Photography: You’re doing it wrong.
- I started photographing things at a younger age as a child than you did, so I must be a better photographer.
- I use [camera brand X] which is clearly better than your [camera brand Y] gear.
- The natural world has natural light so there’s no reason to waste time with expensive and hard-to-learn artificial lighting.
- I learned to print black & white photos in the darkroom which is the right way rather than faking it with a Photoshop plugin.
- Real art can’t come from cameras built into phones.
- A plastic camera with a light leak is awesome. Using Instagram to make a photo that looks like it came from a plastic camera with a light leak is pathetic.
- The fact that everyone is enjoying photography is ruining photography.
- You share all of your work online; everyone knows that real photographers only appreciate work that’s printed.
- And good photographers print their own work rather than having it done by a lab.
The above statements are bullshit. Your photography is what you make of it. I might not like your style, or the way you share it, or the gear you use, but that doesn’t mean it’s wrong. If you’re creating a picture with something that’s a camera, you’re doing photography. If you’re happy, don’t let someone tell you that you’re doing it wrong.
Don’t forget: “Real photographers use real cameras with mirrors.”
I learned how to do black & white, and color prints. I miss printing black & white, but don’t miss the chemicals or smell (well, sometimes.)
Thanks Aaron, an appropriate post for these days of change.
Have a great day.
Love it! IMHO, the way to do photography wrong is not to do it.
Well said, Aaron. I think in general people spend far too much time being critical/cynical of other folks attempts at art, and far too little being consumed with making their own. The people I respect most in photography (and art in general for that matter) don’t really worry too much about what other folks are doing. They create things that are meaningful to them. And that in the end is what I value. The higher quality pieces will rise to the top.
I suck, but I have fun sucking, so, you know… I keep doing it.
Amen!
Good list, but you forgot a counter argument often heard: if you don’t own at least 4 flash units and a softbox, you know nothing about lights…
My inner-chemist wishes I’d got into photography in the Dark room days. My inner photographer just wishes I’d gotten into it earlier!
WELL SAID! It only takes a few “critiques” from some of those self described “semi- professionals” to really make you wonder why you were stupid enough to even load film in your “excuse for a camera”, and have the nerve to darken the doorway of the hallowed Photography Clubhouse.
After forcing myself to return to ” The Club ” for a few months, I had determined that I could get along just fine with my sub-standard camera, any film that was not Ilford or Fuji, and non-professional developing in anything less than a recognized pro lab.
I sat there for those few months carefully observing the “gifts” that some others allowed us to see. In these sessions, I was able to determine, without question, that I had the ability to take a worthy photo with a Polaroid that could stand on its’own merit along side anything the ” Guardians Of Photography” could muster.
I now have great fun harassing my friends with the Canon =vs= Nikon game. No one cares what camera you use , just as long as you’re using it. You can take a great photo with an old Kodak 126 camera and a feeble photo with a $3000 computerized magic digital setup.
It’s what you see and how you choose to share it with others that counts. A positive comment to someone just sarting out can open a whole new hobby and passion .
Anyone who enjoys / wants to take photographs should read this article. Repeatedly.
Great stuff, Aaron! Keep it up.
Thanks John. Feel free to pass it along to everyone you know with a camera :)