Taking photos can be fairly easy. I mean, all you have to do is set up the shot and click a button. Piece of cake, right? For photographers who are always looking for a good shot and dedicate a lot of their time to the art of photography, many struggles can come about. Not everything will go perfectly when you set out for a shoot. Most photographers can relate to the technical mishaps and the elements messing with the subjects that tend to turn the shoot into a funny adventure or ultimate disaster.
So here are 12 relatable struggles of a photographer:
1. Forgetting the lens cap is on the camera.
This one happens all too often. You’re all set and ready to take a fantastic picture and look through the camera to see pure darkness. There is always a quick passing fear that your camera is broken, but then you come to make the quick realization that you just forget about the lens cap…again. It happens to the best of us. No need for shame.
2. Love-hate relationship with the sun.
The sun can be a friend or enemy when it comes to taking photos. That landscape shot may turn out perfect all thanks to the sun. Or it can just wash out your picture and ruin it all together. When taking pictures of a person, the sun can be difficult to work with. At a certain angle, it reveals the best features of your subject and even makes them look like a model. But at another angle, they can look like a ghost or are not visible at all. Working with the sun is always a struggle but when you get that perfect shot, you could not be more grateful for it.
3. Pesky pop-up flash.
If you have a DSLR camera, you know the great struggle of the pop-up flash. If you have it set on auto, that pesky flash just likes to pop up whenever it feels needed, especially when you don’t want it.
4. Dead battery that you thought was fully charged.
You set out to take photos excited for the opportunity to capture more of the world around you. You pull out your camera, press the on button, and hold the camera up to your eye. You go to press the shutter button with no result. You pull away to look at your screen to find a flashing red battery. You forgot to charge your battery… again. How convenient.
5. Full memory card.
One of the most inconvenient struggles: When you go to take a photo and your camera decides to not listen. Rather, the memory card decides to be full and waste your time as you delete the photos that you would rather not delete.
6. The smudge or piece of dust that shows up in every stupid photo.
The absolute agony that comes along when you download your pictures to your computer and see that every single picture has the same smudge or speck in the exact same spot. I cannot describe the pain felt in that moment.
7. When your camera won’t focus and you stand there for a minute straight looking like an idiot.
Sometimes photographers have some embarrassing moments and this may be close to the top of the list. That moment when you stand there ready to take a picture of someone and your camera won’t focus. You stand there looking like an idiot, continually pressing the shutter button, begging them to stand still for one more second…which ends up turning into way more than “one more second.”
We apologize for our camera's idiocies.
8. Flash seizures…we apologize.
As photographers, we apologize for this as well: when the flash decides to wig out and blind our subjects. This is not our fault, we promise.
9. The person that is always blinking.
Sometimes, it’s not the technical mishaps, but the subject that ends up being a struggle. Here’s some advice: usually a photographer will count down before they take a picture. As they’re counting down, close your eyes and open them right before the picture is taken. Rest assured, you will not be making an awkward blinking face and you and the photographer can breathe a sigh of relief.
10. Trying to take a picture of animals…that never stop moving.
Nature is a beautiful thing and it’s always fun to take that picture of the cute puppy running through the yard or the gorgeous hawk flying over your head. However, it’s always a struggle when they just won’t. Stop. Moving.
11. The wind.
Ah, the wind. Kind of like the sun…friend and enemy. It looks great running through the hair of a young girl, but it can blow right in her face and make it a photo to laugh at.
12. Snow and rain…it looks great from inside.
The elements are a beautiful thing but can sometimes be extremely difficult to capture. From inside, rain and snow can look super artsy. But when you walk outside to get that “rainy day” or “snow globe” pic, sometimes they do not know how to work the camera.
All in all, getting the perfect photo is not so easy. Between technical mishaps, awkward faces, and annoying elements, sometimes photography can become more stressful than peaceful. Despite the difficulties, photography is a beautiful art that can be a great pastime. Get outside, find an exquisite piece of architecture, or use a friend as a model. Everywhere you go, you can find something that will make a great photo. Don’t worry about the struggles, but enjoy the simpleness and beauty of capturing the world around you.
