Creativity Is Ruining Your Photography 

Exactly! A lot of photographers loose interest in photography because they don’t make a master piece every time they go out, and instead of enjoying they just stress with the process of making photos. It’s like I don’t go play football with friends because I can’t play like Messi.

William Eggleston was the master of just documenting. Love his stuff...there's so much beauty in the everyday and mundane

Love the idea of using the camera as a journal

I had a similar realization a few months ago. For years I’d go out and drive around aimlessly looking for something “awesome” or “captivating” to shoot meanwhile I’ve found my absolute favorite photos comes from “documenting” the mundane day day. I used to seek things out to go and do so I could take photos whereas these days I just do what I do and take photos throughout, and the results are so much better, more authentic and genuine feeling too.

I have a similar approach to you. I just document what I'm doing. Sometimes you'll intuitively see something interesting, shoot it, then when you come to review, realise it's a really, really good photo. Like you've highlighted on plenty of videos before, 80%+ of what you shoot is going to be crap, but it's made me trust my intuition a lot more. If I've been interested by something, there's probably a good reason for it.

I’m only 3 minutes in to this video, well; 2’ 50” to be exact and you’ve just summarised my thoughts on how a period of time should be used with a camera in hand. Brilliant☺️

Clearly these ideas resonated with a lot of people - including me. Well done.

I think you have a point Roman and I think you might have missed one. I think the burden of creativity can hold you back, but if you ignore it and just take pictures, then I think you won’t develop. I think you have to consciously practice photography, light, composition, reading a scene or people in it etc. you practice as William Eggleston etc did till it becomes unconscious and you can consciously let go of it and allow your creativity to flow. This is how the greats developed their eye and it takes years on constant, purposeful practice. Most of us will never achieve it but it is a lot of fun trying. Take care, Toby

Very good reminder of not being in pressure when photographing.

I really appreciate the ideology behind your photography, it really vibes with me and I feel like I'm in a similar place. Also, recognized Kanazawa instantly-I was there in 2017. What a beautiful little city. Of course, Kenroku-en, and the castle grounds, are both incredible! Thanks for sharing!

I used to enjoy photography so much more in the early days, when i was more casual and had no interest in coming back with a banger photo.

Totally agree with this. My little GRIIIx has enabled this process greatly too

Haha you had me at “I couldn’t shit for two days”. Classy!

I used to want to shoot the most hype video but now when I go out and decide to bring my video rig, some people will stop and ask what I am shooting and I simply say "I am shooting home videos." Having the mindset of documenting life instead of shooting something extravagant that may later be cringe in a few years is super helpful.

You hit the nail on the head 100%.... performance + pressure should be left in the office when we go home. We should take photos for our enjoyment, making the photographic journeys more pleasurable, instead of stressful when we fail to reach expectations.... (personal OR external) .... I almost left photography behind because of such negativity

Totally agree with the message in this video, Roman. Just being out with a camera and documenting your day is definitely the process that I want to follow more with my photography. Will avoid eating 5 lots of rice sweets though 🙂 Hope you've recovered now.

I love mochi too. It is the best :) when I am in Japan I have a rule, to have at least one a day in its different presentations as well ( fruit or red bean paste, etc) .

One camera, one prime lens, simplicity, photography journal… You seem to be a perfect target for the Fuji X100v (or VI) 😊. Regardless… very interesting video with plenty of thoughts, while the story with moshis (I hope I am not doing spelling mistakes here) is hilarious 😂

Been binge watching your videos, defs my favourite photography channel :)

As someone living in Japan, the cliche photos are part of it! It's such a beautiful country and it's been such a joy to begin my photography journey here! Enjoy your time here! Looking forward to seeing what you capture.

so much street photography has become cliché same images repeating over and over or using some fancy trick to make a cute image, all of these trends are all lacking in the key element of story and EMOTION

Yes - most of my pics I shoot on traveling. And documenting my day is my number one. I have only one or two shots I’m planning for the day. And the rest of the time I shoot what comes in front of me.

5:55 there was a cat on the window! Would've been a cool shot of the lady on the bike + the cat watching her

I think it's important to understand own boundaries and style. For example, I know I'm not a visual artist, and I cannot take crazy-abstract street photos like Olga Karlovac, it's just not my mindset and not my cup of tea. Documenting the reality in a more realistic way looks more interesting to me. And indeed, in many cases, photography is not a competition, the main goal is just to have a good time and positive vibes, we don't have to provide something outstanding at any cost.

Brilliant video as always Roman. Appreciate the straight talking. So helpful. Can you do something on how to best archive and safeguard digital photos.

You’re right again. Develop and artistic eye, but don’t miss what’s going on around you.

