5 Lessons I Would Give A Beginner
5 Lessons After 5 Years of Shooting
By Sam Bugas - April 2024
In any new endeavour, the time that is best invested is the time invested in learning. Inevitably, this means tripping, stumbling, getting bruised, and learning the lessons necessary to improve. That said, there’s no harm in considering the lessons others have learned so to take a more efficient step forward. When I first picked up a camera, I spent a considerable amount of time ingesting the lessons I could from other well known photographers, largely by watching their YouTube videos. While I can comfortably say YouTube is one of our greatest resources, and that I’ve developed an immense amount through the lessons I’ve found, I’ve also learned that we often hear the wrong lessons at the wrong time when we are listening to people much further into their journeys. That is why this blog is specifically about a handful of lessons I would tell to someone that is just getting started.
Lesson #1: Do Not Try to Define Your Niche Too Quickly
When just getting started in photography, many people experience a crisis of creativity. “Now that I have this camera, what should I be shooting? What photos will I be proud of? What photos would other people want to see?” To further exacerbate the pressure these questions pose, we are often told that the most important variable in becoming a successful photographer (which can mean many different things), we must lean into a niche of photography. The notion is that focus equals refinement. The second belief is that as we build an audience via social media, blog engagement, website traffic, etc... we build expectations. Those expectations are what draw people in, but they are also connected to a niche. As a result, there is potential to lose, betray, or disinterest our audience if we waver from our niche. The truth is that both of these notions may be true for a well-established photographer much further into their career or artistic pursuit, but they are absolutely not true when you are getting started. In your early days, letting your eye waver and wander is essential to your growth. Playing with new subjects, new light, new colors and concepts, it all serves to aid in the development of your artistic eye. Experimentation is the pathway to creativity and refinement. It's quite exciting to feel like you have direction, but forcing yourself into a niche early on is counterintuitive to your growth as an artist, and in effect, your professional potential if that is your goal.
A 35mm Film Photo of a paraglider weaving through the hills on the east coast of New Zealand - Shot on Portra 160
Lesson #2: You Do Not Have to Use a Tripod
This lesson would have really gone against the grain when I was getting started as sensor and optical stabilization, while better than ever, were still not half as good as they are today. When I was starting out, I looked up to many photographers here on YouTube, some of which I still do today, and I scoured their videos for hints on how to improve. For the most part, I found each of these photographers relying on, and encouraging a reliance on, tripods, and as a result, I bought a tripod. I went out, focusing largely on waterfalls and static mountain scenes, and I took photos using this stationary setup. A little over a year into my photographic interest, a lightbulb moment occurred while I was climbing a peak in the North Cascades of Washington. Leaving my tripod at home forced a new style of photography that was far more mobile and dynamic, and after the climb, I had the best photos I’d ever taken. More importantly, I had far more fun, and was far more creative, than the lead up to this point. I grew more in that one day of climbing and shooting than the whole prior year.
There are many photographers today showing that you can be world class without a tripod. Don’t be afraid to leave yours at home. The caveat is that I do believe tripods have a time and a place, and they can be great tools when needed. However, don't feel restricted to using one if you don’t want to, and especially if you are feeling creatively inhibited by their static nature! It may just be that your creativity is less statically inclined, and that moving your feet is exactly what it takes to unlock your creativity.
This is the first photo I was ever truly proud of, and it came on that pivotal climb. It’s my most important photo in my time as a photographer.
Lesson #3: Your Gear Can, and Should, Inspire You.
Early on, I was told that we as artists should see our cameras and lenses as tools. They are objects, and the scenes we shoot should be our inspiration. This way of thinking has often made me feel guilt and discomfort. First, I felt that whatever camera I was using should be enough to create compelling images because it's invariably far superior to anything the shooters of old were able to use. Second, investing in newer gear was surely a waste of money that could have otherwise been saved or spent on experiences (hold this thought). In part due to this way of thinking, I slowly drifted away from photography early on. I genuinely didn't like using the camera I owned, and I only realized this once I finally took a leap of faith and got a new camera that I believed was too expensive and frivolous: the Fuji X-T2. From the first day of owning this camera, I felt something entirely different. I was emotionally attached to it, and the act of shooting with it. It felt right in my hand, it inspired me, and it made me want to shoot photos every chance I had. This camera was paramount in my growth, and it taught me that gear can, and should inspire. Since this point, and as I've grown as a photographer, I have experimented with different cameras, lenses, and brands, all in the pursuit of excitement and sentimentalism, and I've enjoyed every last second of it. With this in mind, we should absolutely only purchase within our means. It is not worth going into extreme debt for a camera that's 5-10% better than what you've got. In addition, there may be areas you should invest far more money into, and that brings me to...
