My problem with "cliché" photos. 

I look at photography in 2 ways, 1: the art of photography: the taking the time to think about compostion, theme, subject, light, colour...etc. 2: the causual photo, Capturing the moment, recording history, family pictures, events. Both are valid and both can blend together. As photographers we do bring our personalities and vision to every photo. Art will always be subjective. We the creative people are there to capture it and share it! The I have seen that picture before 100,000 times before is niave and prevents us from just enjoying what we do. Always strive for better but in the process enjoy what you are doing! Thanks for the content on this channel and for sharing your photographic journey!

What is cliché? Photograph whatever makes you happy and give it your own character. Then a cliché image becomes personal and different. Nice one!

Although these photos may seem cliche, the one I take will always mean more to me than one someone else takes, because I was there, I pressed the shutter button, and I created that photo. Another thought provoking video 👏🏼

Don’t be afraid of the cliché. Embrace it, as long as it gets the creative juices flowing and allows you to create your own vision. Beautiful light, beautiful pics!

I've had the good fortune to find your channel. I've been listening to multiple videos you've created today as I've been working on a coffee table photo book. I've been very inspired listening to you. I appreciate your humor, your gentle energy, your insight, your enthusaism, your honesty and your appreciation for beauty and capturing it. I also appreciate how open minded, respectful and kind. Thank you for your work.

Great talk-the beauty you felt in those moments cannot be reprised and therefore is unique.

One of my favorite Saul Leiter quotes is: "I may be old-fashioned. But I believe there is such a thing as a search for beauty - a delight in the nice things in the world. And I don't think one should have to apologize for it." --Saul Leiter. Don’t apologize for shooting photos of what you find interesting or beautiful. Take those photos and enjoy the experience and, if someone else enjoys them, cool…if not-who cares, you did and that’s what matters. Life is too short to listen to the killjoys!

Faisal: First, I always enjoy, admire, and learn a lot from your videos. That's not cliche at all! You are facing a lot of the same questions that perplex all "creatives" - What is originality? Do I please myself or please "the people?" Cliches, by their very nature, are popular! How do I make myself heard/seen? Etc. No shame in discussing those questions, and I admire your honesty. Now, all that being said, I find the greatest "cliche" to be myself - repeating my own visual tricks and shortcuts. With no disrespect meant, your own examples of "photographing Venice with my own voice," use techniques that are YOUR "cliches" - framing with a foreground object, reflections, multi-layers. On the other hand, what's wrong with having your own cliches? Picasso's Blue Period, Wackerbarth's Red Couches, Bruce Gilden's Street Flashes.... They are each a reference, a touchpoint, with which we see the world in new ways. As long as...as long as you don't fall into the trap of staleness, forcing the cliche, etc. So, a razor's edge between technique and affectation. Well, isn't that what Art is about? Living on the edge? OK, I've rambled on. Hope this is food for thought for someone. Bottom line, don't beat yourself up. Enjoy the process!

ONE OF THE BEST SUBJECTS AND THOUGHTS YOU HAVE EVER DONE. COULD NOT AGREE MORE!!!

I resonate a lot with what you shared. Sometimes I prevented myself from taking ‘cliche’ photos just because I didn’t feel proud of them. Due to this, I found that I lack ‘picture memories’ (like that’s a real term 😂) from a particular trip. I guess sometimes I need to let loose to allow myself to be a tourist and not a photographer when visiting a new place.

I liked the video. It’s a worthwhile discussion. When I go somewhere new, I ALWAYS take the clichéd photo first. Like you said, some photos take themselves. Then I go looking for the creative. And don’t forget, the photos you take are important enough that you captured them. They keep your memories alive as the experience grows faint.

The way we see the beauty of the world on the same wave length. Thanks for the inspo

Dude, even those photos you said were cliche(6:03) are actually super impressive to a beginner like me. The composition is neat and feels carefully worked out. I guess getting better at something can ultimately make it harder to feel rewarded in the process. That being said, I fully agree that the joy of creating is in how you infuse part of yourself into the work and sometimes getting a shot that everyone would take at the same scene just would not cut it.

Love the music in this one!

Love vibe and feel of this video. We all been through a time when we questioned the meaning of photography or even bigger, our lives. But seeking for a purpose that we believe in is exactly what we do most of the time.

