The single annoying thing I've realized about photography

Trying to be Creative #33

Dear You,

Today I realized that one of the things I find annoying about being a photographer or knowing how to use a camera is being told “Hey, won’t you take a picture of what’s happening?”. It doesn’t exactly have to be in that form. It could be “Hey, won’t you take a picture of this thing?” or “Won’t you take a picture of this person?”…

It is the photography equivalent of being told to do the dishes when you maybe were going to do them anyway, but now that someone says to do it, you don’t feel like it anymore.

In photography, it’s slightly different.

As photographers, we often take photos of things we’re interested in. That is why if you put 2 different people in the same scene or event and ask them to make photos, you’ll get very different photographs. What am I driving at?

Well, when someone asks me to take a photo of something, I usually don’t want to do it. Chances are, if I haven’t taken those photos already, then I’m not just interested. And if I am interested, then I’ll probably make those photos or already have made them.

I believe there’s a general public misconception about photographers and our craft. Non-photographers think we just have to push a button and take photos, and that gives us joy because we love this craft. While that may be somewhat true (very little truth in there to be honest), it’s not the full picture. The part I believe they miss is the part where we have to be genuinely interested in the subject/activity to want to make photos of it.

I’m not even sure I have the words to explain it.

I have to want to make those photos… I have to want to pick up my camera, look through the viewfinder, find the right light, and settings, compose the shot… (do all the photography things, you know?), and make that photo. It’s not as simple as just pushing a button and taking a photo. It has to do with the thought, feeling (and vibe, maybe?) from the situation/subject/activity. That’s where the joy comes from - how we feel about what we’re taking photos of. It’s not just practicing taking photos, it’s from having the ability to document the things we are interested in.

I don’t know if I’m the only one who feels this way. As a photographer/artist/creative, what do you think about this? I’d love to know what you think.

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Extra Thoughts

• I realized a few weeks ago that all I seem to do these days is write, think about writing, and stress about writing. YouTube scripts, blog articles, this newsletter (this is the fun one though because I can just go all out and not worry about techy things like keywords and being formal)… anyway, I’ve never liked writing. Reading? Yes… not writing, but in the past year, it has become a big part of everything I do. There’s no escaping it anymore even though I still suck at it. I hope I figure it out someday.

• I started compiling a list of YouTube videos that stand out to me and what’s so great about their titles so I can get ideas about how to write better titles (inspo: this video). The results so far have clearly shown that I’m a sucker for titles that pique my curiosity… see what I mean

  

• As the year comes to an end, I’m also thinking about how best to provide value with this newsletter, so if there’s something you’d like to see, please let me know.

• Another 2 weeks have passed of trying to make videos… lots of slow progress, phew!

• ok, bye.

Thanks for reading this far.

Thanks for sticking around.

Keep making photos, experimenting, and breathing.

See you December 15.

x

ash.

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