Documenting your life is the biggest photography hack. These are the photos we will genuinely treasure when we are older. Yeah, we might look at a backlit banger and think it's cool, but we'll remember the time, the place, the emotions and the stories associated with these moments. Being the friend who takes photos of your friends/ family/ work and shares them is one of the most rewarding things we can do with our passion.
I mainly do bird photography as a hobby but during our friends’ events like house warming, kids’ birthdays I do the photography and seeing them hanging on their fridges and walls is a very rewarding feeling.
I was going to comment, read yours and it's basically what I was about to say. I started doing photography six years ago (after snapping with film back in the 90ies). The pictures where I tried to reproduce something I saw on the internet mean nothing to me, but the blurry and noisy one from when I camped with friends on top of a mountain means the world. Photography is so much more than just the visuals, it makes me relive the moment, remember what it felt like. Taking another persons pictures (as in reproducing) won't give that to me.
This is why I love your channel so much: you don't just talk about gear and stuff, you share with us those thoughts which are, in my opinion, what most of us need to hear. Thanks a lot Roman!
Totally agree, I live in the crappest little town and have felt the fomo. But my life is my story and that’s all I have to tell. And the beauty of it? Only I can tell it. That’s what we all need to remember: it’s better to be our authentic selves than another version of someone else
I think the one thing AI can never take away from us is the joy of this particular hobby, or for some, the joy of documenting, or telling stories through photos they take. At the end of the day, even if AI has "conquered" the world one day, our passion and interest cannot and will not be replaced. Another great video! Thanks so much for sharing!
This may sound strange or silly. This is one of the most inspiring videos I’ve seen in a long while. A simple take away, “Photograph my life”, and bring my point of view. Simple, easy, and if it resonates with people, great, and if not, it’s an amazing look at life. Thanks.
Roman Fox is by far the realest and to the point photography focused channel on RU-vid. There’s no smoke and mirrors for views, clickbait titles, etc…just real and serious knowledge about photography.
This is exactly the same mentality I have developed, shooting "every day" type of photographs often result in photos I am happier with at the end of the day. Back when I would go out banger hunting, I would oftentimes be disappointed.
I"m on vacation in the Alps now and while it is nice , I can't stand taking pretty pictures of pretty places. What a bore. I end up walking around this beautiful little town taking pictures of trash. Gritty daily life wins every time.
I've ridden the envy-never-be-good-enough train for way too long. Thanks for pointing out that we are who and where we are. Your photos of the red train with yellow daffodils spoke volumes. Thank you for keeping it real for us.
This is one of the best pieces of advice I've ever heard, because yes you shouldn't compare yourselves to others, however if you want to grow you at least have to be at least on par with other photographer's skill levels so you have to compare in order to continue to find new things to achieve and styles to try to find your own, but I've heard a lot of my friends get caught in the instagram trap of thinking they need to travel and got to amazing places in order to take good photos, so of the best photos I've ever taken have been in the most boring places.
Roman, what you describe in the first minute of this video is exactly how I felt about my photography and still do sometimes. However, taking your advice and following your best practices, I have come to accept what is my Real life and to shoot the things that matter to me. I recently created a photobook of my family's travels from when my son was born and while in those early years I was essentially taking snapshots, These images brought me the most joy, because that was my Real Life. Thank your for making this video and sharing your philosophy.
Thanks for that short video and wow, you have opened my eyes up on just photographing your life. I do that a lot, but always think I am less then. I have gotten good at photography, although always getting better, but still haven’t managed to really get out there. I am older and have some injuries right now and that’s making it worse. I can get around, not as well as I did before, but I think that unless I can get to that special place that none of my work will be any good or tell a story other then I am quite boring. I now have a little bit of emotional drive to just forget what I can’t do or see and concentrate on documenting what I can do and see. Thanks Roman!😊
As always your practical down to earth advice helps me stay focussed and encourages me to get out there to take more photographs, irrespective of locations
Hi Roman that brought me back down to earth, your bang on buddy, live your life and document it all, been thinking about this kind of thing for a while, what do I want from photography I don't really know why I like shooting Street photography, but I guess its part of my life I just love doing it in all of its context. The reason I began photography was really to keep a record of my life my friends family people, and I guess that the nuts and bolts of it are still the same because I love doing it. hope this makes sense to people I'm not great at explaining things.......
I believe this is one of the best photography tips you can find out there. We would all like to have photos such as the artists we admire, we can actually imitate them to some extend, but the best and only way to make a voice for yourself is letting your personality take control over your art. I was trying so hard to do street photography and shoot like my idols, it took me 2 years to realise that I'm into something else and that helped by killed the pressure of competition, because I'm doing things my way now and I don't expect for people to like me more in comparison to photographer X, because I'm doing something different instead of pulling out the same type of photography that social media is intoxicated with. An advice for all of you (and reminder for myself): Success may not come immediatly, but good art will always pass the test of time.
