Finally got a roll back that showed the progress I've been missing

I shot the same alley behind my shop in Cleveland every week for about two months, trying to nail a specific shadow and light combo. Comparing the first roll to the latest one, the difference in exposure and framing is night and day. Has anyone else seen a big jump after sticking with a single subject for a while?

2 comments

2 Comments

lisa_wilson871mo agoTop Commenter

Ugh I gotta disagree hard with this one. Honestly I think people get too obsessed with one spot and end up forcing things that aren't there. I tried the same thing with a bridge near my place, spent six weeks trying to catch the reflection just right, and by the end I was just taking the same boring photo over and over. Your brain doesn't learn to see the scene better, it just gets blind to how stale your shots are getting. You lose the fresh eye that made you want to shoot that spot in the first place. Sometimes the best progress comes from walking away and shooting something totally random instead of grinding on one alley or doorway.

jade471mo ago

Sticking with one spot really does show you things you'd miss otherwise. I did the same thing with a doorway in my neighborhood that had peeling paint and weird morning light. Around week four the shadows shifted just right and I finally got a shot where the texture popped. It's like your brain learns to see the scene differently after a while.