gessman wrote:
I'd decide first if my goals were pro or hobby, freelance or hired, then I'd organize photography in terms of the various divisions of interest and pick my favorite whether it be portraits, sports, wildlife, macro, landscape, nature, weddings, birds in flight, product like food, etc., or some of the major subdivisions of one or more of the major interest areas and then toss my hat into that ring first, drilling down as far as it pleased me before moving on to other interests. You've been mostly advised to go helter skelter into the world and shoot everything but nothing in particular until you become psycho trying to remember what you did last time you shot a cactus flower a year ago. Won't work. Every day brings exposure to new subject matter, different requirements in terms of your skills and equipment, etc. Analyze where your interests primarily lie, get the required equipment to achieve the level where you want to function and specialize. Don't split your interests until you're satisfied that you can repeat your actions and get what you want next time you want to do it. You are not likely to ever achieve a level of expertise that will allow you to just "shoot anything you see" at a level that will satisfy you in the long run because of the new subjects we encounter each and every day. Hone in on where your interests lie and attack it systematically and do what it takes to achieve that.
As a hobbyist, I've been "helter skelter" for nearly fifty years but recently saw that I needed to drop back, pare down, and focus on narrow interests to get the kind of quality I want in my shots and it makes a lot of difference in the outcome. The before and after is amazing. The bad thing is that the number of areas of interest are so massive, diverse, time consuming, require different skills, technique, different equipment, and different energy levels. You have to adjust your desires to the natural resources around you and live with the constraints of your current circumstances unless you plan to and are willing to change them. For instance, deciding you're a wildlife shooter when you live in an area where wildlife is scarce is not a good choice and there are other practical issues that come to bear on your choices, day jobs, finances, transportation, freedom to travel, etc. I'd say your next move is going to come after some serious analysis and soul searching but the last thing you want to do is grab your camera, head out the door, and shoot everything that moves or doesn't. On the other hand, only you know what you want - maybe that would make you happy, a burned out stump here, a rusty ol' pickup there, daily sunsets, etc...
I'd decide first if my goals were pro or hobby, fr... (
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