The 7 Deadly Sins

Lee L · Aug 5, 2011

The trick is to take unique photos of that lighthouse and other 'cliche' subjects that stand out as different, interesting, and well done. And do it 'in camera', not with photoshop or plugins. Doing that will get you work, and working at doing it will make you a better photographer.

Lee

Dave in Kansas · Aug 5, 2011

Well, I had several cameras with me, two of which were relatively new (to me). But the subject was also interesting to me. As you might imagine, we don't have too many lighthouses in Kansas.

Dave

Mainecoonmaniac · Aug 5, 2011

I studied photography in college, did a stint of assisting in Los Angeles then eventually became a commercial photographer. I thought I was well prepared when I went out on my own. It's really brutal doing it alone without a business partner. I had some of the best clients in terms of business relationships. But some are like sharks and will try to get work for little or free. I because burnt out and hungry at the same time. The industry changed because of technology and the economics of photography. I now work in another field that I find just as satisfying without the financial worry. Took me many years to come back to photography. I just do it for fun and don't measure myself by the kind of photo jobs I get. For me, I just do it for the love of it. Yes I consider myself good, but there are tons of people just as good or even better. I don't have any delusions about my photography. I find that freeing.

LarryP · Aug 5, 2011

Great points in the article. And have to admit I really get the Erie lighthouse reference, living in Charleston S.C. there are so many cliche things to shoot I find I only want to shoot them if I can do something that makes the shot different. I did learn for me if I'm going to shoot downtown Charleston first 3 hours of light on sunday mornings is when i want to do it. Less traffic and much better light.

pbromaghin · Aug 5, 2011

In Colorado it's the Maroon Bells mountains near Aspen. I've seen a few B&W versions that I thought were better than Ansel Adam's. My one try at it was terrible. It won't be the last!

Jim Jones · Aug 5, 2011

Dave in Kansas said:
. . . As you might imagine, we don't have too many lighthouses in Kansas.

Dave

But you do have a grand shot of windmills along I-70 near mile 229 west of Salina. However, a friendly highway patrolman informed me that stopping along the interstate is forbidden except in an emergency, and I couldn't find a good shot on the backroads.

michaelbsc · Aug 5, 2011

Worker 11811 said:
It's not the camera that makes the photographer. It's the idiot looking through the viewfinder.

When people have questioned why I use old cameras I point out that the photographer is not in the camera.

Eric Rose · Aug 5, 2011

I sent the link to the original article to a wedding/studio photographer buddy of mine. He and his wife have had their business for over 25 years. He had a good chuckle about the weekend warriors. A number of times they have lost clients to "pros" who say they will do the job for 1/3 the cost and flip them a CD/DVD the next day. In most cases these very same people come back to them with horror stories. The tog shows up with a Rebel xTi, kit lens and on camera flash. No back up equipment at all. Any number of things can and do go wrong. But then again they got their moneys worth. Sometimes they show up with Nikon D3s cameras and the best glass money can buy. Still the shots look like hell because they just don't have the skills required to shoot a professional wedding.

I quit doing full time commercial work years ago. It bugged me that fewer and fewer people were interested in quality and could not understand that it was worth paying for in the long run. It's the WalMart mentality. Give it to me cheap and give it to me now. Times changed as they always do, I changed right along with them. Not photographically, I still shoot to the highest levels I am capable of, but only do it for myself and the odd collector. Maybe once a year the whining from an old client will get to me and I will do a commercial job but it's not where my heart is anymore.

tony lockerbie · Aug 5, 2011

Benjiboy, it's dead east, just double your fee and you are a photographic artist! I used to work as a wedding photographer, I really don't know how I did it for so long, but there you go. Often you don't realize how stressful something is until you no longer do it.
I stll watch the current trends with a little interest, and chuckle when I see the locals still doing the selective colouring thing. The latest trend is desaturating, and bleaching, a kind of 2 stops overexposed transparency thing.

Worker 11811 · Aug 5, 2011

LarryP said:
... And have to admit I really get the Erie lighthouse reference, living in Charleston S.C. there are so many cliche things to shoot I find I only want to shoot them if I can do something that makes the shot different...

pbromaghin said:
In Colorado it's the Maroon Bells mountains near Aspen. I've seen a few B&W versions that I thought were better than Ansel Adam's. My one try at it was terrible. It won't be the last!

