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I'm having serious doubts about my ability as a photographer. I've been doing this for like 18 months and have taken maybe 10 photographs which I consider to be very good. Furthermore, I don't know how to improve. Can anybody relate?
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Dec 15, 2014 20:27
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Beige posted:I'm having serious doubts about my ability as a photographer. I've been doing this for like 18 months and have taken maybe 10 photographs which I consider to be very good. Furthermore, I don't know how to improve. Can anybody relate? Well it's good that you aren't delusional. If you know that you suck then you're doing better than most other internet photographers. Just keep doing it and see where it takes you... just make sure you keep looking at photos and art and thinking about what you like about them to help you shape your own identity. FWIW I think some of your photos are fine.
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Dec 15, 2014 20:43
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Beige posted:I'm having serious doubts about my ability as a photographer. I've been doing this for like 18 months and have taken maybe 10 photographs which I consider to be very good. Furthermore, I don't know how to improve. Can anybody relate? This is pretty standard for all of us. We all doubt what we make and go through periods where nothing inspires us to create more work. It doesn't even matter how long you've been doing it, either. You say that you've been doing this for 18 months (which is far too early to give up on it yet, btw) and you've only made 10 images that you consider very good. Well, a thirty-year veteran may say the exact same thing. You're always going to be your harshest critic so no matter how much you learn or how good your work gets, you are probably going to always feel that you can do better. And that's a (mostly) good thing. It's good in that it pushes you to improve and do better, but it's bad in that it can toss you into uninspired, doubting ruts like you're in now. The trick to weathering this stuff is to just keep going forward. Keep making photographs. As far as improving, look at the work you consider to be bad and really think about why you consider them to be so, then go out shooting. Or try a different genre and expand your horizons. If you like shooting landscapes but feel like you've hit a wall, try shooting portraits for a while. You may find you like that better, or you may find you miss shooting landscapes and then, if you go back to landscapes, it will be with new eyes and a new perspective.
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Dec 15, 2014 20:48
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Beige posted:Is this some sort of studio or a kind of exotic prison? Close, it's two different galleries. unpacked robinhood posted:I don't remember those levels from Portal. Did you beat the final boss?
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Dec 15, 2014 20:52
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That 70s Shirt posted:You're always going to be your harshest critic ...and if you aren't, start.
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Dec 15, 2014 20:53
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I've been shooting for about the same amount of time. Six months in I really felt like I'd taken 4-5 good pictures. A year, same thing. Now, same thing. Going back through my flickr I can point to maybe a half dozen I would call actually good. Plenty of well-exposed pictures. Plenty of interesting takes. Plenty of cute kids. But shots that, if I was pressed to pick out for actual critique, I would feel comfortable putting them up? Half dozen. Are you not happy with the pictures you are taking? Or are you not taking pictures you want to take? Do you want to please yourself, get a lot of empty quotes on here, or stars on flickr? Shots you would like to print and hang in your home? Put together a gallery show? Make a coffee table book of your own work documenting your travels? Capture some technical ideal of the zone system? "Good pictures" is a kind of non-commital goal. Huxley fucked around with this message at 21:02 on Dec 15, 2014 |
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Dec 15, 2014 20:58
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Beige posted:I'm having serious doubts about my ability as a photographer. I've been doing this for like 18 months and have taken maybe 10 photographs which I consider to be very good. Furthermore, I don't know how to improve. Can anybody relate? "Twelve significant photographs in any one year is a good crop." - Ansel Adams
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Dec 15, 2014 21:20
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Is it weird that the photos of mine that I really like and think are great (like four or five) receive a lukewarm reception, yet some of my shots that I think of as throwaway nothings seem to be really well liked? Guess which category these ones are in!  
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Dec 15, 2014 22:11
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First, let me say, what a wonderful set of responses.Huxley posted:Are you not happy with the pictures you are taking? Or are you not taking pictures you want to take? Do you want to please yourself, get a lot of empty quotes on here, or stars on flickr? Shots you would like to print and hang in your home? Put together a gallery show? Make a coffee table book of your own work documenting your travels? Capture some technical ideal of the zone system? I feel I cannot express myself in my photographs because I can't begin to explain (even to myself) why I like some images and dislike others. I'm artistically unrefined, so to speak.
