Beware of the Dip

So I read a lot of RSS feeds on various topics. One of them being audio. Every once in a while you read something online that is worth sharing because it applies to a larger audience. Chris Huff the creator of Behind the Mixer posted a blog recently about what he warns as the audio dip link here . His post is a take on the book "The Dip" written by Seth Godin. Chris' article got me thinking about how the dip applies to photography.

The concept applies to anyone who has started a new project, hobby, job... In the beginning everything is exciting. You are seeing lots of results for your effort. You're learning new things, seeing mountains of results and getting positive feedback from everywhere. Everyday seems to be another day for a Photoshop epiphany. (oh wow that's what clipping masks are used for) But eventually you stop learning new things everyday and your effort seems to produce less results, or the results aren't the leaps and bounds you have grown so accustomed to. That's the beginning of the dip. The dip for photographers can be a make or break moment. It is inevitable that you will face the dip whether photography for you is just a hobby or more. What is encouraging is that according to Seth Godin if you can continue to work on your effort through the dip you will eventually see a rapid increase in results.

What I like about Chris' article is he takes three quick approaches to dealing with the dip. Which I am going to touch on in a second.
1. Quit
2. Information overload
3. Focus

Seth Godin talks a lot about people knowing when to quit. When to realize they've walked down a dead end and to turn around and walk the other way.  10 Questions with Seth is a good read if you are interested in reading more about Seth's approach.

OK, back to photography. So how to deal with the dip as a photographer.
1. Quit - Sometimes what ever it is your getting stuck on you should walk away. That doesn't mean photography entirely but maybe take a break from Photoshop filters or trying to master focus stacking for macro photography. Maybe you take really good pictures of flowers but not so much with people. That doesn't mean you shouldn't work harder at taking pictures of people but you have to answer that question. Maybe, just maybe, if it is a dead end street you should turn around and stop trying to be a photographer your not. The flower world is missing you.

2. Information Overload - From personal experience I can say this is a daunting task, often riddled with turmoil. Being a married father of three spending hours at the computer or behind my camera doesn't have positive effects on my family life. I remember when took the plunge to digital from film. I read book after book, blog after blog and became a member of like 6 photo forums. I was facebooking, myspacing, forum adding and more. I would go through two or three tutorials a day. After a while I was just burnt and realized I didn't like digital at all. Too much work. Till I stumbled upon approach #3.

3. Focus - My mother always used to tell me "One thing at a time son". Her words were wiser than I cared to mention then. Pick one thing to focus on when you are in the dip. Don't think that because you are seeing little results it means you have to learn everything there is to know about Photoshop or that you have to take 10 photography courses by the top photographers in your area. Slow down and take on a small but focused project. Like photographing skin. If you are wanting to become a better people photographer then learn how to photograph people's skin. How is skin prepared for a photo? How do you light and expose skin for digital? How does skin behave with different types of light? Once you learn that then move to expression. What is expression? What expressions make a photo interesting? How do you time capturing expression? Patiently walk through the dip but don't stop giving effort. Who knows, on the other side you may just be the next photojournalist for your town's newspaper or one day find yourself working for National Geographic.