Feeling discouraged

[hammy]

Well I just got back three rolls that I took the other day, and I was feeling pretty confident about them. I used my Canon ae-1 with my vivitar hotshoe flash and my 50mm/1.8 lens, sometimes using my 2x teleconverter on it.

I shot this local band inside a restaraunt, and well, most (90-95%) of the shots were just not so good, ameteur point and shoot snap shot looking, or out of focus. I'm finding it really hard to focus (manual focus) in dim light.
So i'm feeling pretty discouraged. Just about two weeks ago I shot two other bands, and got amazing results. I was really proud of myself, and I got some very artistic looking B&W photos which showed the bands' performances quite well, and the band members loved them. Yet they were shot outside, so it was a different atmosphere. I don't know.
Is it normal to feel "discouraged" once in a while? I hope so. Learn from my mistakes? Is that what I need to do? Anyone with more experience than me, guide me.. :hail:

 

[ksmattfish]

Is it normal to feel "discouraged" once in a while? I hope so. Learn from my mistakes? Is that what I need to do?

Yes, that's pretty much the way it works. Try to figure out what you did wrong, and keep shooting.

 

[fadingaway1986]

A few days ago i submitted some photos to shutterstock. About half of them were rejected...

Their comments were "don't shoot on a tablecloth". I feel pretty discourage as I was really happy with these shots.... and more so, It wasn't even a tablecloth!

Grr. I wish they would at least give constructive criticism.

 

[LeadSister]

I just bought my new camera and feel so discouraged by everything I need to learn. And overwhelmed by all th options on the camera! But eventually I'll get the hang of it. Just keep learning from mistakes. Like the saying goes, failure isnt failure if a lesson from it's learned. Ok, well, that came from a Garth Brooks song but it's true.

I did a quick search and found this.... Concert Photography - Concert, Stage and Low-Light Photography.

Hope that helps some.
Pamela

 

[terri]

It also helps if you can keep an exposure log, so you can review it later with your images or negatives. I know shooting a band isn't exactly an ideal situation to take that step, but even if you jotted down a few settings you had, it could help later. You start to get a feel for what is going to work.

But it takes time, and study, and effort. Like my husband used to tell me, "Hey, if it were easy, everyone could do it."

Be proud of your successes, and be PATIENT with your failures!

 

[ShutteredEye]

Bah, I tried to up and quit photography a month or so ago. People here talked me into being patient and sticking it out. Good group here.

By the way, they were right.