If you’ve been into photography for a while, you know that there are days when your photos turn out bad no matter how hard you try. It’s frustrating, especially when you compare yourself to all those wonderful, inspiring photos other people take. Well, here’s a bit of inspiration and reality check from Manny Ortiz. He admits that he also takes bad photos, and shares a photo shoot to demonstrate it and show you that there’s nothing to feel bad about.
We’ve all had those days, weeks, even months: we go out and take photos, and many of them just don’t turn out right. And it looks like that the photographers you admire only take good photos. Well, it’s because they only show you the good ones. The truth is that even the best photographers take plenty of bad images and have their bad days. So, when this happens to you, just accept it and move on.
If you take some bad photos, it means you’re not afraid to experiment and try out new things. When you play with new techniques, angles, locations, and composition, you’ll make tons of mistakes, but these mistakes let you learn. Manny demonstrates what he calls a pretty bad framing in a couple of his photos in this video. But hey – it means he tried and learned why something doesn’t work.
There will also be times when you’ll make rookie mistakes, even if you are a pro. As you can see in the video, Manny got so excited about a great location he found, that he forgot to change his shutter speed. Since his model was walking, he ended up with plenty of blurry shots before he remembered to change the settings. It happens to everyone, so don’t judge yourself because of it.
There’s something I’d like to add. Sometimes, you’ll be in the creative mood and full of great ideas. Still, you’ll come to the photo shoot and it will seem that it’s not your day after all. When this happens, don’t judge yourself and don’t rush. Take it easy, consider the first 20-30 minutes as a warm-up and just shoot until you get your mojo again.
And finally, remember: you will take bad photos and there will be bad days. But it doesn’t mean you’re a bad photographer and don’t let it make you insecure. It happens to everyone, even to the best ones out there.
[ALL photographers take BAD PICTURES! | Manny Ortiz]
