I mentioned this mantra before. It still needs reminding. I find myself very critical of the photos I take. Blurriness and exposure and graininess are obvious issues. I don’t think I’m being irrational about that.
My biggest problem is distracting elements. I cannot stand distracting elements in a photo. A tree coming out of someone’s head is a huge no no, but sometimes things like that happen. It doesn’t matter how amazing the rest of the photo is, if that tree branch intersects at all with someone, it’s trash to me. I don’t actually trash it, because most clients don’t seem to notice or care, but to me, it will never hit the front page of my portfolio.
These are times I try to remind myself that photography has no rules. If I truly love photojournalism and want to be a sports or photojournalist some day, I’m going to have to accept that the money shot may have some problems with them, and take the photo anyway.
Say it with me:
Photography has no rules, just guidelines!