I appreciate you having the guts to grapple with this issue, and like your reflections. Keep stirring the (cognitive) pot! Ps, we’d ALL take that bridge view photo if we got there. Its an awesome view. I was pondering earlier in the week, ‘What is it about Italy that draws people from all cultures and countries to want to visit?’ I think they are showing us how to live. Maybe not how to manage a corporation,but how to enjoy our lives. Just musing here.

Always appreciate your episodes, this one was like listening to your journal entry in your personal diary.

Your videos lately. 10/10!

The best is simply to photograph what you enjoy and what you like to record.

I am so grateful for your work and this channel! You are the reason I got hooked into street photography in the first place. Topics you cover, your video editing style and finally your photos. All of that got me so interested in this field, that I binged all of your content, restored my old canon a2200 and went on the streets myself. 2 months ago I'd would never imagine myself doing this. And now I think I've finally found myself a new hobby. As for the topic of this video, I strongly agree with the idea of "it's okay to photograph simply for beauty.". The moment, place, building, etc can be just so pleasing on it's own, that it doesn't need any idea behind it. Just take the shot. Yes it probably feels cheap or Cliché, but who cares as long as you find it appealing to you. Once again, thank you, Faizal, for what you do !

There’s no communication with the audience through a cliche pic, it doesn't show your unique observation of the world. You said what I felt, in those perfect spots I will hesitate to take pictures, but seize the moment with my own eyes.

I came specifically looking for this video as I'm in a bit of a state of confusion with my work. Putting myself in a box of saying I'm a "street photographer" and wondering if my work is classified as "traditional" street photography even though it's all subjective. Also feeling the pressures of social media and opinions are probably weighing in as well. It's easy to say who cares at the end of the day, but that voice is still there in the back of my mind haha This was a good watch and reminder to just keep doing what you want and pushing yourself.

I really like the way that you layer the scenes it gives it more meaning. Your layers adds texture to the story cheers

This video ... i love it. I love it, because you go your own path. This is so super cool and so overwhelming. I hope you can go your own path. Your own paths only emerge when you walk and you can't descibe them. Thank you for sharing this video.

I feel bad that you feel like you don't have an attachment to the photos like the one from Rialto bridge. I took a similar photo from there Sunday evening. I'm looking for a place on the wall for it. Not because it's unique, but because my wife and I were at an amazing location and we got to see it in beautiful light. And years from now it will remind us what it felt like to be there. And to me, being there and making those memories is what matters most. The photography, cliche or not, gives those memories a boost.

Always a pleasure to watch and listen to you

I hear you on this - seriously - but I also think you're undervaluing the aspects of these photos you do control: 1. Composition (including focal length, perspective) 2. Exposure 3. Post production 4. The exact moment - could've been a split second before or after but this exact moment will never be again. I love your work man. I would be proud if any of these shots were mine. I hope you feel the same! Last thought: photography becomes more valuable to us the farther we get away from the moment it was captured. Photos I took at one time that didn't mean a lot to me later became something I valued deeply.

I can totally resonate with what you shared. Previously I always avoided taking 'cliche' photos and wondered why I should take more similar ones since there were already so many photos with the same composition and subject as the one I was going to take. But now I am more consider photos as the carrier of memory and divide the purpose of photography into two parts, one for taking memory and serving as some kind of personal record, and one for creativity pursing.

Perfect timing for this video omg

What a great video. Just came back from Rome/Florence / Venice and I had the same unfulfilled feeling. Thank you for articulating it so well

Subbed to your channel. I love the points you make and how relaxed your videos are. I love the philosophy as well.

Nice video. I live about 45min from here and this makes me feel a bit lucky I can check it out so often.

I will put it this way. If every photographer waited for an overcast sunrise with the perfect subject in the perfect complementary outfit, standing in a place never photographed before, we would not have any photos to look at

I love how introspective and open you’re being in this video. When you were talking about your thoughts on why you made this video, my take on it is; I would have used making this video as a tool to better understand my own thoughts and perspectives on a topic like this. Thanks for the good watch

I think as photographers we see things different from other people. Someone told me that you can see Venice in 4 hours and done. So I went for 4 days and when I was there I thought "oh my god I could spend a lifetime in here and don't even see everything". Every detail of Venice it's delightful. Enjoy your stay as much as you can!