Always been interested in shooting streets and watching ur channel! While my channel was based on tech and other aspects of my life, ive recently done a street photography pov inspired by legends like you! Thanks for the advice and its always always a pleasure watching these pov vids from you!
The thing is... you make your videos dance between the technicalities of photography and and the joy of being a human being looking for beauty, fun, enjoyment, opportunities, and yes even sad moments. That's what make photography a beautiful thing as such. And... oh yeah... gear is somewhat important. Thanks man!
Roman- I follow and like you’re creations. Needless to say you have built your own followers community here with your own style, sharing insights and narratives- both by photos and your voice art. Good luck and get well soon.
Hi Roman, this message is so important. I too spent many years envying other photographers' lives. Now I only envy yours - HA!! Seriously, I had a couple of tough years in the past which offered that gift you are talking about. Photographing what I see versus what I think I should be seeing was monumental for me. Today I enjoy photographing for the sheer pleasure of it, no matter what it is. I would never change that. Thanks for the inspiration!
Would love for you to do some more videos on travel photography for two people (ie, when travelling around europe, how to get the most out of taking photos of both of you to remember the experiences together) :) thanks
As always, some true words have been told. I often find myself comparing and blaming my situation or waiting doing nothing and not having a « adventurous life » even if it results of my own vision ! What a good reminder on this weekend. Thank you Roman 🫡🙌🏼
This is such an inspirational video specially for me, living in Qatar where there are places to visit but very temperature dependent due to excess heat. And more so the restrictions on photography in many places makes it difficult. Just need to adapt.
Have a look at a guy called visualsbypreet on IG. He's based in Dubai and shares the same restrictions as you. I love his work and he has found a unique approach given the environment.
@@snapsbyfox thanks for the heads up. Will check his account. Qatar is a bit more restricitve as compared to Dubai though but it is what it is. Thank you!
Sorry, to hear you’ve come down with a fever. It seems that’s the new normal as we just got back from Madeira and we both experienced a virus. Enjoy your work tremendously and I look forward to you comments as well as your stills and video!
Do you use a CPL regularly/all the time/depends on circumstances? Particularly doing street photography when potentially going inside and outside constantly or in and out of shadows.
All I shoot is my everyday life, it includes a lot of landscapes and cityscapes from my car, mundane activities and family captures with a splash of travel with the fam when I get the chance. No need to concern yourself with others, enjoy and document the life you do have.
Very interesting advice! In contrast, I don't believe AI will take over photography same as how people believe ATMs and calculators will make tellers and mathematicians obsolete. It'll probably reshape the way we do things but photography, in general, will be there to stay.
I've had no problem getting myself out to do photography as much as possible doing things I enjoy like hiking and exploring places. The thing that I've been unable to get started with is video. I have shot some, but haven't felt like they were good enough to post. And, I don't really have the editing skills or at least that's what I think and what causes the block. Were your first videos edited? Anyway, thanks for all of the tips and the inspiration!!
Shoot video in the same way that you take photos. If you see a great scene that's worth photographing, just grab a 20 sec video. Editing depends on the software but I suggest Final Cut as it's dead easy to get going yet is a pro level tool when you get to that stage. Only way to learn is to do tbh
Dude, you are next to London… you could spend a lifetime lost in its corridors, galleries and alleys and spend a thousand lifetimes and you would not run out of interesting things to see. People who dress with personality, amazing music scene, heck I’ve even fantasized of taking photo of barristers with their wigs smoking outside the courthouse. The point is… you don’t need to travel anywhere… I was in London for a year and it’s one of the most exciting places in the world…
I agree with you that London and for that matter the UK is a photography heaven both in terms of street and nature. However personally I find travelling more important and interesting than photography itself…. for me of course. The camera is simply there to document.
5:57 love this image. Do you ever feel like you miss too many good photographs when filming b-roll or do you prefer having those scenes as video? Watching the guy with the red cell phone/reflection (5:38) I couldn't help but think you missed a great shot.
Thanks! So initially yes. I'd get an average photo but then when id go to get the B roll, something even better happens. However now I just make sure to always get the most high quality B roll I can and treat it like a moving photograph if that makes sense.
@@snapsbyfox makes sense. Are you using an external mic for quick scenes like that? Also, back to 5:57 the frame and details like the woman in the background are just amazing. The composition and colors remind me of some of my favorite photographs from Herzog.
One day, we might have our mirrorless camera and lens with us, but the next day, not. But we always have our phones, which means we always have something to capture images of the world around us. And that is the paradigm shift we live in.
Yeah for sure. I try to always have my camera with me tho. I upgraded to the new iPhone for the amazing camera everyone raves about but I still dont connect with it as a shooting experience
apart from useless filter you can buy my master class on how to be professional award winning photographer only 29.99 😮 come on man why not just offer a patreon there so many light room filters out there for free and anycase AI will take over.
You can’t please everyone. Whatever you do there will always be someone crying and complaining. Obviously these presets are not for you. However many find them useful and want to see how I edit because 100% of my photos are edited with these. Just because something doesn’t apply to you, it doesn’t make it useless :)
