Sweet, I made gafoto's "particularly bad photos" list.
From now on can we save him the trouble and have only the most awesome professional photographers post? Seriously, because why take the time for constructive "we're not all douchebags" criticism when we can just ooh and aah at people who already know what they're doing?
While I acknowledge that I'm probably among the more suckier takerers of photomagraphology, giving me actual advice is way more welcome than snarky comments. Let the flames commence.
Goshinga, how do you feel about that last image you posted? What draws you to it?
I like the curve of the road. It makes me happy.
Edit - That's a bit of a difficult question for me to answer. How do you feel about the images you post? What draws you to your images? It simply appealed to me, it's difficult to explain. I think it would be more constructive if you would be kind enough to point out the flaws that you apparently see in it.
I hope this doesn't come off as defensive. I got into photography not too long ago and am here to learn. Any advice you or anyone else has to offer would be greatly appreciated.
Sweet, I made gafoto's "particularly bad photos" list.
From now on can we save him the trouble and have only the most awesome professional photographers post? Seriously, because why take the time for constructive "we're not all douchebags" criticism when we can just ooh and aah at people who already know what they're doing?
While I acknowledge that I'm probably among the more suckier takerers of photomagraphology, giving me actual advice is way more welcome than snarky comments. Let the flames commence.
McLovin - I wouldn't mind the angle if the table wasn't there. I find it distracting, really. Mostly because of the really bright highlights on the top of it, but the angle makes it worse.
bread of wonder on
Long distance runner, what you standin' there for?
So my first photography show is now scheduled for the end of September. Its at my friends ritzy little martini bar / restaurant. I plan on printing out about 20 shots all in very large formats. The show will not have people in them- but be entirely urban shit. Should be fun and interesting with a very fun bumbin' chi-town house flavored after party.
giving me actual advice is way more welcome than snarky comments.
Stop trying to defend an out of focus shot of your dog. I told you it was a bad subject (like all pet photos) and it back-focused. Even the cockshot beats it out.
When people put up a shot that isn't correctly exposed, focused or with just truly horribly composition I'm gonna get on their case. Back-focused shots should never even leave the camera.
dude, this is the last i'm going to say on the subject: first off, point out where i defended it. second, my point was no one invited you to be an asshole.
Yes, looking at the photo now, do I realize it was back focused or whatever (i had to wiki that)? Yeah. I (like I'm sure the majority of people in this thread) post photos here because quite frankly, I DON'T know what I'm doing (OH NOES!!!111ONEELEVENTY), I just know photography interests me and I like to point my camera at things and go click. Posting photos here allows others to give advice and tips to improve. And oh god, before someone shouts "LERN2PHOTOZZZZ!!!!1!", yes, I've read tutorials and articles and stuff online, but reading stuff about composition and tonemapping and histographs is a far cry from actually producing nice photos. So thanks for pointing out the back focus, I'll definitely watch that next time. And pet photos in general are boring, duly noted.
Can we please get back to the part where we're all having fun showing each other photos we think are neat?
If you post in the AC, expect a critique of your work. I wasn't being overly critical, I was just pointing out that was a very poor photo. If you aren't prepared to get criticized at all then go post somewhere else.
[/QUOTE]
Guys, is there a name for this activity yet? I'm trying to dig up some more of it online but nobody seems to agree with 'light pen photography.'[/QUOTE]
It was just an idea that I had playing with shutter speeds and my flash...but I think there's a ton of potential here for some really cool photos. I was messing with the idea of "light pen graffiti". I found it's gotta be REALLY dark, and you have to make sure the "pen" (in my case a LED flashlight held in a pencil grip facing the camera) can't be bobbing all over the place causing ambient light. That way the initial flash catches the image of you and the background and the sensor just catches the light from the pen after that and you don't get that smear affect that you can see in the pic I posted. Anyways, I guess the whole point of this paragraph is.....
