Issue 200 of the SNYC Newsletter
Greetings everyone! Drumroll on the 200th issue. I started this newsletter back in 2017. It has evolved over time. You can read all of the past issues since I moved it to Substack in January 2021 on the Substack app.
I am currently in the middle of creating a new photo zine. What a learning curve! Using the software (Affinity Publisher) isn’t that difficult. But there are 2 issues to deal with. The first is that I am not a really good curator of my own photos. And that has led to me a discussion that may take a few issues to explore. The other is getting a layout that looks good. I’ll let you know when I send it off to be printed.
Thanks so much to everyone who has taken group and private workshops with me. It is such a pleasure to meet everyone and to share my love of street photography and New York City with you.
And also, a big thank you to everyone who has subscribed to this newsletter. I am so happy that you are reading it.
As always, Happy Shooting!
This newsletter is about my thoughts & experiences on street photography. I hope that you find it of use on your journey. If you are able to, you can support me by buying me a coffee. No sweat if you’re unable to contribute. The newsletter is free for all. Thanks to everyone who has bought me a coffee!!! Maybe one day we’ll be able to have a coffee in person. Mucho love.
Photography is Subjective
There is the activity of photography and then there is everything that comes after shooting. Many people have told me that they don’t know if or don’t think that their photography is very good and they don’t know how to get a sense of where to turn to or how to be objective about their work.
Being able to appreciate your own photography is more difficult than taking or processing photos. Social media doesn’t help when it comes to that. Often portfolio reviews are useless. If you are seeking to have one person that you pay to talk about your photos and who doesn’t take photos like yours or ones that you strive to take, then it’s really useless.
Learning how to take photos that reflect your vision and also being able to appreciate them is not easy. I feel like I should say that twice. It is difficult. It is especially so as a result of social media. It is maybe the worst part of it unless you are able to adjust your expectations about the responses you receive.
The unfortunate side effect of social media is that people copy other peoples photos. As I have mentioned before, there is no such thing as original when it comes to any art form. You are always sampling work that came before. The point is to make your own.
Be yourself. Being me means that my work is always evolving. People change over time. Changes happen quickly or gradually. Photography is the same. Yes, street photography is life, in more ways than one. When we change, we see differently. The key to finding your own style is to have the courage to change. Oh, that’s both in life and photography.
Typically your photography matures as you age and experience life. It’s amazing how you can see familiar things and places differently. Your job as a photographer is to capture things the way that you see them. Not to conform to a cookie cutter model of what you see other photographers doing.
Wanting to have perfect photos is like wanting to be perfect! I avoid perfection like the plague. Creativity abhors perfection. Perhaps that is one of the really big problems with AI photography. At some point it doesn’t look real.
For the same reason, I really don’t like phone photography. It’s too sharp. Too perfect. Of course, these are my opinions. The other problem with perfect photos is that your photos are never good enough. You are never good enough. It’s really the same thing. If I ever take the perfect photo, I will give up photography. What do you do after that?
The creative process is never-ending. That’s what makes it addictive. Not exotic travel and new gear. When I buy myself a new pen, I am momentarily distracted with it. But it doesn’t make me a better writer.
So how do you decide if your photos are any good is perhaps a lifelong pursuit. When I look at my photos I often don’t really really like many of them. Sometimes it just isn’t a good time to look at your photos. If you’re not in the right mood nothing looks good.
Next week I’m going to be holding my first group online portfolio review. I’ll let you know how that goes. The point is to have a number of different photographers commenting on others photos. I don’t think that any one person is a good judge of your body of photos. AND ultimately, you have to be happy with your work.
Of course, it helps when you see how other people think about your work and what they see. There isn’t anything objective about it. In that respect, you really shouldn’t be trying to please everyone. Your view, your vision is unique. That is what you should strive to achieve.
Confidence to be yourself in a world that wants us to conform makes it all rather challenging. Why do you take photos? I hope that first and foremost it’s because you enjoy it. It is a form of visual communication and I also hope that you are able to communicate in a personal way. Think of it like poetry.
The beauty of allowing yourself to be open to shooting in different styles and techniques is that you can find your style somewhere in there. I am still always working on my style and techniques. Did I mention that I love it?
My mantra to get better as a photographer, street or other is
Shoot often
Experiment
Don’t be afraid to make mistakes
Spend quality time looking at photos (looking at books.)
Oh, and have courage about sharing your work with others. It will help you grow as a photographer. Don’t worry about how many people follow you or how many likes you get. Just keep shooting and be happy shooting!
I’d love to hear about your experiences in street photography and finding your style etc.
Biweekly Photo Assignment - The Sun
I like shooting into the afternoon sun like the above photo. Any photo with sun rays or diffusion shooting into the sun or even reflections of the sun. Oh, I’m thinking about the sun because of the solar eclipse coming up here in North America on Monday.
This is a voluntary assignment if you want to take part. You can submit your photos to the Facebook group for Shoot New York City and also on Instagram tag @shootnewyorkcity.
Further Viewing
This video is about the photographer Bruno Barbey. She has some interesting insights into his photography,
Upcoming Workshops
Workshops are a maximum of 5 people Workshops are only scheduled on weekend days. If you would like to have a weekday workshop or a workshop in other areas of NYC, let me know with some lead time and I’ll see if others want to also attend it. Otherwise I continue to provide private workshops on weekdays and in other neighborhoods.
For those who haven't done a workshop or photo tour with me in the past I have a number of reviews on my website and also on TripAdvisor! Workshops are both for people who live here and also travelers, as are photo tours.
Photo tours are one-on-one and arranged on an individual basis for both neighborhood and photographic style and can be designed as a workshop as well. They are customized to your interests and level.
Leanne, this newsletter really resonates with me. I’m also an AP user, trying to put together zines. Wishing you luck with your project. On objectivity of your work: I just took part in a workshop with a well-known photographer from NY and what I learned is that there’s no such thing as objectivity. Emotions are all that count. How you can translate your emotion into photos. Well, that was my takeaway from the workshop, anyway—I might be completely wrong. Social media—my two cents: useless. Print a zine, make a book. Leave a few copies at your local bookstore, hoping someone will buy them. Not for the money—you’ll never get rich in this business. The paragraph starting “Be yourself” is spot on in my opinion. Change is welcome, even necessary, but then it’s so hard to absorb it at times. Also, I’d be interested to learn more about the online portfolio review. And ‘Crowded street’ is a gem!
You content is always so so good! Lots of variety and talents ❤️