Greatest frustration in creating more meaningful/emotional photos?

paulajo

Hello there! My name is Paula Jo and I'm back here after a long time away! I am in the process of creating a photo blog that will help people tell better stories with their photos and make them more compelling and meaningful. I would love to find out what frustrates photographers most in this process so I can offer meaningful content on my blog. I hope you will help me in this by replying to this post!

TIA,
Paula Jo

Cygnus Studios

Not to knock your idea, but it has been done millions of times already. Have you thought about how your insight is going to be different? How your presentation could be different? Have you considered doing a video series instead?

puzzledpaul

Can you point me towards any wildlife / bird pics that - in your opinion - 'hit the spot'' - 'cos - as I say on my site, I just try to take pics that have some 'appeal' ... to me.

As regards frustrations / issues that stand in the way of what I'm after ...
Other people doing daft / inconsiderate things - especially if accompanied by dogs / kids / 'toys etc
Rubbish light
Subjects not playing ball / facing the wrong way etc
Getting all the planets lined up ... and then subject moving to where the background is ... less than ideal, shall I say? (dyslexic's version of carp?)
For me - being in a 'target rich' environment ... and not being able to get into the position I want to ... ie water level.
Forgetting vital bits of kit
Wrong settings
Not paying attention / reading the situation poorly
The 'packing up factor' ... stuff happening when the gear's just been put away But ... worst of the lot - lacking the vision / imagination on the day to 'see' the shot ... ie ... pilot error

pp

[Deleted User]

My Biggest Frustration is having other photographers take all the fun out of photography and get bogged down with technical issues. Its fun , have fun doing it. So many photographers are stuck in this "perfect "focus and I am only doing "flowers"theme. There is just so much more out there . I have started experimenting with LED lights , torches , fire , bouncing light off surfaces , almost anything as long as i am having fun.
I did a whole medical disposable website and believe me , if you want technical , boring and mind numbing .. Yes try it. Only fun I managed to have out that shoot was messing around with the products afterwards ..LOL

pathfinder

Robert Capa captured a great sentiment about imagery - “If you’re pictures aren’t good enough, you’re not close enough.” which made me wonder if he used a macro lens when i first saw it. WhenI realized he was a combat photographer ( among other things ) it took on an entirely different meaning. I read it to mean "exclude the unnecessary". Or the "distracting."

H Cartier-Bresson summarized it as the "decisive moment" - that brief instant when the lighting and the subject are all aligned and connected.

Great images come from a meeting of great lighting, and a subject with emotional appeal to the viewers heart strings. Great lighting is really important - more than the subject frequently.

Spend some time looking at great art in museums - try to see what the artist includes, and what they left out, and how they created the illusion of light. Caravaggio was really great at creating the illusion of lighting.

Including a cute puppy dog doesn't hurt either - I cry every time I see this commercial - even when I know I'm being manipulated, but I still love it. It is worth studying for the composition of the images. It is a really cute puppy too. Pay attention to the clean, spare simplicity of each frame and the softness of the lighting. The frames fly by quickly (it is a modern video), but each frame is composed with great care, with nothing included that isn't needed, and nothing intrudes on the story line. The framing of the fence with the horses running towards the camera behind the puppy is great, and heart warming.

https://youtu.be/TPKgC8KPBMg