Nerves

[BenWall]

I haven't been in many situations where there is pressure on me taking photos, it's normally me, my camera and the subject.

Recently I have been know as the photo guy at work and they call upon me to take photos at events etc which I don't mind at all, but when taking photos I'm so nervous and forget some basics like ISO, for instance, forgetting I set it 800 when in daylight, and with large groups of people, it's a lot harder than it looks. It's the pressure of being 'the photo guy' and the fact that they expect good images, and I think some of them are terrible.

I can't imagine how nerve racking a 1st wedding would be.

Anyone else find this? Guess it will get a lot easier with time.

 

[ukaskew]

Don't even get me started!

Did a Wedding last year, completely paranoid and wetting myself with nerves all day (I did midday to midnight), hated the experience and completely forgot a lot of the basics on more than one occasion. Annoyingly they loved the photos, if I had been rubbish I could have just forgot about it, but it was good money with happy clients, I still haven't touched a wedding since though (been offered 5 since then)

Shooting Venice last year was the same, hated the pressure, having to get the shots. The silly thing is, if I just treated it as a holiday I would probably come back with much better photos anyway. My assignment last weekend took it to another level, massive time pressure in a completely unknown environment. At the time I was gutted about the standard of my shots, now I'm home I feel a bit better about them.

I find in these situations I always think my photos are terrible as I'm my own worst critic anyway, but a few months down the line when I reflect back they are always pretty good shots.

I guess confidence is the key, but I can't ever see me getting that as I've always thought of myself as a bit of a photographic fraud, I don't actually feel like I'm doing anything special that justifies me being in these situations in the first place. Up until recently I've turned down far more of these little projects and assignments than I've accepted, but I've just decided to go for it now, I figure if people are asking then they clearly think my standard is reasonable enough.

The thing is, photography for me at least is all about having fun, and I do wonder where the line is between enjoying it for myself and just doing it because you've been asked/getting paid whatever.

 

[Reyes]

I know what you mean. You do forget the basics and most the time, other people appreciate work that you find s**t! Its very annoying because they havent seen your full potential.

 

[dunganick]

Rest assured that more often than not, you are the biggest critic of your own work. And photos you think are rubbish others will be fine with.

I wish i had the confidence to do work with people. But they are alot less patient than inanimate objects.

Best of luck with it.

 

[Lagerlout]

Don't even get me started!

Did a Wedding last year, completely paranoid and wetting myself with nerves all day (I did midday to midnight), hated the experience and completely forgot a lot of the basics on more than one occasion. Annoyingly they loved the photos, if I had been rubbish I could have just forgot about it, but it was good money with happy clients, I still haven't touched a wedding since though (been offered 5 since then)

Shooting Venice last year was the same, hated the pressure, having to get the shots. The silly thing is, if I just treated it as a holiday I would probably come back with much better photos anyway. My assignment last weekend took it to another level, massive time pressure in a completely unknown environment. At the time I was gutted about the standard of my shots, now I'm home I feel a bit better about them.

I find in these situations I always think my photos are terrible as I'm my own worst critic anyway, but a few months down the line when I reflect back they are always pretty good shots.

I guess confidence is the key, but I can't ever see me getting that as I've always thought of myself as a bit of a photographic fraud, I don't actually feel like I'm doing anything special that justifies me being in these situations in the first place. Up until recently I've turned down far more of these little projects and assignments than I've accepted, but I've just decided to go for it now, I figure if people are asking then they clearly think my standard is reasonable enough.

The thing is, photography for me at least is all about having fun, and I do wonder where the line is between enjoying it for myself and just doing it because you've been asked/getting paid whatever.

Completely agree.

Albeit on a much lower level than yourself, but I simply hate 'having' to take pictures. I get asked to do child/baby portraits a fair bit, and people always ask me to be the 'unofficial' wedding photographer and I always refuse. Simply because photography is a hobby for me, and when it becomes something I have to do it becomes far less enjoyable.

