The Worst Photography Advice I've ever heard...
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 23 เม.ย. 2021
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The last time I went up Y Garn here in Snowdonia I heard probably the worst photography advice I've ever heard. I found it confusing and unhelpful, and I don't think anyone should follow it, but maybe that's just me. Also I enjoy a blue hour with my camera - it was fun! Thanks for watching :)
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From my point of view the best advice is: “don’t walk up to photographers and start giving them advice”. Maybe I should just get a sign saying “leave me alone” when I’m out though... :)
If someone attempted to start giving me unsolicited advice I would not be polite.
@@cocteaufan what are your thoughts on tripods and how do you feel about three extra legs?” 😂
@@ijclarkphoto I love tripods. If someone has three extra legs I'd urge them to consult a professional medical practitioner.
LOL funny you said this, I was just shooting WRC in Croatia last weekend and there was a guy at one of the a hairpin corners, taking all the space with his 4 tripod setups, while wearing a black polo shirt with huge, red ''FUCK OFF'' written on the back.
@@nogerboher5266 you should have come over and said “hi”, it’s only advice I take exception to ;)
I think he meant the absolute opposite ... one picture of a situation can tell you more than thousand words that describe it. So this underlines, how simple photography is compared to texts/words. You have the ability to create strong feelings with only one photograph.
And that is what you should aim for ... tell a story in only one picture. 🤔
Yes that's what people mean when they say it, generally in the context of journalistic photography.
I think that guy was just too... language-challenged... to say that your picture should tell a story. Dumbness makes many people mess up teachable moments by ignoring the precise formulation. They rely on a falsifying approximation that sounds "about right" to their minds.
Honestly, watching you do your thing as you take photos is immensly comforting for a beginner like me. I always feel so awkward and somewhat stressed when trying to take pictures, as if there is a line of people impatiently waiting for me to get done. Don't know why as I'm always alone when going out to take photos...
I totally understand. I don't even bother trying to take anything other than snapshots when I'm hiking with my family 😊. I always feel rushed. Gotta work on that.
It's only you putting pressure on yourself. If you have an idea in mind, think about how to capture it before you start trying to take the photo. Taking your time becomes one of the more relaxing parts of being out with the camera. :)
I feel like a giraffe trying to drink water at an oasis
Not everyone is gifted with the skill of clear and concise communication. He was most likely attempting to be profound, but missed the target.
What a stunning location. Beautiful!
Best advice I ever got about photography is shoot what makes you happy, photography should be about your own personal view of the world. If you get really lucky you get to take others along for the ride through your images.
Hi James. I’m a field engineer, which is great cause I get to bring my camera on trips all over the world. In my field, I have to write a lot of reports that include pictures and in that scenario, pictures of what I’m describing in my reports speak louder than anything I could write on paper, or iPad, in my case.
It’s possible that the ‘alleged’ pro photographer in your story may be alluding to this, “you could describe what you see in 1000 words or take the picture instead.”
I didn't take that to mean complexity. He meant you can say something simply in an image that might otherwise take a thousand words to say. It's a very sound, but somewhat trite gently philosophical comment.
Interesting! Every chance I’ve taken it the wrong way 🤔
Have to agree. I wouldn't have taken that advice to mean take a complex image. I find that even a minimalist type photo can also tell a story. My takeaway would be to just tell a story. Far too many photos (even if they're beautiful) don't necessarily tell much of a story.
However, your videos DO tell a story and are much appreciated.
Yes. It’s actually NOT photography advice, it’s communication advice. An illustration (photo, sketch, computer graphic) can replace lots of text in a description or instruction. I deal with this issue nearly every day in my engineering work.
This is the way i would interpret it, one picture can say what 1000 words would take.
Instead of hikers in the scene, how about a Tardis materializing. The 4th Doctor comes out and offers you some more Jelly Babies
Sounds like someone has been giving the boxed sets a bashing during lockdown :)
I just think about the 1000 words as another way to say "every picture should tell a story to be interesting"
Yes That's what I am thinking well. Making Sure every picture is taken for a purpose.
