Most important advice you never followed

daleeman · Mar 12, 2012

Floss

stavrosk · Mar 12, 2012

fotch said:
Quit buying photo gear.

+1
I wish I could follow that though. I really believe is does not help you become a better photographer.
But I just cant stop.

winger · Mar 12, 2012

Moopheus said:
And the cameras themselves come in a wonderful variety, for the same reason. And how would you know what "the one"" is if you don't give more than one a try?

Exactly!

Steve Smith · Mar 12, 2012

Anyone who says "that won't work" or "it can't be done" or "you can't do that" or something similar. These are usually people who need to be proven wrong.

Steve.

SuzanneR · Mar 12, 2012

When I built the darkroom in 2003, I had a number of people tell me not to do that, the tide was toward digital, and that I should go digital. Didn't take that advice then, and don't regret it at all, though I have added some hybrid work with color recently, but still shoot it with film, and I love my time in the dark.

John Austin · Mar 12, 2012

"Forget selling silver prints, do weddings"

Good advice, which thankfully I ignored

TheFlyingCamera · Mar 12, 2012

Another response to the "just shoot one camera, one lens, one film" - if that were true, you'd be able to completely dis-assemble and re-assemble your car with just a 1/4" socket wrench, or build a house with just a screwdriver. Different tools for different tasks.

michaelbsc · Mar 12, 2012

blansky said:
Get a job.

I thought that was a curse. It was advice? Damn!

Steve Smith · Mar 12, 2012

TheFlyingCamera said:
if that were true, you'd be able to completely dis-assemble and re-assemble your car with just a 1/4" socket wrench, or build a house with just a screwdriver. Different tools for different tasks.

Well, I used to own a Morris Minor car. You could do almost everything with a 7/16" and a 1/2" spanner.

Steve.

erikg · Mar 12, 2012

"stop freelancing and take the newspaper job"

largely · Mar 12, 2012

"Get rid of all that film crap and go di---al. Film will be dead in 2 years."
Heard this in 1999.

Thomas Bertilsson · Mar 12, 2012

Never compromise on quality and consistency.

Well, I never could pass up a good deal, so I had my fair share of grief in coming to grips with the whole system of having a perfectly tuned machine of paper/developer and film/developer. Instead I just ended up not understanding how it all hangs together for a good long time, and it wasn't until I looked beyond Ralph's 'magic bullets' that I felt like I finally understood this medium and could truly apply myself without much compromise.

removed account4 · Mar 12, 2012

largely said:
"Get rid of all that film crap and go di---al. Film will be dead in 2 years."
Heard this in 1999.

LOL

my uncle, a digital futurist who worked for a very large personal computer company
told me that around 1988 ....

CGW · Mar 12, 2012

Stop drinking. Don't go to grad school. They'll never fund that. If only to save embarrassment, ditch film.

PKM-25 · Mar 12, 2012

My father's reaction to the arrival of my COD order from B&H in the Summer of 1983 when I was 16, a Kiron 80-200mm F4.5 for my FM2:

"Why are you spending money on that? Save up for a car or something useful, every boy and his dog wants to be a photographer, hell, I even did"....

The lens was $89 shipped, I would go on to make thousands with the images I made with it in the Navy in my late teens and early 20's before I got serious Nikon glass like the 180mm 2.8 ED....I was too busy photographing and traveling the world on the U.S.S Ranger to buy a car, I did not get one until I was 21....

Chuck_P · Mar 12, 2012

Most important advice I never followed-------

"Just braket"

wy2l · Mar 12, 2012

"Honest, honey, I won't get pregnant."

"You can trust me, I'm not like the rest of them."

Aron · Mar 13, 2012

I'm surprised by the number of people who say the old "use one film and one developer until you know the combo inside and out" is BS. Sure, there is a reason Ilford has other films than say just FP4, but when a craft has this many variables to deal with, it really helps consistency, repeatability, troubleshooting and learning. Of course it doesn't matter much if you screw up the new exciting fim on a Sunday afternoon walk, but when you have to insure you'll get each time fairly close to what you wanted (visualized, if you like), than the old boring advice holds true. I have taken many photos of people that can't be taken again and I'm so happy most of those negs print fairly easily.

I suspect most of this mentality comes from the fact that the times manufacturers give us are very good. But if e.g. Rodinal semi-stand is your thing, than you're back to stone-age testing.

Saying all this, one of my current favourite photo is from a totally new to me film which got overdeveloped by accident.