Wonderful video as always! Would it be possible to do a video on how you organized your trip to Europe? Like how you found places to stay, how you travelled from one country to another, etc. I'm hoping to do an Italy trip myself, and I always found your videos to be more engaging than others

love your work faizal, i also thought about this topic the other day, and the way i see it is cliché things are cliché for a reason :)

I loved this video! I haven't been to Venice yet but to some other parts of Italy and it's the shapes you're talking about that always catch my interest. When travelling there will always be some "cliché pictures" - sometimes for the sole purpose of documentary. Sometimes because the sheer beauty of a place captures my interests. I find the real art is in sequencing and editing later to finish the series of images and sometimes I do reach for the cliché photos.

Then be more involved. Ask yourself 'what in this beautiful scene that speaks to me' Not what others might see. You are so right when you say what is cliché is very subjective. Some extremely powerful insights and thoughts here. Well done friend👏👏👏

Thanks!

It's great that you're becoming aware of this! There's nothing particularly wrong about photographing clichés, specially when getting familiar with a new place. I think this is how you being to understand a place, by referencing whatever is in your subconscious. It takes time to understand and to be able to say something that feels like your own, but that's the beauty of the journey - and the only thing we can do is enjoy it.

Just a thanks for the inspiration.

Hello Faizal! I loved your reflections, very much in agreement with your vision, personally I believe that there must be a place for everything in our photography, sooner or later we will always fall into some cliché photo, and I think that it is more than justified when it comes to something beautiful, and if You can't be too creative, one will be in more favorable opportunities, great video and nice photos as always, greetings!

A thought provoking video - thanks for sharing it, with your thoughts and questions. I don't think we should discount the cliché "snapshot": nearly 99% of all photo's taken are snapshots. They form a large and important archive, historically and geographically. Sometimes you needs to play the tourist - even at home. Have fun. By all means photograph the cliché, but then turn round and photograph what's behind you.

Great thoughts! It's not a cliche to you when you experience it for the first time.

Huge Inspiration :)

For those so called "cliche" shots, I always try to follow a great saying I heard......"Make the familiar look unfamiliar"... as an example, the Eiffel tower in Paris is a cliche shot....then I saw one from a guy who stood directly under the tower and look up...the picture was a very different one from the every day Eiffel tower capture. I now follow this idiom whenever it can be done. It also develops your creativity, composition and thinking - great vid by the way!!

This was great, these reflections on to your craft area really interesting. I'd love to see you reflect on a set of shots you get in a given day. Thank god its not lofi hip hop beats and 85mm portraits of young women.

Taking me back to last year when my girlfriend and I drove to Venice and enjoyed some great days in the beautiful scenery. Thanks You should try to travel to Lucca too, sometime.

Really hope you make it over to Bologna. One of my favorite cities and usually my go to spot whenever I stay in Italy. The food there is amazing and the city has so much character

Photography is an incredibly personal journey, each image is truly unique, literally, and figuratively. There is NO other image quite like one you just took, anywhere in the world, the act of creating, is empowering, and exciting. Even if no one else appreciate your own art, you yourself do.

I commented on one of your Paris video that i though it was strange that most of the photo you took there even being intersting didnt smell like Paris enough , here even if you migh want to call them cliché they still tell a story of you being in Venice coz in a long time you will be happy to watch and remember the trip the one in Paris exept the one in the market who did smelled like Paris im not sure that in 10 years you would remember they were shot in paris except maybe if you organisation in lightroom let you know of it. In short when i travel i like to take pictures for the creative side of it just like when im at home but i also enjoy taking the more touristy photo coz i know that in a while watching them again will bring me joy and the nostalgia of the travel... Yhays for the same reason that most of us document our life overshoot our kids coz in a while those shot probably will have more sentimatal value than a oerfect street shot that i hustled day in out for ours to catch ... does it make sense ?

I get this a lot when doing landscape photography. Sure, I camped out or got up early to get that light…but the scene makes itself. But then I realise that’s not helpful, and that it’s 100% fine to take a photograph that, had someone who didn’t know much about the elements of good photography, is extremely satisfying and does have good balance and exposure. There’s always a creative element, it’s just so habitual for you that it doesn’t feel like it

It’s a good day when Faizal uploads 🙏

I feel the same inclination to buck the cliche composition and challenge myself to compose something new and novel. I particularly like the user of layers as you have done to create something unconventional but interesting. Curious, did you travel alone in your European trip? And if so, did you find it liberating to be able to set your own schedule?