And I simply don't consider myself anywhere near good enough lol

 

[dk]

i felt the same when i went to peru last month, new camera, everybody knows i like to take photos and i felt a lot of pressure to come back with the perfect shots so just spent the whole time taking photos in the hope that i would take enough to get some decent ones.

In the end it worked out ok but i felt under a lot of pressure. I take photos because I enjoy it as a hobbie like most of us i guess, i'm not trying to be the next david bailey, just enjoy looking at the pictures i take and trying to improve all the time.

Because I take so many pics, i tend to rush too much and never spend more than a couple of seconds on a shot, need to teach myself to take more time over the shots. I just find that I am always with people who don't have cameras and don't like waiting for me to catch them up and they make me feel like i am holding them up, this was definitely the case in peru with 35 in the group etc.

 

[BenWall]

i felt the same when i went to peru last month, new camera, everybody knows i like to take photos and i felt a lot of pressure to come back with the perfect shots so just spent the whole time taking photos in the hope that i would take enough to get some decent ones.

In the end it worked out ok but i felt under a lot of pressure. I take photos because I enjoy it as a hobbie like most of us i guess, i'm not trying to be the next david bailey, just enjoy looking at the pictures i take and trying to improve all the time.

Because I take so many pics, i tend to rush too much and never spend more than a couple of seconds on a shot, need to teach myself to take more time over the shots. I just find that I am always with people who don't have cameras and don't like waiting for me to catch them up and they make me feel like i am holding them up, this was definitely the case in peru with 35 in the group etc.

Always good to take a lot of pictures, then pick the best of the best. One of my favorite photographers (Vincent Laforet) shot 28k pictures at the olymipic games just gone. Thats 480GB's worth. Then choose his best.

Blog post about it http://blog.vincentlaforet.com/2008/08/27/how-much-did-i-shoot-in-beijing/

 

[Ian]

As mentioned above, the people that take photography to the next level tend to be massively self critical, it's partly what drives them. That's quite a sweeping claim, but it's accurate for me at least lol. Unfortunately I'm not at any great level

In a rather roundabout way though it makes it better if you are trying to pursue it further, because that's when 90% of people lose faith in their ability.

I also understand what people have said about refusing to do it on the grounds of losing the enjoyment, but I hope that after you've been in the pressurised situations for a while the enjoyment factor will return. After all it's not really the fear of the shots, it's more the fear of not knowing what people expect from you; suddenly you're not your only critic.

If you can stick to what you've been doing I'm sure people will love your work anyway Ben!

 

[Bash]

The more of a hobby something is, the easier it is to get right without any hesitation. For example, u could love taking photos on ur camera phone then upgrade to a slr and for a few weeks take pictures of anything and every thing and because you have been practicing soo much you will have the camera set up ready and there to take the perfect shot. Relax dude, seriously don’t make ur hobby become work.

 

[BenWall]

Relax dude, seriously don’t make ur hobby become work.

Thank you If I had the chance to earn some money from this I definitely would. I would love the chance to be a unofficial photographer at a wedding as it gives the chance to take some really good experimental shots while not have the pressure of the main photographer.

 

[Ali]

It's bloody hard. i'm still takin 5-6shots of every frame on different settings to get one crisp shot...

 

[Bash]

lightroom for the win...

 

[BenWall]

Yeah, I can see how lightroom takes the pressure off

 

[Bash]

yep you can over or under expose but at least 2 stops and still recover your picture. All you need to do now is focus and compose.

 

[BenWall]

Doesnt take pressure off taking good shots though. s**t goes in s**t comes out.

 

[Bash]

Yep, most weddings the bride groom and guests aren't the best looking of all people so there is not much you can do with the old GIGO effect. However just leave ur camera on continuous shot and go for it, take a few CF cards and keep taking the same picture even if you think you have it then review them and go again, indulge your self in your task. It may take you a few hours to go through the good ones but after a while you will get into your groove. Think about how things where back in the good old days of film, set your self a challenge, go out and take some photos in different lighting situations without looking at the result until the technical settings become second nature to you then all you have to do is compose your shot.