“You don’t take a photograph, you make it.”—Ansel Adams
Making, Not Taking
While visiting Germany, I entered an art museum and asked, “Darf ich hier drin’ Bilder nehmen?” roughly meaning, “Can I take pictures inside here?” Although this may be a polite request in English, in German, this entreaty is quite absurd. The security guard gave me an astonished look as he grasped at words to inform me I was certainly not allowed to take any artwork out of the museum. The correct terminology in German is to ask, “May I ‘make or create’ pictures?” (not “take” them).
This book is all about “creating” photography, not just “taking” pictures.
What Makes a Photographer Professional?
The art of digital photography has blossomed into a vast world of creative expression enjoyed by myriads more enthusiasts and professionals than in the not-so-long-ago “olden” days of film. With that, technology has allowed shoddy photography to become rampant. Many would-be photographers are only “technically passable” without being “skillfully competent.” Cameras have become hand-held robots that bypass many factors that must work in harmony to create true photographic art.
Not all the points made in this book are actual “mistakes.” Some are just options. Most points are basic photographic guidelines—rules that can sometimes be bent or broken to achieve the photographer’s artistic vision. However, there is a difference between breaking the rules and not knowing them. First, learn and practice the rules; they provide power, confidence, and excellence in the craft.
101 Mistakes is a book about making better choices—about controlling the variables that go into the process of creating professional images, not just pictures. Suppose a photographer comes to a hypothetical fork in the road while creating an image. One path may be a shorter route to the destination; the other may take longer but reveal a more breathtaking vista. The higher, more difficult road is the one that gets top professional photographers the fees they deserve.
Photo by Joel Grimes.