Unless it's been slipping under my radar previously, I've seen it getting pretty popular lately. There were some .gifs posted on the forums with a moving deer done this way, and there was a very well done TV commercial in that style as well.
I think tonight after I catch Borune this is what I'll be up to.
dude, this is the last i'm going to say on the subject:
<smartass-paraphrase>learning is hard! Just let me shoot!</smartass-paraphrase>
It isn't about tonemapping and histograms and doodads though. It's about discovering shit that is interesting, and then using the camera as a tool to capture that interesting shit.
A) If you don't have an interesting, engaging subject in a photograph, it'll probably suck.
If you can't utilize the camera to create a strong image of your subject, we're probably going to notice.
Go to good photography sites, like photo.net. Spend some time clicking through their top-rated photos. Take a few, and pick them a part. What makes them good photographs? It isnt' simply because they're interesting or neat. You gotta start criticizing a picture before you even take it.
Mclovin: while i think you have a good eye, i find that many of your photos suffer from being out of focus. I like the colors and the angles, they're just not so sharp. What are you shooting with?
I understand that we want to see neat photos, and i can agree that gafoto doesn't have the nicest way of criticizing them but don't let that get you down.
Guys, is there a name for this activity yet? I'm trying to dig up some more of it online but nobody seems to agree with 'light pen photography.'
It's just a variation of painting with light or light painting.
Certainly not a new concept by any means, photographers have been doing it pretty much forever. You can use a light pointed at the camera but the traditional way is more like this:
Find a scene at night with some natural light in the background and a dark foreground. With a long exposure going, run into the scene and "paint" selective dark parts of the scene by using a flash or a flashlight to illuminate them. Keep moving and try not to stand between the light and the camera or you'll show up on the photo. You can use coloured plastic or gels in front of the light too. Oh and dark clothes help keep you invisible.
Proto on
and her knees up on the glove compartment
took out her barrettes and her hair spilled out like rootbeer
Seriously, it's been said, but this entire forum (Artist's Corner) is not a showing gallery where we all pat each others' asses. This is a place where people who want to grow their skills/talents post their creations for critique.
Now I enjoy a good pat on the ass as much as the next guy, but I enjoy it even more when Sheri says "pope, I don't like any of the pics you posted" and I ask why and she responds with information. Perhaps my subject is uninteresting, that's good to know. Perhaps I center my shots too often, also good to know. Perhaps I am not creating movement, ok I can work on that.
If noone ever tells me what they think I am doing wrong then I will never progress. I will be content at my current level. And that's not what I want.
Is that what you want, McLovin? I haven't enjoyed your pictures yet. But perhaps you will get better. You're not going to if all you get in the way of feedback is a bunch of ass-patting. You'll get there when Gafoto says "that's not interesting plus it's backfocussed" and then instead of complaining you take another picture of the dog from a lower angle and focus it properly. That second picture would be better. And you would have learned, and grown.
So please understand that the general tone in the AC is very direct. This isn't a place where people engage in useless social graces. But also understand that all crits here are offered on the assumption that you want to improve. So take the feedback to heart, develop a thicker skin, and this place could really help you.
I hope you take that perspective, because I can see that you're interesting in dynamic and engaging photography and I think if you relax, let yourself learn, and admit you're not good yet (hell, I still think I am not good and I've been posting here and getting positive feedback sometimes) then you can get to the point where you take pictures that make people say "wow."
I took this pic back in June for a "creativity exercise" on a photography forum. The subject (either literally or figuratively) was "eyes." Both eyes are mine in this pic.
I haven't shot anything of late, but I want to stay in the habit of posting work as I find that also inspires me to shoot more often. I am leaving on Sunday for a week in the Pecos Wilderness in New Mexico, so I'll probably have some new nature stuff after that.
