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I was looking at some of my older work today, and it got me thinking about certain opinions, beliefs and peeves that I used to hold onto very tightly.
A couple of years ago if someone were to utter the words "needs fill light" or "strobes would have made this better" to me, it would make my head spin and I was quick to react in complete defense. I was very adamant about using only natural light, and believed it to be better than any other type of lighting. Now almost every time I shoot, I use a reflector for fill light, and if given the opportunity, I will jump into a studio with tons of excitement and no hesitation. It took me years to figure out that light is simply light and what matters is how you use it, regardless of the multiple times it was said to me before I accepted it. I still prefer natural light, but only because I'm cheap and it's free to use, not because it's supposedly the best light.
I would never shoot above ISO 100 and would do everything I could to avoid even the tiniest grain in a photo. Because I primarily shoot in available lighting, there were times that I would even end a shoot simply because I was losing light at the end of the day and I would have to go to a higher ISO in order to continue. Now I rarely shoot below ISO 800, even on my old 5DC, and graininess is a common aspect of my photos.
I used to edit my photos in such a way that made it obvious that my photos were put through a photoshop treatment. Now, I usually do everything I can to make my photos look like they've never been edited, even though I retouch 99% of my work.
In my head the tiniest negative comment towards my work was a huge blow to me personally, and I would often react accordingly. I'm still temperamental, but I've learned when to ignore and let things that bother me go, when to accept critique, and how to defend my decisions without being as obnoxious. I will always defend certain aspects of my work, I'm stubborn that way, and admittedly I have a tendency to overreact and then backtrack, but the level of overreaction seems to be waning. I never claimed to be perfect.
So, what are some of the things you used to in your photography that you believed very adamantly, that you now contradict?
A couple of years ago if someone were to utter the words "needs fill light" or "strobes would have made this better" to me, it would make my head spin and I was quick to react in complete defense. I was very adamant about using only natural light, and believed it to be better than any other type of lighting. Now almost every time I shoot, I use a reflector for fill light, and if given the opportunity, I will jump into a studio with tons of excitement and no hesitation. It took me years to figure out that light is simply light and what matters is how you use it, regardless of the multiple times it was said to me before I accepted it. I still prefer natural light, but only because I'm cheap and it's free to use, not because it's supposedly the best light.
I would never shoot above ISO 100 and would do everything I could to avoid even the tiniest grain in a photo. Because I primarily shoot in available lighting, there were times that I would even end a shoot simply because I was losing light at the end of the day and I would have to go to a higher ISO in order to continue. Now I rarely shoot below ISO 800, even on my old 5DC, and graininess is a common aspect of my photos.
I used to edit my photos in such a way that made it obvious that my photos were put through a photoshop treatment. Now, I usually do everything I can to make my photos look like they've never been edited, even though I retouch 99% of my work.
In my head the tiniest negative comment towards my work was a huge blow to me personally, and I would often react accordingly. I'm still temperamental, but I've learned when to ignore and let things that bother me go, when to accept critique, and how to defend my decisions without being as obnoxious. I will always defend certain aspects of my work, I'm stubborn that way, and admittedly I have a tendency to overreact and then backtrack, but the level of overreaction seems to be waning. I never claimed to be perfect.

So, what are some of the things you used to in your photography that you believed very adamantly, that you now contradict?
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