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Dec 15, 2014 22:19
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Slavvy posted:Is it weird that the photos of mine that I really like and think are great (like four or five) receive a lukewarm reception, yet some of my shots that I think of as throwaway nothings seem to be really well liked? A lot of Dorkroomers also have very particular tastes that are vastly different from your typical flickr/500px crowd. Whereas the community on those sites seem to value a very conventional "pretty" kind of aesthetic, and you could probably score like 100 favs off of a picture of a flower with some ~sweet bokeh~; here, interesting ideas for composition and not cranking vibrance to a million is more valuable. I'm oversimplifying, obviously, but when I first started I fell into the former camp, but as I spent more time here I see the value of the latter much more. Just as an example, when I first started out, I thought this picture I took was the motherfucking bee's knees:  Five Fingers by Geektox, on FlickrIt checked all the boxes I had read about - nature, cranked vibrance, bokeh, rule of thirds, a totally artsy title, I even used a Leica for dat glow. But now I see how goddamn boring that picture is, If I was to take that picture today I would've had some very different ideas for the composition and I may not have even decided to take that photo at all. Beige posted:I'm having serious doubts about my ability as a photographer. I've been doing this for like 18 months and have taken maybe 10 photographs which I consider to be very good. Furthermore, I don't know how to improve. Can anybody relate? FWIW, I think your photos are very pretty, but maybe it could help you get out of your rut if you try something different from what you usually do. Switch up genres, use your phone instead of your DSLR, pick up a Olympus XA and shoot a roll of Portra, thinking with different constraints really helped me with burnout. Beige posted:I feel I cannot express myself in my photographs because I can't begin to explain (even to myself) why I like some images and dislike others. I'm artistically unrefined, so to speak. Pick up a copy of The Nature of Photographs. I only started reading myself but it's a book discussing what makes pictures "good" and language to discuss those elements. Geektox fucked around with this message at 22:33 on Dec 15, 2014 |
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Dec 15, 2014 22:30
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Geektox posted:A lot of Dorkroomers also have very particular tastes that are vastly different from your typical flickr/500px crowd. Whereas the community on those sites seem to value a very conventional "pretty" kind of aesthetic, and you could probably score like 100 favs off of a picture of a flower with some ~sweet bokeh~; here, interesting ideas for composition and not cranking vibrance to a million is more valuable. I'm oversimplifying, obviously, but when I first started I fell into the former camp, but as I spent more time here I see the value of the latter much more. I've done kind of the same thing, in that I've come to appreciate that kind of photo while accepting it's not what I'm ever going to be into shooting. I get the pictures of concrete walls and pipes that are all textured and such, but I'm never going to take that picture. On the other hand, if I could end up 10-15 years from now with a large coffee table book of full-page horizontal pictures split perfectly 50/50, I think I would be pleased artistically. Something about that just scratches my itches. But I know people around here don't care abut that, so I don't post them much. Case in point, the signs are probably more interesting technically, but I like that boat. Sort of asks a question the photo doesn't answer, where the street signs are answering a question I'm not bothering to ask. Beige posted:I feel I cannot express myself in my photographs because I can't begin to explain (even to myself) why I like some images and dislike others. I'm artistically unrefined, so to speak. I agree. Get ugly, and take some bad pictures. I don't see a ton of self-expression running through your flickr. It's beautiful stuff, but it has a stock-like distance to it. Figure out what you want to shoot and why, then worry about how you're going to shoot it. Chances are once you find it, you're going to be able to make it look exactly how you want, because you take a nice picture. And out of fairness, here's something I took this week. It's not good, but I like it so whatever.  Saturn and Titan by mattphilpott, on Flickr Huxley fucked around with this message at 23:09 on Dec 15, 2014 |
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Dec 15, 2014 23:07
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Beige posted:I feel I cannot express myself in my photographs because I can't begin to explain (even to myself) why I like some images and dislike others. I'm artistically unrefined, so to speak. I've read a lot of the goon recommended photography books and I still have a hard time trying to ~do art~ in the ways that the books suggest. I still primarily take photos because "hey that looks cool", and the result is a lot of duds. I rarely, if ever, think about expressing myself. In the past few years, I've found myself more attracted to geometry, reflections and interesting shadows more than anything else, which has helped me become a bit more choosy in what I photograph. To me, it's all about searching for things that catch your eye, and even a basic answer like "I really like the lines" is a perfectly valid explanation as to why you like a certain photo. Maybe that will change with 5 or 10 more years of experience, who knows.
