Has it been done before?

I rather love this idea: a camera that won’t let you take a photo where everyone and its mother already has.

Now, some of you may be freaking out about that idea but read the whole piece. The creator means it to be a tool to point out how photography has become so overdone, particularly in some famous places, that maybe you don’t need to make that particular photo. Think about it first. Are you bringing something new to the image?

I tell photographers this often when I’m wearing my consultant hat: don’t be subject-and-too-driven. With photo technology today, anyone can make a good image of a beautiful woman or a magnificent landscape; a pro needs to bring that elusive “something more” to the work.

This is another reason to shoot film at least occasionally–it changes how you approach shooting (even after you go back to digital). Shooting film slows you down and makes you more aware of your process, your vision. If you have a limited number of exposures, you must think before hitting the button. Do you have it? Is it worth exposing the film yet? Has it been done before?

Today, professional photographers who rely on what they are shooting, both the subjects and the technical whizbangery of the tools, are going to struggle. Clients can get anyone to shoot that way. You need to bring something that never fits in your gear bags–a unique vision.

Your answer to Has it been done before? has to be Not like this.