{"id":22404,"date":"2015-01-26T02:00:05","date_gmt":"2015-01-26T10:00:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/?p=22404"},"modified":"2015-01-30T12:35:08","modified_gmt":"2015-01-30T20:35:08","slug":"60-street-photography-heuristics-rules-of-thumb-i-believe-in-and-try-to-follow","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/2015\/01\/26\/60-street-photography-heuristics-rules-of-thumb-i-believe-in-and-try-to-follow\/","title":{"rendered":"60 Street Photography Heuristics (Rules of Thumb) I Believe in and (try to) Follow"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Yreka,
Yreka, California 2014<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I am a big fan and believer of “heuristics<\/a>” (or rules of thumb). I was first introduced to the idea of “heuristics” from Nassim Taleb (in his book “Antifragile<\/a>“) and later more from\u00c2\u00a0Gerd Gigerenzer (a German psychologist who wrote the excellent book: “Gut Feelings: The Intelligence of the Unconscious<\/a>“). Below is a list of heuristics (ad random thoughts on photography) I personally believe and try to follow:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. When in doubt, click (credit: Charlie Kirk<\/a>)<\/li>\n
  2. When you’re scared, shoot<\/li>\n
  3. Buy books, not gear<\/a><\/li>\n
  4. Money can only buy you happiness if you spend it on experiences<\/a> (not material things)<\/li>\n
  5. Don’t buy a photography book unless you plan on reading it more than once.<\/li>\n
  6. Don’t buy a photography book with the intention of selling it into the future.<\/li>\n
  7. When in doubt, ditch.<\/li>\n
  8. A photo is either a “hell yes” or no.<\/li>\n
  9. It is better to travel to fewer places (than seeing a lot of places, but less time in each spot)<\/li>\n
  10. Always have a backup when traveling and taking photos (camera, lens, battery, memory card, film)<\/li>\n
  11. Better to bring more film (than less)<\/li>\n
  12. A week in a foreign city is a sweet spot to getting to know the city<\/li>\n
  13. The bigger your camera, the less likely you are to carry it with you on a daily basis, and therefore you are less likely to shoot daily, and will end up shooting less<\/li>\n
  14. Try to take at least 1 photo a day<\/li>\n
  15. When in doubt of a photo, don’t upload it<\/li>\n
  16. Work on series, not individual images<\/li>\n
  17. Lots of likes and favorites doesn’t necessarily mean the photo is good<\/li>\n
  18. It is better to be deeply influenced by a few photographers (and know their work really well), than being a little bit influenced by a lot of other photographers<\/li>\n
  19. Changing a bad color into black and white won’t make it a better photo<\/li>\n
  20. Adding clarity, sharpness, vignette won’t make a bad photo better<\/li>\n
  21. Post process a photo until it looks about 80% good and stop, or else you run the risk of over processing<\/li>\n
  22. Stick to one film<\/li>\n
  23. Stick to presets<\/li>\n
  24. Having fewer cameras or lenses is less stressful<\/a><\/li>\n
  25. The less time I spend on social media the happier and more focused and productive I am<\/li>\n
  26. Don’t compete against others, compete against myself<\/li>\n
  27. Spending time with photographers obsessed with gear will make me want to buy more gear<\/li>\n
  28. The more time I spend on gear review sites, the more gear I want to buy (that I don’t need)<\/li>\n
  29. Whenever I am feeling uninspired by my photography or dissatisfied with my work, I want to buy a new camera (thinking it will make me more creative, and spark more inspiration)<\/li>\n
  30. I only need 2 pairs of clothes while traveling (one pair I’m wearing, and the other in the bag). Wash each pair in the shower with shampoo every night and hang dry.<\/li>\n
  31. While traveling don’t wear cotton (stick to athletic quick dry material)<\/li>\n
  32. The most successful photographers are often the least satisfied<\/li>\n
  33. The more people who say they hate your work (or call your work overrated), the more successful you are.<\/li>\n
  34. People with a large followed by following ratio (on Twitter) aren’t spammers<\/li>\n
  35. The more hash tags a photographer uses on social media, the more hungry for attention they are<\/li>\n
  36. The best photography I can do is in my own backyard (I better than anyone else, and it is usually more unique)<\/li>\n
  37. Shooting film helps the editing process (I unintentionally let my film marinate for a long time because I’m either busy or lazy, and therefore when I get my film finally processed and scanned, I’m no longer emotionally attached to my photos and can “kill my babies”)<\/li>\n
  38. If I spend too much time trying to make my digital photos look like my film photos, just shoot film<\/li>\n
  39. I’m happy if I can make one meaningful street photo a month<\/li>\n
  40. The more a photographer gossips about others, the more insecure they are about their own work<\/li>\n
  41. You are the average of the 5 closest photographers to you.<\/li>\n
  42. Photographers who criticize the equipment of others are often just jealous and want that equipment<\/li>\n
  43. A viewer will respect or value a photo more if you tell them you shot it on film (unfair, but true)<\/li>\n
  44. To get an honest critique, tell people to be “brutally honest” and help “kill your babies”<\/li>\n
  45. Don’t defend my photos during a critique. Keep my mouth shut, nod, and take notes<\/li>\n
  46. Always be ready to share my portfolio with someone else (via my smartphone or iPad)<\/li>\n
  47. While traveling I generally shoot 1 roll of film every 2-3 days<\/li>\n
  48. When booking accommodation, the most important thing is location, location, location<\/li>\n
  49. When traveling in a foreign country and trying out a new meal at a restaurant or a coffee, ask the waiter (or barista) what they ate or drank today (as a good guide to make your own decision)<\/li>\n
  50. The more tourists in an area, generally the less interesting it is to photograph<\/li>\n
  51. If possible, always fly direct. If the cost of a direct flight isn’t 25% more expensive than the cheaper option, go for it.<\/li>\n
  52. It never hurts to ask for permission when taking\u00c2\u00a0a photo of a stranger<\/li>\n
  53. Best way to overcome jetlag : fast for at least 18 hours before arriving at my target destination<\/li>\n
  54. Creepiness is proportional to focal length<\/li>\n
  55. If I want to overcome jetlag, drink as much coffee as I want until it is time to sleep at around 10pm my destination time<\/li>\n
  56. When on an international flight, switch my watch to the target destination, and try to stay awake (and sleep) accordingly<\/li>\n
  57. If I’m jetlagged and it’s past midnight in a foreign country, take melatonin.<\/li>\n
  58. When in doubt, smile at a stranger and say ‘hello’<\/li>\n
  59. The most interesting thing to photograph is your own life.<\/li>\n
  60. Have a double-shot of espresso whenever I feel uninspired (always does the trick).<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    What are some other rules of thumb or heuristics that you personally believe in and follow? Share your tips and thoughts in the comments below!<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    I am a big fan and believer of “heuristics” (or rules of thumb). I was first introduced to the idea of “heuristics” from Nassim Taleb (in his book “Antifragile“) and later more from\u00c2\u00a0Gerd Gigerenzer \u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":22405,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_ek_photo_artist_note":"","_ek_photo_thesis":"","_ek_photo_camera":"","_ek_photo_place":"","_ek_photo_human_moment":"","_ek_photo_sequence":"","_ek_photo_question":"","_ek_photo_canonical_claim":"","_ek_photo_ai_summary":"","_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[17],"tags":[1691],"class_list":["post-22404","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-posts","tag-heuristics"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/mcdonalds.jpg?fit=1280%2C1280&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22404","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22404"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22404\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22405"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22404"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22404"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22404"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}