How To Create Canvas Prints The humorous side (and dangers) of photography addiction When you think which photos should you convert to canvas and decorate your home, it’s good to browse some good examples available here. There used to be a time (not so many moons ago!) where taking pictures was a luxury afforded to few. Cameras required you to put a film into the device, with around 30 photos per roll. You then had to demand your family all posed perfectly, because you only had one shot. Every moment was captured thoughtfully and carefully to make the best use of the film.
You're probably thinking back now to your own memories of these (shall we say 'historic'?) devices. I mean, they're almost worthy of museum space (although film is very much coming back in 'vogue').
Once the day was over, you still didn't know what you'd caught. The anticipation was rife, but you had to visit the photography shop to get the photos printed. This took several days. Only then, once you'd collected them, would you know if everyone had been smiling, or if the flash worked, or if you had managed to superimpose a ghost, or a thumb, into a picture. Although it was easy to be enthralled by how it all worked, it was pretty hard to be an addict. Those who always had a disposable camera in hand at family parties may have felt like they were a huge photography lover, but it was pretty impossible for them to get the same 'hit' that we now all recognise. They didn't have the ability to focus their lens in the way we can now, or review their images as it happened. They couldn't quickly edit their images after the event, or click their shutter multiple times in a matter of seconds to get the exact movement desired.
Truthfully, photography addiction is a side-effect of the rise of 'digital' - a space in which being obsessive compulsive is absolutely okay.
Nowadays, you can literally capture anything and everything at the tap of a finger. Not only thanks to how advanced camera equipment is, but also due to how developed mobile phones have become, there really isn't a single thing off limits when it comes to capturing them. What you had for dinner, every corner of your holiday (sometimes in 360degree views), what outfit you're wearing that day, every outtake too... and it's not just capturing the moment (which can be down to the very second thanks to photo bursts). You can now edit them, often very quickly, to completely change the photo. From the colours, to who is in it, to where the person or image was taken, to how they look, to any mistakes or inconsistencies - everything can be revised. It starts to become addictive. You find you want to do more with what you're capturing... that you actually feel like you're quite good at it. The cost of getting your hands on an entrylevel DSLR has come down (or maybe you're a Canon EOS 5DS lover - or a Nikon D750 fan?). A tripod (or selfie stick) is easy to buy online, and with a few quick YouTube videos, you're a professional - right?
Suddenly you're finding yourself increasingly hooked. You want to get the next mid-level camera, and then a full-frame camera. You've got the EOS-1D X hanging off your right shoulder at all times. You need (it's definitely a 'need' rather than a 'want') the various lenses, plus umbrellas and soft boxes, multiple flashes and batteries. In fact, you need more than one of each - and there's always going to be a need to keep switching these when you find 'better' versions. You're talking to your family about resolution sizes and viewfinders, how many millions of dots make up your monitor, and what level your AF system and auto-focus arrangement is. You're talking about frames per second of shooting, the maximum continuous shooting speed, and what your sensor size is. The acronym APS-C CMOS doesn't make you think of outer space. Of course, then you also need to update your computer so it can handle all the images you're uploading and editing. You also need a website to showcase your work on. There's multiple subscriptions you can buy and blogs you can sign up for, with a whole crowd of like-minded individuals ready for you to chat with in these forums. It's definitely okay to be thinking about photography 24/7. You don't feel bad that you need to keep changing and upgrading your equipment; that you're first in line for the latest releases or sweating because you can't get your hands on the best launches as quickly as you'd like. That every event you go to is like a professional photo shoot. Are you reading this and thinking it all sounds familiar? It's okay - these experiences are common. In fact, consider this an instance in which you are googling your symptoms and have stumbled across a particularly reliable and well-supported medical page. You, my friend, are a photography addict.
Here's what you're probably experiencing... - Breathlessness (at new camera launches)
- Palpitations (when you can't get your hands on a new release) - Exhaustion (at spending multiple hours editing images to be 'perfect') - Inability to drink or eat (because you're constantly holding your camera at events) - Memory issues (no, scrap that, everything is recorded on camera... you can relay your day minute-by-minute) - Finger spasms (from having it on the camera buttons at all hours) - Hallucinations (did you really visit Barbados or was that palm tree photo-shopped in?) The good news is that these symptoms can all be easily relieved. By putting your camera down, not taking it with you to every event, and accepting that not every moment needs to be recorded, you can start to recover. Although this is easier to do with larger equipment (someone will definitely notice you trying to tuck your Sony Alpha A7R II under your coat!), it isn't so easy to rid yourself of your mobile phone - the most constant and easily accessible camera in your life. Consider getting a Polaroid camera, with which you can only take 10 film shots (the films are hugely expensive). It could completely change how you think about your phone. While it is still easy to snap away at every moment, it reminds us of how cameras used to be the way it was at the start of this story. Of how you had to pick and choose your moments carefully and be selective. There was no editing, no reviewing the picture and asking to do it over and over until you got it right, and no deleting. It was much easier to just live in the moment and accept life for how it was as it was happening. If you got a good picture, it was great. But the pressure wasn't so pronounced. It didn't dictate the shape of your day. You could enjoy yourself, and the camera was secondary to this fun. In curing your addiction, sometimes we need to think this way. It's about imagining you only have that limited film in your camera (or your phone). What would you capture in a day if you could only take 10 shots? Or 30, as a maximum? Or if editing wasn't an option? Would that moment be worth wasting film on, if there was a limit to what you were doing? Ultimately, it's this perspective that will help you overcome the dangers of your addiction. Good luck!