03.06.2022, 15:50   #1

Why bother taking photos yourself?

I've been asked from time to time why I shoot in black and white or use analog photography. I've also had people point out, as many others have, that color photography has already been invented. 

Why bother leaving the house to take photos yourself? Nowadays, there’s not only image editing but also AI that can create images on demand. 
I can’t really say how necessary sky replacements will be in the future—and honestly, I don’t want to. 

t3n.de/news/imagen-google-gegen-open-ai-schlaegt-dall-e2-1476012/
02.10.2022, 10:26   #2

Hobbyfotograf

I find it really unfortunate that this topic, " Why still take photos yourself," has been completely overlooked. I assume everyone here in the club loves their hobby (some even as a profession). Has anyone thought about how we might be chuckled at in a few years when we’re out photographing landscapes with our “museum” cameras?

A few starting points:
Analog photography – sepia – black & white – color – DSLR – mirrorless – smartphone – Google – AI…
(Feel free to add or expand the timeline in either direction)

Personally, I gave this a lot of thought one day during a hot summer hike when an approximately 80-year-old gentleman asked me why I was lugging around all that heavy gear (DSLR + prime lenses) and smiled as he showed me his phone.

Here are my PERSONAL answers:
- I love my hobby—photography—as it is; I’m neither a painter nor an IT specialist
- As long as I can, I’ll carry the heavy equipment wherever my subjects are
- In most cases, I prefer color

Since EVERYTHING has its place, I’d love to hear your thoughts. We don’t need a technical debate here, but rather a philosophical discussion about the joy of the hobby. To me, that joy is what truly matters! It doesn’t matter whether someone exposes photo emulsions on glass plates or downloads digital files created by AI from the cloud and hangs the prints on their wall.
07.11.2022, 11:09   #3
19.01.2023, 08:46   #4

Hobbyfotograf

To be honest, I find the question a bit odd. You could just as well ask why people still paint, make music, play sports, knit…

 
19.01.2023, 11:00   #5
Why should something that brings joy be given up and handed over to others not only after viewing your own "works," but also during the creative process? I appreciate every photo uploaded by other photographers—sometimes simply for enjoyment, but also as inspiration for my own growth. All this AI stuff is, for me—someone who hardly ever uses it—a useful tool when needed. We live in digital times with autonomous driving and AI integrated into various aspects of life. When it comes to my own creativity, joy, and development in my areas of interest, I don’t want an algorithm telling me what’s best. I’m not naive enough to believe that modern photography and image editing don’t involve AI, but if a photo comes out of the camera a certain way, I want to be able to tweak certain aspects easily. However, I don’t want AI to produce the “optimal” image at the push of a button—one that no longer reflects what I captured and, quite possibly, intended.
19.01.2023, 11:41   #6

Hobbyfotograf

AI is unstoppable in every field. And like everything, every innovation has its upsides and downsides. Nowadays, we just need to type words, and a program magically creates an image from them. But no AI program can take away the joy, the creativity, and the hobby of photography itself.
19.01.2023, 12:12   #7

Hobbyfotograf

AI is a useful tool. I really appreciate being able to have the software use AI to select the sky, faces, and so on for various adjustments. It saves a lot of time and effort. However, AI will never be able to choose a subject and take a photograph. It will never be able to capture the “perfect moment” to shoot a powerful portrait or a landscape bathed in just the right lighting.
21.01.2023, 10:48   #8
@Norbert Dreyer   The AI doesn’t even need that. You just tell it what you want. You can tell if the timing was right by looking at the results. It’s likely the AI will be better at this than we ever could be.

