Photography Log #3: My Bad Habits
Photography is a joyous and wonderful art form, rewarding in many levels. I fell in love with photography because of its expressive nature, its ability to tell stories and document the world around me. It is a common reason retold by a great many photographers, but I am grateful everyday for having found photography, using it as an outlet for expression and creation. Throughout my journey; however, I have developed "bad habits" that have hindered my photographic abilities and have overall ruined what's meant to be a lively, carefree experience.
Filmmaking was the outlet that ultimately introduced me to photography. I would engage in photography whenever I was not working in film. As the years passed by, film work would become less and less accessible, making room for photography as a means of expression when filmmaking was absent. Today, photography has become my comfort art, the art form I can rely on to unwind and express myself when half my world is upside down. It is my coping mechanism; the camera is my tool to breathe, reflect and to simply have fun. It's what I look forward to every day for artistry and comfort, even if I am not intending to shoot.
Photography is my comfort zone, but I am also a bit of a perfectionist, ironically enough, ruining the calm, joyous experience. My perfectionist tendencies have left me with harmful consequences to my art, adding an unnecessary pressure to what are otherwise fun and soothing photography adventures. It is easy to undergo the pressure for the "perfect" photos while capturing a paid shoot, as it is art, but first and foremost work. When it is personal work; however, consisting of calm photography walks around the city or neighborhood, either with friends or on my own, there is no reason for pressure to exist. In the simplest of terms, I am having fun. I am living in the moment, enjoying the art of photography.
The desire for the perfect photo is but a malicious fantasy. It is not important to capture beautiful images every day; it develops an unnecessary process that ruins the fun of photography. It rids me of the main reason I even do photography.
I've had successful photo walks, in which I've captured several wonderful photographs of which I am proud and thankful. Conversely, I have experienced difficult days in which I come home to an embarrassing array of mediocre to outright horrible photographs. I slowly came to the realization that the more I strive to capture that "perfect" photograph, the less likely it'll come to fruition. That statement can be said about anything in life; the more pressured you feel about something, the less likely you'll be able to achieve given feat.
My bad habit as a photographer and artist for that matter is this fixation for the "perfect" photograph, so much so that I'd scroll through my photos in-camera to ensure that I captured that image. This habit of "chaimping," or reviewing your images too frequently, adds an unnecessary layer of stress to the experience, a constant interruption in the flow. When I am fixed on the screen, I forgo my surroundings, missing out on potential moments or ideas. I am no longer in the moment. It quickly becomes an unhealthy obsession, hindering the creative flow. I think this is why I value film photography so much. Although I don't shoot as much film photography as I would like, at least not in comparison to digital, shooting on film has helped me undo that nasty habit of frequently checking photos after capture.
This is not to say reviewing your photos is bad. I continue to review my photos after capture today, but I resort to a healthy amount, focusing on the right moments in which a moment has passed or I am taking a break or a friend wants to see a photo I took of them. I'll sometimes miss some moments then, but that's just how it is. I found that reviewing my photos in the field has helped me correct my mistakes while in the moment, or find ways in which I can improve upon them. It is also dependent on what I am shooting, as more professional, paid work may require some reviewing at certain moments to ensure the photographs appear as the client intended. It provides a peace of mind of which I greatly value. If I am going on a photo walk, or doing a more spontaneous photography adventure, then there is more of a need to be in the moment and less of a reliance on the LCD screen.
In writing this article, I know I have provoked a rather negative or unflavored image of the habit of "chimping," as it is so called in the photography community. It is important to note that I am writing it from my own experiences and perspectives, as I do feel that I have found improvement in my photography the less I look at the screen. As a photographer, I simply like to be in the moment. My sense of perfectionism has engendered feelings of unease, worry, and anxiety, values of which should be non-existent in the photographic process. As I abandon this harmful perfectionism, I look towards a brighter, more positive mood, in which I reflect on the art of photography and why it matters so much to me. Sometimes, it's not about the results, but rather the joy of going out with a camera in hand and shooting away, enjoying every second of this wonderful craft.
