How to overcome common photography issues

These are some of the most common issues faces many photographers... and what you can do about them:

1. Gear Obsession
2. Lack of Clear Vision
3. Inconsistent Quality
4. Overediting
5. Difficulty Building a Portfolio
6. Fear of Criticism
7. Time Management
8. Financial Challenges
9. Comparisons and Imposter Syndrome 

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Transcript

>> Graham: 0:08

Foreign I want to go through, nine common issues that people have, particularly when they get started. But it's also something that's likely to recur from time to time as well. And this may well apply to you if you're having difficulties with your photography and also if you're having time struggling to find time to do some photography. So I've got some. This is really a collection of tips to help you with, key issues that come up quite, quite frequently. So before I jump into it and I do ask you to listen to the end, that'd be great. But please remember to like and subscribe. as I'm recording this, most people haven't subscribed or followed or done anything else depending on what platform you're m using. So I really would appreciate it if you could do that. Okay, let's start with number one and that. And I have to say this is a mistake that I made. and that's gear obsession. So it's very easy to get caught up in the technology of the camera. when I was starting it was film cameras, but it tended to be all the add on things. I'd get really caught up and off camera flashes and stuff like that. these days some of the specs that you find on cameras are pretty impressive. And if you're not, if you don't really understand them, it can get very confusing about what you need on your camera. So what I recommend you do is start, particularly if you haven't got a camera right now, start with something pretty basic, don't spend a lot of money on it. And that may well mean getting a secondhand, camera and lens to start with. And then just start shooting the kind of photographs that you like to shoot. And when you do that, you'll begin to realize where your current gear is performing well and where it's just not delivering for you. And that will start to drive the spec that you need. And that is the simplest way to get started. If you've already got a camera, do get out and use it and you'll find the same experience. So you'll find that there are some things it does really well. And so that might be how you set up the menus, how you use the camera day to day, all that kind of thing. And you may find that it has other limitations. And the chances are it will have limitations that might be the resolution of the image for what you're using it for. It could be the lenses that are available or you might just find it really hard to Use, in which case you need to look at, perhaps a different make of camera with a different, user interface. So that's the gear obsession. The second one is lack of a clear vision, and that's simply really not knowing what you want to photograph. You know, it's as simple as that. people talk about style, the kind of niches that you like. And honestly, the thing I would recommend there is to just go out and shoot anything if you can. It's really good to join a group that does photography walks. So I have been involved with those in Sydney. They're really good. And you'll just be shooting whatever's around. So it might be landscapes, but you can shoot detail. It might be a brick or something on the ground or people you know. If someone's happy for you to take the portrait, have a go at that. So, the important thing is to just get out and do photography and you'll start to find that there are certain things you enjoy photographing more than others and, and that will start to define where your vision is. If it's portraits, you might like shooting portraits, but you might find that you're not happy with your results. So the thing to do there is to do a hashtag portraits on Instagram or something like that, and start finding other photographers who are shooting in the style that you want to get good at and just look at what they're doing, what are the kind of images they're putting out, maybe even make contact with them. They might be able to help you, give you tips, that kind of thing. The third one is inconsistent quality. And, this is actually, I think, quite important. And the chances are that you're trying to do too much at once. So build consistency. And what I mean by that is use the same mode on the camera, so it might be aperture priority. get used to, how you use depth of field, that kind of thing, or how you use shutter speed. But work on one thing at a time, get consistent with it. And it actually doesn't matter if you're consistently good or consistently bad, because if you're consistently bad, the thing is, you can then start changing one or two settings at a time, and then you'll find that you can start to get the results that you want. But you know what you've done, you know what shutter speed or range you can use, that kind of thing. So it is really important to practice consistently. do learn the exposure triangle, learn about the basics. So ISO, the sensitivity, shutter speed and aperture, depth of field, work on each one of those individually. And once you've mastered them, then you will begin to find that you'll shoot