Everywhere today I look there’s an article or YouTube video talking about slowing down. It’s like it’s the trending thing to do but does it work? I have several conversations every week with different people where they tell me that they are going to slow down and that its going to make them better as photographers.
I think sometimes people miss the point; I don’t think the message should be slow down as too many people take this too literal. Personally, I think the message should be ‘Think’. Think about what you’re doing and react in the way the situations dictate.
I feel you starting to judge me now for even thinking about flying in the face of something that’s been drilled into so many of us. Let me quantify this with an example, ok so let us look at the work of William Eggleston. Love him or hate him you must appreciate the fact that he’s been held up as on of the great photographers of our lifetime. Take a look at how he works, there’s a few video that I’m sure you can find that show him working and photographing scenes. Is he working slow? No, not really, I’d dare say he’s quite quickly snapping away. I think the difference is that he is seeing and reacting to what his eyes like. He is thinking and lining things up and when quickly capturing when it works.
I see so many people today missing the point of slowing down, if you slow down so much then I see people in danger of over thinking everything and still not producing the work they are capable of. It seems to be a case of extremes and possibly because of technology and abilities of todays cameras. Yes we have the ability to shoot a thousand frames but do you need to? Probably not and if you are then I think the problem lies with the fact you get back home with an overwhelming number of images and become lost at the endless possibilities and daunting task of trying to discover our voice in all that visual noise. I am talking from experience here, yes, I have been lost trying to figure out what I have shot and trying to make sense of it. Therefore, I think the statement should be ‘think about what your doing’.
Sometimes we need to shoot a lot of images and quite quickly too. This all depends on the scene we have in front of us. When something is unfolding then you need to work the scene and see where it takes you. Sometimes it is the first shot as that is the one you had the gut instinct about but other times it’s the end of a series of shots. It is a case of thinking about how you need to react to a scene and photographing what you want to show.
A couple of years ago I spent a week shooting the streets of New York city. I don’t think slow was even in my vocabulary for how I approached my working method there. I shot free, easy, and reacted with my gut. I loved every minute of it and produced images that were unexpected at times. Most of them were subpar but out of all the chaos there were images I still enjoy today, 2 years later. This can contrast some of the ways I work when I am producing my seaside photography but then again it can depend on the situations. The hight of summer with packed promenades often means I have to work very quickly but I can also take a slower approach. It all depends how I’m feeling and how I find the environment around me.
Maintain a high quality to your work and you can do that however it works for you. Only you know if what you are producing is honest and something of substance that really excites you. If slowing down enables you to think more, that is only a good thing but if you work in other ways and your process excites you then go with that. At the end of the day, you must do what is right for you. Take the advice that works for you and cast the other things to the side. I have tried the slower way of working in the past and even slowed my process down recently with a tripod and photographing at night. I was able to produce some images from this, but the process frustrated me. I knew if I carried on down that path then it would burn me out quite quickly just because of the slow process. This doesn’t work for me and I’m quite happy to say that.
As a personal insight, I don’t know if I work fast or slow. I haven’t shot with enough photographers to be able to judge the way I work, nor would I be interested. I work in the way that suits me, sometimes I think that is quickly reacting to a scene whereas other times I will spend a fair amount of time just looking and watching things. I take the first photo with my eye and then I react however I need with my camera, quick or slow it’s how every is needed.
The question should be, is the process that you follow working for you?
Yes – then that’s great go create some amazing work!
No, then let’s look at ways to make improvement but the best way to do that is by getting out there and putting the effort in to discover what works for you – now get out there and create some amazing work.
