Are you content with snapshots?

[Horatio]

Personally, I am content with most of my snaps. I'm too impatient to set up and wait for a shot, most of the time. I'm saving the serious work for when I'm retired. Maybe I'll have chosen a favorite camera and lens by then!

 

[choiliefan]

Look at all Vivian Maier accomplished after she "retired"...

 

[radiant]

I'm a snapshooter and wouldn't care less how carefully the photo was/not taken.

(For the record: I photograph with large format 5x7" too)

 

[gone]

Tomorrow is not assured. My philosophy is the same as Janis Joplin's'. She said "you better get it while can, because it just might not be there in the morning when you wake up".

 

[runswithsizzers]

If you are under the impression that you will have more time - or patience - after you retire, you may be disappointed.
There is nothing wrong with taking a snapshot - I just try to make it the best snapshot I am capable of taking at that particular time and place.
If your goal is to take "better" photographs (and you may define "better" however you like), then the time to start practicing is now. There is no need to be "serious" about it - it can still be fun to try to see something new in every shot.

 

[Bill Burk]

I just got done thinking I wish I used the tripod more. Take snapshots sure, but use a tripod. It will make the prints better technically.

It steps away from the decisive moment, but be ready for those times when the decisive moment lasts a couple minutes.

 

[Horatio]

If you are under the impression that you will have more time - or patience - after you retire, you may be disappointed.
There is nothing wrong with taking a snapshot - I just try to make it the best snapshot I am capable of taking at that particular time and place.
If your goal is to take "better" photographs (and you may define "better" however you like), then the time to start practicing is now. There is no need to be "serious" about it - it can still be fun to try to see something new in every shot.

I’m definitely practicing!

 

[Horatio]

I just got done thinking I wish I used the tripod more. Take snapshots sure, but use a tripod. It will make the prints better technically.

It steps away from the decisive moment, but be ready for those times when the decisive moment lasts a couple minutes.

Planning to retake a scene on my back porch with film, and tripod, based on a snap I recently made with my S2 Pro. I may post it later.

 

[warden]

Personally, I am content with most of my snaps. I'm too impatient to set up and wait for a shot, most of the time. I'm saving the serious work for when I'm retired. Maybe I'll have chosen a favorite camera and lens by then!

I highlighted the important part for you. Good job!

 

[Horatio]

I highlighted the important part for you. Good job!

Thanks for that! Still, there's always room for improvement. One of my proudest shots was made when I was 14. It was a portrait of my dad. Nothing but a snapshot, but the timing was perfect. Unfortunately the negative has been lost.

How about you? Are your snaps satisfactory?

 

[warden]

Thanks for that! Still, there's always room for improvement. One of my proudest shots was made when I was 14. It was a portrait of my dad. Nothing but a snapshot, but the timing was perfect. Unfortunately the negative has been lost.

How about you? Are your snaps satisfactory?

Oh fore sure, I'm satisfied with my casual shots, especially the many I made when my kids were small. There are all sorts of little quality issues with them but to dwell on that is to dwell on the least important part of the photographic experience. Better to enjoy the images for what they are.

 

[BradS]

The premise of the question is false. It assumes/implies that snapshots are somehow, not good or undesirable.

I'm not content with snapshots, I am thrilled! A snapshot preserves a moment, a memory...that is the goal!

 

[Horatio]

I think "snapshot" is sometimes used in a derogatory way. Seems like I've read that in places, but who knows. Maybe I made it up!

 

[Pieter12]

Look at all Vivian Maier accomplished after she "retired"...

Most of Vivian Maier's work was done while she was working as a nanny. I don't think shed did much after she retired. She was destitute in her old age and couldn't make the payments for her storage space and the contents (here negatives) ended up being auctioned off two years before she died.

 

[MattKing]

I'm not sure whether the question is whether I am content taking snapshots, or whether I am content with the snapshots I take.
The answer, in most cases, is yes to both.
Usually, if I want to take greater pains to create a photograph, I have the opportunity to do so. So even if I've already taken a snapshot of something, I can get back to it with more intent and deliberation.
But sometimes I can't - it rarely makes me unhappy.

 

[cliveh]

How do you define a snapshot?

 

[BrianShaw]

 

[Horatio]

Snap shooting rarely produces images of artistic merit.

From another thread about photography as art... or not.

 

[Horatio]

Brian, that is lovely.

 

[Vaughn]

Only when I am taking snapshots.

 

[John Bragg]

I think of snapshots as something unplanned, like when shooting street photos. Something I have no control over, apart from watching the interaction between the pictorial elements and waiting for the right moment to trip the shutter. I love the feeling of serendipity at work and usually I am very happy. Currently I am in portrait mode and that is something I enjoy immensely. I am also happy with my results by and large, but I do not consider them to be snapshots. Rather my attempt to connect with the subject and show their personality.