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Here are some incontrovertible absolute truths i've picked up in my 20 or so years of photography. They are not ordered in any specific order.
1. You really should stick with one focal length for long periods of time. This isn't just a meme. You should use one focal length so often that you learn to see the way it sees, and for so long that you become so accustomed to seeing the way the lens sees that when you switch to a different focal length. it has a very jarring effect on you. Zooms are for photojournalists. Unless you're a photojournalist, shoot primes.
2. Only shooting (or processing for) black and white will make you a much better visual photographer. It will not enhance the ethical/storytelling/narrative/philosophical part of your photography, which is purely up to you.
3. The ethical part of your photography is by far the most important. Some of the greatest photos in history have some glaring aesthetic faults, while there are countless technically perfect photos produced every day that say nothing and amount to even less. Fuck aesthetics.
4. The most important part of a portrait is the silhouette. Always, always compose for the silhouette first and everything else second.
5. Shooting film does not make you a better or more careful photographer, especially if you're holding back because of expense. No one got to be a better photographer by not shooting photos.
6. Shooting a lot of photos makes you a better and more careful photographer. Operating your camera should be the last thing you're thinking about when taking a photo, and that only comes with practice.
7. Conversely, being patient and contemplative will also make you a better photographer. You will make the best photo you've made all year if you sit down and really observe your surroundings for an hour.
8. If all of your photos are being shot from eye level, you're fucking up. Kneel, crouch, lie on the floor. Climb on roofs. Get on top of your car. Find new perspectives.
cont'd later
1. You really should stick with one focal length for long periods of time. This isn't just a meme. You should use one focal length so often that you learn to see the way it sees, and for so long that you become so accustomed to seeing the way the lens sees that when you switch to a different focal length. it has a very jarring effect on you. Zooms are for photojournalists. Unless you're a photojournalist, shoot primes.
2. Only shooting (or processing for) black and white will make you a much better visual photographer. It will not enhance the ethical/storytelling/narrative/philosophical part of your photography, which is purely up to you.
3. The ethical part of your photography is by far the most important. Some of the greatest photos in history have some glaring aesthetic faults, while there are countless technically perfect photos produced every day that say nothing and amount to even less. Fuck aesthetics.
4. The most important part of a portrait is the silhouette. Always, always compose for the silhouette first and everything else second.
5. Shooting film does not make you a better or more careful photographer, especially if you're holding back because of expense. No one got to be a better photographer by not shooting photos.
6. Shooting a lot of photos makes you a better and more careful photographer. Operating your camera should be the last thing you're thinking about when taking a photo, and that only comes with practice.
7. Conversely, being patient and contemplative will also make you a better photographer. You will make the best photo you've made all year if you sit down and really observe your surroundings for an hour.
8. If all of your photos are being shot from eye level, you're fucking up. Kneel, crouch, lie on the floor. Climb on roofs. Get on top of your car. Find new perspectives.
cont'd later
