PhotoStudious

I just read about the Pareto Principle also known as the 80/20 rule. Now there are a lot of things you can apply the 80/20 rule in photography like focusing on the fundamentals first like composition, exposure, etc. but today we will be talking about the ratio of information and practice.

I posted about being an information junkie a few weeks ago. It was about being a person who gathers a lot of information and not actively applying what is learned. I admit that I am guilty for talking a lot about photography in forums, reading technical books, talking about gear and not photographing for periods of time. Yes, I have been there and maybe this applies to you also. = )

I ended up being a consumer in photography and not a producer of photographs. We consume information and buy tons gear yet there is little output when it comes to actually making photographs.  This is when I decided to fuse photography and the 80/20 rule.

The idea is to go out there and spend more time photographing rather than spending the day gathering information about photography. Maybe for the one hour spent in forums and reading about photography, you spend four hours or so photographing. The end result is gaining reference experience; I will talk more about this concept in future posts.

The idea is to keep the ratio close to 80/20 or more like 90/10. That is what I have been noticing on some of the best photographers that I see the in forums. They ask questions, they get the information that they need for the situation and then they are out photographing for a month or so until they ask questions and post again.

Another perspective is on a normal day you might spend 80 percent of the day photographing and only get 20 percent of finding and capturing great moments in the street. Or maybe on a good day there happens to be two good photographs after spending thirty six shots on each roll of film. 

The change in ratio will come with diligent practice, time and experience. The ratio changes in your favor the more you actively practice like spending less time but getting the right photographs or having great pictures and less duds in your rolls of film. 

In the end, you have to keep a healthy balance when it comes to information and spending time practicing photography. There are more examples on how we can apply the 80/20 rule when if comes to photography. Can you think of more examples?