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Dec 15, 2014 23:13
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 _DSC0008.jpg by ninetysevena, on Flickr _DSC0011.jpg by ninetysevena, on Flickr
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Dec 16, 2014 00:18
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 Clementi by alkanphel, on Flickr
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Dec 16, 2014 00:32
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alkanphel posted:
Those colors. 
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Dec 16, 2014 02:16
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Finally got a Flickr account. I'll slowly be going throug my hard drives and uploading stuff to it, in the mean time it's pretty barren. IMG_8794by kingdugga, on Flickr  IMG_8793 by kingdugga, on Flickr IMG_8723 by kingdugga, on FlickrThese three are from the same trip, unfortunately all I had to take photos with was a Canon SX50, which does a fair job of being a portable telescope, but otherwise leaves a lot to be desired. Still, for being about a kilometer away, the cow turned out ok.
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Dec 16, 2014 03:02
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 Foggy Yard by torgeaux, on Flickr
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Dec 16, 2014 04:33
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 Salton Sea by Stingray of Doom, on Flickrsalton sea
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Dec 16, 2014 05:26
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Linedance posted:
Putrid Grin posted:
These are both great, nice work.  Untitled by scottch, on Flickr Untitled by scottch, on Flickr Untitled by scottch, on Flickr
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Dec 16, 2014 16:36
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Nice
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Dec 16, 2014 16:57
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 Buenos Aires by Hernando Rosa, on Flickr
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Dec 17, 2014 04:26
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alkanphel posted:
 Shed by rstop bstop, on Flickr
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Dec 17, 2014 10:07
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Dec 17, 2014 10:24
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Linedance posted:Finally got a Flickr account. I'll slowly be going throug my hard drives and uploading stuff to it, in the mean time it's pretty barren. this is pretty cool but man there's some crazy artifacts in the corner, could probably do to lay off the jpeg compression or something. e. could just be my screen and lack of coffee though, I dunno.  PC160180.jpg by MrDespair, on Flickr PC160188.jpg by MrDespair, on Flickr
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Dec 17, 2014 20:58
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I'm trying to finish working on the photos I took last christmas before I leave for this christmas. Exploring Waterton 8 by Execudork, on Flickr Exploring Waterton 19 by Execudork, on Flickr Snowshoeing 18 by Execudork, on Flickr
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Dec 17, 2014 23:50
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 Jalan Kota I, Melaka, Malaysia by alkanphel, on Flickr  Jalan Kota II, Melaka, Malaysia by alkanphel, on Flickr  Jalan Kota III, Melaka, Malaysia by alkanphel, on Flickr
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Dec 17, 2014 23:54
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Mr. Despair posted:this is pretty cool but man there's some crazy artifacts in the corner, could probably do to lay off the jpeg compression or something. Top left corner? It was shot as a jpeg, but there was some vignetting / sky stuff going on up there that I cleared up in lightroom, but the artifacts might still be there. I'll have another look when I get home.
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Dec 18, 2014 01:16
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Year end retrospective thread made me reconsider this one that I hadn't really bothered with before Main St. by voodoorootbeer, on Flickr
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Dec 18, 2014 07:28
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 2-2112 by MooseNoose, on Flickr 2-2154 by MooseNoose, on Flickr
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Dec 18, 2014 10:43
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First time out with my nifty fifty. I chose not to go mental with the sautration this time.
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Dec 19, 2014 00:26
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I come bearing  Pillars in the Dollhouse by Geographic Ecotourist, on Flickr
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Dec 19, 2014 05:30
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 Rönnåsstugan by dabrovnijk, on Flickr  Noon... by dabrovnijk, on Flickr
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Dec 19, 2014 19:50
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 2014-12-17 11.58.52 2 by Geektox, on Flickr DSC01306.jpg by Geektox, on Flickr
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Dec 19, 2014 19:53
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Geektox posted:
So FACKIN JOLLY.
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Dec 19, 2014 22:26
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Dec 19, 2014 23:59
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 2014-802 by Tom Rintjema, on Flickr  2014-803 by Tom Rintjema, on Flickr
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Dec 20, 2014 04:34
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Beige posted:First time out with my nifty fifty. I chose not to go mental with the sautration this time. excellent choice! love that shot
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Dec 20, 2014 07:22
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 rail by PC-P, on Flickr
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Dec 20, 2014 23:11
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Very nice, I like.
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Dec 20, 2014 23:57
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 Baughton, Worcs.  Baughton, Worcs.
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Dec 21, 2014 00:16
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