How long....?

Artograph · May 31, 2009

How long did it take you to become "good" at photography??

I mean...when you are pleased with more photos "turning out well"...as opposed to crappy shots...or "so/so" shots!???

....Especially if you are self-taught?? ....A year....2.....3....?

Artograph · May 31, 2009

Me...? I started up strong for a year or so....and then got frustrated, so then I took a break and I only took photos of birthday parties, my kids...etc....then started up again.

Now, maybe 2 years after first becoming really interested, I'm finding that I've just begun to take some "OK" shots!! LOL!!! I've also found that I still get frustrated...ready to pack it all in.....then suddenly, I'm pleased with my shots again for a bit. The cycle is quite active! The period of time when I am frustrated is more frequent than ever before. ....Is that a good sign???

:O)

Oh.....and while I seem to be able to take a fair shot now and then....It becomes clearer and clearer that I know less and less about photography than I ever realized!! LOL!!

Iron Flatline · May 31, 2009

It took me about a year to get good, but it's taking me a life time to get better.

Battou · May 31, 2009

If it takes you less than fifty years you are deluding your self.

Chris of Arabia · May 31, 2009

28 years so far and still counting

Artograph · May 31, 2009

OK...OK...I get it....you keep learning...growing...changing...learning....whatever...;-) But I'm talking about when you and other people start to realize that you are (finally:greenpbl

taking some good shots! Good shots, as in...you could frame them and stick them on the wall. (And I *KNOW* you guys are already good!!!)

:mrgreen:

farmerj · May 31, 2009

I got a fancy camera and lenses, so all my pictures are good.:lmao:

The more I learn, the more I piddle with the controls and the more it teaches me. I have been working on using manual setting either on a dSLR like P&S or a dSLR for about 2 years now.

I STILL have a LONG way to go.

As to wall hangers?

I have a lady at work that has paid me for some stuff. My fiance and I are taking select pictures and putting them on the wall now for about a year.

My older brother is allowing my to put framed/matted pictures in his private practice office with a card on them for contacting me. I haven't done any up for it yet, but he has told me to pick some and the wall space is mine. I guess that's his way of saying he likes my work.

abraxas · May 31, 2009

Immediately.

Torus34 · May 31, 2009

The number of my 'shots' that please me has grown smaller over the years, not larger.

This is, I suspect, due to my raising the bar on what I consider to be a picture worthy of display in my home.

Battou · May 31, 2009

Artograph said:
OK...OK...I get it....you keep learning...growing...changing...learning....whatever...;-) But I'm talking about when you and other people start to realize that you are (finally:greenpbltaking some good shots! Good shots, as in...you could frame them and stick them on the wall. (And I *KNOW* you guys are already good!!!)

:mrgreen:

Well, that is not exactly the most accurate way to put it either, This occured litterally the moment I took photography back up with the purchasse of my EF. My friends and family where all on about how good I was. I chose not to really listen to them because I felt that was sort of obligitory, despite that I still found that people I did not know where saying some of the same as soon as they saw the work, I even have one woman who rants, raves and anticipates my next roll of film and all she ever sees are the crappy base photos that come back from the processing lab before I get to do any processing. Despite all that I still believe with every fiber of my being that I suck. Every once in a wile I'll put out a winner but more often than not it's just not what I looking to achieve or just plain junk.

Some examples of my (or atleast as I see them) few winners :

April, 2009
February, 2009
December, 2008
November, 2008
March, 2008
February, 2008
February, 2008
January, 2008
December, 2007

Since I bought my EF in 2007 that is not exactly what I would call an impressive list. When my average keeper looks like this, I'm no where near where I feel I should be, if I included all my binned photos...Oh god I suck.

Overread · May 31, 2009

Battou said:
If it takes you less than fifty years you are deluding your self.

Some people are just lucky
Juza Nature Photography
he's not even 30!! but he does have some good gear as well

but for most of us
Zack Arias - Atlanta based editorial music photographer » Transform :: A short film for ScottKelby.com

sums it all up!

As for myself I started getting better once I started to get feedback from others - I was self taught with no idea what I was doing! Once I started to learn and to get feedback on my work - so that I had a real world context for things, I started to improve. Good gear can help a lot, but remember always that its not subsitute for good understandings, there are still people with lesser gear than me who show a lot more understanding for that they are doing and thus get far better results.

Also I don't think that I have to increase my keeper rate - sure its nice and its always the end result, but as I have got better so to has my expectations of what I should be able to get - there are shots now that once I would have considered keepers which I now don't bother with - so ones keeper rate can go down a bit as you get more strict with your work.
I don't let it worry me personally - sure I would like to improve it and I do my best to do so, but if I come back and I get failed shots I try to learn from them why they failed - at least then I can get something from them! I also (when I get the time) make full use of the camera histogram - its a fantastic in the field device simple to use and can really help things!

Iron Flatline · May 31, 2009

I was serious. It should take about a year to understand available light photography, and to be able to get a shot. If you see a shot you like, you should be able to understand how the photographer got it. You might not have the right gear for certain super-shallow DOF shots, macros, or crazy sports captures, but pretty much anything else should be feasible.

Lighting etc comes later.

Alpha · May 31, 2009

I agree.

I think that a lot of what's been said misses the simple point: you don't have to be "good" at photography to take "good" photos. Some of my favorite shots in my portfolio are from the first few rolls I shot when I first started out. True, I can shoot things that in many objective ways are "better" now, but "better" doesn't always suit your subject matter.

Josh66 · May 31, 2009

I thought that I was OK pretty much from the beginning. Others may disagree.

I do think that I've gotten better, but mostly on the technical side. I think I still have a long way to go as far as creativity is concerned.

The bulk of my photography is just really nice snapshots.

William Petruzzo · May 31, 2009

Technically I knew what I was doing after somewhere around a year or a year and a half. Objectively speaking, that's probably when I really started taking pictures worth looking at. But I'm also my toughest critic, so subjectively speaking, I'd probably say 10 years in I'm still not there yet.