Best, Andreas
21.01.2023, 11:42   #9

Smartphotographer

In my humble opinion, I believe that AI is a positive enhancement to reality... I personally use it in many areas and find it to be a fantastic aid!
22.01.2023, 16:39   #10
Has our throwaway society really come this far? Sure, everything is available anytime, and I can find pictures I like anywhere. But there’s one more important little detail. My wife passed away, I retired, and my friends drifted away because I couldn’t understand how people could only talk about football at a party. I fell into a deep hole. And then there was photography. The camera became my constant companion—just the two of us, plus my dog, so we were three. We get outside, move around, and keep our brains active. I think about how to capture a good shot, how to add a personal touch to the photos at home, and along the way, I realize I’m still alive. I’m not just a passive consumer; I’m trying to create something myself. This boosts my self-esteem, connects me with people, and simply brings me joy. My dog probably feels the same way. He’s engaged, can sniff to his heart’s content, and regularly races with the mice to see who’s faster. We’re talking about a hobby here, and it’s just pure fun that enriches our lives.
Best, Carlo
24.01.2023, 17:22   #11
Profilfoto
Manfred Hopp

@Carlo, I feel almost the same way you do. When we got our dachshund, I always regretted not having a camera with me on our walks. I tried lugging around my Canon EOS 7D with the battery grip and heavy zoom lens. It was doable, but every time I bent down to the little guy, the camera would swing around uncontrollably. That’s why I ended up buying the small Canon Powershot G10. I found a like-new one on eBay for under €100, and it fits easily into my coat pocket. Of course, it has its technical limits, but it’s better to capture half of the great shots than none at all.
As for the main topic: I still take photos myself because I enjoy it and want to create pictures. For that, you need a camera—not a computer program. I’ve never used my camera to make phone calls, and likewise, I’ll never take photos with a phone.
Best, Manni
24.01.2023, 18:31   #12

Hobbyfotograf

Nice... everyone has their own approach.

Sure, I’ve always taken photos, but mostly just to document our life.
At some point, my daughter handed me her little Canon Ixus because she had upgraded to a better camera. The macro feature blew me away.
I hadn’t even known about it before.
I have a very large garden... pretty natural, no manicured lawn, just a big meadow among other things.
What goes on there really captivated me.
Since I usually shoot handheld—otherwise all the gear is just too heavy—I now prefer using my Powershot G12 with an achromat lens.
I only use Photoshop sparingly. I lack the time and patience 🙂

So... best wishes Anna Maria
28.05.2024, 00:01   #13

Hobbyfotograf

Photography means painting (or drawing, if you prefer) with light.
You can buy a picture from anyone, made however they created it. One is usually a creative, active process; the other is passive consumption—the purchase of a product.

If photography feels like a burden, you can simply free yourself from it. I believe those who continue to photograph already know why they do it 🙂.
28.05.2024, 06:24   #14

Hobbyfotograf

@asterix o
Aside from imaging techniques like AI, I've often asked myself—why bother taking photos at all? My thought was that pretty much everything has probably been photographed somewhere, sometime. Sure, if I photograph an apple, it can be captured from countless angles, under different lighting conditions, and with various post-processing styles. But in the end, it’s still just an apple.
So the question arises—why should I take a photo of an apple? Another flower, another insect, another…? On reflection, I might say—well, it’s my apple in my own composition. My own creative work. And I enjoyed the process, so I feel like I’ve spent my precious time well. But that feeling alone isn’t always enough. Maybe you want to capture a truly special photo, one that’s rare or perhaps hasn’t been taken before. That’s when it gets tricky—I think you either need a genuinely unique subject or have to get creative with composition. Either way, for me, the joy lies in working with color and light to express my own perspective on the world! 🙂
28.05.2024, 08:33   #15
Profilfoto
Michael Hansen

I still occasionally shoot analog photos, up to the 6x6cm format. I develop the negatives myself and create the prints on paper in my home darkroom. Each image is a unique piece. With digital photography, I try to present subjects—no matter how many times they've been captured before—in a different way. My goal is to capture my perspective on the spot and translate it into a photo. What matters most is that creativity takes place, whether using AI or traditional methods.
28.09.2025, 10:53   #16
About three weeks ago, I was out at night around the train station and the old town with my "little one," the Lumix DC-GX9 Micro Four Thirds camera, and the 10mm lens from 7Artisans — and only this ONE lens. A few shots turned out well, though I didn’t take many; I’m still a kid at heart from the days of shooting just 36 exposures per roll. But even if only one shot is good, it’s tied to a vivid experience I can recall anytime. I can even remember the smell, the temperature, and the rain on my face when I look back at old photos from Ireland. That’s why I take pictures.
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