Becoming a good photographer is a complicated thing that requires a wide range of factors to come together, and rarely is the journey a straight line. If you find yourself on this journey, check out this fantastic video essay that features an experienced photographer that discusses the truth about growing as a photographer.
Coming to you from Joshua Peg, this awesome video essay discusses the truth about growing as a photographer. I think Peg is touching on something particularly important when he discusses the amount of effort and perseverance that goes into growth and that there are no shortcuts. We live in an age when we are conditioned to expect instant gratification. A lot of products are geared toward this with the idea that they will allow us to bypass the sort of effort and practice that goes into finding success. Things like presets and automated editing promise us quick results that will look like the pros, and while it is true that under the right circumstances, they can provide a boost in efficiency, there is a vast chasm between increasing efficiency and replacing technique and creativity altogether. And even if they could do that, would you really want that? After all, we all picked up a camera because we enjoyed the creative process, so why surrender it to a machine? Check out the video above for the full rundown from Peg.
One of the big boosts that took me out of the just passable category was a forced learning of product photography. I was in a divorce doldrum and needed cash. Started shooting and ebaying every unneeded/unwanted thing I owned and learned/picked up a bunch of techniques/experience for object/product shooting.
What I discovered was this particular process allows one to take near perfect images (within reason, we're not going for a Pulitzer). Basically because you can manipulate *the entire scenario,* especially the #1 item - lighting, plus the fact your subject is always stationary, you can go have lunch, shoot at 3 in the morning, etc.
When I got back to other photography, I was much better at analyzing everything I saw in the viewfinder and modified camera settings and whatever else; of course, this enhanced evaluation skill was really helpful in post.
Granted, a lot of readers here weren't born yet but Ansel Adams said it best in his autobiography (1982):
"I was telling him (a visitor) it would take a lot of hard work, from which there is no escape if one wishes to be an artist in any medium. Musicians practice constantly; most photographers do not practice enough. The siren call of the hobby obscures the necessary exactions of art. It is easy to make a photograph, but it is harder to make a masterpiece in photography than in any other art medium. "