Confessions of an Image Addict: How I.A.S made me a better photographer and saved me thousands

[I]t’s good to be addicted, just to the right thing. Addicted to chocolate -> Bad, Addicted to working out ->Good. If G.A.S is bad, what is the good habit? It’s I.A.S…and it stands for…….

I.A.S the better addiction
I.A.S stands for Image Acquisition Syndrome, it’s the replacement to G.A.S or Gear Acquisition Syndrome. I’m still an addict, but now I’m an addict of the image, not gear. What turns me on now is not opening a gear magazine but a photobook or just looking at other folks work. The difference inside me is that now I am less concerned about what I need to get but more about what I need to do for my next image. The first addiction was not concerned about me getting better, only me getting more and more stuff, the second addiction is concerned about me and my photography….. it’s the better addiction.

How I got I.A.S
Getting G.A.S was as simple as getting more and more stuff; getting I.A.S is as simple as going out and getting good images. Going out won’t cure G.A.S, but getting keepers, and getting them more and more will (and that in turn will make you want to go out and shoot more). Nothing beats going out and getting a sparkling image. Everybody can buy a camera, but a good image cannot be bought, so the joy you get from getting a good picture is beyond the short high of a new camera.

I.A.S Builds confidence
G.A.S. gives you the illusion of confidence, but it’s more something to hide behind, at least that’s what it was for me. What really builds confidence is I.A.S, and getting good images consistently. I had some cool keepers when I had my G.A.S but they were not consistent, they were the occasional on-in-a-million kind of shots. There’s a tremendous difference between being just plain lucky and producing a photograph that means something to you; most of my keepers back then were mostly luck, and honestly, they lacked direction.

I remember meeting a prolific European director, don’t remember no names nor movies, but what I do remember is asking the dude: “Where do you find inspiration when you have none?” He looked me straight in the eye and told me, “By now I’ve learned to trust myself that I would be able to come up with something”. Experience told him he had the stuff needed to finish the task, that’s the same thing when I am out shooting. By now I know that I will be able to do something when I am out with my camera. Before I was so anxious trying to get a shot that I never had time to slow down and actually react to what my heart was telling me to shoot. But now, because I am used to getting shots I want I know I can take a picture in any situation. It all starts with your first keeper, then your next, than your next ad infinitum! I still stress sometimes when I have to shoot an assignment, there is client satisfaction to deal with, but the wise words of the director always come back, and I simply trust myself because I have been consistently getting good images because I’m addicted to them.

I.A.S saved me $$$
I.A.S is the antidote to G.A.S. The more images you get, the less cameras you will get. I don’t think it’s coincidence that I stopped lusting after gear when I started getting good images. But that doesn’t make me immune tough, I just heard of a dude that was pretty much into photography until he got an M9, then he jumped to Hasselblads and Mamiyas, and got lost photographically. God only knows how much more money I would have lost if I didn’t shift my addiction. At some point I lusted at the Pentax 645D, the Leica M9, the Hasselblad X-pan, the Fuji Natura, Fuji Klasse W, the Contax T3, the XPRO-1, the X-lenses, etc. I shutter (pun intended) on how much I would have lost in the cracks, the transition time between cameras. I.A.S makes you spend money in better ways and in things with better returns on investments like books and magazines, or trips to and fro the city.

Fulfillment is found in the work
The fulfillment of G.A.S is found in acquiring some new piece of gear. The world spins, you have the holy grail in your hands, holy crap, National Geographic will surely hire you with this camera!…………..then a few days pass an then it’s back to getting something else. The fulfillment of G.A.S is buying something, and since it’s a thing, it’s pretty much guaranteed not to stay. The fulfillment of I.A.S is found in getting an image, something that sticks with you till you go to the other side. I check my portfolio from time to time, it’s like each and every one are like soccer trophies, and I remember everything I did to get them. This fulfillment can only be sought, it cannot be bought. I was watching an episode of CSI where a quarterback got murdered, he had lots of trophies. I have none like his but my trophies are my images, and just as he was addicted to getting his trophy collection, I am addicted to getting my image collection. I ain’t got nuthin’ to show for my gear addiction, they are all gone and are all but a memory, but my Image addiction is tangible, and I can look at it and appreciate it everyday. It’s a great feeling when you look at your own stuff and you are proud of yourself, yet at the same time know that you will get even better stuff as time goes on.

I.A.S makes you better
When I bought gear, usually the next equipment was always better in someway than the other. More megapixels yet smaller, huge FPS, larger sensor, whatever…..but now that I am an Image addict, the only person standing between me and my next image is myself. Meaning, if I want better and better images, I’m the one who has to work for it….. I.A.S is great because you always push the bar higher as you reach them. I remember I was in design class and the teacher said that I put the bar very high for the class because I did way more than what was required, I told her that I don’t know about that but the only thing I knew is that I put the bar high for myself. I compete, highly, I’m a beast of a competitor…..with myself only. I don’t try to be better than others, I just focus on being better than myself.

I.A.S does that to you, it always makes you want to be better. Ever seen those pole jumpers? Awesome how they put the bar higher and higher inch by inch until they get very high. It’s the same thing I did, but image wise. Each photograph I take I appreciate it then I pick my vault up and try to hit a few inches higher. You see in the design class, I didn’t need to do much but I did, I made an illustration of a gameboy pixel by pixel, took me 3 days to do…..I didn’t need all that to pass, but the bar I was using was not the class’s bar but my own. Here it is if you are curious:

Call it the ancestor of Inspired Eye if you will. My photography is the same story, I simply set the bar high for myself. In the world we live in, you don’t need to remotely be a photographer to run a successful photography website or blog, but I don’t use that bar. The bar I use is my own bar and I set it very high, I don’t know high compared to what, but all that I know is high enough for me not to be able to reach it without some effort. Addiction makes things out of reach, I lusted after some new gear because I couldn’t have it, but now because of I.A.S I lust after the next image because I can’t have it. Yet.

Seek your next image, it will curb your next purchase. I ain’t special…… if it worked for me it will probably will work for you. Be yourself, Stay Focused and keep on shooting.