Photography

There is no perfect in photography (debatably any art). All you’re doing is capturing the world around you in a way appealing to you.

Worrying so much about “perfect” aperture, speeds, filters, lenses, etc can get in the way. But if you know how these fundamentals (f-stop, speed, focus, ISO) work and work together, you can discover your own style.

Lighting is only a fraction of the battle, you also have the composure itself which is what most non-photographers will notice before thinking about imperfect lighting or focus. Just keep shooting and figuring out what you like, don’t worry so much

If the photos always look bad to you then…… has something in life imposed perfectionism in you? If your brain works like that then, quite possibly, you’ll never take a “good” photo because, well, you’ll always find the faults. So, there something deeper at work here, I think.

I take photos of aircraft.. some work some don’t, for a variety of reasons. But I live and learn… I don’t stop because some photos don’t work out.

This might sound weird, but, if you don't like the way your photos come out, maybe it means you're on the right track? The thing to do now is to figure out what exactly it is that you don't like and how you can change that.

Don't let perfectionism get the better of you. It can be both a disadvantage ánd an advantage. Don't give up! Go out there and shoot, just for the fun of it. Experiment. Try out new things. For now, don't think about the result. You'll get there eventually!

consider reading these books to teach yourself.

Read this if you want to take great photographs by Carroll is pretty good

Stunning digital photography by Northrup is actually much better but longer.

It not about perfectionism. Who wants rubbish photos. It’s a huge step to be honest with yourself and just try a different hobby

Very normal and I hate it

It's a fact of life unfortunately

My main drive is to capture the world around me as good as I can. Sometimes there’s just a one try hit or miss shot. If it’s a big miss it’s okay. If ist’s okayish I tell myself it’s better than not have the shot.

My technique is to develop a mindset where you focus on the non obvious. We tend to not observe our surroundings. You have to get out of the visual lazy mode.

Shoot in auto to see what you should be doing so you can focus on composition.

Imperfections can be a powerful trait that can mark your signature ,remember art is subjective

Stop worrying about getting to the perfection destination and instead enjoy the learning journey.

It might be silly but I find that you need to have a good relationship with your camera, film and digital. You gotta get to know it and work out the right buttons to press to get along.

Take photos of stuff that mean something to you and moments you want to remember. Don’t just go out trying to “make art” or “take incredible photos.” You’ll be more invested if you’re genuinely interested in capturing the moment than just trying to git gud

“Nobody tells this to people who are beginners, I wish someone told me. All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints you. A lot of people never get past this phase, they quit. Most people I know who do interesting, creative work went through years of this. We know our work doesn’t have this special thing that we want it to have. We all go through this. And if you are just starting out or you are still in this phase, you gotta know its normal and the most important thing you can do is do a lot of work. Put yourself on a deadline so that every week you will finish one story. It is only by going through a volume of work that you will close that gap, and your work will be as good as your ambitions. And I took longer to figure out how to do this than anyone I’ve ever met. It’s gonna take awhile. It’s normal to take awhile. You’ve just gotta fight your way through.” ― Ira Glass

Best life advice I've ever seen.

Try editing your photos ASAP. Don't feel like you have to do anything with the photos you're "meh" about. Move onto the next shoot. At this stage, quantity will bring quality in the future. Every time I take my camera out to shoot I have a rough number of how many "good" photos I'd be happy to get out of the shoot. In the beginning, to make it easier on myself I would say that number is 1. As time has passed it's slowly increased. Good luck!

If you want something to challenge your perfectionism, a polaroid camera is a great place to start

Grab a vintage manual lense, flip your lcd closed, and take 10 deep breaths to oxygenate your nogging for every shot you take getting a good story or even just a composition. Repeat 10000 times.

Or get paid and let your clients' money hone whats good (enough).

I dont understand these threads. Don’t wanna come off harsh, but either try harder and develop the skillset or quit. It’s not compulsory to shoot.

I stopped playing the guitar because i hated hearing myself play badly and make mistakes. Any hobby must be a joyful journey. If you don't like the process, it is not for you. I switch from photography to drawing and painting sometimes. Not all the people are beautiful and i simply don't like all the faces even if the light and setting is perfect. But with a brush on canvas, I take my time and create all the perfection i want.

Keep going

The reality is that most photos are shit. So keep taking them. Practice, perseverance, and learning to 'see' are what will make you a better photographer.

I used to have the same problem, then I started messing around with abstract photography. It's a lot more fun and impossible to be perfect.

"Resistance with a capital R, ... “an energy field radiating from a work-in-potential. It’s a repelling force. It’s negative. Its aim is to shove us away, distract us, prevent us from doing our work.” - Steve Pressfield

Absolutely normal. What you are doing by keeping it hidden for 2 months is starting the cycle over and reliving the pain. Some people realize almost immediately and others take their time but if you really want to get better you need to move through the pain. Take a deep breath and slow down. Use a tripod. Focus on composition and exposure first, then practice your editing and start developing your look.

It took me years to realize that pictures not coming how I wanted was because I "look" in 4:3 and 1:1 aspect ratios. The wideness of 3:2 makes it hard for me to properly compose an image (especially in event photography) and the self criticism was getting a bit ridiculous. So I took a step back and started writing down what I didn't like etc.

Just don't stop, you'll be ok.

You have fallen into the trap, the lie really, that there is some perfection, some single goal that you must achieve. Generally, this does not come from examples of people who have actually achieved something interesting. The world is full of sheep, seeking to flock with other sheep. Modern cameras have given the sheep “skills” that allow them to flock better. They justify it all to each other by going on and on about their “tools” and how they can focus so perfectly, or stop motion so perfectly, or have super high pixel counts and burst rates. It’s how sheep entertain each other. It is called bleating. All it produces is yet another “perfect” photo of a bird doing something, in absolutely perfect focus, stopped in time, taken from a row of 50 that look virtually identical, but from which this one has been deemed “perfect.”

You can join these sheep if you like, or you can just do what you do and stop judging yourself by what they do. The world doesn’t NEED what they do. It also doesn’t need most of what anybody does. So just do what you want to do. Learn what you want to learn. Don’t lose the enjoyment of it by wasting energy thinking it needs to be “perfect” in some way.

Sit down, figure out what YOU like and don’t like about your photos. Then work on that. It’s that simple. Some of the greatest photos ever taken don’t fit the paradigm of modern sheep photography, and were taken on gear nobody would cross the street for anymore. So you are not really bound by any of it. When you accept that, and start being honest with yourself about it, you can improve.

You need to find another hobby, one you actually enjoy for a change.

There is perfection in imperfection. Don't try copy others so much as far as a end result goes, but work on something you like. Do not follow a bunch or photographers but rather the one or two you like, which will prevent you from always seeing too many styles and idea's. Subject matter actually matters the most, as we look at the subject more than the fancy photography a lot of the time.

Stop trying to take photos of interesting subjects in interesting lighting and just take photos of the things you enjoy.