Salti: I like that "environmental" shot you posted. Nice car too :P You and your lady seem to get out doing things quite often that's pretty frickin rad
Pope: Those are both your eyes? You have different coloured eyes? And how the hell did you manage to take the picture with both YOUR eyes, but in that style? Smoke and mirrors? O_o I like it
Jonis: Cool airplane shot, you'd never know where it was if you didnt say but it's got a creepy tone to it.
McLovin: I felt the same way you did when I first started coming here, I took a bunch of pictures that I loved because they were of things that I really liked. Nobody around here felt the same, and it was pretty hard at first but when you really pay attention to the things they say and keep them in mind when you're taking another picture, it really helps to improve your shots. You don't have to detract from taking pictures of subjects that move you, the picture of your dog for instance. Pet subjects ARE usually boring unless you can find a cool or interesting way to shoot them (I don't really bother with pets, once in a while I take a basic shot and I like the way it looks, but never artistically focused), rule of thirds is a great place to start as well as depth of field. What kind of camera are you using? Does it focus automatically or is it manual?
I'm doing this all at once because these photos stood out as being particularly bad:
What is it about this tree that interests you so much? I love plant photography as much as the next guy but what about this particular tree from this angle interests you? Also, the wavy power lines, odd little lights (stars?) and the little tree bit on the bottom add alot of distraction to this photo.
Thanks for the feedback, you made me realize I need to write a checklist of questions of why am I taking a picture to help me build on the composition. I should make a photography notebook to jot down my ideas, notes and scribbles.
The stupid lights is a plane passing that I wish came 2 seconds later.
Horus on
“You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You're on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the one who'll decide where to go...”
― Dr. Seuss, Oh, the Places You'll Go!
Just to add to the discussion here, the best way to find out what makes a good photograph is to look at the great photographers of the 20th century. Masters of photography such as Henri Cartier-Bresson, Diane Arbus, Edward Burtynsky, Richard Misrach, Paul Strand, Lee Friedlander, Richard Avedon, Elliott Erwitt, Garry Winogrand, Robert Frank and many others are a good place to start. Look them up online or even better, go to the library and find books with their photographs in them. Study the photos and think about what makes them interesting; what makes them better than the average snap shot?
Just to add to the discussion here, the best way to find out what makes a good photograph is to look at the great photographers of the 20th century. Masters of photography such as Henri Cartier-Bresson, Diane Arbus, Edward Burtynsky, Richard Misrach, Paul Strand, Lee Friedlander, Richard Avedon, Elliott Erwitt, Garry Winogrand, Robert Frank and many others are a good place to start. Look them up online or even better, go to the library and find books with their photographs in them. Study the photos and think about what makes them interesting; what makes them better than the average snap shot?
Just to add to the discussion here, the best way to find out what makes a good photograph is to look at the great photographers of the 20th century. Masters of photography such as Henri Cartier-Bresson, Diane Arbus, Edward Burtynsky, Richard Misrach, Paul Strand, Lee Friedlander, Richard Avedon, Elliott Erwitt, Garry Winogrand, Robert Frank and many others are a good place to start. Look them up online or even better, go to the library and find books with their photographs in them. Study the photos and think about what makes them interesting; what makes them better than the average snap shot?
Haha beating you there, I found on another forum contemporary and past great photographers. I am making a spreadsheet(because I am learning Excel) on these people with info, categories and links for more information. Yes its dumb but its killing two birds with one stone. And what about Ansel Adam, its like you have to say it every other word when talking about Photography =P.
Horus on
“You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You're on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the one who'll decide where to go...”
― Dr. Seuss, Oh, the Places You'll Go!
edit: and yes, I skipped Ansel Adams because everyone knows him and a lot of his work.
Thanks!
I have a question, I always hear people who use Aperture or Lightroom but doesn't Bridge do the same feature? Just wondering because in July I took 740 pictures and wondering how can I navigate what I want to see efficiently.
Horus on
“You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You're on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the one who'll decide where to go...”
― Dr. Seuss, Oh, the Places You'll Go!
