My main problem/fear as a beginner

[Boutch]

is actually taking photos. All I want to do is play with my camera, practice and improve, but at the same time I find myself reluctant to pull the trigger.

All I think is ‘the light could be better’ or ‘I can’t find the best composition’ or even ‘this shot would be better with a different lense’.

Has anyone else been in this position? Any tips for how to break out of it?

 

[zulu42]

Pull the trigger anyway. As beginners we need, besides all the knowlege and equipment, shots taken.
Thousands and thousands of shots taken. Every bad shot just takes you closer to the good ones.

And re-shoot. Take your images home, study, get feedback, and then go back and take the shot you wished you got the first time.

 

[Woodsman]

Back in film days when your starting out and short of funds and had to pay some serious dollars for developing only to find nothing you liked on the prints, yes been there done that. But with digital just think to yourself this is not costing me a penny and fire away. Sometimes I have shot things and forgotten that the camera has been in some custom mode from a previous series of shots and the photos do not come out as expected. Quite often they can be fixed in post processing. You won't learn, improve or enjoy the hobby unless you shoot and shoot a lot with different light, composition, lenses and situations. Shooting a lot will help you decide what subjects you prefer and personal preferences on setup. So fire away, you can always delete on the computer what you don't like.

 

[Derrel]

>SNIP> All I want to do is play with my camera, practice and improve, but at the same time I find myself reluctant to pull the trigger.>SNIP?

Well, playing with the camera, and practicing with it, is something that MANY of us did back in the film days, as a way to improve our camera-handling, lens-changing,and familiarity with the cameras and lenses we had. Pictures and prints used to cost real,significant money in film, in developing, and in printing-out or enlarging; practice can HELP, yes, it can! But, if you're truly a beginning shooter, it helps to actually press the shutter release too! No offense is intended, but your situation sounds as if perhaps some of the issue is a desire to achieve perfection; perfection is a big,bad enemy! Strive for, "good enough!", and shoot more pictures, but do spend time analyzing the photos, in order to ascertain what could have been improved, and to boost your chances for success on subsequent shoots.

Get out there-and SHOOT!

 

[SCraig]

Every photograph you take doesn't have to be a masterpiece, it doesn't have to be perfect, it doesn't even have to be good. It only has to be something you like for whatever reason.

Shoot birds or wildlife or kids or dogs or anything that moves around quickly. They will quickly eliminate that need for a different lens or the perfect composition or the perfect light or the perfect anything because you will learn in a hurry to settle for whatever happens to be in the viewfinder at that moment.

 

[ac12]

All the time.
Change subjects, and everything can be new and strange.
Heck I never heard of Lacros until I saw it a prior yearbook of the high school yearbook that I'm helping.
I only looked at a 4 min YouTube video. That first game is goina be a steep learning experience.

Just dive right in and shoot.
Don't worry too much about it till later.

 

[F5 Penguin]

Any tips for how to break out of it?

Probably not good to be new to a site (meaning myself) and to go disagreeing with all the previous posters...however lol...the longer you are like this the better. The world is filled with thoughtless images. Maybe you and your images will be an exception? Someone not ready to press the shutter until the shutter is ready to be pressed isn't a bad thing. Best of luck to you!

 

[jcdeboever]

I have had that same feeling since day one. I've been shooting for a little over 2 years. Derrel suggested I buy some used John Hedgcoe books. I did, about a dollar a piece off of Amazon. They are old but the principles still apply and they are loaded with projects that are easy to understand. It bridged the anxiety gap and got me out shooting specific, goal oriented shoots. The gap was focus on a single project and presented challenge and the reward was fun. I learned a few things along the way as well.

 

[BananaRepublic]

is actually taking photos. All I want to do is play with my camera, practice and improve, but at the same time I find myself reluctant to pull the trigger.

All I think is ‘the light could be better’ or ‘I can’t find the best composition’ or even ‘this shot would be better with a different lense’.

Has anyone else been in this position? Any tips for how to break out of it?

Just point the thing at the thing and take a picture.

 

[Nintendoeats]

Do not let the perfect be the enemy of the good.

 

[Dave442]

You have to shoot with what you are given. The eye sees much different from the camera, so even if you thought you had perfect light the image may come out bland and a better composition is often just a case of moving around. It helps to grab a good number of bad compositions on the way to the good one. The best lens is the one on the camera, so think about compositions with that lens.

 

[PJcam]

Some things are right to read about first.

Some things are easier to try and learn as we do.

When we do both learning tends to come together better.

You don't have to buy films, you don't have to pay for developing and printing.

You got nothing to lose by playing with your camera but everything to gain.

If you don't like what you shot, learn from it, delete it and try again.

 

[Cortian]

Every photograph you take doesn't have to be a masterpiece, it doesn't have to be perfect, it doesn't even have to be good. It only has to be something you like for whatever reason.

This ^^^^^

A couple years ago I took a photo of a leaky faucet for reference for selecting a replacement at the store. Lo and behold: It became one of my favourite photos. A couple weeks ago I submitted it to a photo contest here on TPF. Will it win? Heck, I dunno. Will anybody else like it? *shrug* Hope so, but it doesn't really matter. I like it. It "speaks" to me.

Just point the thing at the thing and take a picture.

And this ^^^^^

Do not let the perfect be the enemy of the good.

And this ^^^^^

Besides, as somebody else mentioned: It's digital. Anything that doesn't turn out to your liking you can just dump. Heck, I've taken dozens of photos with not a one of them worth keeping. Tossed 'em all. But be careful. Sometimes a bit of sharpening, some colour correction, some cropping & re-framing, etc. in a photo editor can rescue what might otherwise be not worth keeping.

Lastly: You learn by doing. Well, reading and guidance and doing . But certainly doing is a big component. Just do it

Then again: If you're happy just buying hardware, learning it, discussing it, maybe selling it and buying other, etc., who'm I to say you're Doing It Wrong?

Oh, to answer your question: No, I've never had that problem. I love pulling the trigger. Repeatedly. Esp. with a DSLR. It's fun hearing the *click*s (And sometimes I even get a photo worth keeping.)

 

[limr]

Just shoot. It's digital. You could take literally a thousand shots in 10 minutes, erase them all in a few seconds, and do it all over again with exactly zero risk. No one is watching over your shoulder to judge whether or not every shot is a masterpiece.

The irony, of course, is that the less you shoot, the more likely you are to get a clunker.

You want to increase the likelihood of good images? Just.Shoot.

 

[kpizzle]

I found myself in a similar position. Like everyone said. Just shoot. One thing that helps me is brainstorm things to do. For example, last night I played around with light painting. Last weekend I set up kids paw patrol toys on a homemade set and shot those. I bought some cheap desk laps at target and a big roll of paper to make the set. Brainstorm ideas..write them down and do it. One idea I thought would be neat is light paint kids name and print it. Did the light painting I did last night come out perfect. Far from it but I did learn and now brainstorming on different techniques to improve.