much more consistently and then you can gradually improve what you're doing. Now, I do offer an online course for that means you can study in your own time. Whether it's my course or somebody else's. I think if that is an issue for you, if your results are all over the place, it really is a good idea to get some training because that will give you some building blocks that you can get good at individually and then develop from there. So yeah, inconsistent quality is really about getting good at one thing at a time. Number four is over editing. So yeah, you know, first of all you need to get good at basically shooting a good photograph. What I mean by that is one that's well, the exposure is correct and ideally it's not really blurry or anything, just as a guide. So before I say that, what some people do is rely on editing as a crutch for taking bad photographs and then hoping that in post processing that can sort of pull something out of the air and get a photograph that looks okay. It won't, you need to get your basic photography skills down in terms of taking the photograph on the camera and then you use post processing to just correct minor issues and maybe put a, use it to push your style, whatever that might be. So that might be use of color saturation or moving color or whatever it might be. If you're spending hours processing a photograph, that's a really big mistake. So just as a guide, I post process pretty much all of my images, pretty much everything that I share. I rarely spend more than one or two minutes on an image. So that's the extent that I use post processing. So again, like the previous one, if you are struggling in that area, it's good to get some basic training. But I would actually recommend you start with getting good at ah, taking basically good photographs on your camera. And then the chances are you'll find you won't need to do the same level of post processing. Number five, it might not apply to you. You m might not be so interested, but just building a portfolio. so really if you are trying to build a portfolio, what I suggest you do is start just putting to one side images that you like. If you find that you're shooting a variety of things. So let's say portraits, landscapes, urban, that kind of thing, just put them in groups. So put all your portrait photographs together. Put all your landscapes together. If you are putting a portfol together with a view to doing this professionally, earning money from it. Then I really recommend that you definitely group them and maybe lead with one style of photography. Because people like to pigeonhole other people. And as a photographer, they will probably want to think of you as a portrait photographer or a wildlife photographer or, a street photographer. But people generally don't like people. People who do lots of different stuff. You get into the, you know, the jack of all trades and master of none. And definitely, if you are looking for work, it's much easier if people think of you working in one particular style. So I would be driven by the one that you get the most from, that you enjoy the most and that you're best at, basically, and then go from there. Now, the next one really is a big one. It's one I've dealt with before. It's one I've spoken to people about. And this is fear of criticism. And so a lot of people get worried about sharing images because they're worried about getting negative feedback about people who criticize their work. They maybe take it apart. And, when you do get that, you really take it to heart. And, you find that very difficult to deal with. So what I would say to that is, first of all, I will only take criticism from somebody who would, who I would go to to ask for criticism. And what I mean by that is somebody who I know is already very good at the kind of work I want to produce. So I respect their work. I know they know what they're doing and they're the kind of person I would go to for feedback. but. And so by criticism, that would be generally constructive criticism. People who are really good, generally, not always, but people are very good. And genuinely, certainly the ones who want to help you will give you constructive feedback. So they will tell you where things are wrong, but they'll suggest some alternative ways of doing it. People who just take your work apart. I always say this is about them. These are generally people. They're either not very good in the first place and their feedback is coming from a, place of insecurity, or they're just nasty people. It could be as simple as that. So look, what I would say is when you put work out there, the chances are you're going to get somebody will make some nasty remark, expect that to happen. And honestly, that speaks more about them than it does about you and your work. So don't take it on board. And, if you really want useful feedback, join a group. so again with the, Training that I do. Part of that is Facebook group where you can just submit work. And the idea there is to give constructive feedback, criticism, and you can ask for, criticism or ask for suggestions or highlight what you think is wrong with a particular image, or whatever it might be. But get yourself in a group where you support one another. You know, people can be open. It's very vulnerable because sharing something you've created is, is very vulnerable, a