Biggest thing I've learned about Photography

I was challenged with this question the other day about what the biggest thing is I have learned about Photography since I began 14 years ago.  I could say that for me I have learned a lot in my years doing photography.  When I first started, I shot only in automatic mode and really did not know all the functions of my camera.  I did not know about the exposure triangle and how that encompasses shutter speed, aperture, and ISO. I was not good at framing my subjects or understanding depth of field. 

I was trying to fake it till I made it.  Like Maya Angelou said, “Do the best you can until you know better.  Then when you know better, do better.  Because I really enjoyed the art of photography, I wanted to know better so I could do better.  So, like anything I do, I immersed myself in learning all things photography and everything I could about my camera and how it works.  I now have a huge working knowledge of my camera and how photography works.  I can create beautiful images for my clients that they love and share.  With all things technical I have advanced so much.  Fast forward now to 2021 and I am nowhere near where I used to be.   

But, in answering the hard question of what the biggest thing is I have learned, it would have to be one thing that has changed the way I see myself as a photographer and how I view my images.  Photography is subjective!  No other simpler statement could be made, and it changed my outlook on my own skills as a photographer.  When I first started, I would constantly compare my images to other photographers and try to make my images look like theirs.  I would try to make the coloring and exposure just like theirs, even if I did not like the way it looked, because I thought they were professionals so they must know what they were doing, and I did not.  I would think oh my white balance is wrong, even if I liked the images to be warmer in tone.  It was not how others did it.  I would think my images were too bright and would change it to be darker because that is what other photographers did, even though I liked the airy feeling of bright photos. I could nitpick over every part of my images.  I began to not like photography and took a couple of years off to reflect and learn more about photography.

I had a style that I liked and that it was ok if my images were not exactly like theirs.  I saw that everyone has opinions and styles, and they differ and that is ok.  I had to find my own niche and style and that I should not need to spend hours editing photos just to make my images look like someone else’s just because they were better than me.  That was their style and how they liked doing things.  As I researched photography and read blog after photography blog, I came to the realization that there is no one right way to do photography.  For every photographer I could find that said to do something a specific way, I could find just as many that said to do something different.  So, it came down to me mastering the technical aspect of photography but leaving room for me to develop my own style and try to stay off the comparison highway that just leads to self-doubt, insecurities, and recrimination. If potential clients looked at my examples of my work, they could like my style and sign up with me, or if they preferred a different style, they would find a photography that fit what they wanted.  That is ok!

I would never claim to be the master of anything, but I have come a long way in my skills as a photographer.  No matter how skilled someone is in their profession there is always room for growth.  I continue to learn my craft and hone my skills and I continue to educate myself daily so I can be the best photographer I know. But most importantly I do not compare myself to others, I stay in my lane and work hard for my clients who decide if they like me and my images by either using me as a photographer or not.  Subjective!