What direction do I take?

Jordon Brooker

Jordon Brooker

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Jordon
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I feel muddled up in terms of my organisation and focus. I'm not sure what I want to do or what direction I want to go in I just change my mind too often. One day I just want to shoot street on B&W film all day everyday but other times I really want to do some clean studio portraits. I think it's because i'm not sure where my strengths lay. But all of this had made my portfolio and Flickr really inconsistent.. Any ideas? What are my strengths? Is it better to be a jack of all trades or a master of one?
 
Hard one,how do you feel what give you the most enjoyment,have you put any photos up on here to see what others think ?

:)
 
ForceGhost said:
I feel muddled up in terms of my organisation and focus. I'm not sure what I want to do or what direction I want to go in I just change my mind too often. One day I just want to shoot street on B&W film all day everyday but other times I really want to do some clean studio portraits. I think it's because i'm not sure where my strengths lay. But all of this had made my portfolio and Flickr really inconsistent.. Any ideas? What are my strengths? Is it better to be a jack of all trades or a master of one?
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I think it's good to have workable knowledge in all areas of photography. Keeps it interesting and if you enjoy it all, why fight it?
 
A little bit of backstory...

Been using digital up until quite recently where I decided to make a transition to film. Absolutely loving film but can't stand the inconsistencies between using both mediums. So I'm kind of making myself pick either film or digital...

My Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jordonbrooker/

What direction do you think I should take?

I was thinking about primarily shooting street photography on a film camera but using digital for portraits when needed but not uploading them to my Flickr/Portfolio.
 
If you intend to make money from your work follow the money, if you're doing it as a hobby shoot what you enjoy :)
 
ForceGhost said:
Absolutely loving film but can't stand the inconsistencies between using both mediums..
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I would suggest reconciling whatever difference you have with the two mediums and use both. There is absolutely no reason why you should limit yourself to one type of photography, or one type of shooting or one type of camera. You say you want to crank out B/W film street photography one day and clean studio portraits the next?

And? Whats your point? Do both.

I cant tell you what direction to take and neither can anybody else on this forum or any other forum on the webernet. It pretty much boils down to ...

A) Are you shooting for a client? Then you shoot what they want the way they want it.
B) Are you shooting for yourself? Then do what thou wilt, that is the whole of the law. (But just try to learn something every time you shoot)

Seriously, dont limit yourself. Explore film. Explore digital. Explore film lenses on digital cameras. Explore medium format. Explore toy cameras. Explore pin hole cameras. Explore macro. Explore street photography with a non traditional focal length. Explore long exposures. Etc, etc....

There isnt a huge selection on your flickr page, but I see some glimmers of some nice artistic renderings. "The Park" especially jumps out at me. Its in a style similar to some of what I shoot. Shows your not afraid to break the rules. Thats good.

The dark image of the table I also like along with the shot on the bus. And errr.....it looks like you just removed many of your images. Shame, some were nice. :)

Anyway, shoot what you like. You will develop an eye over time and start gravitating to the images that compel you. This way you will find your own direction. And if you never find it?....Well thats a direction to.
 
ForceGhost said:
I feel muddled up in terms of my organisation and focus. I'm not sure what I want to do or what direction I want to go in I just change my mind too often. One day I just want to shoot street on B&W film all day everyday but other times I really want to do some clean studio portraits. I think it's because i'm not sure where my strengths lay. But all of this had made my portfolio and Flickr really inconsistent.. Any ideas? What are my strengths? Is it better to be a jack of all trades or a master of one?
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Stay on the bus.
 
ForceGhost said:
Absolutely loving film but can't stand the inconsistencies between using both mediums. So I'm kind of making myself pick either film or digital...
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What inconsistencies? You just haven't learned to appreciate them as different formats yet. :) Learn each one's strengths and weaknesses and use them accordingly, they should compliment each other, not compete.

ForceGhost said:
But all of this had made my portfolio and Flickr really inconsistent.. Any ideas?
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Yes - stop getting hung up on stuff that doesn't matter. :) You say your Flickr's inconsistent but you only seem to have around 35 photos on there, that's hardly an appropriate indication of an inconsistency. I don't know how long you've been into photography but I started 'properly' getting into it around 10 years ago and only now am I really discovering what I'm all about as a photographer and only now is my own work starting to feel consistent to me. That might be because I've spent a long time carefully developing my skills, it might be because I'm actually a really crap photographer who learns things very slowly due to a lack of natural ability; I'm not actually sure which it is but either way I've carried on snapping away and now further down the line I feel it's all coming together. It doesn't matter whether my previous work has been inconsistent because it's all just a part of progression.

With regard to the 'jack of all trades master of none' thing, why can't you just be a good all round photographer? If you understand composition, have a bit of technical knowledge and have an ability to shoot things sympathetically then it doesn't really matter what you're shooting, you'll do a decent job. Personally I find far too many things interesting to just call myself a portrait, landscape, architectural, etc, photographer. I love people, I love shapes, textures, colours; there are literally millions of interesting things out there to point a camera at, why limit yourself?

In short, just do what makes you happy for now and time will take care of the rest. You're not on a Nat Geo assignment and you're not shooting for anyone else, you're shooting for your own personal enjoyment and as long as you enjoy what you do that is literally the only important thing. Stop worrying about stuff and just enjoy take photos. :)
 
PMN said:
What inconsistencies? You just haven't learned to appreciate them as different formats yet. :) Learn each one's strengths and weaknesses and use them accordingly, they should compliment each other, not compete.
... :)
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This; if Paul's a slow learner I'm special needs, because whilst I generally produce a consistent body of work, I'm still learning stuff and still experimenting after nearly 30 years.

