A Picture Made, A Picture Missed.
If there weren’t already a book with this title, I would name my future memoir Photographs Not Taken.
The people in my life who know me well artistically, know that all too often I don’t take the shot.
There are many reasons for this. The most common scenario is that I spend undue amounts of time getting set up for a photo: putting up the tripod, fine-tuning my composition, dialing in my settings, waiting for the right moment. I have often taken 20 minutes or more to set up a single shot. And then… I change my mind, I don’t take the photo, I pack up and walk away.
At other times, I’m just not reactive enough. Sometimes things happen that I would have liked to capture and I hesitated, missing the moment. At other times, I don’t have a camera with me, or at least not the “right” camera, and I miss that moment too.
An entirely average photo from a few years ago, which only serves to remind me of the things I didn’t photograph on this outing.
I used to get this sinking feeling in my stomach when I knew I missed a good shot. But I took those experiences and learned from them. What did I learn?
Just take the shot - If something catches your eye, take a photo of it. Most people are shooting digital these days, and one or two extra photos on your SD card isn’t going to hurt. Even if you’re shooting film, take a chance and press that shutter button. The resulting image may or may not be a winner. If it’s not, at least you won’t wonder what if.
Always be prepared - I keep a little point and shoot camera on me at all times, and very often I also have at least one or two other cameras with me. I’m never without a camera these days, and if you like to take photos with your cellphone, you probably aren’t either. A low res picture is better than no picture at all, so always have a camera with you.
Try again - Depending on what it was that you missed taking a photograph of, you might be able to try to recreate the scene, or approach it differently the next time. In my experience I’ve found that returning to the same places over and over can yield surprising results. Sometimes I actually have been able to retake a shot I missed, and other times I ended up with something even better.
Learn a lesson - Over the years, there have been so many times that I saw something I wanted to photograph, and couldn’t for whatever reason. I took those situations and learned from them. Now, I always have a small camera bag with me so I am ready if something catches my eye. If I took a photo and messed it up somehow, I learn from that too. This can also be said of any missed opportunity. Failure is only a chance for growth.
Enjoy the moment - Sometimes you just miss a shot. Something happens too fast to get your camera out, you don’t have the right lens, etc, etc. We can’t capture everything, so it’s best to accept this fact and enjoy the moment. I’ve found that some of the situations in which I missed a photo have become more memorable than if I had been able to take the shot. I was better able to remember the details, or the very act of not taking the photograph was a memory that I could later laugh at. If you can’t take your picture, soak in the moment with your senses. It’s not a waste if you find enjoyment in it.
Even though I wasn’t ready for this shot when the opportunity came, it is a very fond memory for me.
In the end, the lessons I’ve learned from missing photographic opportunities have made me a stronger artist. I hesitate less, I am better prepared, and I embrace spontaneity more these days. Were it not for all the photographs I didn’t take, I would not have learned as much. I encourage you to also look at missed opportunities or failures through a lens of growth.
