As an amateur photographer I mostly feel lucky to have discovered an activity which is not only fulfilling and creative but also gets me out of the house, and afterwards I have something aesthetically pleasing to hang on my wall, or someone else's. It is not all roses, though. Like anything else, photography has some frustrating elements, and I am (in no particular order) going to explain some of my frustrations here.
Perception of non-photographers
As many have said before, when we tell people we are photographers, or show them our work we are often assaulted with a phrase like "Wow, you must have a really good camera!". As if cameras are autonomous machines which only need to be purchased, charged and taken outside. A good camera does not make good pictures, a good photographer does - even with a lower quality camera.
Time as a harsh mistress
A photograph captures a single moment in time, and therefore (unless in studio conditions) can never truly be repeated. So often I find myself in the situation of seeing a great scene, and capturing it as best I can, only to later - usually in post-production - see that I could have taken the shot in a better way. A different composition, or different camera settings. I know this is what I should see as a learning experience, but it frustrating nonetheless.
The Photoshop stigma
Traditional analog (film) photographers have a host of darkroom techniques at their disposal to influence how the final print of an image will look. Many of these will be familiar to digital photographers, as they are emulated in photoshop; such as masking, dodging, burning, cross-processing etc. Yet for some reason, when I show anything which is anything other than a straight-from-the-camera untouched photograph, people tend to react with comments like: "Ah, that's photoshopped.", as if that is somehow cheating, or no longer real photography. I personally spend a long time post-processing my images to get them just the way I want, and I see that as a skill additional to knowing how to handle a camera and recognise and shoot scenes. You never hear anyone attack an analogue photographer with the slur: "Ah, that's been darkroomed."
Invisibility cloak
I love street photography. I love to see the images produced by good street photographers. I am not so good at it myself, as for some reason I draw too much attention from my subjects. People are curious and self-conscious by nature, and when they notice the camera they change their behaviour, stance and expression. I wish I had an invisibility cloak.
There are more things which frustrate me too, which I will not get into now. But please let me be clear, I love photography and would not trade it for anything. The joy it brings me is priceless and wonderful.
What frustrates you about photography?
