[Reading Log #32] [Good but Bad Photos and Bad but Good Photos (Hiroshi Hatano)]
When I was a junior in college.
I went abroad for language studies and brought a digital camera with me, but it broke, perhaps because it was too cold, and I could no longer take pictures.
A senior I was close to at the time was a photographer; they would hold the camera with such joy and share their finished work on Facebook, which looked very cool to me.
With my camera broken, I bought an entry-level DSLR and started taking photos myself.
The first DSLR I ever bought.
The first thing I photographed was an empty plastic bottle (Ayataka) that was in the house.
You might wonder why I was taking pictures of something like that, but I just wanted to take pictures of anything.
Back then, I think I enjoyed photography by pointing my camera at everything. Even though I was bad at it, I feel like I took many good photos.
What about now?
Fortunately, I belong to a photography department at my company, where I spend my days exploring how to proceed with shoots and what kind of photos I should be taking.
Recently, I rarely take photos myself, and I spend my time handling company business while focusing on training my juniors. Whether my juniors can take good photos—that is where I focus my attention when evaluating their work.
I am able to be involved in photography, but am I able to enjoy it?
As the title suggests, this book is based on the premise that a "technically good photo" is not necessarily a "good photo," and it reminds me of what is most important when taking pictures—or rather, the reason why you can't take pictures without it.
Why do people take pictures? It's not like eating or sleeping where you'd die if you didn't do it, so why do we take photos? I wrote that a good photo is one that conveys something, but since this is a philosophy, I think there are many answers.
Among the means available, some are hard to convey things with, and some are easy. Some are simple, and some are difficult. Then there is also what you want to do yourself. "I want to convey something to someone"—this is the reason why I think we take photos.
I think wanting to convey something is one of the human desires, just like eating or sleeping. If something big happens to you, you want to tell someone about it. That is because conveying is communication.
The book proceeds in a conversational style, as seen in the quote above, which is pleasant to read.
Now, the author's opinion was that we take photos because we "want to convey something to someone." What exactly do I want to convey?
When I was a college student, I loved taking photos of people's expressions when I went out with my friends. I liked the expressions that people close to me showed me so much that I later made an album collecting only those expressions.
I believe that when you photograph people, the relationship with the photographer shows through, and my experience as a student makes me think so. No matter what kind of photo it was, I felt they were "good photos," which is why I shared them on Facebook and other platforms.
Right now, I am pursuing "good photos" for my work. Of course, I don't think that is wrong. Basically, what I photograph are objects, not people. Since I have to convey the features of the products, I need to take "good photos" that involve elaborate techniques like lighting. Since it is my job, making this kind of effort is not a bad thing.
So, what about my hobbies? What kind of photos do I take?
I have almost stopped taking photos on my own. I have lost touch with the friends I hung out with when I was a student (partly because I was never good at reaching out to people to do things), and I think I am unconsciously imposing the requirement of taking "good photos" on myself.
Ever since my wife was still my girlfriend, I remembered the joy of photographing people. I take pictures of my wife with cameras, my phone, and everything else, and I have started taking photos of the places I go with her.
In the sense of "wanting to convey something to someone" from the quote earlier, I think I am taking photos because I want to share memories with my wife with her and our family. That is why I only have the energy to take photos when I am with my wife.
This alone is a sufficient reason, but as a photographer, I still want to level up, so I would like to start taking photos as a hobby again.
When I do, I want to cherish the beginner's mindset that this book reminded me of, while pursuing what I want to express as I am now.
See you in the next book.