I think the best picture is one that can almost be put into words but not quite. Where when you've described what is actually in the picture, there is something about it left that you can't put into words but that makes you feel, and where people know the feeling right away when looking at it. Like words between the lines, the image between the pixels.
@@SianaGearz agreed on this
Interesting to you or other people? What creates interest?
@@TheArtofKAS For what objective?
“I stand out more than all of the mountains” bit of a God complex there James.. you’ll be looking for the infinity stones next..
As someone who's only been into serious photography for about 1.5 years, I can say that the advice that guy gave means little to nothing to a new photographer. The first couple of months for me was just about learning how the camera operates, the settings and how to get the shot I want via the camera settings. I remember watching tutorials and hearing them talk about story telling and how a scene should complement the subject...etc. I never understood this back then. How could I understand something as complex as telling a story within a photo when I barely had a grasp of what I was doing with my camera, let alone think even deeper into my photos.
I'm barely starting to look into videos on how to tell a story with photography after having taken thousands of pictures and know how to set my camera to get the shot I want now and have a good grasp of what I'm doing, I have taken a decent amount of photos that have "story" in them, but now I'm finally able to understand what that truly means and am looking to refine that area of my photography.
I'd like to see the photos of James legging it along the peak of the mountain to get himself in the shot 😂
A multiple exposure comp would be quite fun.
@@andyb_23 absolutely
The camera also got attacked by midges at 1:35 😂
Hey James. I just found your channel recently and I think it’s pretty great. I love how ambivalent and uncertain you are with your advice & opinions, because it is so much more relatable and honest than these strongly opinionated, black & white, absolutist photographers you see on TH-cam. It is more difficult to hear for beginners, but it’s more helpful in the long-run. Anyway, thanks for the great videos.
You always film your videos in such beautiful and chill places, I love it
Another fantastic video James. Always a pleasure to watch :)
I imagine the advice meant, that you should rather takes images about things rather than just of them. If you take an image about something, it tells a story (a thousand words) but when you just take an image of something you only photographed this something (one word).
Though this is a mantra to definitely think about, I also think it's flawed in that you need to take images of something to learn how you take the images in the first place. So to take an image about something and to tell the story, you first need to understand what an image "of something" is missing to make it tell those "thousand words".
I don't think it meant taking a complex image, but rather one that makes you invested in it when looking at it - so to say, telling you a thousand words in your mind. An image that manages to keep you attracted to its content even after already telling you a thousand words... Which is often quite hard even with text.
Anyway, still a great video. Makes me want to travel again and just go outy but life's busy and the situation still ravaging the area. So all the good advice here sadly will have to wait a bit longer...
James said this "about vs. of" thing at least a year ago on the channel.
Another great video James. My lazy Thursday has been spent so far watching a ton of your work. Great stuff. Really enjoyable content. Thank you for sharing 😊
I am surprised at how much I enjoyed just watching your process and hearing your thoughts behind your actions and shots. Thanks!!
I love these videos that just show the real process. It’s too easy to watch YT and see an edit of nothing but absolute bangers and wonder what you might be doing wrong. My process looks a lot more like this, midges included (we call them no-see-ums) and these are still beautiful shots.
James, if you doubted, this kind of video is really interesting actually! Gives me your perspective of views, crops, F-stops to blur and so on out in the field - truly helpful!
Thanks for the great talk, about the midges of corse. Great video can’t wait to get over to Wales
Moody, cinematic and absolutely beautiful scenery you have there!
I like that you dont stretch out your videos and just start talking about the subject in the title in the last minute. Very sympathetic the way you do it, thanks a lot:)
As always I enjoyed your video! Thank you 😁
can't wait to see the sunrise video next week! I hope... but another fantastic video. Did you do something different with the color grading in the video?don't know if it's just me to but it looked greta today.
Great video! I like it when I can see what other photographers are looking at. Its helped my own photos.
