I refuse to let my work be anything less than superior to my previous shoot. While we all have off days, and we all have moments where we say "ugh, I wish I would have done *THIS* with that shot..." it's not acceptable to let yourself be mediocre.
Mediocrity to an artist is a bigger epidemic than the population of homeless people on Fremont Street in Las Vegas. (I guess if I was homeless I would want to be homeless in Vegas, too.)
By no means am I calling myself perfect. I still have much to learn. I experience artistic jealousy more often than I care to share, but if fuels me to practice and to better my own photography.
I look back at old shoots and learn from them - and then I remove them when my newer shots have outgrown them. What may be the best shot that I've ever taken on Tuesday, will be the worst shot I've ever taken on Wednesday. Everything is ever changing and developing. Some things and some shots I am not proud of, but they're apart of my work and who I am. There are some shots that I feel I will never exceed...
I took this photo in Mission, TX on the first day of 2011 and I vividly remember when my finger pressed the shutter to capture it.
My fear is that I will never nail another shot the way I nailed this one... but, if this is my best and most loved and accepted piece of work - there could be worse things.
My digital editing skills have greatly accelerated. To look back on my old things now I cringe at the over-saturation and the lack of depth with shadows and curves.
The best thing is to get the shot right the first time and not have to fuss with it much, if at all, in Photoshop. That shot up there that I just posted? No Photoshop on the original that everyone loves. On that copy that I posted in this blog, I de-saturated it because the excess red was starting to irk me and I felt like it was almost bleeding into the lines...
I probably and honestly spend less than 10 minutes per shot that I'm editing from a concert. I do not like to heavily edit things. I aim to take them correct the first time.
We are all learning constantly. No matter what you do there's always room for improvement.
I am highly anticipating the upcoming shows I'll attend to continue to improve and prove myself as an ever-evolving photographer.
We all have our own style and our own way of doing things... and they say that "art is subjective"... true. Some do not like my art and my style. That's their opinion to have.
I feel at times people can be blinded by the subject and refuse to see or notice the technical details of the shot... (Or maybe "photography" is not important to them and they just really care about looking at what they may call "pretty pictures". Who knows.)
There are some things in life that I do not understand... and I can't really choose to express them here... but I do want to stress that no matter what equipment you're running, it's important you know the capabilities of it and of yourself.
When I purchased my camera, I got it because it was where I was at in that moment. Now, I feel like I've outgrown my camera (not that this is the point...) but... a point to make is, you can have the most expensive and high-tech camera on the market - that doesn't mean that you'll take a great shot.
I don't aim to take "passable" or "sub-par" shots. I never want to feel indifferent about my work. I want to look at a photo and believe in it. That shot up there? I believe in it. I am proud of it.
I never want my photography to be ordinary, common or middling.
I always want to better myself and I always want my last shoot to be the best shoot.
As I mentioned in the beginning of this post - we all have off days. Not every shot is going to be THE shot. My mother (a professional photographer) told me years and years ago (back in the days of shooting weddings with 35mm film...) "You may take 100 shots and get ONE. And even then, that's lucky."
Why is that quote true? Because she never settled for mediocre photography. She didn't want 10 shots that were "good" and looked similar. She wanted ONE shot that was extraordinary and made you stare.
Better yourself... no matter if you're a photographer, a musician, a janitor, a nurse or a teacher. Better yourself and don't settle for mediocrity.
I am Jodie Platz, and I approve this message.
4 comments:
Great post. I really like your view on photography. My friend is a photografer to and she is also all about getting light and moments right, instead of having to edit to much afterwards. And I think its a fantastic way to go about it, because - to me, that is what makes it art.
Excellent post! An artist who is truly passionate about their own work is always completing with his/her self to make the next project better, in some way, than the last. I'm the same way with my own work, and could not imagine being any different.
This post was very inspiring. I do agree that no one should just settle at whatever they do. You should always try to better yourself.
Those who try to bring you down don't have the drive to better themselves.
I have learned a lot from you this year about photography even though I dislike taking photos and it does make me view photgraphy differently than I used to.
Thank you,
Jenn
"Better yourself... no matter if you're a photographer, a musician, a janitor, a nurse or a teacher. Better yourself and don't settle for mediocrity."
I loved this post, mostly that sentence.
Totally agree with everything you wrote.
You are a constant inspiration.
xoxo
Sara
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