I wrote the first part of this tip back in May and it's sort of been bugging me ever since. I just reread it and I think it's all true and can be of use and is a pretty good read if I do say so myself. The problem I've had with it is the underlying impression that "take more photographs" might have as a tip for improving your photography. We live in an instant gratification world and the last thing I want to imply is that all you have to do is hold down the shutter button a certain amount of time each day and viola! better photographs. So, it's been bugging me and out of the blue, about a month ago, a Seattle photographer named Chase Jarvis, whose blog I frequent, posted on the very same topic. He had a photographer write to him saying, "Your photographs are stunning. Mine are not. Not trying to oversimplify this, but how on earth do you do what do with a camera. I desperately want to move my creativity forward, but it won't seem to budge." Chase goes on to answer that there is what he calls a "creative gap" that separates what we want to do as artists and what we actually produce. This gap can be very frustrating; we see artistic work that we like and would love to be able to create ourselves, but we don't know how to do it. Chase goes on to say the following:
"But there is a clear answer to closing this gap and it's a simple one: Do MORE Work.
I discovered this in the early beginnings of my career, and I still remind myself of it to this day. Mastery is rarely innate. It requires a repetition of the fundamentals - creatively, technically, etc - you name it. It's through exploring that creative process over and over that we get stronger and better.
On the surface it might seem to some like we'd be pandering to luck, as in "take enough pictures and you're bound to get one good one", but that's crap. It really goes way beyond that. Get out there and make more pictures, and get your hands dirty, again and again, and you will close that gap over time. Interstingly, I find that it's also a way to discover your own style. You take enough pictures and you'll start to see a similarity in your vision. This understanding continues to help me tremendously as an artist."
Thats what I meant in the last post! Do more work! Take more photographs. Look at more photographs that you like. You will improve, and better yet, you will begin to find your own eye and your own vision.
Chase also added a link to this YouTube video made by Ira Glass, the guy who does "This American Life" on public radio. He's talking about exactly the same thing and it's really worth watching for a few minutes. Enjoy.
