Loosen Up
“If you try too hard, if you’re too uptight, the photos never seem to work…It’s especially important in other countries…You’ve got to tolerate the differences and flow with things that you didn’t plan or expect. If you stay loose, it’s going to work out.”
I learnt this via a totally different route.
A couple of years ago I read a piece about how the process of chimping – reviewing an image right after you’ve taken it – actually engages a different part of your brain. The idea being that chimping takes you out of any sort of creative, photographic zone you may be in while shooting.
Back then I was chimping too much, so after reading that article I made a conscious effort to change my shooting. I started thinking of my digital SLRs as if they were my old film cameras, which meant no chimping!
It took some time, but a funny thing happened. I became a lot looser with my shooting. At the same time my photography improved and the process of photography was more enjoyable.
I realise now that part of the problem with chimping – at least for me – was that it inadvertently put this pressure on me to produce a good photo with every shot. Once I let go of that, it really loosened me up and my photos became better. In a way, I was learning to trust my way of seeing the world.
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