General rant

  • Thread starter Thread starter RobC
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RobC

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So there I was happily getting to grips with my camera and lenses (sp?).

I'd even started producing shots that were getting positive comments on here, one or two I had the audacity to thnk were good enough to adorn the walls of chez moi.

Sadly for the last 3 weeks or so I've taken nothing but p*ss poor photos, I've just looked in my recyle bin, there's 438 cr2 files awaiting deletion. I've lost whatever it was I'd discovered and am on the verge of boxing my camera and associated bits and bobs and stuffing it all in the loft. Thing is I don't want to, I love taking photos but at present all I am doing is succeeding in really and truly ****ing myself off. I can't find any inspiration and when I do take a picture I'm uber-critical of it.

Anyone else get like this?

Rant over, thanks for letting me vent.
 
:lol: :lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol:

Sorry Rob, welcome to the frustrating world of photography!

step 1 - stop worrying about it

step 2 - just take pictures, if you enjoy it, why should it be allowed to frustrate you?

step 3 - ALWAYS remember that what YOU think is rubbish, someone else will LOVE!

Take a step back, a deep breath and re-evaluate yourself and your approach. Spend a few weeks not trying so hard, just enjoy snapping away, then slowly start to look at thos epictures and figure out where you could have improved them - go back, reshoot, with your improvements in mind.

It takes time, years, sometimes never, to be totally satisfied with what you shoot. You should be self critical, but you need to learn to accept it and not be so overly harsh on yourself.....



.....afterall, we CAN do that for you if needs be ;)


**big hug**
 
I hate all (but 2) of the photos i have taken, they are never good enough.

BUT

My girlfriend loves them, her walls are covered with them. people on my course love them and have copy's of them. and i dont get too bad marks on my course either.

we are all over critical, its the way we are built.lol

i agree with YV, just start taking photos of something you like to look at and spend doing (for me lacrosse team games) the team love to see the shots at the end of a game so its always a boost.

Hope that helps
 
Lieutenant Calm ;)

You're not the first, and nor will you be the last!

It's sometimes hard to find inspiration, especially in an area like photography - partly because i's so large you don't know where to start.

So I'd suggest breaking it down - set yourself a mini project, look for some pics on here, in books or otherwise and try to replicate and \ or make your own and get those creative juices flowing!

Xmas not far away - why not try an album for family member of friend and set about taking pictures of them \ friends etc for it?

Try for one of the variou competitions available - this might give you the drive (especially if you like a bit of competition).

Or the classic strawberry falling into water?

Or build yourself a reflector (look in tutorials on this forum)

Ok maybe not great suggestions but get the drift!

Or do like me and break your arm and not take any photos for 4 weeks now - that'll get you wanting to get out and take some!

Good luck and enjoy! :thumbs:
 
RobC -

I don't think you are ever satisfied with your own work. I got my DSLR almost 3 years ago, and have taken almost 5000 pics since then. I'm only truly happy with about 30 of them, and there are 5-7 I would consider good enough to put on the walls of chez moi.

I agree with all the others -- keep taking photos and don't give up. You will recapture it I'm sure.
 
woolcsr said:
RobC -

I don't think you are ever satisfied with your own work. I got my DSLR almost 3 years ago, and have taken almost 5000 pics since then. I'm only truly happy with about 30 of them, and there are 5-7 I would consider good enough to put on the walls of chez moi.

I agree with all the others -- keep taking photos and don't give up. You will recapture it I'm sure.
Click to expand...

5000 pics in 3 years? You really aren't trying are you? :p :lol: ;)
 
i've always been critical of my shots - most of mine are flukes.

what do i do ? i try out everything. landscape, product, portrait, action, light trails, long exposures. just take a few days breather and then go and just do some casual photography.

remember, you're not in a competition, you dont have to produce a stunning shot each and every time (it's impossible to do so).

you sound like me, i find it very hard to take positive criticism without thinking it's just people humouring me.
 
Yv said:
5000 pics in 3 years? You really aren't trying are you? :p :lol: ;)
Click to expand...

agreed , i had knocked off 5000 plus in 10 months , 4990 of them were crap , not quite but you get my point i am sure :lol: , i have taken photos i wouldnt waste petrol on burning them , yet others love them :shrug:
 
Yv said:
5000 pics in 3 years? You really aren't trying are you? :p :lol: ;)
Click to expand...

:shrug::shrug:

Ok - I just checked LightRoom -- It's more like 8000.

I'm of the mindset -- snap, snap and snap again. If I'm lucky one of them will turn out good.

CF Cards are cheap. :naughty:

Besides, I'm originally from the US and just got sent back home, after two years in the UK. For me, the photos are memories of my time there. :'(:'(
 
Thanks for the words of encouagement guys.

Perhaps it would help if I picked a single subject - cars or planes or portraits? Thing is I get bored easily, I need variety.

Time to browse the boards, flikr and some books I think.

Thanks again.
 
RobC said:
Thanks for the words of encouagement guys.