Such a lovely part of the British Isles! Thanks for sharing James
My frivolous take on it is that a photographic print should take the same amount of space as a thousand words printed in 12pt Times New Roman. One quick Google search later and it turns out that a thousand words is about four pages. So the advice is "always print at A2". ;)
That’s my favorite font and size! Love your take on the meaning.
Appreciate identifying the settings you used for many of the shots
Hi James, Thanks for sharing this location. I hope to be in that neighborhood very soon !
The advice could mean a lot of things. Best to let the scene work on you when you arrive before taking the camera. Then scout a bit to find the best composition
Thanks for another great video James, coming to Wales on the 7th May unfortunately about 100 miles south of Snowdonia still should be good for a few photographic outings from our base at Pentcastell Views near Lampeter.
Beautiful place! At 6:15 I could see nice flat stones sticking out diagonally from the ground forming V-shapes. I wonder if that could make nice foreground.
when ever i see amazing footage like in the intro, i immediately go into google maps & try to find the exact places seen in the video. since the trails of Snowdonia are in street view - sometimes i can find them. i found where you were standing when the drone went over your head :)
That was pretty awesome ...I know you weren't thrilled with the haze but I quite liked it! And I was sorta paying attention to the Squarespace bit at the end and I noticed your book in one of the shots and I had a mini panic attack thinking I had missed the 2020 book!! 😆 There will there be a 2020 book right? 🤞🏻
A thousand words are barely worth just one “wow”.
You still got some really beautiful images on this “bad day”.
For me, any advice that’s unsolicited is less helpful…. Mind you, always good to learn. Simplicity in photos is an aim for me - I tend to make them too busy. Great (solicited) advice as always. Cheers James!
The most important thing I learned from watching this video is tripod management, I'm a newbie and so far I've been extending one part at a time of each leg which takes forever. :D I imagine it will be a huge time saver doing all parts at once!
A big brick of battenburg cake fits perfectly in a camera bag compartment, just saying 👍
3am here and couldn’t sleep. Great video! like 30 pictures per second at a thousand words per picture... That’s lots of maths and I don’t know that many words. Thank you for making things that make us smile. That’s worth more than numbers of words
Loved the hoorah sound you made when you stood up from taken a shot while kneeling.....lol...I make the same sound making the same move...lol
A bit of a heat stopper as you ran along that narrow trip hazard elevation! I love the resulting shots though, my favourite being the one at 9.23 taken with your lens at 70mm.
Nicely done James. Definitely could be the place for a sunrise, if those bloody clouds play the game.
At least you seem to have dry footwear this week.
Stay safe 😷🇦🇺
I don't ask anybody for advise anymore on my photography because what do they know about my likes and dislikes, i don't like rules either, when you get your head full of photographic rules you are not making your own photos you are making photos according to somebody else rules, i am happier making my own rules. When i decided to propel with force all the photographic rules that i had read out the window i felt a big weight had been lifted from my existence, i have been very happy since and enjoy my freedom very much. My photos are not good or bad , i am satisfied with them just being.
Super can't wait to get up there
Personally imv...best advice to give to someone ( besides enjoy the journey) is...less is more!
A mountain range can sometimes have too much in it...i use my 70-200 much more than my wide angle to isolate sections of a view.
All personal perception tho isnt it James...enjoyed your vlog!
My thoughts exactly David :)
"A picture is worth a thousand words" to me really means that the Photo tells a story by itself that you would have to say 1000 words to tell word by word
Right! And If you have to write about it then it wasn't speaking very clearly for itself
Hey James, big fan of your work. I've been starting to get in photography as a hobby and would like to get your input on my current dilemma. I'm working with a Nikon D5100 (5+ years old) right now with the 18-55mm kit lens and was considering on getting a nifty fifty to further my knowledge.
I've also been doing my research on mirrorless cameras and would eventually like to get my hands on one especially now that everything is mirrorless.
What would you do in this situation? Spend around $150 on a Nifty Fifty, or get a new mirrorless camera for around $500-$600?
