When you’re looking at your photos and frustrated, you should realize that someone, somewhere, likes your photo. It may be your mom, your grandpa, or some random stranger. Does it really matter?
Too often, we are too hard on ourselves.
I don’t take a ton of photos per day, per week, or even over the course of the year. I take what I like and shoot digital like film. Meaning, I rarely shoot more than one image of the subject, and I move on to the next angle or composition. I figure I either nailed it or I missed it, and that’s OK with me.
I get that client shoots are different, and you feel like you have to nail more shots. When I take a client shoot, which is very rare these days, I know I need to be more deliberate about getting that perfect shot. I will tell you that more than 90% of the time, I still think like I do when I’m shooting for myself, and those are the shots I use.
What is your purpose?
Are you a machine? Probably not, but often we are told we need to replicate a style, a composition, a feeling without photos. Never mind the fact that almost every famous or historically significant photographer did exactly the opposite. Saul Leiter was trivialized for using color film, as were others. Others shoot out of focus, or spend a career shooting landscapes through their car window in bad weather. The point is, if your photo tells a story or highlights a moment in time to share, the rest doesn’t matter.
My advice is to stop watching YouTube creators who tell you you’re wrong.
Sure, every photo could have better light, a cooler subject, or some other detail. They don’t because life doesn’t work that way. Life leaves you wanting more, and photography should do the same. I’m not saying there aren’t techniques you can learn to take photos you want to take, but they won’t make you better. That’s entirely up to you and liking what you create more.