I don't use Aperture but I've tried Lightroom. The point of Lightroom is to streamline basic photo editing for professionals such as wedding photographers. Since the photographer is a pro, most of their photos come out of the camera pretty much how they want them to look but they might need slight exposure and or color adjustments. Lightroom makes it easy to go through a ton of photos that only need light editing. It basically combines Bridge and Photoshop into a smaller, quicker package when you know you don't need the full power of both.
For your purposes, where you're simply picking a few pictures out of a lot of them for editing, using Bridge to select them then Photoshop to edit them is probably the way to go.
Excellent sorting features and pretty much all the photo adjustment tools you need unless you are doing major work on a photo. Plus your changes don't affect the original file. Such a nice, well thought out program.
I rarely use photoshop now.
Proto on
and her knees up on the glove compartment
took out her barrettes and her hair spilled out like rootbeer
Blank - My face is crammed against my bathroom mirror. Also, my eyes are the same color. One of them is manipulated in Photoshop. Can you guess which?
Jamp - I love the first pic. I think in the second you are focusing on the shape of the metal pole-thingy and its shadow, yes? I am distracted by the graffiti art on the door which is largely obscured. I wish these elements were separated.
Jonis - I really wish there was something at all in the pic that is in focus. I see what I think you're going for (abstraction), but it's frustrating to me to look at it.
I really like the first two, Jamp. I like the way you isolated the graffiti and made it a lesser element to the images. Usually graffiti photography focuses only on the graffiti and not the structure surrounding it. Yours is a new and interesting approach. I especially like the second because the graffiti is actually partly covered up by a structural element of the building. It's unexpected and unnerving - makes for an interesting photograph.
I really like the first two, Jamp. I like the way you isolated the graffiti and made it a lesser element to the images. Usually graffiti photography focuses only on the graffiti and not the structure surrounding it. Yours is a new and interesting approach. I especially like the second because the graffiti is actually partly covered up by a structural element of the building. It's unexpected and unnerving - makes for an interesting photograph.
I see we are diametrically opposed wrt the second pic. Guns at dawn? :P I totally agree on the general concept (graffiti pic, but focusing on the whole building) ... it really is a new and nice approach.
Jamp - do you live in some sort of post-apocalyptic ghost town? How is it you have so much devastation available to shoot?
This latest one is awesome. I totally feel like a sniper in Battlefield 2 or something, but in real life. It's very engaging. I feel involved in it.
Stop trying to defend an out of focus shot of your dog. I told you it was a bad subject (like all pet photos) and it back-focused. Even the cockshot beats it out.
I see your comment and raise you two photos of McGarnicle:
Posts
What are you, new?
Sheri Baldwin Photography | Facebook | Twitter | Etsy Shop | BUY ME STUFF (updated for 2014!)
I'd also like to ask this about the first one.
Sheri Baldwin Photography | Facebook | Twitter | Etsy Shop | BUY ME STUFF (updated for 2014!)
I like the curve of the road. It makes me happy.
Edit - That's a bit of a difficult question for me to answer. How do you feel about the images you post? What draws you to your images? It simply appealed to me, it's difficult to explain. I think it would be more constructive if you would be kind enough to point out the flaws that you apparently see in it.
I hope this doesn't come off as defensive. I got into photography not too long ago and am here to learn. Any advice you or anyone else has to offer would be greatly appreciated.
yes. relatively. so yes.
Does the angle of this shot do anything? I'm torn on this one. Or maybe someone can just say it sucks?
oonce oonce oonce
and just for fun....
:^:
dude, this is the last i'm going to say on the subject: first off, point out where i defended it. second, my point was no one invited you to be an asshole.
