There is a scene in The Departed where Martin Sheen and Mark Wahlberg are talking to a young recruit played by Leo DiCaprio. Sheen looks at him and asks,
"You want to be a cop, or do you want to appear to be a cop. It's an honest question. A lot of guys want to appear to be cops. Gun. Badge.
Pretend they're on TV..."
I recently decided to quit posting on YouTube. There was something bugging me about it. Something I forgot to mention in my Bye Bye film.
Most of the folks who watched my YouTube channel expressed their desire to become better photographers, but I always had the feeling this was more of an act than an actual goal. And then I did a little research to validate my point. And now I kind of wish I hadn't. Like smelling sour milk then taking the carton away from your nose only to smell it A SECOND TIME, just to be sure.
This is how I feel about YouTube: It's more about pretending to be than actually being. For the first time ever, I ventured deep into the bowels of my YouTube analytics. Under an "Audience" tab I found my worst nightmare, or in other words, what my viewers had been watching. (Outside of my channel.) This is the part I wish I hadn't seen. Good grief. "Your audience watched these six films." For a grand total of 175 minutes. One hundred and seventy five minutes. Just under THREE HOURS per week.
The films weren't about how to make good photographs. They were about gear, gear, and gear. Five of the six were about switching gear, reviewing gear or why one piece of gear was worth upgrading. And wearing hip clothing and shooting film. The end result photography wasn’t worth showing or mentioning.
These films, while technically falling under a photography genre, had nothing to do with actual photography. These films were in some ways about everything except photography. Which brings me to my question. And there is no way around this baby, so if you are fragile you might want to veer off course now.
Do you want to get better at photography?
If you do, you can't waste nearly three hours. Even if you wasted two hours it is still too much. Name a hand-eye coordination sport that doesn't require focused, consistent practice to achieve a high level of proficiency. Go ahead, name one. I feel like people who spend significant time on YouTube are like tennis players who carry a racquet all day long but never set foot on a court. This, for me, is like nails on a chalkboard. Fortunately, I came up during a time when there was someone better saying "Let me see the work," before any type of engagement would happen. If you had the work you could play, and if you didn't have the work you were encouraged to keep plugging and come back again at a later date. You never got mired in geeky conversations because if you didn't have the work, well, nobody cared what camera you were using.
If you want to get good at photography you must shoot all the time.
There is no other path. None. Zero. And if someone says there is another way, they are either lying or trying to sell you something. Photography is not about what film camera you are using. Or your clothing or your look or what printer you use. Great photography (documentary) is about light, timing, and composition. No matter how many layers of wasted time you put between yourself and your portfolio, light, timing, and composition are out there waiting for you. They suffer no fools. And they certainly don't spend all their time on YouTube.
Adding to the degree of difficulty, but also the thrill factor is learning how to edit. Making great snaps is one thing, but learning how to edit them is another skill entirely. There is a reason why we had full-time picture editors since the inception of the industry. I find that most prosumer photographers have a difficult time with the editing process, especially those who don't print their work, but I'll get to this more in a minute.
Editing isn't easy, but laying down a brutal edit of your beloved little darlings will only make you better. And it will only increase the potential impact your work will have. When I teach workshops I often encounter the photographer who makes a very broad edit then says "Okay, I'm done." I have to gently remind them, "No, you're not." I need a top twenty, a top ten, the single best image and the single best image that would work as a cover for a potential book. (These are often not the same image.) (Editing advice is one of the best aspects of a photo workshop. You could even argue it's as important as making the images.)
Speaking of books.
I've mentioned this many times before. Books scare people, and rightly so. Books are a masterclass in skill diversity. Books will make you quit before you begin. Books will show you what you are missing. And books show you as much about what you don't know as what you do. Books allow you to spend 175 minutes on YouTube because YouTube is like a half gallon of Ben & Jerry's. Sweet, easy, smooth. You know you shouldn't but you do it anyway. And when you step on the scale the next day, light, timing, and composition are there in the background waiting for you to stop pretending.
Two days ago, my wife mentioned a young photographer who was trying her hand at going pro. She asked what I thought. "I will do anything in my power to help her," I replied. Why? Because this young person is a worker. She is constantly in the field. Constantly testing, shooting, failing, experimenting, doing research, studying her photo history and learning about and meeting the real photographers in her community. This young person is a player, not a pretender. (I fear it will still be a long road.)
There is nothing wrong with entertainment. If that is your goal, hey, so be it. Enjoy the process. But if actually getting better as a photographer is your intended destination, well, I have some suggestions.
Relax. Getting good takes time. Years, most likely.
Find real critique. These days, it is easy to find yourself in an environment where all you hear is positive praise. This is how it works online but now how it works in real life. Find someone who can provide real feedback.
Find a mentor. Someone with real skill, knowledge, and history who can help you shape your work, and help you learn from your mistakes.
Study photography history. So many people spend more energy avoiding this task than the energy required to complete the task. Knowing your history makes finding project ideas easier and more rewarding.
Study photography books. Getting a book published requires massive time and resources. It also means that several sets of eyes looked over those images, edited those images, and also sequenced those images. Study these books. Ask yourself why they chose the cover image. Ask why they opened and closed the book with certain images. Consider the number of images used in the book, and also determine how many years were required to make the principal photography.
Stop wasting time online and go shoot.
Ultimately, what we might be talking about here is suffering. Are you willing to suffer for your work? My best guess, eighty percent of YouTube watchers aren't willing to suffer. It's why they are on YouTube, to begin with. Again, if entertainment is the goal, I get it. But if getting better at photography is a real goal, then maybe twenty percent of watchers have what it takes to even begin to think about refinement.
The good news, the process of getting better can start anywhere at any time. The process doesn't have hard cost or a licensing agreement. The process begins with admitting you can and will get better. That's all. Now, go shoot.
Daniel Milnor once worked as both a fragrance model and a hot tub installer but is better known as a reformed-journalist, photographer and writer who is now, once again, performing these duties in his role as “Creative Evangelist,” for Blurb Inc., the world’s premiere indie publishing platform. Milnor has self-published hundreds of titles, from the award-winning to the experimental, and is a strong believer in the inherent power of being a creative member of society. He has taught at Art Center College of Design and the Academy of Art University. His work is in the collections of The Los Angeles County Museum of Art, The George Eastman House, and the Santa Barbara Museum of Art. He lives in New Mexico.
EDITING & BOOKMAKING WORKSHOP
with Daniel Milnor & Sarah Leen | Menorca, Spain
May 18 - 25
***LAST FEW WEEKS TO SIGN UP. REGISTRATION CLOSES MARCH 15.
For most photographers, the “why” of bookmaking is obvious but the “how” can be more of a mystery. Creating a book today affords many creative options with an increasing number of photobooks finding their place in personal, public, curatorial and academic collections, however designing that book can be daunting even for the most experienced photographers.
Many aspects need to be considered when creating a book, from which photos to choose and how to create a coherent story, to how to sequence them and lay them out on the pages of your book. There's also the question of typography, font size, book format, and paper, as well as how to market the final product.
During the week-long workshop, participants will work on creating their own book from an existing body of work with the mentoring and guidance of Dan Milnor and Jorge Delgado-Ureña. During the workshop there will also be an editing masterclass given by Sarah Leen via Zoom.
Thanks for reading The Raw Society Stories!
"Are you willing to suffer for your work?"
This sums up the idea pretty well. Happens to me regularly. When I lose faith in my work, my energy, or get too many rejections from editors.
Glad to have come across your wise words again.
Too bad I really liked your videos in YT because there’s a lot of garbage on the platform but I totally understand the point. Thank you!