Dan Milnor: Becoming a better photographer and Youtube rant

myotis

myotis

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Dan Milnor stopped doing youtube videos a few months ago, which seems to have triggered this rant that includes some advice on becoming.a better photographer.

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Creative: The Question You Must Ask – Shifter

There was something else bugging me about YouTube. Something I forgot to mention in my Bye Bye film. I feel like most of the folks who were watching my YouTube channel expressed their desire to become better photographers, but I ...
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For those who can't be bothered reading his post, but it helps to put his advice into context, here is the core message, which might be worth thinking about

"There is nothing wrong with entertainment. If that is your goal, hey, so be it. Enjoy the process. But if actually getting better as a photographer is your intended destination, well, I have some suggestions.

  • Relax. Getting good takes time. Years, most likely
  • Find real critique. These days, it is easy to find yourself in an environment where all you hear is positive praise. This is how it works online but now how it works in real life. Find someone who can provide real feedback.
  • Find a mentor. Someone with real skill, knowledge and history who can help you shape your work, and help you learn from your mistakes.
  • Study photography history. So many people spend more energy avoiding this task than the energy required to complete the task. Knowing your history actually makes finding project ideas easier and more rewarding.
  • Study photography books. Getting a book published requires massive time and resources. It also means that several sets of eyes looked over those images, edited those images, and also sequenced those images. Study these books. Ask yourself why they chose the cover image. Ask why they opened and closed the book with certain images. Consider the number of images used in the book, and also determine how many years were required to make the principle photography.
  • Stop wasting time online and go shoot."

He is a bit of a character, but I've always found he always has some interesting things to say.
 
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myotis said:
  • Study photography history. So many people spend more energy avoiding this task than the energy required to complete the task. Knowing your history actually makes finding project ideas easier and more rewarding.
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:plus1:

Edit to add:

Having read the piece (it's not very long) he said pretty much what David Hurn says about there being talkers and doers. The doers make the work.

(I'll admit I find it all too easy to makes excuses for not doing the work though.:()

Every would be photographer should read "On Being a Photographer"


PPS - That book might go well at the top of a book list for photographers. ;)
 
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I didn't read past the first few paragraphs. He comes across as a bit of a t*** to me.

Sure, it's important to get out and shoot but people don't spend 24/7 out in the field. End of.
Perhaps he should think himself lucky that people took 3 hours of of their day to watch his videos.

I don't watch photograph videos to learn photography anymore. I did, and sure I still pick up tips but I mostly do it because their's nothing but s***e on TV and I have nothing better to do.

Maybe he's just a bit miffed he could only garner 15k subs
 
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Hard to argue with any of those points.

My biggest challenge is finding the time to make photographs, I'd love to spend 2-3 hours a day doing it even if on a commute but being busy, other hobbies (weirdly doing a distant learning photography BA is limiting my shooting at the moment :D ) and working from home limits possibilities. Excuses tho ;)
 
ecoleman said:
I didn't read past the first few paragraphs. He comes across as a bit of a t*** to me.

Sure, it's important to get out and shoot but people don't spend 24/7 out in the field. End of.
Perhaps he should think himself lucky that people took 3 hours of of their day to watch his videos.

I don't watch photograph videos to learn photography anymore. I did, and sure I still pick up tips but I mostly do it because their's nothing but s***e on TV and I have nothing better to do.

Maybe he's just a bit miffed he could only garner 15k subs
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He is certainly a bit of a character, and not for everyone,
 
Ed Sutton said:
:plus1:

Edit to add:

Having read the piece (it's not very long) he said pretty much what David Hurn says about there being talkers and doers. The doers make the work.

(I'll admit I find it all too easy to makes excuses for not doing the work though.:()

Every would be photographer should read "On Being a Photographer"


PPS - That book might go well at the top of a book list for photographers. ;)
Click to expand...
I've taken the hint and started a thread about books. I wasn't sure about how to present it:, and still not.
 
I've been watching him for some time now. I also find his podcast entertaining even if the frequency has dropped off the face of the earth. His book based videos are really good.

He's coming at it from the position of someone who has made a career from photojournalism which - in my book - is no mean feat. I don't think he has a lot of time for the Instagram crowd which turns a lot of people off. Same age as me too which makes his gripes and moans (not always about photography) something I can identify with.
 
benc98 said:
Hard to argue with any of those points.

My biggest challenge is finding the time to make photographs, I'd love to spend 2-3 hours a day doing it even if on a commute but being busy, other hobbies (weirdly doing a distant learning photography BA is limiting my shooting at the moment :D ) and working from home limits possibilities. Excuses tho ;)
Click to expand...
I've mentioned before that I had a nearly 30 year gap of not making pictures, work was all I did, and when I wasn't working I was recovering, Even holidays weren't really holidays as some work always came with me. BUT...

My mistake was only thinking about photography in a very specific and "elevated" manner, something that needed 100% effort or it wasn't worth doing at all. Seriously complicated by my need to make prints as being an essential part of my photography. I still, when I could, read about photography, I still bought books of photographs, but was frustrated at not feeling able to find the time to take photographs.

Now, I would do it differently, I would now think in terms of story telling rather than trying to produce single "hang on the wall" prints. I would use a smartphone or pocket camera and maybe even use JPEGS with minimal processing (but also create raws). I would abandon the idea of prints and upload as stories/sequences/concepts/ideas "somewhere". Not necessarily to share , but just somewhere that I could record my personal photographic progress.

The stories don't really matter, what matters is that you are making photographs and exploring ideas. Working from home may be a limitation, but I've found lots of interesting pictures from shadows and reflections around the house, I have a collection of pictures of plants, vegetables and flowers, in various states of decay lit by window light,, and I could probably come up with other things if I thought about it.. With a bit more thought I could have treated any of these things as a "project", but never did.

But I write as the world's best procrastinator so it's definitely a case of do as I say and not as I do :-(
 
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