I'm Changing My Photographic Philosophy

Dessert Road in Nevada, USA (click to enlarge)
Nikon D700, Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8 lens @ 70mm; 1/200th sec. @ f/16; ISO 200

For the past many years I have been photographing not only to please myself, but for stock sales as well.  My stock sales won't fully support my wife and me, but they make a nice little bit of cash to offset some of our travels and my equipment purchases.  Shooting for stock requires seeing the world in a different way and always keeping in mind "what do I see around me that may sell or be of interest to a buyer?"  Those thoughts, always present, change the way one looks at the world as well as the way one photographs.

Even when out photographing for myself, I still have those nagging thoughts in the back of my mind.  Stock requires me to always think about maximizing quality (only the best and perfect digital image files are acceptable), having my highest megapixel camera with me if possible when I expect to photograph something that might be marketable (hence my prefessed sweet spot for a camera being 24mp and my wish that Fuji and Olympus will produce cameras with more than 16mp).  I have to always be conscious of creating a variety of images and photograph from multiple angles, different viewpoints, horizontals and verticals, with different perspectives and potentially with various lenses.  If appropriate I will also make overall images, mid-range images and some close-ups of details.  But isn't that what we are supposed to do anyway?  Not quite.

Where I may make an image or two of what I feel is the best angle/view of a scene for personal use, I will make a dozen or two for stock.  Always keeping stock in mind, I find at times, can be distracting to my personal creativity and often times takes some of the personal pleasure out of my photography.  It can become a job, a quest, a challenge to produce something that someone may want to license.  When I photograph for me, it is pure pleasure.

I think I have come to a point that I am no longer going to consciously photograph for stock and now photograph only for myself.  Making images for oneself is something I have been advocating for years. "Don't try to please others, make images that strike an emotion within you," and similar statements is what I have said for a long time.

For the foreseeable future, my plan is to go forward and photograph only for myself, maximize my enjoyment, be less hassled by always thinking about business and only if I photograph something for myself that also would seem to fulfill the requirements for stock sales, send the file to the stock agency.

That also means I have to no longer worry about high megapixel cameras, carrying many lenses to ensure I have everything I need with me at all times and always wanted better gear to provide only the absolute best quality for the client instead of what satisfies me. Also, as in my overall life, I will try to simplify in the future.  Simplification can take stress out of one's life and raise the enjoyment and fulfillment level.  More creativity and vision, less worry about gear.

We'll see how it goes?  With most new things I try, it is an experiment.  Come along for the ride.

Thanks for looking. Enjoy! 

Dennis A. Mook 

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