What is your biggest weakness in photography?

Still entering club competitions when I know that I will end up doing this ... :banghead:. Time to let go!
 
Well the list is endless unfortunately, however to focus on the styles I shoot most of the time (ie ignoring portraits and the like), I would say that my main weakness are:
  1. A tendency to rush the shot and not checking settings as I go only to get home and find that a shot isn’t sharp due to too low a shutter speed.
  2. The ability to create a “story” or to pre-visualise a shot, most images are simply a record of what I see rather than having a pre-defined idea of a mood or style that I want to create
  3. Processing, whilst I am competent with Lightroom, PS is a whole different story, historically PS would be used to remove spots etc, now this is all done in LR so I rarely use PS. I really must learn to use layers, masks etc
 
My weaknesses are:

1) Weddings, landscapes, portraiture, sport, wildlife and nature, macro.

2) Colour photography.

3) Flash photography.

I've not got the time to become anything like competent in any of the above, so I've just stuck to one thing and attempted to reach a degree of competence in that and that only!
 
Lack of discipline in editing - keeping too many pictures and weak filing system. Hard drives are stacking up :)
 
People as in if they know I’m taking the photo, I’ve always been told my candid photos are good just hate having to direct people if taking an image they are asking for, also biggest weakness for me is overprocessibg photos as I really like vivid colours
 
Weakness, well where do I begin... I'm skinny, I have a low paid job, I haven't made anything of myself, women don't acknowledge me, I procrastinate, I smell, I live in a tip, I'm not good looking, I have a degree yet I'm on effectively minimum wage, I'm jealous, I'm forgetful, I hate people, I'm stupid, quite ignorant.

Oh wait, this is in relation to photography, well then....

Crap camera, a remarkable ability to produce bad photos of flowers using a good macro lens, inability to manually focus, can barely use auto focus, taking too long to figure out which colours the HSL affect, taking multiple photos of events yet not even post processing them, thinking underexposing all my photos will make them better because no one can see the, thinking portrait photography was taking photos of portrait photographs, using a bulb setting of nearly 5 minutes to lighten up a room only to realize the reasons my photos were so dark was due to leaving the lens cap on.
 
Has already been mentioned, but time is mine, especially this time of year. I work full time nights so I go to work when it's dark, come home when it's dark and sleep in between !
 
Time and confidence

If I could fix the first the second would follow
 
Size of my wallet....so many things to buy!
Seriously....time
 
Newly professional photographer here, I tend to stress ahead of events over how to handle all the what-if scenarios I conjure up...

I have had sleepless nights, the next day when I arrive I've sat in the car dreading the event to come. Then after the event I'm happy and smiling because I enjoyed myself...

I think I'm learning not to worry so much and to trust my ability to adapt and make decisions as the moments come up.


And whilst stress and overthinking has been a bug bear of my life, it actually pushes me to be better - so it's double edged.
 
dancook said:
Newly professional photographer here, I tend to stress ahead of events over how to handle all the what-if scenarios I conjure up...
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Dan, I was a bit surprised to read this and I hope you don't mind me saying something...

I don't work now but when I did it was in high pressure and high stress industries where it was all down to me and like you I used to obsess and stress and look at every scenario and possibility and have my response ready but despite it all I succeeded and I eventually learned the lesson that if I put the prep in and thought about everything and planned for every eventuality it helped and although it was a bit stressful I could do it and what's more I could be quietly confident that I could do it. There's that double edged sword thingy. The high pressure stuff then became almost just run of the mill. I suppose it was the mix of repetition over time and repeated successes that built up my confidence and eased the stress and anxiety and I'm quietly confident that you'll get there too. You may never get to the point that your heart rate doesn't quicken just a little when faced with a job because if you got to that point you'd probably be diagnosed as a psychopath :D but I bet all the stress and anxiety eases a bit as you get into your stride. I'm sure it will.
 
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woof woof said:
Dan, I was a bit surprised to read this and I hope you don't mind me saying something...

I don't work now but when I did it was in high pressure and high stress industries where it was all down to me and like you I used to obsess and stress and look at every scenario and possibility and have my response ready but despite it all I succeeded and I eventually learned the lesson that if I put the prep in and thought about everything and planned for every eventuality it helped and although it was a bit stressful I could do it and what's more I could be quietly confident that I could do it. There's that double edged sword thingy. The high pressure stuff then became almost just run of the mill. I suppose it was the mix of repetition over time and repeated successes that built up my confidence and eased the stress and anxiety and I'm quietly confident that you'll get there too. You may never get to the point that your heart rate doesn't quicken just a little when faced with a job because if you got to that point you'd probably be diagnosed as a psychopath :D but I bet all the stress and anxiety eases a bit as you get into your stride. I'm sure it will.
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Once I have done a type of event once I have felt ok about similar events, I was mega-anxious about the A level results, but not about the GSCE results the next week.

Although when the girls got their GSCE results many ran off, and some left the school grounds only to come back after opening their results... still got lots of lovely shots though.

I feel like I'm going to be anxious about the school stock shots around the school and classrooms, but I'm telling myself now! it will be fine!
 
Mine has to be not investing enough time. I've got loads of ideas for projects, many of which I've written down but I never get out with the camera. Now I have an infant son it's becoming even more difficult to do so.

I'm working on portraiture and flash at the moment as the wife wants lots of photos of him. I'm thoroughly enjoying this genre (if that's the right word) at the moment.

James
 
My biggest weakness is a lack of energy. Nothing I can do about it as it is a result of poor health but if I remember to schedule my photography properly, I do a lot better. This means late morning most of the time.
 
G.A.S I’m forever browsing e.bay
 
john.margetts said:
My biggest weakness is a lack of energy. Nothing I can do about it as it is a result of poor health but if I remember to schedule my photography properly, I do a lot better. This means late morning most of the time.
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Yeap, suffering the same John; quite often get days where I had planned to go out but I just can't due to health :-(
 
When I want to do some types of photography, I tend to go out only at the time when I'm free as apposed to going out when the light is good. I'm often out shooting in the middle of the day, or on grey dull days, purely because that's the only time I have. Then I'm disappointed that the results aren't as good as I'd hoped.
Then if I do see a good sunset, I rush to capture it, often miss it, or just don't make the most of the chance.

I am trying to improve by snapping shots less, being more purposeful with my shooting, planning and visualising a shot before actually shooting.
 
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I can't put time as a weakness, because that is a poor excuse. We make time for things that are important to us.

My weakness has been focusing on video content rather than photography itself this year. I have recently taken, what I feel, are great photographs, and I have enjoyed it very much. It has made me realise how much I missed focusing on it.

Also, I shoot film way more than digital. This has become more balanced. This was more a gear thing than anything, as I have gone through a ton of it.
 
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My weakness by far is not going to the best locations at the best times to get the best conditions. Rather than getting up at 3am and putting in the miles I end up taking the easy option or pleasing others and getting to a location in the middle of the day and leaving before the light changes.
 
I'm often too quick to put images out there rather than sit on them for a while and see them for what they really are later on, I should maybe wait a week or so, that personal connection and bias towards my own work is hard to break.
 
My left elbow that I smashed a few years ago :(
 
Editing. I really struggle to find a style and editing process I like for myself. It’s an ongoing, very frustrating struggle!
 
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