Great thoughts! When you said its okay to take photos for the sake of beauty I was sitting here like "Wait, that's not just the default reason?" That's almost always what I do anyway, and I've always thought of the photos that are specifically taken for the story they tell as more of an exception to the rule.

I think it's important to take the cliche photos so we can move on from them. Good work!

I feel the same sometimes... specially in very turisty places like Venice, it's hard to break from the cliché photos, so i take a couple and then move on to some more creative compositions. There's nothing wrong in taking photos for the memories and the beauty of the place.

I dont care if i take cliche shots, it was me that took them if i did and that holds its own value

Absolutely. Imagine going on holiday to a once-in-a-lifetime place and not taking a picture because someone else has already taken it. It's preposterous!

Take the train to verona, it is only an hour away. Lovely city, especially at sunset!

If it means to photography what attracts your eyes, it's totally ok. The problem is when you put aside your own personnal view to copy some ideas seen a billion time. I think about all the street photographers who take pictures of hat, traffic signs, or umbrellas. Do they really like that ? Or do they follow some recipees inspired by some famous photographers (Hi Saul Leiter !) The sincerity of the process is the key, using inspiration is different from copying. One does not need to go to a beautiful place to take good pictures but it makes no sense to prevent yourself from doing so if you are in such a place. Regarding Venice the only issue is that many people were there before you, so it requires originality to do something new.

Finding your voice, using your creative eye are expressions of yourself. Even though we are influenced by other work that we have seen/studied we will still create the photograph in our own way. Challenging yourself to find unique ways to photograph a cliché is important but not always necessary. You can gain enjoyment in the moment as well as reflecting on the image in years to come. You should be the sole gatekeeper of your creative work.

I would love to take all those (easy) beautiful images, just to show everyone that I was fortunate enough to live in a beautiful city for a month. Celebrate your good fortune rather than question your worth. 😊

Not sure this is the right season but I really wish you some fog other the canals one morning. I had this chance last October and made my favourite shots.

To create something original out of a banal plot is a super task for any photographer. If you failed to do it today, then you have something to strive for tomorrow. The main thing is that you understand this and act in the right direction.

I totally agree. Beautiful is Beautiful. It can be photographed badly or well. If we cut out all obviously beautiful things we lose our ability to enjoy so many things. All the settings make a difference and if you do not have to do much thinking about its settings that is a bonus.

8:16 - I think you nailed it right there - both with the image and your statement about not having a personal attachment. The problem with a cliché is that anyone could have taken that image - that image is impersonated only by the cliché itself - not the photographer who took it. And hence, you feel no attachment to it, as it's not your work. That said, it is a beautiful image. And there's nothing wrong with creating beautiful images.

Hey, how do u colorgrade all your videos?

Wow, recently been feeling discouraged cuz my photos seemed too "cliche". Couldnt help but think that taking a picture for the way it makes you feel is not enough to make a good photo. But at the end of the day art is art so idgaf. love da vid.

You have to visit Torcello. And go to the top of San Giorgio Maggiore’s tower.

I feel the same way about taking "cliché" photos. It makes me feel as though I'm not presenting the world with anything different or of substance. Cliché photos feel repetitive and even though it may be a picture I took myself, I feel like anyone could have taken it or that I've seen it before. It goes back to what you said about feeling like they lack your voice. Cliché photos have their place. It's hard to not take photos of a gandola gliding across the water into the sunset, it's a beautiful scene and I completely understand why someone would want to capture it. I have taken many cliché photos over the years, but I always try to move away from what feels easy in photography. I want to challenge myself and push my creative limits to find something beautiful in moments or scenes that aren't initially apparent at first glance. We all should photograph the way we want, and if someone feels the desire to capture those moments, they should feel free to do so. But personally, I don't feel satisfied taking those photos.

as long as the cliches contain beauty there are no limits suggest :) awesome shots!

I am on the same page. I don't like taking cliché photos but I also enjoy shooting beautiful things. I try to work the scene to find creative ways to make a different photograph. None of what I said was interesting but this fun fact might : when I was in the Cinque Terre in Italy, loads of tourists were taking pictures with their phones. Always shooting at the same time the same thing, I hated when I had my 24mm on because I was l"ike them". However with my fav lens on, my 55mm, it was really the opposite, I was taking photographs when they weren't and vice versa, also focusing more on details than the scene as I like to.

