What is your biggest challenge?

[Manfred M]

Perfect meaning - "if I could do it all over again I would make NO changes, in no way could I make it better".

Bill - You're a step ahead of me. I can't even decide what a perfect image would look like. I'll get it to a point where I am very happy and think I'm done. When I look at it a week or so later, I'll figure out something I could have done better and make the change. A few days later, I'll decide I went too far and take it back a bit closer to the original.

If I look at it again, I'll have another tweak in my head that I want to try...

I should learn to leave well enough alone...

[William W]

Bill - You're a step ahead of me. . .

I don't think so.

I didn't write that I know or even that I have a vision of what 'perfect' is...

I just know that I make a Photograph and then upon REVIEW that I have always thought: "I could have made it this way" or "I should have waited" or "I should have been earlier" or "I should have been two steps to the right" --- the list goes on and on.

"REVIEW" might be a split second after taking the shot or a week later.

I know when I have nailed a good shot, occasionally a fantastic shot, but all of the 'fantastic shots' I've nailed, I believe I can critique honestly later to find flaws and determine how better I could have made it, if I could have that time over.

Also, I am (mainly) referring the TAKING of image, not necessarily the, Development, Printing or the Post Production.

Remembering that I mainly shoot Portraiture, in all its aspects; this genre makes each image (by definition), Time; Moment and Camera Viewpoint unique and one is unable to re-shoot; though my thoughts do apply to the Architecture and Landscapes where I occasionally dabble.

I think this aspect, (as Dan mentioned,) is well described and expanded in Post #20, where he mentions the “same flower” and “three perspectives”: I guess in one way having the flower sit there and having the options of various Lighting and various Camera Viewpoints before releasing the shutter is easier than me having to decide when and where to be take the shot under the pressure of time and missing the moment. On the other hand having all those options available to me before the shot would drive me nuts. That the main reason why I can’t do Macro very well… and I expect that’s one element as to why Dan can. Hurray for that difference!

WW

[fatoddsun]

The biggest challenge for me is finding a coherent theme for my pictures, and deciding what I want to communicate as opposed to "steal" nice pictures that are occurring around me for a random reason. It's putting my message in my images, rather than "hoping". I guess it's a balance between the "sampling" nature of photography and what we can control of that process to convey a certain feeling.

[William W]

. . . I'm curios to see what you all have to say.

I'm curious, why does the Profile page of "pbrice", reckon that the member has not logged in since 0547hrs, 11th June 2019, i.e. the time that the OP was posted?

WW

[Manfred M]

I'm curious, why does the Profile page of "pbrice", reckon that the member has not logged in since 0547hrs, 11th June 2019, i.e. the time that the OP was posted?

WW

We've seen this type of behaviour from time to time Bill.

Someone signs up and never posts again.

[Tronhard]

I have found getting sufficient skills in digital post production to be a big challenge. When I used film it was almost always transparency, so post-production in the darkroom was not one of my greatest skills. I have been able to do some correction using Photoshop and Lightroom but I am not skilled - I have not really engaged with layers for example. I need to work on that...

Perhaps also finding inspiration. I pretty well carry a camera of SOME kind with me constantly, but will quite often come home with the thing unused. Hopefully with spring on the horizon over here I will feel more inspired.

[rpcrowe]

My biggest challenge to my photographic efforts over the last few years has been my physical condition. I have had both knees replaced (one twice due to a defective joint that was installed), extensive back surgery (minimally invasive thank goodness) and most recently coronary problems in which a stent was placed to correct a major artery that was 90% blocked.

However, I am still hanging in and am gaining back my strength and endurance with pool exercise 4x weekly. I can really notice how much better I am getting along. I was able to replace a ceiling fan in our kitchen last week. I will admit that my wife helped me quite a bit during the installation. Not bad for an old geezer who will be 80 on my next birthday (my wife is four years younger than I am).

I have cut down the weight of my gear quite a bit by switching from Canon DSLR to Sony mirrorless equipment. However, I have decided that I don't want to limit myself to just Sony mirrorless APSC and decided to shoot with a Sony A7iii and an A6400... That way I am not giving up so much by selling my Canon full frame gear. I am not replacing my Canon 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS ii lens because I will rent the Sony equivalent when I need a lens of that focal range.

There are multiple events in my area that I am looking forward to covering. Everything from a festival at a local Serbian Church to the Day of the Dead Fiesta in San Diego's Old Town.

I really want to take advantage of the face detect and Eye-AF capabilities of the Sony cameras in shooting the Mexican dancers. Specifically, I want to shoot a dancer so that the face is in focus and sharp while the body is blurred from motion. Like this. This time I plan to use flash with rear curtain sync...



Of course, I want to work more with models and I will always be shooting portraits of dogs...

So much to do and so little time left.... Although that is better than sitting on the couch feeling sorry for myself.

[whited3]

Time.

Time to get out there and time to PP.

[William W]

Time Time to get out there and time to PP.

Ah Hah!

That's was the topic of a talk I gave a few years ago.

If you were there, you'd remember the opening three questions asked to the audience:

Please list all the places you've been in the last 72 hours.

Please cross out those places you've been, if you were carrying your usual camera when you visited.

Please stand if you have one or more places not crossed out.

All the audience standing now: "then tonight, I think we need to look at whether the issue is really that you have "NO TIME", or whether lifestyle changes are appropriate better to address the Photography Outcomes which you desire."

WW

[joebranko]

My biggest challenge is resisting the urge to start snapping away as soon as i get on site and before my brain is in gear.

[skitterbug]

My biggest challenge..... all of it... but mostly understanding the terminology that everyone uses when making suggestions. Most of the time, I have (had) to look up what the suggestions even meant...... and so on. It is a constant learning process!

[GrahamS]

My biggest challenge is not to let the equipment do all the thinking for me and to keep my hard learned knowledge alive and active. Nowadays it is all too easy to be lazy and let the computerised gear do the work.

[Astro]

Interesting thread and I have been fascinated by the responses so far. I have been slow to respond because I have been thinking around the question a lot since there are so many challenges out there.

I have just had my lightbulb moment though, and my biggest challenge is avoiding creating images simply to 'please' other people and their expectations.

To qualify this more precisely I started taking photographs in my early teens. Then the simple pleasure, joy even, of capturing and creating an image entranced me, and I was relatively unconcerned with reactions to my photography. Now, 50+ years on, I have to remind myself of this.

The gear, technique, process etc has become more sophisticated, and I have become more skilled over the years, but I have come to realise that I need to step back into the simplicity of imaging that I enjoyed when I started taking photographs, and worry less about how others see my work.