I love watching your videos on my lunch breaks. What else do you do on your trips besides photography?

Kia Ora and thanks Roman - just what I needed to hear for my UK/Europe holiday trip in two weeks. I'm going minimalist with my kit too. One camera - one lens (fixed) and I want to document rather than push my creativity envelope haha. All the best from NZ.

Key word here: DOCUMENT. Love it 👍🏼

100 % correct Roman. Also a creative shot might present itself with this approach and might feel even more satisfying. Forcing things never works well.

Excellent, this shows me my thought process is correct even if my results are not as good.

Totally agree 💯

100 agree with you , there was th odd occasion where my husband would walk through a scene maybe a market when we were over seas and I didn't not want to take the shot he didn't know I was doing it . But that's exactly how I do it otherwise , someone else said alot of street stuff has become cliche and it has . I prefer the documentary style and just record what's in front of you. I then later print out my favs and make a visual diary. I have loads of A4 size and some A3 sized diaries and I lay them out like a photo book 😊

s is an argument that i care so much. Being a professional photographer, and being in love with my job, i have to push creativity further for my assignment. The few moments i can enjoy hotography without a commission i just go out and document having fun.... the best photos of my whole life are made in this way

It's a fine line between creativity and being a contrived and performative tryhard. And that line is subjective. So shoot what you like and how you like and for yourself...not to please or impress others...and you'll rarely be disappointed.

It’s the biggest problem when worrying about making a street video that has all “good/creative” photos, because people comment about the quality of the shots. It’s impossible to create a video in this genre with that concern and it’s odd that people have those standards & will leave shitty comments about photos when really all street videos are about practice, because you can’t expect to come away with anything amazing every time you go out.

There something to be said about just taking photos of something that interests you even if the final photos are nothing special. Sometimes I find myself stumbling into a great shot because I looking for something to shoot.

Fabulous! I've been doing this kind of walking and shooting for a while, but in the forest on trail. Now, I want to try doing it like you've explained here in the small towns of my area. Question: Do you find that when you include several images that they get looks? I've wrestled with this because putting together several from the same walk makes sense. But, I sometimes wonder if I'm some don't get seen and would have been better of alone or with a smaller number of images. I also want to try doing some video of my walks. I keep telling myself I will, but have only done it once or twice now. Really enjoyed the ideas in this video. Thanks for taking us along, have a great week.

Thank you for another great video Roman! May I ask what gear did you use for the intro while you were walking and vlogging on the street? Love how stable it was! Thanks :)

The story about the sweets was so funny.. 🤣

That's what I like about youtubers. One day you gotta push it, and the next video, take it easy :P

Sorry to bring up gear, but I noticed you’re wielding an X-H2. Is this a new development? Do you find the AF performance different to the X-T5 in any way?

Interesting video. I do wonder if this is a bit of a misunderstanding of what 'creative' means. Maybe 'unique' would be a better word hear? All photography is creative and often the most important part of creating an image, especially in the world of street or documentary, is the process of observation and noticing things.

Will you come to Taiwan some time? The food and streets won't let you down.

1,800 calories in 5 minutes LOL I scared a local one time by doing this, the girl looked at me like I was insane, she simply said "that is..too much" I think the idea is that I was supposed to take 1 then take the rest home and share with family and friends or something hahaha

Do you use eye or face detection or any of those Subject detection modes with Fuji for street? I’ve been wanting to try it with my Fuji cameras

Yeah this is what i do just go out on a walk take pictures of everything i want to go home and review after a day Lots of pictures of garbage sadly but ive gotten tons of good photos i think

I feel personally attacked

Hi Roman,thank for your content! I am re-discovering photograpy and I am watching a lot of your videos. Can you please recommend other camera apart from fujifilm? I really would like to buy a fuji xt-3 or xt-4 (maybe used) with some good lens but I would like to know if you can recommend other mirrorless kit like sony/canon/nikon under 1000 euros. Thank you for your work!

Roman can you do a video on digital zine creation?

👍

I think my most used hash-tag on my photos these days is #ThingsThatCatchMyEye 🙂

"Explains why I couldn't shit for 2 days"...lol🤣🤣🤣😎😎😎

On our last four summer trips to various parts of Europe , I was a documentary photographer of our vacation, but occasionally I managed a combination of both documentary & creative photos. On a really good day, I managed a few great creative photos , that I am happy with , & that's what counts !

Isn't that mochi not motti? Though touch that's a hell of a calorie load, did you know that due to it's sticky chewy nature there are a lot of deaths eating mochi with an estimated 1300 lives lost due to choking in January alone 😱

Can you try and review nikon zf or zfc?

Haha congrats on your rice baby

lol

lo

sounds good, does not work.