Stop Taking 'Nice' Photos

This is what bothers me about the modern trend of copying the exact image of famous photographs. Don't be a clone, learn the techniques and then put your spin on the image. Try a different angle, different time of day, change things up and be you. If people are putting your work on their walls then you're succeeding.

The actual secret is pointing the camera at something cool-looking and pressing the button, everything else is at best like a high-quality cover on a book. It enhances the experience, it influences how people perceive the contents, but it doesn't actually enhance the contents themselves, which are universally agreed to be the most important thing.

So it's basically just take pictures that you think look nice

Great video!

One thing I absolutely love about photography is that there is less of a "good" or "bad", an image is good when you yourself as an artist decide so — it's good when the image makes you feel something and you connect with it and harsh guidelines don’t matter as much. Of course that is present in pretty much any art form, but especially in photography I feel like. 
I have been a music producer for years and in music you could say the same but I feel like there are a lot more things to mess up. Maybe I’m tripping tho lmao

such a valuable message you are conveying right here, this applies to any art form really

also don't try to chase an identity, just doing what you're deeply passionate about is what your identity actually is (not what's supposed to be "nice").
And when you think you have developed a style/identity don't harshly stick to it all the time, that's what gets you burned out after some time. Still always try to experiment, it's about lifelong evolving

Applies to any art.

I remember joining a photography discord a while back, ended up leaving after realizing photography isnt for me with how much these people overthink photos and piss and moan about rules and sharpness and all that shit.
I am not a professional and never will be, i cannot care that much about that shit. I don't want to tske souless stock photos i want to take photos that have meaning to me and maybe help tell a story or bring back a memory. Rules are stupid for art. Art is subjective.

you are right!

The “they suck” in the thumbnail is killing me 😂 love it

Okay, so you fill the whole video with vague language concerning unique style. Examples?

let me just say that you look like the guy from Mehnersmoos - don't ask just look them up and be amazed

This video is incredibly reassuring. I’m still quite a novice but the way I’d been looking at it was just like any art, every photographer should have a personal style rather than adhere to a super rigid set of rules. I’ve been approaching my shots from the perspective of how can I show people the world as I see it? It’s the only art I’ve tried taking up where I feel a sense of satisfaction, as a result.

I absolutely think taking 'Nice' photos is a crucial step in a photographer's creative process. Imitating photographers you enjoy makes you understand them better; it's analogous to an active reader — a determination to understand and evaluate it for its relevance to your needs.

Great stuff. Short and sweet. I'm grateful to say that I don't find myself too worried about doing things a certain way when I'm out shooting. I just do my thing the best I can with whatever conditions I'm in. It's very low-pressure while still striving for great quality.

Great reminder!

this kind of advice can apply to any creative hobby or profession, great video

Bro, thanks for the reality check

good take, wise words. felt the same along the way and it underlines that no one is ever done learning and evolving in photography.

Hey Max, where did you get that shirt from? Its very nice!

I agree with what you say. It is logical. But I don't like the background music. It is a nuisance. If I want to listen to music I watch a music video.

I was so confused because I’m in St Ives right now and did very similar shots haha

Bro just subtly stated the rule of all art: do it your way 💯

Nice is the enemy of great

Take a shite and take an abstract pic of it

Your video popped up in my recommendations today and that's crazy because that's exactly what I was thinking about yesterday. I went on a nostalgic trip looking at some old photos and I realised that they had so much soul, much more than my photography nowadays. I actually took a break from photography because I felt like I was only creating cold and soulless images. Going back to images I captured years ago (way before I learned all there is to learn about the technical parts of photography) showed me what I've been looking for and lost over the years. Your words hit home and resonated a lot with what I'm feeling right now so thank you!

It is not about “nice”. It is about formulation… Masters like Saul Leiter or Haas they all shot nice photos. They just formed their own styles which differentiate them from others.

Nice is Terrible ´s little sister.

Finally someone said it

dude i love your style

Great vid.

I’ve been shooting photos professionally for more than 40 years and I still feel my “style” is continuing to evolve as a photographer. At times I wonder if I have an identifiable style even though I do have a style… As we grow our way of making images changes and our “style” changes in the process. Good video for making us all look at ourselves.

I will say something controversial. getting old ancient digital camera is so much fun. And by old I mean OLD. Less than 2megapixels. hopefully even LESS. All modern photos look similar. Super clean, super shallow colors (realistic) and you take 50 photos of every subject.
Meanwhile I am out here, taking pictures on a floppy disk camera at 640x480 or slightly above that... and the pics are so grainy, so unique. The colors are so wrong yet so amazing and the picture taking MATTERS. These cameras are so slow, I can't take 50 pics of 1 subject. I can take 1pic every 5-10 seconds. And I don't have a lot of settings.
So what ends up happening is that I take care, shoot and take what I get. Love it. And the upside is - cheap and no 10 lenses. The grain, artifacts, wrong colors. It's what stands out to me nowadays. And not achieved through editing for me

Is this Bob Ross of photography?

yeah i fully agree. i have a background in film and i think this applies very well to my workflow too. the media landscape has become very oversaturated especially with colorful lighting, symmetrical composition and analog or old formats (film, vhs). we are at the point at which something that was considered beautiful 10 to 15 years ago is now used by people for their instagram reels and truthfully, it still looks nice and stylish, but it's also a sign of empty and shallow art. perhaps i watch too much experimental stuff, but i absolutely prefer when something looks more raw and unadulterated. i'll always have a deep respect for the movies of dogma 95 and those inspired by neorealism for rejecting what's considered conventionally beautiful in art.

I love me an ugly photo

"Nice" or "Excellent" is defined by "rules" and AI will know that rules better than every single photographer very soon. If something is very strict, ordered, solid, mechanic, there is no actual art. Art is all about breaking, disrupting, fucking and throwing all the rules away. Scorcese is not a great director because he uses rule of thirds great. Nah, he is great because of his understanding. Because he fucks the church, religions and governments while underneath, while you watch a very "nice" Italian mafia story. Van Gogh isn't a great painter because of his talent. It's because he fucked up the painting art completely (himself included) and saw the stars 100 years ago with his naked eyes. That's why, I think photography is maybe the hardest discipline in art, because you actually shoot things are "100% real". But somehow you need to embed a feeling into that "reality" by disrupting it. And that's hard. So I totally agree with you. Wish the best.

great video my man

No. You go ahead and like what you like. Have rules. I love my photos. Bad and good.

I've always avoided professional wisdom of photography except for absolute fundamentals. The number One thing I tell everyone to make a good photo no matter the skill is context. Make sure you have enough material in the background to tell the viewer how big, detailed and close the subject is. A grass hill and a cloudless sky doesn't matter much, but if you have animals on the hill showing the scale and size of the hill, then you've got something to work on.

What's the point in a nice photo if it doesn't serve a purpose or contribute to something larger

Love this!! 🔥

This is very neat, I have recently remembered that I take photos because I enjoy it, not to please others or get higher numbers on social media.

And this video reminding me that I should have my style and stick to that came just in time!

And I can confirm, people who come to me to take photos do it because they like the way I take photos. :)

unrelated, but where is that shirt from? great video btw :)

great video

Sometimes you just find the videos you need and the thoughts you need to express so that you can grow as a creative. This video came at just the right time