Helinophoto · Mar 13, 2012

Here are a few I never followed:

- Never use a wide-angle lens to photograph people.
(Orly?? http://photos.modelmayhem.com/photos/120214/15/4f3af21d5b706.jpg http://photos.modelmayhem.com/photos/120128/06/4f240b1584d11.jpg )
- Use one film and one developer. (with all the data available online, I strongly disagree. Research and trials are done much faster now and you can base it upon work done by others. Alone in a cellar until 1995, I would agree, but not with Internet, google, and places like APUG archives at your fingertips ). Also, now days, you need to be able to find your favorites and adjust to new ones, as older films are cut and newer ones comes into play.
- Film is dead, don't spend your money on film-equipment. Heard from 2005-2012 and probably beyond.
- Digital is better than film, don't shoot that film stuff.
- If you lack shadow detail, the photo is a failure.
- If you have blown highlights, the photo is a failure.
- Your analog camera is dated, throw it away.
- You only need one lens, use it and learn it. (probably never heard of stuff like "compression effects" and exotic stuff like "variation" or "best tool for a given job")
- If you are going to buy studio equipment, then buy the most expensive head and pack solution you can get, Alien Bees suck donkey dung.

Probably lots of other junk as well, usually it goes in one ear and out the other, just barely registering with my internal spam-filter, before it's spat out on the other side as "utter crap"

Roger Cole · Mar 13, 2012

Aron said:
I'm surprised by the number of people who say the old "use one film and one developer until you know the combo inside and out" is BS. Sure, there is a reason Ilford has other films than say just FP4, but when a craft has this many variables to deal with, it really helps consistency, repeatability, troubleshooting and learning. Of course it doesn't matter much if you screw up the new exciting fim on a Sunday afternoon walk, but when you have to insure you'll get each time fairly close to what you wanted (visualized, if you like), than the old boring advice holds true. I have taken many photos of people that can't be taken again and I'm so happy most of those negs print fairly easily.

I suspect most of this mentality comes from the fact that the times manufacturers give us are very good. But if e.g. Rodinal semi-stand is your thing, than you're back to stone-age testing.

Saying all this, one of my current favourite photo is from a totally new to me film which got overdeveloped by accident.

I don't recall anyone saying it was exactly BS. We said we didn't do it.

stavrosk · Mar 13, 2012

"Don't mind the blown highlights!"
I just cannot stand them.

Aron · Mar 13, 2012

Roger Cole said:
I don't recall anyone saying it was exactly BS. We said we didn't do it.

Damn, it's always bad to see when someone else does what I just did. My apologies, it was early in the morning when I wrote my post and not every part of the system got booted yet.

John cox · Mar 13, 2012

Someone once told me that if I wanted to do a type or style of photography really well, I should find someone who's work I liked and study it. That by learning everything that photographer/artist did and mastering it, I would be able to take it to the next level.
That's probably the best photographic advise someone has given me.

Roger Cole · Mar 13, 2012

Aron said:
Damn, it's always bad to see when someone else does what I just did. My apologies, it was early in the morning when I wrote my post and not every part of the system got booted yet.

Well I did say the advice had problems, that not every material was suitable for every circumstances I want to shoot in or every artistic intent. And that's true.

I really think the advice has a certain sound basis, but is over stated. As in my prior example, I like TMZ and Delta 3200 in low light, but if I find myself shooting outdoors in bright sun and wish to make large prints without obvious grain from those shots too, such film is doubly unsuitable.

If I had to phrase my own advice on such things I'd say "don't go overboard using many different materials without getting to know any of them, but don't lock yourself into a straightjacket of materials choice either. Try a few at first and get an idea of what you like, then choose a few film/developer combinations for the situations you usually shoot in and your style of imagery. Make these your usual materials and get to know them well, but don't be afraid to experiment with others occasionally too."

Aron · Mar 13, 2012

Roger Cole said:
If I had to phrase my own advice on such things I'd say "don't go overboard using many different materials without getting to know any of them, but don't lock yourself into a straightjacket of materials choice either. Try a few at first and get an idea of what you like, then choose a few film/developer combinations for the situations you usually shoot in and your style of imagery. Make these your usual materials and get to know them well, but don't be afraid to experiment with others occasionally too."

Trying a few might very well have different meanings for different people, but for me, when trying a film (say a few rolls), what I will understand most likely is how it reacts to some changes in exposure/dev, and what grain structure/size it has.

The more I stick to a film combo, the stronger I feel the need for another brick/box to understand it better. The former approach gives me a kind of "one size fits all" negative while the latter helps me to explore where my limits are (and slaps them in my face ruthlessly).

I'm not going to say anything new here, but this aproach is not unique to photography and works in other areas as well.

I personally have standardized on one medium speed film, which I use 95% of the time.

Out of curiousity, what is it that TMZ gives you in 35 mm that you don't get from the Delta?

Most important advice you never followed

daleeman

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winger

Steve Smith

SuzanneR

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largely

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removed account4

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Aron

Helinophoto

Roger Cole

stavrosk

Aron

John cox

Roger Cole

Aron

Most important advice you never followed

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