"The Best Photography Advice I Ever Got" with John Batdorff
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Name:
John Batdorff II
Job Experience:
Twenty plus years of experience in the newspaper business and owner of Batdorff Photography
Most Notable Achievement:
Personal: My closest friends (both of them) would say staying alive through the 90s. :) Today, I would argue raising my daughter into a well balanced young lady. Five years from now, I might say surviving her first boyfriend (or maybe him surviving me??)
Professional: Authoring four books including my personal favorite, Black and White From Snapshots to Great Shots.
Favorite camera:
Kodak Instamatic was the first camera my mother gave me and paved the road for my love for photography. Today I find myself shooting primarily with a Canon 5D Mark III and loving it.
Best Advice:
(I like to think of these more as the guidelines but here are my top 6)
- Paralysis of analysis is horrible trap filled with regrets.
- If you find yourself in hole, stop digging!
- Nothing kills the human spirit more than a dream that falls upon deaf ears.
- Be your own person because everybody else is already taken.
- Keeping it in focus is less about the picture and more about life.
- Personal favorite: Street photography isn't a team sport.
Do something...anything! You can't learn from your mistakes if you're unwilling to make any mistakes.
Personally, this has always been the hardest rule for me to understand. But, in time, I've come to accept it as a lesson instead of a failure.
Surround yourself with positive people that support your efforts and dreams because nothing can drain your creative spirit more than a Doubting Thomas.
Be true to yourself and your vision, and in time, your style will be revealed.
Remember to pause along the way and make time for yourself and your family.
If you want the shot then you better go get it! Otherwise, you'll have regrets and only yourself to blame.