Someone, on a forum that I'm a loose part of, asked a question and raised a number of sub-points.
In the many discussions i have seen. Many and most are technical discussions. This is after all strobist.! But honestly, don't you think you matter more than your gear? Do you try to re-create the look of some other person's photo, or do you Create the look of your own photo? I'm wondering what it really takes for someone to be "the best" photographer? What separates the visionary from the mass?
This was my reply...
Well, I can't tell you what it takes to be a successful photographer, but I can tell you what it has taken for me to hopefully have earned a little respect among people as a computer engineer.
-What personality does it take to be a photographer that get's rehired?
What it takes to be an engineer that people are glad to call on, is someone who keeps the customer in the picture. Appraised. up to date and in the loop to the extent that they want to be. When I've had work where I know I can't handle it, I've been appreciated more for telling the customer that and even handing the work to another engineer. I have nothing to gain from embarrassing failure.
Trust and honesty is sometimes appreciated more than I have ever realised.
-Do you consider only the ideas you have or do you listen to your subject's input?
Every technician I've met has their own way of doing things. Just like photography equipment, there is a basic standard of computer equipment. It is not so much what tool you use, but how you use it. A clear understanding of the B point in any journey aids that journey immensely ... and I'm just the driver, it is the customer that knows where they want to be. It is part of my job to put my oar in to the creative process, however, but it is a right I don't always exercise as some customers just won't listen.
-Do you keep a notebook where you sketch your brilliant ideas? Do you actually try to create these ideas into photos?
Technique is everything. You can see a neighbouring building, envy it and want to re-create another in its image. However, I don't always have the same materials at my disposal. The best I can do is increase my understanding of my bricks, my mortar, my tools ... it is only by knowing these things that I can hope to build a building that will be solid. Inspiration should be just that ... something that should inspire creation, not mimic. Even so, there are standards that everyone learns and basics that everyone builds
How many of us have been in computer class, given a list of number and told to write a routine to sort them in to order ... and how many of us have re-invented the wheel known as the, "bubble sort."
-Are you very concerned about how the subject feels or do you care more about the photos/aesthetics? and does that sometimes mean braving the worst conditions?
I've fixed some very nasty faults on systems where the client is losing money rapidly with down time, and I have the managers breathing over my shoulder in the server room because of it. I have to be concerned that the customer feels confident that a solution is close at hand, or being worked towards at every step of the way. These people can crush my reputation ... if I ignore how they feel, I risk disenfranchising them from the situation, and they will react badly to that.
There is more to be gained by failing honestly than succeeding dishonestly because when the next situation comes around, as it inevitably will, they will know the person they would rather have on the job.
-Do you help other photographers and contribute in communities?
IT knowledge is massive. No one person can know it all. When your computer blue screens, when you encounter an error message you haven't seen before ... how many can say that they turned to the internet and didn't find the answer?
-In real life, does the lighting in your home/school/office actually affect and bother you? Are you really understanding of what light is good and bad?
Light affects us all. We seem to adapt, however. It wasn't until our office was fitted with daylight bulbs that we could see the difference between our room and the unconverted corridor and it was only then that we asked ourselves how we could have worked in such lighting.
It is known that experts say this and that about lighting quality, but we don't know about how it affects us until we are outside the forest looking at the trees? How many city workers don't think twice about the air that they breathe until they get up in to the mountains and take a deep lung full of fresh air?
Once that worker returns to the city, it isn't long before the fresh mountain air is just a fading memory and the mother of necessity over rides us once again.
The green tinge of some lighting affects some worse than others and those that have no choice but to endure it, find other ways of battling any depressive thoughts it engenders.
You know ... in some ways the human species really is remarkable.
-Are you a peoples person?
To a degree. Communication has to be effective, at every level, in order to progress. We are humans, however, and need solitude as much as we need company. You don't have to be a people person, however, to be an effective communicator; you don't have to be a people person to be able to listen to the other person and empathise with their situation. You don't have to be a people person in order to be able to be an effective team member and work towards a solution.
...but it helps.
Do you try to re-create the look of some other person's photo, or do you Create the look of your own photo?
I use other peoples solutions as a means for the customer to tell me where they want to be. Sometimes the time honoured solutions are the best. Sometimes you strive to make the wheel that little bit rounder, that little bit smoother, to work with that little less friction. There are set standards which I can follow and I know I'll end up with the right result. There are times to follow that pattern and there are times to break the recipe and inject fresh ingredients.
Only you know when those times are right.
So, yes, I matter more than my equipment ... but I am only as good as the equipment that supports me and my knowledge and skill in using it.
Post a Comment