Perhaps it would help if I picked a single subject - cars or planes or portraits? Thing is I get bored easily, I need variety.

Time to browse the boards, flikr and some books I think.

Thanks again.
Click to expand...

I haven't picked a single subject. Not sure if it's a good thing to do or not.

I did have a wise old photographer tell me you should always have 'a project' on the go. Doesn't matter what it is, but have something. Then you can focus on really working on that, while still doing other stuff.

I think that's a good way to approach photography.
 
RobC said:
I can't find any inspiration and when I do take a picture I'm uber-critical of it.
Anyone else get like this?
Click to expand...

OH YES... :eek: ... you are NOT alone Rob... :shrug:

My Mojo went AWOL quite a while ago and then I found the Best Camera app for the iPhone... :suspect:

And just LOOK HERE at what I've been up to since... :D


Okay so they are not technically brilliant or by any other measure good images... but who cares no-one really sees them or if they do they don't expect anything half decent from a mobilly... :naughty:

But you know what... I have thoroughly enjoyed taking every single one of them (and stacks more I have not even uploaded)... :eek: ... yes that's right I have totally enjoyed taking pretty crap shots every single day with a crap mobile phone camera and I don't give a monkey's fart... :naughty:

AND... I have started taking my l'il Leica out every day too now... to capture those rare images I think are worthy of something a little better than a mobilly... :lol:

Reckon my Mojo is starting to work its way back to me slowly but surely... :clap:

AND... my D200 has been out of the dust covers a couple of times just to play and experiment on... well nothing really just stuff I have never done before like indoors with flash and reflectors and stuff... :shrug:


It just takes time and patience but don't rush anything m8 and ALWAYS enjoy what you are doing or you'll be the longer out of it believe me... ;)




:p
 
for my 2p worth here.. i think all my pic's are rubbish.... and want to bin the lot. but there is someone i admire alot on here that has taught me the error of my ways..do not be over critical..a few times i have been asked did i get this shot or that and been told off coz i think it rubbish..keep going mate..don't box it use it. just because i can't take the best pic's in the world won't stop me using my camera.
 
Having a project on the go is a great idea, I started one of these 2 years ago and it's ongoing. I started taking pictures of the village I live in, different times of the year, various weather conditions, local events, old buildings being demolished. there is always something that can be photographed, delving into local history can often produce some worthwhile opportunities as well.

local life is always changing, so the chances of getting something interesting will be there as well, it certainly keeps me interested.


John :)
 
I also have a library of images ranging from crap to mediocre, not one I would call outstanding! But like others I am uber-critical of every little detail.

I think there's two good points made in the previous posts: -

1. shoot just for the enjoyment of doing it! I have days when I just blitz the memory cards without any finesse - quantity over quality!

2. have a project on the go. I've just finished my 2010 Motorpsort Calendar, still working on a personal ego-book of art nude, tempted to try a 365 shoot during 2010.

Keep the faith!

Andy
 
Have a think about shooting birds, it is something you have to be patient with, sit quietly and chill out, you need to relax over your photography more, it can get quite absorbing.
 
Even the very best photographers can take crap photos. Out of 40 or 50, there may be one or two worth keeping. At least with current digital photography, you don't have to worry about the cost of processing your shots before you can see what you've actually taken, the LCD screen gives you instant feedback.
 
I've been like this since I finished my BTEC in July, before I had a constant stream of ideas and places I was going to visit and now I have complete freedom to go and do as I please and I have no constraints to fill a written brief I've got no ideas and everything I'm producing is pretty much piffle.

It's frustrating, the camera sits in the wardrobe except for gigs which is only every few weeks, I used to be really adamant every shot I took should be better, if I took 100 shots and only kept 10 I'd be devastated as if by filling my memory card and not getting good results was proof I wasn't any good at Photography, now for an hours gig I can fill 2 4gb cards and throw 98% of what I've taken away and if there's only 5 good shots I'm happy with that.
 
I tried digital when it first became available a few years ago, the standard of my photography steadily declined as I found I was taking several shots of the same subject, and using the best image.

What was happening was that I was not dealing with composition, depth of field or giving enough thought to what I was doing, after all there was no film to pay for. In fact I became quite concerned about my ability to take a decent photograph.

As soon as I went back to film, normal service was resumed. Film is not for everyone, no more than digital suits everyone.

Nigel.
 
My advice would be to maybe just take a break for a week or two, you soon start 'seeing' things again.

Also, when you are out shooting, try taking less photos. It makes you think about them more and more and you will be happier with the results :)
 
Photography is all about light, the weather has not been very good for some kinds of photos may be this is why you not have good photos of late?
Think differently and see what you can do to change what you are taking.
Don’t stop! keep on remember in film days it would have been loss of money as well…
 
Thanks for posting, and thanks to everyone for the encouraging replies.

I often lose my Mojo too... not through criticism, but I'm one of those people who looks at other people's pix in awe and admiration, and instead of being motivated I feel deflated at my own inadequacies.

Now it's nice to know I'm not the only one. Cheers all! :thumbs:
 
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