So Many Look For Shortcuts Rather Than Work!

As a member of several Facebook groups about photography for beginners I often see a lot of questions that really make me shake my head.

I see a lot of people taking photos in natural light and doing it really poorly. To the other extreme I see people who spend lots of money on lighting only to take really poor quality photos.

Once they post what are usually overly touched up poor images or images shot in poor lighting and style then turn it black and white to conceal that it’s a poor image.

Yes I see you. You right over there. They’re often the ones who want all  the “tips” on how to shoot the wedding or portraits like a pro. And the only criticism they want when they say “CC Please” is people affirming their work as being good despite how barely mediocre it may be.

It’s as if they truly think having a great camera and the newest and best gear; and having someone tell them how to do it; is somehow going to transform them into a photographer creating professional level work.

Well here are the absolute facts.

“You want fame? … Well, fame costs. And right here is where you start paying. With sweat.”

Photography, is a real art. It takes a ton of skill and ideally an over abundance of talent.

The key word is skill! Skill is something we each have to learn. To learn that takes discipline, practice and lots of time. No one woke up one day picked up a rifle their first time and was a sniper.

These days however it seems everyone is looking for that quick fix. That shortcut. You’re fat and don’t want to be? Why eat properly and go to the gym when you can just take a pill or get a surgery?

That is the attitude I’m seeing with a lot of new photographers. I am reminded of the intro to the 1980’s television show ‘Fame‘!In the title sequence of the show based of course on the movie there is clip of a dance teacher played by Debbie Allen where she says; “You want fame? … Well, fame costs. And right here is where you start paying. With sweat.”

It is a powerful statement. One that has gone largely unknown and unappreciated in recent times. While I know the character was talking about dancing; however it applies to any artistic endeavor. You don’t get good at anything without a lot of practice.

That is the one thing that I’m seeing so many refuse to do. They have a myriad excuses for why they aren’t practicing daily to get better at what they claim to want to be doing.

They want to be able to pull their camera out, slap a lens on it and take publishable images. Well newsflash, that just isn’t going to happen. When I started doing photography I was just a kid; and I was shooting film. Lots and lots of film at great financial cost to myself.

There were no shortcuts. I had to work my ass off to learn to get the shot; and to get the shot right in camera each time a frame was exposed!

I didn’t have the luxury of immediately seeing the result of each shutter release right then and there. I had the added stress of knowing that each frame I exposed cost. It cost in that I had to pay for the film as well as the processing.

Needless to say; there were a lot of rolls of nothing but crappy images. But each time I went out I learned something new. My point here is that I practiced every day for years at great expense to myself.

Today; shooting costs absolutely nothing to do; so why are so many not doing that?

They’re lazy; that’s why.

They’re lazy but not in the same way that I call myself The Lazy Photographer.

In closing I say if you want to be great at photography; hell; even any good at it you have to practice every single day. You have to watch all light to see how it interacts with everything and everyone around it.

If you’re not doing that; you’re looking for shortcuts. Well; there aren’t any shortcuts in photography so get it right.

Practice on the daily. Take notes of what you’re doing. Ask people with more knowledge than you to critique your work and give you honest feedback. Then accept that feedback regardless of how it’s delivered.

I hope that you find this helpful. Please leave any questions or comments you may have below. Please do not forget to check out my photography tutorial YouTube channel. Hopefully you’ll subscribe to it; and like my videos.