Good stream of thought! Swap Venice for a town called Nemi, and a city named Frascati in Italy and your photos are no longer cliche. It’s simply so well known. Shooting fish in a barrel. Lesser known European city’s are phenomenal !

I too spent a month in Venice a few years ago. While we came home with some incredible photographs, our most memorable take aways were the memories of the interaction with the people,,,the butcher, the baker, etc. The extended stay gave us a perspective that 90% of the visitors miss. Don't waste that opportunity. Not all of Venice's beauty can be experienced through a viewfinder.

I totally understand the need for implementing self in your captures. I think we as photographers need to stop placing as much importance on impressing each other and making things we enjoy and that our audience will enjoy. There’s still nuance in the moment especially when the subject is outdoors. Painters have made entire careers painting the same scenes. I don’t see why we should govern ourselves (or each other)from taking pictures and being in awe of something that everyone can identify as visually intriguing. It’s what connects us as human beings when we can all sit back and marvel at something.

I must echo the other responders, take photos that make you happy. I am fortunate as a retired senior to be able to do one international trip a year for 2 weeks.If I come across something that you or Roman have made videos on, I will definitely take my version of that cliché scene should I come upon it & I can say , been there, done that, it was worth the trip, this is my photo! I try to look for my own non cliché corner of the world too.

I wonder if we need to build a "cliche checklists" for various photography genres. e.g: - landscape: Yosemite, Death Valley - street: homeless people sleeping, 2 peoples crossing each other, etc - etc Also, probably if we analyze or photos properly, we'll probably notice "hey I bet this photo was already shot by X, Y, Z. and this photo was shot by A, B, C". Thanks to 24/7 stream of information provided by internet, avoiding cliche is getting thougher.

I replayed that first minute like 10 times dude

for me it's really how i take what i see, because i took it. it's fine if somebody else took the same, it's fine if it conventionally looks better, but i didn't take it. i have no connection to it. even if the camera automates much of what happens. the camera doesn't care what it sees as it is a tool. the camera doesn't frame the image without your help. it's us who make it work and who make it matter, even if it's just for us.

I think we simply have to take the picture when we feel that something strikes us, when something speaks to us, when something we see forces us to try to capture it - to replicate it into something tangible. Sometimes what we photograph is obvious. It’s obvious to photograph it. And that’s okay if we do. Sometimes we just have to listen closely to whatever it is both inside us and in the world around us that’s pointing out something different, unique, strange, or profound. We’re listening, open to what‘a unfolding around us, paying attention to what’s beneath the layers of reality around us to try to capture something that transcends, something that tells the truth, something that is pure. Bottom line is this: just take the picture.

I've found that the only way for me to enjoy photograpy and paradoxically to take even more interesting photographs is to also allow me to photograph the cliche. If anything it acts as exercise and allowing yourself to just photograph anything you find interesting tends to broaden your scope, even if you "waste" 10 seconds photographing something obviously beautiful.

Slightly off topic of the cliche question but I really resonate with the philosophy of it is okay to photography simply for beauty. I keep hearing and being told that every photo needs to tell a story but sometimes as the photographer there is not a story that goes with an image and it seems disingenuous to try and create one. Sometimes an image should be allowed to just speak for itself.

Well, I think most of the images I've seen out of street photographers online, are photos of great composition wise, color, movement. It's only when we really look at a place, not with our eyes, but with our mind, that we begin to make sense of it. I think the reason why most people get the same shot, is because they're not thinking with their mind or emotions even, they're just taking a photograph. If there is no questioning, a photograph answers no answer. Therefore rendering the same picturesque images, over, and over again. But that's what we're all here for no? Learning the craft, the sintaxis, and hopefully one day, having the courage to ask meaningful questions, or even just questions.

this video does have a purpose. it makes one think about cliche travel photos that are just perfunctory.. its a different mode of photographing even as a street photographer when youre traveling, more things are interesting because they are so novel. theres nothing wrong with taking those photos but its good to separate them thematically.