Lesson #4: Invest As Much As Possible Into the Right Experiences
With the right camera and lens in your hand, every dollar you can afford should go into the most compelling experiences you can imagine. Spend those hours at night, when you may be struggling to sleep, to imagine where you would be most inspired. Dream about those places, then wake up and research them. In my experience, there is an affordable way to see nearly anywhere in the world if you plan correctly.
Of all the photos I've taken, the vast majority of my portfolio has come while on adventures I've dreamed up, saved for, and embarked on. Whether it's taking a leap and traveling to Southeast Asia, or going on remote treks in Peru, my best experiences provided, by a vast margin, the most photos that I am proud of as a photographer, the most experiences I am proud of as a story teller, and the most growth I've undergone as an artist. Invest in what excites you, what feels unreachable, and what compels your eye, because what's really the goal as an artist, to own better gear, or to tell better stories?
Lesson #5: Find Art That Inspires You
Whether it is a painter, a photographer, a movie director or any other artist in any other type of art, finding artists that inspire you is a really good way to grow as an artist. For the first few years of taking photos, I largely exposed myself to a small range of like-minded photographers on Instagram that were shooting more or less similar pictures of similar places. Their photos may have been beautiful, but many of them ultimately failed to tell interesting stories. A couple of years ago, I began learning about photographers outside my genre, shooting with very distinct style, and it felt as though my mind, and my artistic world, exploded open. Photographers like Pie Aerts, Ragnar Axelsson, and Josiah Gordon exposed a kind of storytelling, visual interpretation, and premeditation that I hadn't even imagined; they have true creativity, and when I look at their work, I feel very real emotion. It has never been, and will never be, my goal to copy or imitate them, but I will take as much information, and as many lessons out of their work as I can because it absolutely is my goal to make other people feel the way I feel when I look at their art. Finding artists that inspire you can push your style, your ambition, your focus in all new directions, and that can do nothing but help you as you grow as an artist.
To Summarize
There is no replacement for living life. I cannot go back in time to teach myself a lesson, and the path I’ve taken to learn what I have learned, and to grow how I’ve grown, is something I’d never change. Still, if you, like I was, are somewhere early in your photography journey, and you are looking for some kind of nudge to help you find focus, creativity, or growth, I do honestly believe that these lessons are valuable. Today, I still feel my niche is open, and I am not comfortable narrowing it too much. I rarely shoot with tripods, I am intensely sentimental about my gear, I invest more than anything into travel and exploration, and I own art books by my favorite artists. Absorb these lessons, consider them, use them (or ignore them), and go make new mistakes. The journey of artistic growth is nonlinear, unpredictable, and extremely fun.
About Me:
I have shot photos for five years, with a consistent focus on capturing moments of action and environment while I am outside. I’ve dabbled in quite a few different genres of photography, and I’ve found that my favorite moments to take a photo are when the wind is whipping, the air is freezing, and I’m far away from home. Over the last year, I’ve come to the realization that taking photos and telling stories are two very different things. My goal is to keep improving as a story teller that can work in the worst environments and come away with compelling sets of photos and written stories that help me, and others, to relive the essence of an adventure. I am focused on continuing to grow as a visual story teller so that I may leverage my skills to successfully work within conservation, expedition photography, and commercial photography.
Lastly, if you are a climber, backpacker, photographer, scuba diver or whatever else on the South Island of New Zealand, let’s get in touch! I just arrived in Christchurch, and I am taking every opportunity available to go out and explore this wonderful new place.