I met my neighbor out on the street. She’s an art teacher and we started talking about a class that she was preparing. It is a class about what makes a photo work. She had set the goal to get her students to realize that a good photo can and should do more than reproduce what the photographer sees. A photograph needs to be something more that just a reproduction of reality.
By our choices in framing, composition, settings, subject, focus, idea, concept etc, we create something more. Mostly the thing that determines if an image works or not is the details. It can be the idea or the concept behind the image, or something totally different.
What does failure look like?
After this talk with my neigbor I started thinking about failure. As toy photographer yourself, you probably know how small details can make all the difference if an image works or not. When I’m doing images I think about the details that determine if I choose one image over another… While thinking about failure, I decided to write down a list off criteria that determines if I fail or not to choose an image over another.
The list of failure for a photo
Let me begin by acknowledging, that many of my attempts to make photographs with toys don’t work. When the results don’t work here is my list of the most common reasons:
– the composition
– the framing
– the background
– the settings
– the foreground
– the motive (the toy)
– the light/the lightning
– focus
– the angle
– the idea
Ultimately, I should say that my success as a photographer depends on me and my ability. While this can be a comfort, it’s also hard to handle. When I’m looking at a failed image, or at images that I don’t think work, I only have myself to blame. The toy can’t help me, it’s only a tool or a subject for my image making. This is an awesome fact! Toys never complain, they never say no, but they don’t ever help either. I can never blame them for my failure. A great image only depends on me as the photographer and my ability to do photographs.
Conclusion
To conclude, the most common reason for my failure is that I don’t have the patience to do the work. I simply do not have the time, desire or willingness to do the job that will make the photograph as good as I know it can be.
Maybe I should share a few failures? Below are a selection of my latest and why I think they failed.
the highlights are to bright (even for me)
the framing doesn’t work with the idea
no one will get the idea
The subject is falling
I’m not sure about the background – doesn’t work
Kristina,
I really liked this post. I think its good to know what we will define as our own failures. If we don’t know what are failures are, then how can we know what our successes are? Im curious why you say this though: “I simply do not have the time, desire or willingness to do the job that will make the photograph as good as I know it can be.” I don’t doubt you that this is how you feel since you’ve been telling me this for a while now. So if you feel this way, why do you do it? If you don’t care enough to do the best job you can do, for your self, then why do it at all? No need to answer, and I’m not trying to put you on the spot, but for someone who cares as much about photography as you do, this statement seems rather odd.
As always you present interesting food for thought.
Shelly
🙂
I’m not sure I get the question? But when I go out to photograph I believe I will succeed to get the idea that I have in mind or the photo. But Sometimes I just have to realize that I won’t make it – so when I fail (don’t get it to work the way I want) it’s because I have give up and as I see it it’s always fall down to me my will, my ability, or the time I have. But you seem to ask something else…
If you are askimg – why I do photography – then I would say it differs from day to day, but today I would say one reason it’s my way of trying to understand and reflect upon the world.
And failure is part of that.
K
K
Thanks for clarifying your point. Fail is a word that has a lot of meaning in the English language. In my mind it has a very negative connotation. Maybe that is what I’m reacting to here. While I see failure as a part of the artistic process, Im not sure I would agree that you can overcome ‘failure’ by sheer force of will. I know I couldn’t! 🙂
Have a fabulous weekend my friend!
Shelly
xoxo
“If you don’t care enough to do the best job you can do, for your self, then why do it at all?” I have to say you read this all wrong – it doesn’t have anything to do with if I care or not, I always do what I can .
As do we all. 🙂
Great read. So thankful that I have discovered this community.