My perspective, i've seen some epic sunsets that i could try describe with a 1000 words but the words wont even come close to doing it justice, where as other scenes aren't even worth wasting a 1000 words on, ultimately it's inconsequential as we photographers don't deal in words, we deal in light, so just go out in the world, find beauty, capture it the best you can and share it.
You should definitely do the sunrise ones! Me and my boyfriend went up Moel Famau for sunrise the other day. Surprised that there were about 10 other people. It was freezing! And he was the only one taking camera photos, they were just there for the views I guess (they did take phone shots though). Got up there in 45 minutes, hard work and effort but it did look lovely ☺️
i liked the video. it gave some perspective on how you take the shots.
You're video narration is quite interesting. Could you do a video about editing for prints? Some tips for using any online service for printing.
Thanks James, you’ve certainly picked an extraordinarily beautiful part of the world to base yourself there in Wales.
I echo Mike Parker’s call for a series of images of you running into the drop off shot, or maybe a multiple exposure perhaps,😀
Hope all is well with Emily..
Gorgeous location, makes me want to plan a trip (I'm not near mountains). Would lives to see some sunrise shots of it too and compare
This is one of the most interesting videos I've seen in your work! You might want to look for a mountain dog
I actually liked the last shot of the sheep James! Although, how did you get that shot handheld as it looked pitch black at the time?
Glad I'm not the only one who forgets to take my lens cap off when I start taking pictures lol.
I go hot and cold watching you walking on that terrain with the camera in your hand! Was there a wriststrap?
That's a well known saying. It about not having to describe something elaborately when the simplicity of a picture can be self evident and more emotive.
Also can be just about having a bit of a story in your pictures to make them more engaging. E.g. Leading lines to a focal point and having something in the shot that makes you wonder about how they came to be - like an abandoned burnt out car or a hut, castle ruins, standing stones, stack of stones, a lone bird, a well worn trail or a little boat on a lake at the bottom of the valley etc? By having something like that the viewer can make their own story up about how things got there, their history or what they could be doing next.
Hi James, do you carry handgel with you? I've found wiping it on my face keeps the midges from biting.
Hi James. Are you happy with that tripod as a hiking tripod? I am considering buying it but would like to know if you are happy with it so far before taking the plunge.
I done the same slog last Saturday for sunset and was greeted to the same thick haze.
You likely do not need you picture to be worth a thousand words. However having your picture say something at all is very important.
Many photographers try to tell a story with their images. An image worth a 1000 words doesn't necessarily have to be complex or cluttered. Many of the simplest images can tell the most complex story while I have many cluttered/complex images that say absolutely nothing other than "what the hell was I thinking"
David Griffiths told us the other day that there's no F in Tryfan 😀
Hey James,
On the 30/07/21 I’m doing a charity hike up Mount Snowdon, any advice on clothing gear I should take and any other advice would be great
Good weather for a steady tripod is bad weather for midges. "Jelly babies", Tom Baker Dr. Who. :)
That´s a popular common saying, nothing related with essays or reports.When you see the beauty of a painting or a photo there are no words to describe it - that´s the meaning of that.
night sheep photography, love it.
I usually say that a picture should tell a story. Even a portrait can tell a story about the subject, if they look happy, sad, relaxed, uptight etc. Or a landscape tells a story of what was happening when the shot was taken, the weather, the atmosphere etc. Even a commercial shot tells a story of the subject.
The message may equate to 1000+ words or only one word but a good photo tells a story. Even if it’s just “beautiful”
opening scenes were stunning...... can I ask you James would you ever think of organising a group or "hikers' or friends to make sure you got that photo?
Any chance of a review on the Peak Design tripod? Is it worth the money?
Seemed to me that the advice was saying, 'every image should be equivalent to a blithering spray of platitudes', which might well be true, since there appears to be a lot of images that fit that bill around the place, including some of my own optical drivel.
In finland we have that same saying but we use it in a not photography realted context.. for example you can describe in 1000 words something complex but just showing one picture can do the same
damn those mountains are stripped, completely naked
I'm missing trees already
9:36 "have that removed". Thought I was the only one who used that! Obviously then had to Google where it comes from
..as I'm old. Stripes, apparently...