very vulnerable thing to do. It's, it's, it's your work, so you're opening yourself up to people. So you want to do that in a place where it's as safe an environment as possible. Okay, Time management, I put it in here because, you know, doing photography is fine, but life can get in the way. But if you really want to get good at photography, just like other things, like learning a musical instrument or anything, learning a language, whatever it is, you have to put time aside to do it. So if you're not very good at time management, there are different things you can do. the best one is probably again to join a group. Join, a group where you leave, where you get together and you do maybe a photo walk or, you do or maybe a lesson or whatever it might be. But basically you have to make a commitment. If you have to pay, in some ways that's even better because you've got skin in the game, because it's very easy to sign up something that's free and then, on the day just not go, because you haven't really got any skin in the game. It doesn't make any difference almost to you whether or not you go, certainly not financially. But if you've paid money to join something, then you are more motivated. You've actually given that activity value psychologically. So that I would recommend is perhaps a better way of, getting involved in those kind of things. But do sign up for it. Do make a commitment to other people. If you, if there isn't a group around, maybe find somebody else who's also into photography and you just agree that you will go together and spend an hour on the Thursday evening or whatever it might be. And this is the same tip that, a lot of trainers use. When you say doing fitness training, it's much better to go with a friend because then you've got that. It's almost like a mutual accountability and you've made that commitment to one another. Whereas if you're on your own, it's very easy to come up with reasons not to go and Then all of a sudden that becomes a habit not going. So making it a habit is a really good thing to do. And there are some suggestions for how to make that happen. Another big one is financial challenges. So this almost ties it, this does pretty much tie in with the first one. So don't get too caught up in having the latest gear and all of the, you know, these really expensive lenses and all this other stuff. Because first of all you really need to know what kind of photography you want to do because that will dictate the kind of gear that you want to have access to. Secondly, get really clear on the specs that you need, the specification of the equipment you need, and you only get clear on that by doing a lot of photography and as I've said earlier, identifying where things are missing in the gear that you currently have and also recognizing where your current gear is really good. So it's really important to get clear on those. And then when it comes to financial, the financial side of it, once you have outgrown what you already have or you might need, let's say another lens, get very clear on the lens that you want that will be right for you. And you can do this by your own experience. And also just looking at reviews of different lenses, for example, as just taking that because obviously your lens will need to be compatible with the body. So that might mean it's a manufacturer's lens, so what's available. But the thing to do really is to look at second hand gear. I always like to go to a local store because if there is a problem I can always take it back. And also make sure that you get a guarantee. Often it will be something like three months, but you want a guarantee that's long enough for you to be able to make use of that bit of equipment and make sure it's good, things like lenses. I always will take my body into the camera, shop and just try the lens on the camera body and just, you know, shoot from the doorway of the store just to see what results I get to make sure there's nothing fundamentally wrong with the lens, if it's a lens that you're buying. But make sure you've got some kind of warranties, you've got some comeback. Okay. the final one is comparisons and imposter syndrome. So this also ties in a little bit to the fear of criticism. And you know, all of us, I think to some extent or another feel inadequate about what we do even when we're really Good at it. You know, the wonderful thing about imposter syndrome is that no matter how good you are, there's always that little voice telling you that sooner or later they're going to find out you're really not very good at all, and you've only got the results you've got through blind luck. So you'll have all of that, all of that nonsense going on. And honestly, I think the way to deal with it is to first recognize that this particular. This is very natural. for most of us. We, for one reason or another, have grown up in an environment where there was a fear of criticism. Maybe we were told we weren't very good. you know, people will tell us all kinds of nasty stuff just to make themselves feel good. You know, some people who are. It's inadequate. People will put others down because it makes them feel superior, it makes them feel adequate. So the thing to do is recognize that. Look, we may well have had those kind of toxic people around us. Pretty much all of us have. And that's likely where we took