I think the interweb is playng tricks with your priorities, shoot what you enjoy and learn any medium that interests you. Having an 'inconsistent Flickr' is about as serious a problem as having both cheese and ham in the fridge to choose lunch from.
 
ForceGhost said:
It's more important to shoot for myself than for others right?
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Unless someone's paying you to take photos and you wouldn't be there otherwise, yes, absolutely. It's your hobby, not theirs.

ForceGhost said:
Do you think it's important to keep your portfolio consistent but use your Flickr as more of a file sharing site?
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Why are you so concerned with consistency? Just out of interest, how long have you actually been shooting? I don't want to sound patronising, I just want to better understand the position you're in. :)
 
Shoot what you enjoy & use which ever format you feel like using for the particular thing you are shooting :) As has been said, unless you are doing it for money/business please yourself with what you want to do. Look at it as if there are no rules. If you bump into some rules, break them :)
 
PMN said:
Why are you so concerned with consistency? Just out of interest, how long have you actually been shooting? I don't want to sound patronising, I just want to better understand the position you're in. :)
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About 2-3 years now. I just feel that I need to develop my "Style" as opposed to keep changing my PP and my format every five minutes.
 
ForceGhost said:
Thanks for all the help guys! It's more important to shoot for myself than for others right? I also think the 30+ hours of no sleep didn't quite help...
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Thats what i do theses days,every now and again the old self doubt rear it head and i hate everything i have shot,but i carry a camera everywhere with me and after a while i cant help but start taking photos again :)
 
ForceGhost said:
About 2-3 years now. I just feel that I need to develop my "Style" as opposed to keep changing my PP and my format every five minutes.
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No, you need to stop worrying about it and let things take their course. :)

Seriously, you're creating problems that don't exist. Your style will develop in it's own time but you need to accept it will take time, these things don't happen overnight for most of us. After 10 years (and that's 10 years with a hell of a lot of shooting) I'm only just starting to discover what my style is, Phil V has 3 times my experience and he's still discovering new stuff and developing - it takes time. Go with it and enjoy the ride rather than fighting it, ultimately you're just fighting yourself which is rather pointless. :)
 
ForceGhost said:
About 2-3 years now. I just feel that I need to develop my "Style" as opposed to keep changing my PP and my format every five minutes.
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I think that come with just getting out there with your camera,and it develop over many years,plus a good night sleep always helps :)
 
I wouldn't worry about it, there's no point trying to force yourself into a niche, it'll come in time once you know what you want to do.

Not everyone who wanders is lost...
 
It's a paraphrase from a JRR Tolkien poem, but the sentiment stands :p
 
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PMN said:
I actually really like that line. :)
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Me too.

There's the other one about the journey being just as important as the destination.

Having a 'style' is only really important for pro's. That's not me being patronising, it's a feature of marketing. You can't sell a product if the customer doesn't understand what they're buying.

But non commercial photography is an expression, shoot what you like, process it how you like, eat what you like and drive what you like, you're not here to please others or to conform to an imagined set of rules. Honestly I find the question bordering on bizarre. It's more normal for people to struggle to find something that inspires them to shoot.
 
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Love this thread because i know exactly how you feel. There are days when you just can't decide what it is you want to do, or those days when you start out with one thing in mind and end up doing something completely different. Why do you have to decide on one thing or the other? Just do both and other stuff as well until it hits you where you want to be. its a hobby, so enjoy it.
 
Jordon, just my 2p worth...

I know you've seen some of my stuff on Flickr, I got a "follow request" from you about a week ago... Now, would you honestly say that my Flickr stream is exactly "coherent". If I was feeling charitable about things, I'd perhaps say it was "eclectic" at best - if feeling honest "A bloody mess" sums it up far better. Bear in mind I've also been shooting film for 35+ years and digital since... welll... lets just say a 800x600 image was considered "state of the art" back then!

Flickr CAN occasionally be a nice "portfolio" if you're disciplined enough, and you care about organising it that way. Or it can be a dirty great big bit-bucket that you throw all the stuff you want to share online (and aren't fussy if they get nicked (but that's an argument for another thread))

If you WANT to have an organised and controlled "public image" then either set up a second Flickr account for all the rest of the general cruft, experiments and other old tat, or hide them away as being restricted access or (best yet) get a proper website for the "controlled image" stuff.

BUT, I'm with most of the people in the thread here, and basically, if you're shooting for fun, for your own pleasure, then shoot what the hell you want to shoot, process it how you want it to be processed, mix up film and digital, don't set limits on things - just get out there with a camera and ENJOY IT! And - if you DO develop a style that you love, and want to get deeper into it at that point - fine...
 
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This is a bit on topic as you mentioned street photography. Inspiration is everything in our art. So I recommend you listen to this...


while you look at this...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kenjinsan/with/11571531985/

Im not a big street photography shooter, but this guys work is amazing. Vibrant and powerful street imagery. Not just random photos of people walking around which is all to often what street photography degrades down to, but rather gripping and drama filled pieces of life.

Dont just scroll down his main page. Take time to look at the photos and really feel what he has captured.
 
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ForceGhost said:
A little bit of backstory...

Been using digital up until quite recently where I decided to make a transition to film. Absolutely loving film but can't stand the inconsistencies between using both mediums. So I'm kind of making myself pick either film or digital...
Click to expand...

For me, they help inform each other. At the end of the day, it's all about using light.
 
f/otographer said:
Im not a big street photography shooter, but this guys work is amazing. Vibrant and powerful street imagery. Not just random photos of people walking around which street photography all to often degrades down to, but rather gripping and drama filled pieces of life.
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I think his street images there are easily his strongest in terms of mood. Very, very nice indeed.
 
PMN said:
I think his street images there are easily his strongest in terms of mood. Very, very nice indeed.
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So very true. Im glad someone else sees it to. Some of the images are just crazy powerful.
 
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