Yes, looking at the photo now, do I realize it was back focused or whatever (i had to wiki that)? Yeah. I (like I'm sure the majority of people in this thread) post photos here because quite frankly, I DON'T know what I'm doing (OH NOES!!!111ONEELEVENTY), I just know photography interests me and I like to point my camera at things and go click. Posting photos here allows others to give advice and tips to improve. And oh god, before someone shouts "LERN2PHOTOZZZZ!!!!1!", yes, I've read tutorials and articles and stuff online, but reading stuff about composition and tonemapping and histographs is a far cry from actually producing nice photos. So thanks for pointing out the back focus, I'll definitely watch that next time. And pet photos in general are boring, duly noted.
Can we please get back to the part where we're all having fun showing each other photos we think are neat?
If you post in the AC, expect a critique of your work. I wasn't being overly critical, I was just pointing out that was a very poor photo. If you aren't prepared to get criticized at all then go post somewhere else.
Guys, is there a name for this activity yet? I'm trying to dig up some more of it online but nobody seems to agree with 'light pen photography.'
Guys, is there a name for this activity yet? I'm trying to dig up some more of it online but nobody seems to agree with 'light pen photography.'[/QUOTE]
It was just an idea that I had playing with shutter speeds and my flash...but I think there's a ton of potential here for some really cool photos. I was messing with the idea of "light pen graffiti". I found it's gotta be REALLY dark, and you have to make sure the "pen" (in my case a LED flashlight held in a pencil grip facing the camera) can't be bobbing all over the place causing ambient light. That way the initial flash catches the image of you and the background and the sensor just catches the light from the pen after that and you don't get that smear affect that you can see in the pic I posted. Anyways, I guess the whole point of this paragraph is.....
light pen photography?
I think tonight after I catch Borune this is what I'll be up to.
It isn't about tonemapping and histograms and doodads though. It's about discovering shit that is interesting, and then using the camera as a tool to capture that interesting shit.
A) If you don't have an interesting, engaging subject in a photograph, it'll probably suck.
Go to good photography sites, like photo.net. Spend some time clicking through their top-rated photos. Take a few, and pick them a part. What makes them good photographs? It isnt' simply because they're interesting or neat. You gotta start criticizing a picture before you even take it.
The Blog of Shame -- Misadventures in Ruby
flickr
I understand that we want to see neat photos, and i can agree that gafoto doesn't have the nicest way of criticizing them but don't let that get you down.
"Oh what a day, what a LOVELY DAY!"
It's just a variation of painting with light or light painting.
Certainly not a new concept by any means, photographers have been doing it pretty much forever. You can use a light pointed at the camera but the traditional way is more like this:
Find a scene at night with some natural light in the background and a dark foreground. With a long exposure going, run into the scene and "paint" selective dark parts of the scene by using a flash or a flashlight to illuminate them. Keep moving and try not to stand between the light and the camera or you'll show up on the photo. You can use coloured plastic or gels in front of the light too. Oh and dark clothes help keep you invisible.
took out her barrettes and her hair spilled out like rootbeer
Now I enjoy a good pat on the ass as much as the next guy, but I enjoy it even more when Sheri says "pope, I don't like any of the pics you posted" and I ask why and she responds with information. Perhaps my subject is uninteresting, that's good to know. Perhaps I center my shots too often, also good to know. Perhaps I am not creating movement, ok I can work on that.
If noone ever tells me what they think I am doing wrong then I will never progress. I will be content at my current level. And that's not what I want.
Is that what you want, McLovin? I haven't enjoyed your pictures yet. But perhaps you will get better. You're not going to if all you get in the way of feedback is a bunch of ass-patting. You'll get there when Gafoto says "that's not interesting plus it's backfocussed" and then instead of complaining you take another picture of the dog from a lower angle and focus it properly. That second picture would be better. And you would have learned, and grown.
So please understand that the general tone in the AC is very direct. This isn't a place where people engage in useless social graces. But also understand that all crits here are offered on the assumption that you want to improve. So take the feedback to heart, develop a thicker skin, and this place could really help you.
I hope you take that perspective, because I can see that you're interesting in dynamic and engaging photography and I think if you relax, let yourself learn, and admit you're not good yet (hell, I still think I am not good and I've been posting here and getting positive feedback sometimes) then you can get to the point where you take pictures that make people say "wow."
