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How much can one LEARN good photography and artistic vision?

Shashin

Well-known member
The reason why he won't learn anything is because he's like an apprentice that thinks the sorcerer has nothing to teach him. You have a lot in common with him. BTW - Why would anybody submit work for you to judge? The last picture I saw you post was a blurry shallow DOF picture of tree bark.
Wow. We are just full of prejudices. And obviously not an art lover. Do you often project onto strangers?

But you answered my question. I guess you just came to cheer us up.
 

Guy Mancuso

Administrator, Instructor
Well my signature says it all but exposing yourself to the many avenues of learning certainly helps in many ways. I have done them all Art school actually 2 of them an assistant for about 4 years , many years teaching myself and experimenting everyday, obviously being a working Pro for many years as well helps. Now I teach workshops, one on ones and consult people. I'm still learning and hopefully it never ends. I do believe in personality, curiosity and many personal traits that keep you fueled to learn and experiment . Not sure it's one thing or another and having vision and a good eye for design are really the big keys but all that experience in learning can not be ignored either. For me I give myself what abilities I may have to everything above and I guess my best advice is just flat exposé yourself to all those avenues and don't have a narrow mind. But if I had to say one thing than go with my signature its all in developing vision.

Today I shot for 7 hours straight 2 models and over 900 images , tomorrow its wash and repeat. Jobs or work like this keeps your tuning in order and no matter how many shots I do , I still learn. Maybe it's still the most single value that keeps me going is I still learn. Don't ever lose sight of that learning.
 

Thorkil

Well-known member
perhaps one of the greatest task at all is to learn to leave the book-keepers mind at home, and then let the camera play in your hand as a united and extended thing direct from your mind, and then let your mind set itself free and grab the visions that are floating in your mind when you see things, learn to grab the bubbles and the split-seconds of dreams and visions that get visualized in your mind in these golden moments, and then learn to grab, to do it ,and nail it...perhaps that’s the greatest task and challenge to learn (and yes, then the routine and skill, where the camera get handled as an natural and a grown-together-with-you tool helps). And I wish I could do it....
Thorkil
 

fotografz

Well-known member
Very early in my creative trek in the service of comerce, it became very clear that technology was changing so rapidly that keeping abreast of it interfered with my development of a signature vision. In short, I was providing the perspiration for someone else's inspiration. So, I strove to become the mind behind the doing.

The consequence of this was an almost meteoric rise in my chosen creative field ... but more importantly an immunity to obsolescence. Forming ideas does not require deep emersion into the techniques needed to execute them ... just a working familiarity with what can be done.

This put me in touch with some incredibly creative people who innovated ways to help express and expand on my ideas. Eventually this rubbed off on me and I began shooting my own ideas. In short, my issue was the opposite of most photographers ... my ideas were greater than my ability to execute them ... which is something I am still working on.

However, since today's technology has made it easier, ideas have become even more important in the mix if one is to realize creative potential. Think about it ... Michelangelo didn't accidentally find "David" in a random block of marble, he had something in mind first ;)

What is often not touched upon in discussions like this is the precursor to all creativity ... Human Sensitivity.

Sensitivity is an inner trait that I believe can be enhanced if deliberately cultivated. If there is a "born with" attribute of those deemed talented, it is this. As my old boss of Young & Rubicam Alex Kroll once said, "Send the creative people, not the suits ... they have more finely tuned antenna."

So whether one pre-plans a photo, or steps out to find one ... the determining attribute is their level of sensitivity to the world around them.

-Marc
 

TRSmith

Subscriber Member
Lots of good thoughts here. And a slippery topic it is. The old chestnut of "don't know how to define it but know it when I see it" seems to apply (simply replace creativity for pornography).

The difficulty with responding to this post in any way seems to include the unspoken admission that I think I know something about creativity. Which is a bit presumptuous. Although I have experienced it, I'm not sure I could ever explain from whence it came since it seems an elusive, transitory, ethereal state. All of which sounds sort of magical and "nice" but if you've ever been paid to be "creative" you'll know how downright frightening that transaction feels after the initial flush of success at having won the assignment.

And yet it does happen. As others have suggested, hours or years of experience do add up to, if nothing else, a bit more confidence that you will prevail.

Teachers and schools can help, but in my experience, not in the ways I anticipate. I'm not sure I could ever say that a workshop teacher (fill in the name of an accepted "genius") actually "taught" me to be creative. But the immersion in the process and the focus has led me to new places in my own thinking.

So maybe one small component in one's creative evolution is to peel away from attempting to create mime's of what others have done and forgetting everything (including approvals) except what attracts you. In some form of self-imposed exercise, I like to walk around with a camera and just shoot stuff for no reason. It's strictly personal and since I don't really give a sh*t what anyone else might think, I get to explore the little nuggets of light and shape and texture. I manage to learn a lot somehow. Which is one measure of success on a personal level.

Best,
Tim
 

emr

Member
Thanks, everybody. ...Well, almost everybody.

This thread has raised much more and better discussion than I dared to wish. Lots of good points well worth thinking about.
 
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