Photography Lessons During the Pandemic

Recently when I was reviewing a few new photo images I had captured, I was feeling disappointed with what I saw. The images I reviewed were all missing the mark somehow. The images failed to generate the emotional response or feeling I was striving to attain. The composition was off - the light was off - the images felt like snapshots. I soon found myself beginning to question my entire photographic journey.

Later after more reflection I flashed on the memory of an experience from my younger professional years. At the time I was a computer programming teacher at a private all-boys high school. One day while working with a class on their current assignment, one of the students appeared very discouraged. When talking with him, he shared that he was feeling defeated and didn’t feel he was “getting the programming thing”. As we talked more, he shared that as he looked around the room at his peers, what he observed was that everyone seemed to really understand how to program and created really good programs - something he felt unable to do. It was obvious that the student felt defeated.

Digging through a folder of past class projects, I handed the student an assignment sheet from the first programming challenge I gave to the class. I asked the student what he would say if I told him that writing this program would be the class final exam. He quickly replied that he would be very excited since it was such an easy program to code. I asked him to think back to how he felt when receiving that initial assignment. The student acknowledged how impossible he had felt the assignment to be at the time. Pressing forward, I cautioned him of the danger of comparing himself to others. I suggested that there would always be someone that seemed to accomplish a task more effortlessly or generated a better product. I encouraged him instead to reflect on how much he had grown in his abilities and not to sell himself short on the progress he had made.

So what, you may ask, does this have to do with photography? It is easy to compare our work to some of the many impressive images available on the internet. We can easily get lost and forget “where we started” and the progress and path of our own unique photographic journey. I decided to gain some perspective.

I took on the task of combing through hundreds of old slides, color and black and white negatives I have taken over the years. Some of the images that really caught my attention come from the mid-70’s and early 80’s and capture slices of life and history in Cincinnati. It was a time when I was in college studying Art Education at UC. Some of the B+W film images which I discounted some years ago, now speak to me more directly.

Walking along the deserted street of businesses near the University on an early Sunday morning in the late 70's, I captured this image of a display of wigs in a store window. (The image was captured on Ilford HP-4 film)

During the holiday season, I was walking through the Dixie Terminal located in downtown Cincinnati. There was an indoor holiday display with a small crowd gathered around. I felt the excitement of the young girl accurately captured the magic and awe of the season. (Image captured on Agfapan 400 film)

Back in the late 70s and 80s I would often walk along the downtown city streets. It was a tough time for Cincinnati, with the large anchor stores disappearing - the downtown was in may ways back on its heels. I captured this scene in front of one of the vacated department stores. (Shot on Ilford HP-4 film)

In 1980, I was working on my undergraduate degree in Art Education at the College of Design, Architecture, and Art at the University of Cincinnati (which was then named DAA). I held many jobs during this time - but one of my favorites was working at the Fairview Arts Center located nearby the University. The arts were booming in the city and Fairview was a busy hub of activity. I met and worked with many fine artists at that time. This image is of a young summer worker at the center who was a joy to work with. (Image captured on Kodak Tri-X 400 film)

In 2017 Architectural Digest aimed UC's Crosley Tower as one of the seven ugliest university buildings in the country. I think people either love the building or hate it. But back in the early 80's I was drawn to the monolithic nature of the structure and found it an intriguing structure to photograph. The 16 story structure was created using a single concrete pour. Sadly the tower is slated for demolition in 2025. See the article ***here**. (The image was captured on Kodak Tri-X 400 film and push processed using Kodak Dektol paper developer)***

So what did I take away from this review of past work? Here are a few lessons I learned (or relearned) that can help move one's work forward.

Remember that you are your own worst critic

It is easy to pick out the negative aspects of our own work. Of course we see the flaws in the images we have created. Keep in mind that the small portfolio of impressive work you see on a photographer’s website, reflects a very tiny number of the photos that were taken.

Learn from your mistakes

When reviewing your images spend some time with the images that don’t meet you criteria, Use it as a learning moment. Ask yourself what about the photo caused it to fail. Consider exposure, depth of field, and composition. How could you have used these tools to approach the scene that would have more accurately captured and conveyed the message you were attempting to communicate?

Don’t be afraid to crop your work

Hidden within a "Ok photo" could be dynamic image that tells a compelling story. Cropping can help the overall flow by removing extraneous or distracting components yielding a more powerful and coherent image.

I realize that there are some individuals who feel editing or cropping somehow destroys the integrity of the image. Some argue that only images as they come out of the camera represent reality and anything else is a distortion or lie.

I’m not an adherent to this philosophy After all, using the camera in the first place amounts to cropping the scene in front of you - capturing a small bit of what comprises the larger view. The physics of the lens distorts an image extending or flattening the depth or apparent distance between objects. The image capture medium (film or digital sensor) also impacts the image by altering colors, and tonal range. Even the camera mechanism itself alters the scene. Not only does the rectangular format crop the scene, but also many cameras display through a viewfinder less than 100% of what they are capturing on the film or sensor.

At the same time I believe that framing or composing a shot the way you envision it is preferable, to avoid needlessly throwing away pixels and minimize your time spent processing the image.

But the bottom line is - don't be afraid to crop your photos.

Do a historic review of your work

While this can be a deep dive into the past, conducting a critical review of your past work provides a tether to our current work, illuminates our creative journey, and can provide insights into growth and future direction. Such a review of previous work may reveal a photo that when first viewing it failed to resonate for you. But with fresh eyes, you now see something you didn’t before.

Our perspectives change over time

We are not who we were when we captured the original picture. When you view an image, the sum of your life experience comes into play. What may have seemed uninteresting to you some time ago, now resonates and perhaps evokes a strong emotion filtered through your life experience. Which leads me to my final point ...

You never stop learning and evolving

Take photos - lots of them. Make mistakes and learn from them. And most importantly - Have fun!

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