I took this pic back in June for a "creativity exercise" on a photography forum. The subject (either literally or figuratively) was "eyes." Both eyes are mine in this pic.
I haven't shot anything of late, but I want to stay in the habit of posting work as I find that also inspires me to shoot more often. I am leaving on Sunday for a week in the Pecos Wilderness in New Mexico, so I'll probably have some new nature stuff after that.
Anyway, as with all my pics, feedback is invited.
My Website | My "photo-a-day" 2010
Pope: Those are both your eyes? You have different coloured eyes? And how the hell did you manage to take the picture with both YOUR eyes, but in that style? Smoke and mirrors? O_o I like it
Jonis: Cool airplane shot, you'd never know where it was if you didnt say but it's got a creepy tone to it.
McLovin: I felt the same way you did when I first started coming here, I took a bunch of pictures that I loved because they were of things that I really liked. Nobody around here felt the same, and it was pretty hard at first but when you really pay attention to the things they say and keep them in mind when you're taking another picture, it really helps to improve your shots. You don't have to detract from taking pictures of subjects that move you, the picture of your dog for instance. Pet subjects ARE usually boring unless you can find a cool or interesting way to shoot them (I don't really bother with pets, once in a while I take a basic shot and I like the way it looks, but never artistically focused), rule of thirds is a great place to start as well as depth of field. What kind of camera are you using? Does it focus automatically or is it manual?
Thanks for the feedback, you made me realize I need to write a checklist of questions of why am I taking a picture to help me build on the composition. I should make a photography notebook to jot down my ideas, notes and scribbles.
The stupid lights is a plane passing that I wish came 2 seconds later.
― Dr. Seuss, Oh, the Places You'll Go!
No love for Eggleston:|
Haha beating you there, I found on another forum contemporary and past great photographers. I am making a spreadsheet(because I am learning Excel) on these people with info, categories and links for more information. Yes its dumb but its killing two birds with one stone. And what about Ansel Adam, its like you have to say it every other word when talking about Photography =P.
― Dr. Seuss, Oh, the Places You'll Go!
edit: and yes, I skipped Ansel Adams because everyone knows him and a lot of his work.
Thanks!
I have a question, I always hear people who use Aperture or Lightroom but doesn't Bridge do the same feature? Just wondering because in July I took 740 pictures and wondering how can I navigate what I want to see efficiently.
― Dr. Seuss, Oh, the Places You'll Go!
For your purposes, where you're simply picking a few pictures out of a lot of them for editing, using Bridge to select them then Photoshop to edit them is probably the way to go.
Excellent sorting features and pretty much all the photo adjustment tools you need unless you are doing major work on a photo. Plus your changes don't affect the original file. Such a nice, well thought out program.
I rarely use photoshop now.
took out her barrettes and her hair spilled out like rootbeer
Jamp - I love the first pic. I think in the second you are focusing on the shape of the metal pole-thingy and its shadow, yes? I am distracted by the graffiti art on the door which is largely obscured. I wish these elements were separated.
Jonis - I really wish there was something at all in the pic that is in focus. I see what I think you're going for (abstraction), but it's frustrating to me to look at it.
My Website | My "photo-a-day" 2010
*Just to prove I do take happy pictures (if a little dull)
I see we are diametrically opposed wrt the second pic. Guns at dawn? :P I totally agree on the general concept (graffiti pic, but focusing on the whole building) ... it really is a new and nice approach.
Jamp - do you live in some sort of post-apocalyptic ghost town? How is it you have so much devastation available to shoot?
This latest one is awesome. I totally feel like a sniper in Battlefield 2 or something, but in real life. It's very engaging. I feel involved in it.
My Website | My "photo-a-day" 2010
I see your comment and raise you two photos of McGarnicle:
*last photo by my buddy zaiden