Are gummy bears really a good replacement for cycling/running gels tho? I would rather not have to chew something before riding really hard…
I just bought like 50 gels and TBH that’s like a half a year supply for me because I don’t have a gel every ride, just when I’m within bonk range or before a wicked segment run.
A really good picture usually says ONE word for me... WOW!
In A Great and Terrible King, about King Edward I, the author explains the difficulty of waging military campaigns in Wales. The terrain was a near-impossible obstacle to success. Now I see why. It is beautiful, though. 😀
Nice and good discussion. Perhaps it was a warning to not make pictures complex. Anyway love the comments here. Good discussions going on.
I've always thought the phrase "a picture is worth a thousand words" referred to our ability to capture instantly with our eyes that which would take paragraphs to describe in words.
Great video
I think he meant that good photos generally have some kind of story.
James, you should try those dried fruits.
And with all those sensor sizes you have migrated through, those settings have lost all meaning for me as I don't know the equivalency this particular one has.
What I think is really funny is the "art has to have meaning" dialogue. Like each to their own but what's wrong with something just looking sick without some pretentious BS behind it?
I read a thing the other day that even Picasso got tired of people trying to derive meaning from his work
Not a bad playground. Glad I'm not the only one who takes sweets (Tangfastics in my case) up the hill. If you want a early / late of the Glyders you can always start by ascending Carnedd y Filiast and walking south, you get some stunning views with a straightforward walk in.
Hey at least you didnt get attacked by the sheep. Or perhaps a yeti. Seriously to use a cliche quote as advice instead of something more serious or focused seems so unhelpful. For me, I need technical help like post processing, maybe some compositional tips. Its a journey, and every trip I take I learn from. I lookat every shot and ask myself what do I like and could I have taken this shot differently. The first advice I ever got was shoot what you like and dont let critics sway you. Photography is the art of shooting something that no one else got to see. That has always stuck with me. And....its the ability to remember to remove the lens cap BEFORE the shot.🤣🤣 great video!
4:05 As a fellow jelly baby addict, the best advice you can give to any photographer is to stock up on the jelly babies. You NEVER get such useful quality advice from any other photography youtube channel.
The Roy’s Peak photos in Wanaka.... what you don’t see is the huge queue lining up to get their Instagram shots at that one point..... 🧐
How are you finding the Peak Design Tripod ? (Bearing in mind that you hate tripods) Had mine for a couple of weeks but not got out to use it in anger yet........Fabulous design/quality
I can see why you moved to there.. It's so beautiful there!
Using that Tripod alot latley James :P
On my Instagram I often write one, or a couple words. And I think sometimes that's all it needs, I don't need it to be worth a thousand words. I care more about eliciting an emotional response, and that's going to vary from person to person. In the end, I just want make great photos, and not everyone is going to feel that way about them, but if I feel I'm doing my best, then that's all that's needed.
That's not how I understand "a picture is worth a thousand words" but even as I understand it, I don't think it's very good advice. Helping someone make a photograph that actually is worth making sounds, to me, like better advice than telling them they should make something worth making. But I've tried giving helpful advice and I know how difficult it is. I have no problem helping with the technical stuff. But beyond that? That's VERY difficult indeed. And it's probably because it's difficult I want to be good at it ;-)
6:06 beautiful al pacino impersonation👏👏
The advice is trite because it has been said so many times that it means nothing. The best advice I ever got was to photograph what interested me as I would naturally try to bring out what caught my eye. Also, I find myself knowing more about shooting certain subjects well.
'A picture is worth a thousand words'? Which means that it is easier to show something in a picture than it is to describe it with words.
Can I suggest you try Haribo Supermix as an alternative to Jelly Babies? Was a worthwhile upgrade for me.
A person can take a photo. If everyone hates it and the photographer likes it its not done wrong.
I was allway,s taught, the art of photography was keep it simple, knowing what to exclude is more important than what to include. Not minimalist as such, just less "busy/cluttered".