Confident and Comfortable
After shooting for a few years and making some money, maybe not enough to fully live on photography but a bit, you’ll get to the stage where you think you know what you’re doing, and you feel comfortable shooting pretty much any situation that presents itself to you.
At this point, you should be cautious about what is to come. You are probably a very good photographer. Maybe even better than most, however, constantly learning and stretching your skills is very important to making sure you keep creating your best work. I fell foul of this, and for years I stagnated, creating no real work I could be proud of. I would hide most of my shoots away from anyone who wasn’t paying me for them.
It took me to get inspired by some new work, not even photography-based, if I’m being brutally honest. I started watching different sorts of films than what I’m used to, read books that had nothing to do with photography, and most importantly, I started going outside with the intention of not taking photographs of everything or anything.
A truly great book that really taught me more about photography than any photography book could
Another amazing book which I recommend to all.
I fully understand the idea of wanting to “give yourself to photography” Josef Koudelka is a huge hero of mine, and he really put this phrase into reality more than anyone ( in my opinion). But just because you surround yourself in photography doesn’t always mean you are improving or advancing your craft.
is there a better Koudelka image ?
This is even more relevant with the little eco bubbles of social media we get caught in. For example, if you have ever shot with Fuji cameras, this is most apparent. The almost cult like nature of their users is something I truly think needs to be studied, I’m sure scientists could learn an awful lot about herd behaviour from it.
All this to say, if you are feeling a bit stuck and not sure where to improve your photography, don’t listen to the social media/YouTube knobbers. Go and read a book that has nothing to do with photos. Find a new hobby that gets you outside or even watch a film that you would never normally choose. Everything else will work itself out in time.