on board that story about how good we are, about the things we do. And, I mean, I guess just to share a story of my own, I love when I get time at least just sketching portraits. And I used to love doing it as a kid. I would. I would try live drawings. I would. I remember copying pictures of birds out of the bird book that we had at the place where I lived. it was a book of British birds. And I like to just sketch the heads. And, I remember doing that around the age of 15 or so. And people around me, they would always tell me what was wrong with the drawings. And it just reached the point where I just stopped doing it. And fast forward 35 years. So, I was around 50, and I just got back. I kind of dabbled a little bit with drawing occasionally, but never really put much time and effort into it. And then I, When I got to 50, I did. I don't know. There was a change with my, relationship with certain family members, actually, that I had been there all that time, and I just had the impulse to get back and do drawings. And they're actually very good. And this is also me overcoming my imposter syndrome on my drawing. But the. The point of the story is I really stepped away from something I actually have a talent for, and I stepped away from it for 35 years, which is a really long time. So don't let that stuff hold you back. Just, recognize it is a very natural part of unfortunately the way we live in, you know, a lot of the societies we're in, I think most of us don't grow up in particularly supportive environments. And so it's very difficult to create that for ourselves later on, when we do have the time to, and perhaps the money to invest in something we're actually quite passionate about and really want to have a go at. Okay, so that's it. So just to recap, so we'll get into gear. Obsession. Don't just get clear on what you want to shoot and what works and what doesn't. Lack, of a clear vision. Just find out what you really love doing. What's your primary thing, Particularly if you want to take photography into something you get paid for. Inconsistent quality. Get some good training, get really good at the basics and then it will come. And it's important to be consistent. And initially you might be consistently bad, but that doesn't matter because if you're consistent, you know what you're doing and you can then start to tweak things and you'll get better over editing. To me this is largely down to over reliance on the editing software to compensate for not taking good photographs in the first place. So really get your skills on the camera as developed as you can. Really focus on those. And my tip on editing, unless you're doing something special, day to day editing, it should be one of two minutes tops. difficulty building a portfolio. So again, perhaps looking towards getting some recognition maybe going into professional photography. But just build up a portfolio around the kind of work you love to do. What you're likely to find as well is that as you continue through time, the stuff you had in your portfolio earlier on, you'll start to find all sorts of problems with it, things you don't like. Because it's quite natural for us to develop. We get more skillful with the camera, we get better at post processing, we get the same case portraits. We actually get a lot better at working with whoever's modeling, you know that that's a skill in itself. So, but do kind of partition up your portfolio into different types of work. The creative fear of criticism. I've spoken about that. The best place is to ask for criticism in an environment where you are going to get constructive criticism. Anybody who criticizes you, let's say, makes nasty comments on Facebook or Instagram or somewhere else, I would block them and ignore them. time management. Yeah, you know, make it a habit. Get a habit of spending half an hour a week or whatever you can do with a bit of photography. Ideally you'll do that with other people because then it's, it's much harder to break the habit. And the stronger that habit is, the more that you, you will spend time doing your photography. Financial challenges, look at second hand gear. there's lots of. Also there's resources like YouTube and things like that for training. You can listen to these podcasts, that's another one. but I think I would say that good photography training is well worth the investment and finally being aware of comparisons and imposter syndrome. So as I've said, we all go through that. yeah, look, I'd look at other people's work, but look at it with a view to understanding how they got that result, not as a way of making yourself feel bad about yourself. Okay, so I hope you found that useful. That is it for this podcast. please like and subscribe and follow Buy me a coffee, all of that and I'll speak to you next time. So bye for now and enjoy your photography. Well, I hope you enjoyed that. Now I just want to say thank you for tuning in and joining me in, the Wildlife and Adventure Photography podcast. If you have enjoyed today's episode, please give me a like a subscribe, maybe tell your friends, and by all means leave a comment. And if there is a subject you would like me to cover in the future, please let me know and I'll be very happy to do my best. So thanks again for joining me and I look forward to seeing you again. Next podcast. Bye for now.