Press Button To Blog - Dog Day Afternoon

I found myself in a bit of a predicament. I had a large bag of expired dog food that I didn't feel comfortable feeding to my own pup, since it contains traces of meat that might go rancid. If I certainly wouldn't want to eat it, even if I was (more) of a dog, that wouldn't be my top canine choice. Being a cheapass, I didn't want to just throw it away, as that would obviously be a waste of both money and food. Instead, I decided to try and create some sort of scene that would be suitable for an imaginary advertisement for a fictitious client that would absolutely not hire me.

I spent over an hour setting up the scene, carefully placing the dodgy dog food and various bitey paraphernalia in a way that would catch the eye of the viewer. I couldn't help but wonder, if a dog could not only comprehend my pictures...but appreciate the human intent, would they start salivating? Like when people view "food porn" and get hungry and end up ordering Uber Eats. Could there be food porn for puppies? The thought made me smile, imagining all the pups out there who might be drooling over the image. Thinking one day for their birthday, their owner would buy them that exact toy.

Unfortunately, just as I started taking the actual pictures after a lengthy setup, I realized that the constantly shifting sun was ruining a lot of the shots I had intended to take. Woof. I then had to move my entire setup multiple times just to get the right lighting that wasn't covering half my display in shade. Since this project was being done on my balcony with limited space, the jostling around to maneuver constantly screwed up my otherwise deliberately staged props. Not to mention the physical impact of spending hours of my afternoon hovering over this ugly as sin photoshoot, with not much more than an aching neck, back and butt to show for it. It was frustrating, and I felt like I was losing valuable time and energy that could be spent on other more beneficial projects. Due to the sunk cost fallacy, I then had to force myself to keep retouching the scene and taking pics in hopes of somehow landing the shots that I would be satisfied with.

Even after all that effort, I still wasn't satisfied with many of the shots I did get, no matter how I designed the scene. As an amateurish perfectionist, this was a major blow to my already fragile sense of confidence. What puppy would love me now...if I couldn't love myself?

Joking aside. Even if it was only the afternoon down the drain, I had felt like I had wasted so much time, energy, and resources on something that wasn't working out. I not only wasn't thrilled with the results, but I had a bit of a miserable time doing it. Which is the complete opposite experience I normally aim for in my hobbies. Whether it's in photography, or anything else in life that that you devote yourself to, it always bites the big one when things don't meet expectations. The negative feelings I had from the poor photoshoot lingered over me after the shoot was over. Briefly, it did affect my confidence in regards to whether photography was at all my "thing", and gave me second thoughts about other projects that I had in the pipeline.

That being said, I know that setbacks like these are a normal part of the creative process. It's important to acknowledge the disappointment and take what you can learn from it, but not let it discourage you from continuing to pursue your passions. There's little in life that's worth while if you don't have to work for it. Suffering builds character is what I tell myself. I'm chocked full of characterization, I'll tell you what. Life has taught me many lessons.

Despite the dissillusionment and frustration from this shoot (and others of its ilk), I'm still excited about the possibilities of future photoshoots. Call me a masochist I suppose. There's always something new to discover and explore through the lens of a camera, even if the end results look like they should be picked off the ground in an opaque doggie bag. With a little bit of luck and a lot of hard work, I'm confident that I can create content that's not only impresses my theorhetical imaginary clients, but might, maybe, be capable of matching even my own expectations. Worst case