unexpectedly; planned outings turn up nothing sometimes. Just have that camera W/you ALLWAYS.

[michaelging]

If you learn something from each bad shot , and do not make the same mistakes again , then bad shots are a asset.

[r_johnston]

When I was seven an aunt we called the family photographer inspired me. She traveled the country beginning in the 1910's to 1930's in an old Ford. She camped out in National and State parks recording what she saw.

 

One day I asked how she had such beautiful photographs.

She said, "from the beginning, I only showed others my very best work. At first that was about one of 50 pictures. As I gained experience and knowledge, my average improved until it was 1 out of ten. Today, it may be 7 our of ten, but I still never show the other three to anyone. All the ones no one ever saw, were "learning experiences." Sometimes when printing, I may make 10, 20, 30 prints until I get it just the way I want it, and the family only sees ONE."

 

Once Edison was asked, How many experiments did you do to invent the light bulb. He said, over 10,000. The person asked how could you fail 10,000 times, and keep working. He said, I never failed, but successfully eliminated over 10,000 possibilities. Anyone can do that, if they focus on success, rather than possibilities they eliminated.

 

Just keep taking pictures, keep the best 1-2% of your work, and destroy the rest. In a few years looking back, you will discover you have learned so much, that the top 1-2% of your work is much greater than it may be today. By doing this, you also establish a reputation of an artist.

 

Much of photography is a science. The technical portion, you learn well enough so you do not have to think about it, so it becomes automatic. Then, your creative abilities are freed to do what you desire.

 

Opinions are opinions, and only opinions, everyone has one. My wife and I are both Artists who work in Oils on canvas as well as photographers. Once she did an "exercise" in purple paint, she thought it should go in the trash. The next week someone came to see her work, she did not show them this canvas. They asked are you sure there is nothing else, she brought out this "practice canvas." They asked "why were you hiding it, its the best painting you have." They bought it.

 

Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder, most artists are so critical of their work, they do not value it, as much as the customer.

 

Become technically proficient, let your creativity take over, and enjoy.

[cycler48]

Chris ... welcome to the club. The beauty of digital is that you don't waste several rolls of film

to get the one or two photos that you can really be proud of. Digital gives you the freedom to

experiment to your heart's content without going broke. With the freedom to experiment, you

can find out what works and what doesn't. Don't let the really bad shots get you down.

Instead, determine why they are bad and learn from that. Have you ever seen the Dyson

commercial on TV where Mr. Dyson mentions about how it took 5000 prototypes to get it

right? Failure is a part of success if you let it be. Use PN to your advantage ... look, listen,

learn.

[mrossi]

Great insight from everyone. I'd also suggest to get comfortable with deleting lots of files. When I load my card to the PC (or even before I even take it out of the camera) I look at what I took, and press delete frequently... When I used to shoot with film that was impossible, and also a lot more expensive :)

[m_barbu1]

http://www.wilywalnut.com/Fail-Fast-Success-Failure-Wonderful-Edison.html

[ifti]

The right attitude is to look at bad shot and analyze to see why did I get it bad and next time correct it. <P> Now when you get a shot you really like look at at and remember what you did right. Regards ifti

[timzeipekis]

Chris, you show me a great deal of bad photos, and I'll show you a great deal of learning experiences. My portfolio here on PN is a collection of photos that I have labeled acceptable........but for every "acceptable" photo I have there, theres probably 100 "unacceptable" ones. The ratios might be different, but I'm willing to bet most people here can share the same sentiment. As for hitting a dry spell, I went through one this past summer, I just tried shooting everyday things all around me in creative ways, not to get an "acceptable" photograph, but to just try to see differently, I thought it helped. But most of all, don't quit, if you need time away, take it, but don't quit, you got started for a reason, you just need to remember.

[hjoseph7]

Good photograpahers are good, because nobody sees the bad ones.

 

I think a new environment might help. I you are constantly photographing the same things over and over again that may get a little disheartening. However you are not alone. It has happened to me often and I know people who have been in the business 10+ years who still get disccouraged once in a while.

[rachelfoster]

Why do you shoot? Answer that and it will answer your other questions.

[ananda1]

I put my bad shots in one folder and check all those frequently. This helps me in thinking, am I going in a right way.

[summitar]

The only advice I can give is "f8 and be there". I have two masters from MIT but my loving wife who doesn't know an f stop from a door stop takes vastly better and more pleasing photos. I think you have to be born with the talent.

[szrimaging]

Chris, I think it is time you take up golf. In golf, you will have many, many bad shots and a few good ones. Esspecially at the early stages. But you learn that each shot is a brand new one. The last shot, and how bad it was, means nothing on the next shot. This shot could be better than anything Tiger hits. It is the same thing with photography. Don't pay attention to the bad ones, we all get them. Pay attention to the really good ones, and what made them good. Then build off of that.

 

Seriously though, I think playing golf has improved my outlook on things like this.

[cooltpmd]

I suck at both. But, I often squeeze out 1 good shot in a round, and take 1 good picture in a session.

 

This minimal success is suprisingly capable of bringing me back.

[cooltpmd]

Sorry.

[photo_dark]

I don't think i've ever seen so many metaphors and simile in one post before :)

 

Photography is like drawing circles with your eyes closed. you'll typically get 1 out of 100 to close on itself.

 

Eventually you'll learn to draw circles with your eyes open.