There are many of us photogs out there that have struggled to find our way in this market full of pros and amateurs alike. And I often find the newbies asking “how do I become good?” Well its really rather simple…
How do you become a good photographer? There are millions of different answers that you’ll get from everyone you meet, and this may just be another one you’ll come across, but keep in mind, photography master Joe Buissink feels the same way.
Many people will tell you that to become a good photographer, you’ll need to know just about everything, know your gear, know f/ stops, know this and that, and know all the jargon that comes with photography. You’ll need to learn all the rules, then you’ll be told to break them, you’ll need to learn your value, but will be forced to compromise, and on and on and on…
Forget all of that.
The most important piece of knowledge you can hold in the world of photography is who you are.
It may seem irrelevant, but finding who you are is much more important than you think. Lets look at it this way…
Imagine a protest is going on in your city, and all the news outlets in town have sent their photographers out to shoot it, and lets say, a protester runs and charges towards a police officer, and clickclickclickclickclick! All the photographers there manage to shoot it, and it may seem as simple as that, but every single one of those photographers hit that shutter based on when they thought it was the ‘decisive moment’, they composed their shots based on what they thought was correct, they chose their bodies and lenses based on what they require from their gear, everything they do as photographers is based on who they are. And to make it simple, let’s call this style.
Every single one of us who makes photographs, whether it be on an iPhone, a DSLR, an old TLR, or whatever, leaves a bit of ourselves inside each image we create. Like those photojournalists, we compose our shots based on who we are, we use certain gear based on who we are, and it’s simply impossible for us not to leave a bit of ourselves in our images.
So forget about all those questions that came up earlier, the most important thing to know as a photographer is who you are. Find out what that is, sit down with your best work, and analyze it, don’t over think it. And once you find out just who you are, embrace it.
Knowing your style will enable you to do just about anything as a photographer, you’ll know your limits, you’ll be able to experiment, and even learn. Sure, all those other things I listed at the beginning of the post may be important to know, but always remember:
who you are is the best thing you can know as a photographer.
neilpanda 