steeplearningcurve

In the last six months or so, I have been on, baldly stated, one of the steepest learning curves I’ve ever encountered in my life (learning Danish was another that comes to mind). But this one is all about photography.

Six months ago, I was at a crossroads. I had my Diploma of Photography under my belt and I was trying to start a business. Ignorance is bliss right… Anyway, I got on to a program called NEIS, where the government help you out starting up a business with a little regular cashflow assistance. It’s a great idea. But my business plan was falling apart. I was trying to do web design, and two types of photography. I was all over the place. It wasn’t working. I was ready to call it quits and become a shoe salesman.


Instead I decided to focus. I dropped the web design and decided that if I was going to be a photographer, then I’d better get serious. I already knew that my Diploma was nothing more than a starting point in my education. I’d been naively hoping for something more. Anyway, a mate of mine pointed me to the blog called strobist (see my previous post here). This started off the learning curve. I became slowly aware of the parts of my education that were lacking, and I immediately set about rectifying them. This meant the purchase of some lighting gear and several books. Then I got about learning again.

Now I could say I learned more at strobist.com in three months than I learned during the entirity of my Diploma, and while it wouldn’t be far off, it would still be an exageration. Not by much, but I’ll give them that much. 🙂 But still, it says a great deal about what I still had to learn. A lot! And at the start it was all theoretical. I love theory! And like the saying goes, “the difference between thory and practise is bigger in practise than it is in theory.” Too true. Only after I got my strobist gear could I begin to put it all together. But then I had another problem. Motivation.

The big kicker in this area had already come a few days after Christmas. I got a job. As the photographer for a small publishing company. I was to be forced to shoot editorial, advertising, whatever, you name it, one day a week. But when I first started I was still waiting for my strobist gear. I was shooting like mad, but finding it very difficult to reach the level of quality I wanted, just using one bounced flash. My stuff was OK, even at times very good, but not fabulous. I wanted fabulous.

So then my strobist gear arrived. For the first few weeks I couldn’t bear to put myself under pressure and use it at work. I was always in too much of a hurry to get the shot and move on. But then I took the plunge. At the same time other things were happening. I’d gotten another job. Wild. This time as a casual teacher at my old photographic college. Awesome. I love teaching, and while I may not yet in the top 100 shooters in the country, my theory and knowledge is pretty solid. So I started that as well. Another big learning curve. No matter what you think you know – if you want to pass it on, you need to be able to know it, show it and explain it. That need took me on another learning curve reading light and camera theory again. I know more about light now than I ever did.

Then the final kicker. I got asked to be the photographer for a cookbook. Local stuff, no big pressure environment or money, but what an opportunity. I grabbed it with both hands. Off camera lighting, and enough time to get it right. Portraits, food shots, creative atmospheric shots, you name it.

As I write I’m in the middle of it. Several times a week I go an shoot. I am often terrified I will stuff it up. Nearly happened once. Mostly though, it’s going really well. Not quite fabulous, but damn near nearly. And that’s just a matter of perspective. Some people think fabulous, I’m just tough to please 🙂

I wonder how the next six months is going to go…