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p.2 #17 · p.2 #17 · 'a Batis story...' - a photographic sketchbook for the summer 2022 | |
Erichimedes wrote:
Lovely post. Since family photography is what I do the most of, I think about exactly what you touched on a lot. I find that snapshots are necessary because not every important moment in my son's life will have good lighting, or allow for nice compositions (that I can find anyway). But many of them will be photos my wife and I will really appreciate years from now when he's grown up.
Of course if I were the third type of photographer you outlined in your post, then perhaps I could do both, but I find myself to go back and forth between number 1 and number 2. But I like to strive for number 3, even if it's rare.
Great post, thanks for sharing....Show more →
Most of the time I work at snapshot level too - especially if I'm at the environment that's familiar for me (home yard, etc). It's not always the most inspiring, especially if the light sucks etc., but I try to remind myself that I need to keep myself sharp and also take the mediocre/bad images as well. Another thing I must remind myself often is that I can never know where the good shots comes from as they usually come from the unexpected moments. That's why I try to carry the camera everywhere we go and be always scanning for the photo opportunities. In other words, the level 3 images can outcome from the level 1 circumstances (but you need to have a some sort of idea what kind of things you are looking for or what you prefer aesthetically, without this one doesn't recognize a good shot even if it happens to be captured in camera).
Striving for the level 3 images is what keeps my photography alive - I might not succeed in it, but if I lower my expectations to just snapshot-level ('they are not that important, I'll just snap something, it's nothing...'), it's going to kill my inspiration for photography. So, keeping the bar high is actually something helps me to get motivated (just don't compare your work to anyone, be walking your own path).
Luckily, the mercy of family photo documentary is that eventually you're going to succeed if you just put effort into taking shots. The context for the images is already there and even snapshots will work because they will bring up memories - and what's lacking in photography wise will be complemented by your families mutual memories. One just has to remember to put some effort into it and later on (give it some years) there will be a gold nuggets here and there - even if it feels different at the moment of shooting.
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