Constraints for your photography

Too many choices. I think I may have bought too many cameras and lenses. I have too many options to go shooting. Film or digital. Fixed lens or zoom. Medium format or 35mm. It’s analysis paralysis. It’s limiting in that I’m not developing a style, at least not as quickly.

Constraints are a good thing. Always shoot with a fixed focal length. Get to know your equipment very well. These constraints force us to be more creative. They force us to think about the real guts of photography instead of the tools that create the photographs. The real guts being light and composition of course.

It’s time to force some constraints. Put away some of the toys for awhile. Focus on the light and composition. Perhaps, getting a monochrome camera or only buying black and white film will help. You see, I’ve quite enjoyed some of the constraints I’ve recently used. Using manual only vintage lenses. I used them for character, but the manual process has forced me to think a bit differently and now I think it might be good to introduce more constraints. Choose a camera and lens for a short period, and find out what happens.