Photography is an art form. When you create wonderful images, photography is very rewarding. It can also be frustrating. Henri Cartier-Bresson said, “Your first 10,000 photos are your worst.” That wisdom implies there is a learning curve to photography. There is.
The first thing you have to do is: Transcend Technology. Know what all the buttons and dials on your camera are used for. Know what settings are required to capture a great image. Practice is part of your first 10.000 photographs. You’ll make plenty of mistakes. You’ll choose the wrong mode, the wrong lens, the wrong shutter speed and so on.
Transcending technology takes a while. Shoot lots of images. Then shoot some more. Review your images and you’ll know which ones are keepers. But cast a keen eye on your duds and try to figure out why the images don’t pass muster. When you review your images, look at them with a critical eye and try to figure out what you did wrong. You can review images in your camera, but I advise you to review your images after you download them to your computer. A large monitor gives you a better idea of whether or not your image is a keeper.
Thomas Edison is famous for inventing the light bulb. It took him a long time to create a working light bulb. But the ones that didn’t work weren’t failures. They were learning experiences. Persistence pays. Edison said, “I have not failed 10,000 times—I’ve successfully found 10,000 ways that will not work.” And then he found the way that did work.
The moral is to make lots of mistakes. If you’re not making mistakes, you’re not shooting. Learn from your mistakes.
Recent Comments