thoughts on shooting

A while ago, I saw someone post up what I suppose is a quote which stated: shoot less, think more. It appeared on my newsfeed and I paused my scrolling to ponder that for longer than I normally do with most other things I see, and back then, I wasn't too sure what to think about it but now I do.

It hit me a while after seeing that, and I realised that it is in fact one of the most destructive things to do. To shoot less and think more. Because to shoot less not only robs you of practice and the chance to learn and develop your style, but thinking more usually does more harm then good especially when it turns enthusiasm for a thing to self-doubt regarding your abilities to create. And the thing is, there is no real right or wrong to creating. We all create to the best of our abilities at any given moment, but we nevertheless develop and refine our skills with more practice. And more practice means spending more time with something.

I suppose what I'm doing here is mostly stating the obvious, but if it makes you realise the simple reasons behind me disagreeing with that quote and makes you go out and shoot, create and have fun more often, then I would have encouraged the life in you to grow. So many of us, myself included, spend so much time on social media these days, and so much of it is unnecessarily spent. I am now taking a break from social media for a few days, at least, to work on finishing my dissertation, but I felt the urge to write this. It is perhaps a bit contradictory, considering that I am sharing my thoughts in this, but we do not have to share everything. If it is the pressure of what others would think of your work that you worry about and not create, then you are going about it the wrong way. Share what is comfortable to you, or what you want to when you'd like to move out of your comfort zone, but seriously, stop thinking so much and shoot more. Shooting more doesn't mean that you take a photo of everything you ever see, it doesn't mean that you have to take photos of that which doesn't interest you. And not thinking so much doesn't mean you go about it mindlessly. Take some care, but sometimes we need to learn how not to take ourselves so seriously too.


Below are some photos I took while location scouting with my group mates before we shot our short film. I'll be sharing the second half of the Paris trip post soon, as well as some photos I took of two gorgeous sisters when we went on a photoshoot a few days ago :)

Journeying from town to town.

Kathleen trying to take some photos of a location we were going to use.

The backyard of the house we shot in.

All those late night journeys where we squeezed in the back of the car, tired but still somehow, singing.