I don't know how many pictures I have shot of that lighthouse. Except for, maybe, the first time, I never went there with the idea that I was taking something special. Like I said, I go there to try out new cameras and films on a subject I know well.

Whenever somebody sees one of the pictures I took of the lighthouse, they always give a knowing smile. "Cliche," you can hear in their thoughts. Sometimes they even say it.

I just tell them, "Yeah, I've shot a hundred pictures of that lighthouse but I haven't shot a good one yet."

I see so many digi-pics of that lighthouse where the highlights are all blown out and the shadows are all black. That's one thing that sets many of mine apart. They could stand on their own merits just on that but I'm still looking for "that picture" of the lighthouse.

Maybe someday. Maybe not.

Dshambli · Aug 5, 2011

Great article. I really like photography, but as many have said, I wouldn't consider myself a pro. I have taken small jobs for people I know who insisted, but I don't advertise. I know I've agreed with most of that article since I was in high school and bought an all manual FM10 so I could make sure I learned and had no crutches to depend on. I've felt so bad for so many people who I've seen hire these people. There was a wedding photographer I saw once who printed every single picture she took, including extremely dark or out of focus ones. Imagine remembering your wedding with those.

hoffy · Aug 6, 2011

Dshambli said:
There was a wedding photographer I saw once who printed every single picture she took, including extremely dark or out of focus ones. Imagine remembering your wedding with those.

You should see them now! The bridzilla's don't care about quality, all they care about is how many they get on a DVD! I remember reading on a digital forum, a tog who had a bride get upset, as he culled out the bad focus, shots.

I decided a long time ago that Pro photography is a mug's game, especially in the genre that I wanted to get into, which was sports

benjiboy · Aug 6, 2011

tony lockerbie said:
Benjiboy, it's dead east, just double your fee and you are a photographic artist! I used to work as a wedding photographer, I really don't know how I did it for so long, but there you go. Often you don't realize how stressful something is until you no longer do it.
I stll watch the current trends with a little interest, and chuckle when I see the locals still doing the selective colouring thing. The latest trend is desaturating, and bleaching, a kind of 2 stops overexposed transparency thing.

I always remember Tony what my dad used to say "self advertisement is no recommendation" and I often marvel at people's capacity for self deception about their own abilitys.
I have never aspired to take pictures for a living, I take them because it gives me pleasure, and having to take them would ruin it for me, my only aspiration is to one day become a good photographer

2F/2F · Aug 6, 2011

Wow, we are all so great, aren't we!

markbarendt · Aug 6, 2011

benjiboy said:
I agree Tom, some photography is "Art" but very very little, the majority of it is craft at best even the old master painters in their day only considered themselves craftsmen like other craft at the time like stonemasons not artists, and when people who are virtual photographic beginners these days start growing goatee beards and calling themselves artists it becomes ludicrous.

I heard an adage way back when, paraphrased here.

-------
The first time something is done it is art or science.

The second time it's done it's engineering.

The third time it's done it's a craft.
-------

I think that's a pretty good standard.

Surely the principles of engineering and craft can be applied to an artistic or innovative spark to create something new, but photography and painting have been done at least twice before.

"New to me" does not mean it's really new.

ClarkBarron · Aug 6, 2011

I am Clark Barron, the author of this blog. Thank you all so much for your support. I've heard that I've basically said what everybody is thinking. That's what PhotoCynic.com is going to be all about. It is in its infancy, but I have big plans for the blog including guest bloggers, fauxtographers, gear reviews (our way), and much more. Subscribe for future posts. It is much appreciated.

michaelbsc · Aug 6, 2011

ClarkBarron said:
I am Clark Barron, the author of this blog

.....

Subscribe for future posts. It is much appreciated.

Kudos; I'll subscribe.

mrred · Aug 7, 2011

bblhed said:
... their problem is that they have no clue how to get their vision into the photo.

And that is my biggest problem. I pretty much dislike everything I have shot. Other people do not. The difference is I know what I was trying to achieve but did not get.

The 7 Deadly Sins

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