Showerthought: My dad told me to stop counting frames and just look

I was visiting my folks in Ohio last weekend and showing my dad my new-to-me Canon AE-1. He asked how many shots I got from a roll, and I said I was trying to make each one count. He laughed and said, 'When I was your age, I just looked for the light. The camera counts for you.' For some reason, that simple idea hit different. I've been so focused on the technical stuff, like getting exactly 36 photos, that I miss good moments while checking my frame counter. It made me put the camera to my eye more often without overthinking. Has anyone else had a simple piece of advice that got you to relax and just shoot more?

2 comments

2 Comments

danieltaylor12d ago

My old photography teacher in high school said something similar. He told our class to stop worrying about the perfect settings and just watch people's hands. He said hands tell the real story in a photo. It sounds weird, but it worked. I started seeing moments I would have missed before, like someone fidgeting or holding something tight. It cut through all the noise in my head about f-stops and shutter speed.

elizabeth_williams12d ago

Wait, is that why all my photos just look like people hiding their hands in their pockets? That's actually such a good tip though, it makes total sense. I get so stuck on trying to make everything look perfect that I miss the small stuff. Now I'm going to be staring at everyone's hands like a weirdo. My old photos are probably full of missed stories because I was too busy messing with the camera.