I've always thought of the word cliche to mean "overdone" with maybe a little more nuance than that. So it's not that it's "too obviously beautiful", but that it's already been done, people have seen so much of it that it has lost its power for the viewer. There is still something to be said for trying to do the same thing everyone else has done and the challenge of finding your own version of it. But I think that practice is more for the benefit of the photographer than the audience.

I think that’s ok I’ve been in Venice and it’s totally ok enjoying the moment the beautiful scenes and take cliché pictures. But only if you know and understand that you’re doing it, if you don’t your in trouble 😅 Of you think you’re visiting Milan you’re welcome 👍🏻

This has been a self-limiting perspective that I’ve struggled with... still struggle with; that of going for a walk and seeing beautiful scenes or subjects that have been photographed probably thousands of times in their type and content. For no good reason that I can articulate, I refuse to add my version of the scene to the collective.

I think it may depend on which yardstick one uses for measurements and expectations. The influences may come from talented or skilled photographers, as well as from those who wish to market a better mousetrap, to set themselves apart from others or seeking some rewards. As an enthusiast, I just concentrate on the Joy of photography and GAS. As far as learning & improvement, I have probably forgotten more than I still remembered on my 45 year journey.

Food for thought: Not everyone has the opportunity to take a photo of xyz scene and to them it may hold a memory. Cliche’s definition has the word not interesting bc it’s “not original”. I sure bet we all take “cliche” shots bc we did find them interesting in some sort of manner! Besides photography is much more than what others think, but what it makes you feel when you snap the picture!

I practice a form of contemplative photography that results in unusual compositions. When one of my photography teacher's students was going to Paris, our teacher told him in essence to take the cliche photos, "Don't come home with only photos of door knobs," with door knob photos being a euphemism for deep seeing and close images. Perhaps you are looking at the same scenes as people have been shooting for millennia, but your eye still sees its own unique way.

0:37 the music remind me of Indonesia's patriot song "Gugur bunga" by Ismail Marzuki

Very interesting topic you took. I think I personally still feel a little unsafe about taking the "cliche" pictures, although I slowly care less about it. I think it has a lot to do with "how people will take it" and the impact of social media in general. The less I care about it, the better I feel taking "cliches". As your youtube follower, I actually do care and want to see your perspective and your take even on the cliche frames. It does't make them worse at all. They are interesting to me, because I'm interested in your view. Otherwise I could just hashtag or put the location in Instagram's search and I would get a butt-load of cliches. I'm not interested in those. I'm interested in your channel in your take on the "cliches". ... it is I think close to the potential discussion like "does it even make sense to take photos in Italy anyway". It all has been photographed. Venice is a cliche, as many other cities with monster-massive touristic dynamic have. It doesn't mean you shouldn't put your few "cliches" to the pot. The opposite, you have people who are interested in your take. Keep up the good work and cheers!

I didn’t know the “cat in the alleyway” was considered a cliché. I wouldn’t see it as one. I guess it’s as you say, depends where you are in the world.

Great video and lots of inspired imagery in both the photos and the videography. Perhaps the issue is self censorship. If you worry about cliches, do you second guess yourself? When I do that the good images never become visible to my brain. If I try to copy a three year old’s outlook, absolutely everything is new and interesting. My mother had a mind hack when on a familiar bus route. She would pretend that she was a tourist and “see” the route the way a tourist might.

I think the fact that the term "cliche photos" even comes into your mind or anyone's mind means they are far too worried about what others think of their photos. Seems to be something that mainly younger photographers worry about because of the age of social media. I can tell you that the term has never once entered my mind with any photo I've ever taken. Hell I never really heard the term until it started popping up as the hot topic online. There are times, you just have to turn your brain off and take a photo for the sake of taking a photo. For the beauty of it. Because it interests you. Or simply because it's just something you want to remember.

Did you swich from Astia to Classic Chrome? i'm getting kodachrome vibes😅

First time watching a video of yours: well done, I like your insight, you have a new subscriber. Clichés are clichés for a reason, they are what catches most attention, maybe a first glance, or something that is obvious. No shame in making those kinds of photographs. I get the sentiment of everyone being able to make such a photograph and that you strive to do something different, something that hasn't been done (often). Variations on a theme, trying to look the other way on purpose etc are all good exercises to go beyond the first glance. It's up to each person to decide how far you want to take it and when you are satisfied.

yes.