Something I wanted to essay about:
What makes a great photograph?
Also — does it even matter if a photograph is ‘great’? Is ‘good’ good enough?
1 great photo a year is good enough for me
For myself, it seems my ‘hit rate’ for a “great” photograph is about 1 a year. I usually make a ‘really good’ photo at least once a month.
So every year:
12 really good photos, and 1 great photo.
This is a good hit rate for me!
But the question is this:
SHOULD I be striving to make as many great photos before I die?
A shift in my thinking
For myself, I know I am capable of shooting great photos. The approach is quite simple:
- Study great photographs (great compositions, masters of photography)
- Shoot with great effort on the streets (get close, conquer your fears, ‘work the scene‘)
- Edit tightly (only show your best work)
- Rinse and repeat.
But after a while– this approach gets a bit boring. Sure, this is a straight-forward recipe to create a strong body of work, but I started to wonder– is there a different way to approach photography?
Just shoot it//just have fun!
This is my new approach:
Just shoot anything and everything, and don’t “try too hard”.
Just have fun; enjoy the photography flow, and the great joy associated with roaming the streets, traveling, and opening up your eyes/mind to the world!
And this is the fun thing:
If you just keep having fun, keep shooting — you will naturally make great photos along the way without even ‘trying’!
Conclusion: Never stop shooting
New formula:
Never stop shooting, keep having fun– and you will make great photos along the way without effort!
Isn’t this the best way to approach photography?
ERIC