File :-(, x, )
Anonymous
/p/, Ever think about giving up?

I'm not a great photographer, hell I'm not even good. I've stuck in there because it was fun, and I hoped I would eventually get good. Well, recently, it hasn't been much fun. I keep taking pictures, and I really don't like any of them.

Ever happen to you?
>> elf_man !!DdAnyoDMfCe
Well yeah. Anything worth doing will eventually make you question yourself and your motives, because it absolutely will involve hard work. If you really think you need to take a break from it, go for it; if you enjoy it you'll probably come back to it later, and unless you want a career, enjoying it is the fundamentally important part. If you decide to stick with it, the biggest thing is to find something you really enjoy photographing, either a subject, a style, a mood, whatever, and just start working on it. Post work regularly, and learn to give yourself feedback. I know my problem, and probably the problem of a lot of people on here, is the lack of a focus.
>> heavyweather !4AIf7oXcbA
I don't think about giving up, because I'm stubborn.

But I do get scared. I don't want to end up in a mall taking portraits of chulos and uncooperative shitheel kids.
>> ac !!VPzQAxYPAMA
I find that buying new gear helps me with that sort of thing. Even if it's really cheap crappy gear.
>> Anonymous
Take a break from it. If you were meant to be a photographer, you won't be able to stay away for ever. If it wasn't meant to be, then all for the better. There's no reason to keep a hobby you don't like.

I've been taking photos, either as a serious amateur or professional, for about fifteen years. In there I've taken breaks of up to a year in length just because it quit being fun, but I always end up doing it again and enjoying it. I usually take breaks of a month or two in length out of every year. It helps me keep fresh and keep having fun.
>> Anonymous
Are you shooting because you enjoy it or because you wanted to be a great photographer?
>> Anonymous
>>139258
Why can't it be both? I don't mean great as in Eddie Adams or Bob Gruen. I just wanted to take great photos. I had no intentions of doing it professionally. Hell, I don't even have a premium camera, just a hand me down I got from my step-dad.

I used to enjoy it. But with the more photos I take, the ratio of good ones keeps going down, and I keep getting frustrated. I try to not rate myself with other people, but I see the stuff my friends put out and its frustrating. They all started about the same time as me.

Maybe its just as my knowledge grows, so do my expectations. I dunno. Either way.
>> Anonymous
     File :-(, x)
Photography really isn't something I can give up. I don't really think so much about how much my pictures suck, because in the end I'm having so much fun that it really doesn't matter.
>> angrylittleboy !wrJcGUHncE
A lot of times. But I've also given up on many things in the past, so I'm still pushing myself to do this and see where it ends.
>> Anonymous
You can learn from other people. What makes your friends' work better? Apply those ideas to your own work. For every decent shot, I take about 10-20 failures. That's what the delete key is for. Keep your head up.
>> Warren !WSxruxpIJs
Do you enjoy it? Do you get something out of it? All things considered, are you better for having pursued it in your life?

If it enriches your life, despite the frustrations, it's worth having around.

Every one of us reaches this point eventually. Stick with photography long enough it comes around again, even. Point being that it sucks, but it happens. If it's still worth something to you, keep doing it.
>> Anonymous
>>139217
I've thought about it. I hardly take photographs. But I do find it fun. I try to plan mini-adventures for myself on the weekends. Photography is a good hobby if you want to get out of the house. If you find yourself a little limited, with no car or means of transportation, then you have to work a lot harder to get interesting shots. Outside of stalking the same old haunts at different times of the day, you could get into macro photography and such. If you live near a major city, like I do, there shouldn't be any reason to get bored. Personally, I think I need something than just one day out the weekend. It's all too short. I wish I could go out for 2 or 3 weeks and just shoot wherever and whatever I wanted. By the end of that, I would probably get a better sense of my relationship with photography in general.
>> heavyweather !4AIf7oXcbA
Folks, this is a great thread. Why are we producing better and better threads?

Photography really is a great enabler of other activities... as a kid, I thought sightseeing was boring and a waste of time. It distracted me from beating Metroid 2: The Return of Samus. Now I'd give my middle nut to go to the Grand Canyon again, and this time I'd bring the medium format with me and plenty of Velvia.
>> ac !!VPzQAxYPAMA
>>139450
I know! Fucking Germany, I went to. We visited all sorts of castles. I was *bored out of my skull*. Stupid AC ca. 1986.

I've also discovered that I now enjoy going antique shopping with my mother. Before it was just about the dullest thing I could possibly think of. Now it's an opportunity to take pictures of interesting old junk combined with the possibility of finding an interesting old camera.
>> Anonymous
You can reduce it to hobby or by whim. Bring a compact around with you until inspiration hits. It's what I do if I want a break from the heavy settings of a dSLR.