10 Things Photographers Should NOT do

[burgo]

The only thing I can add from what has been said is.....have fun.

Good advise from everyone though

 

[12sndsgood]

I agree with your statement, but i know alot of people who accept failure as failure, and dont learn from it.

Hmmm... maybe I'm coming off too rigid.

Failure IS failure. Somebody here said:
"being afraid to fail has kept allot of people from trying. go out, fail, and learn from your mistakes is way better then never trying at all."

No thanks. I can guarantee you NO wedding clients would go along with this; and no would-be photographer should ever start thinking like this.

I understand there's a certain amount of risk for any of us when we take on a job. But there's no substitute for preparing yourself as much as possible. We all take "calculated" risks.

Don't numb yourself against fear of failure. DO something about it. Arm yourself. All things in due time. What was that first "don't" on the list... something about expecting results too quickly?

Even after doing this for 40 years, when I set out to do a wedding, my wife knows not to wish me "good luck." I refuse to rely on luck. I will not put myself OR my clients in that position.

Keep the fear alive. It will push you to perform better.

-Pete

you can try and fail many times before you ever take a job i do that all the time now lol.. taking a job before you are ready to take on something such as a wedding is more then just failure, its utter stupidity. i think there is big diffrence between failing at something you tried and setting yourself up for failure.

but it really comes down to the person.everyone is diffrent and will handle fear diffrently so guess there is no reason why everyones reasoning isn't valid in its own way.

 

[Blake.Oney]

Maybe it should just say "Don't be afraid of failure as long as you're just practicing or doing a free job." ?

 

[djacobox372]

In art stealing is fine, as long as you think your improving on the original. Bad knockoffs for commercial gain are a no-no.

 

[daarksun]

7. DON’T STEAL IDEAS
This goes for any form of creative expression. You see what I did at the top of this article? I gave credit where credit is due because I borrowed an idea and turned it into something of my own. Same thing for photos — if you borrow a concept from another photographer, make sure you give them credit. And look at it this way — if you inspired others to create new things, wouldn’t you like it if they gave you recognition for that?

I'm not sure weather I disagree or agree with this part. It's a sort of contradiction in semantics.

I, personally, think sharing ideas...even copying ideas for shots (to a certain degree) is healthy. We learn the technique, and then can apply it to other areas of our work.

I'll probably get flamed for saying that, but oh well.

+1

 

[sabbath999]

5. DON’T IGNORE THE CRITICS
If you share your photos anywhere on the web, you’ve probably had unsolicited critiques. Of course, you’re more than welcome to ignore them, but it usually doesn’t hurt to read them and think about it. You might just learn something or improve a photo. But, keep in mind that not all advice is good advice.

I certainly agree with the last part of this.

I would change this to "Don't Ignore The Critics Whose Work You Know And Respect".

There are a LOT of photographers here on TPF that I think are spectacular, and some who I think are blowhards who just like to hear the sound of their own voice.

Just because a person offers an opinion doesn't mean they can actually shoot better than you can...

If I have seen their work and it is stuff that is really top notch, then by all means I listen and consider what they are saying. If it's just "some guy on the internet" who doesn't post any images or if their images are not significantly better than mine, then personally I ignore them.

But that's me.

 

[Light Artisan]

11. Argue relentlessly on forums.
Get out and take some pictures, even bad ones are more constructive.

 

[JerrfyLube]

11. Argue relentlessly on forums.
Get out and take some pictures, even bad ones are more constructive.

:lmao: Seriously....


I have serious issues with number 2... :er:

 

[David Dvir]

Great post for the most part! I agree with some others regarding it's copying ideas. It's hard to not "steal or copy ideas" when basically everything has been done. I created a website, and found out afterwards that another photographer had a similar site, it was complete coincedence but I was flagged for being a copycat. I unfortunately felt forced to alter my site (that I designed on my own after teaching myself html/php/css and it kind of sucks.. I'm sure there are many other sites that resemble mine as well out there somewhere. There's too many great things happening to not overlap with someone else's work. However it is nice to mention inspiration if there was some.

 

[Ub3rdoRK]

good read..