An "ah-ha" moment.

[pgriz]

I have an idea why photography is slowly dying.
As a contribution to the charity I spent the better part of the day shooting an Open House at a new dog training facility, 115 or so shots. Got home and worked the process through Photoshop cleaning up, straightening a tad here and there and fixing a red eye so had 35 or so nice shots.
So the "ah-ha" moment!
I go to the clients Facebook page and there are bunches of crappy photos, crooked, parts cut off, poor focus, bad lighting but many of the same scenes I have, just crappy versions. All taken with iPads and cell phones and put up on the net through the phone network moments after being taken.
Frankly, I feel like just throwing all my shots away. Sure, mine are better and the trash can is not in the 3rd shot and all the people in the group shots have good expressions but I don't think the people will care. They'll just think; Oh, I've seen that picture already.

I think Bitter Jeweler has it pegged. There's a difference between sharing a moment (via smartphone, ipad, social media), and creating an image for keeping and creating an "official" record. Just been at a wedding this weekend. There were official photographers (two of them, loaded with gear and light equipment). There were the family photographers (that's me). There were the casual snapshooters (pretty much everyone else there) with their Iphones, Ipads, Android devices, P&S, and a few DSLR's. The pros will produce the official moments and occasion images. The family photog (that's me again), produces the un-official headshots, group shots, dancing shots, lampshade-on-head moments, and general shots which will be meaningless to anyone who was not there. And of course, everyone else was snapping with their favourite method of image capture and sharing THOSE with the rest of the hoi-polloi who couldn't be there. In my role as the family recordmaker, I will produce a CD of images for each branch of the family that attended (at least 8 by my count), which they then can disseminate as needed/wanted.

My skill level is somewhere between the pros and the "everyone else" group. Usually my images are pretty decent, and will show up on various family blogs and cell-phones, but most probably will never be printed. That's OK too. The official photographers will produce what they are paid to produce and those WILL DEFINITELY be printed. These are/will the the "trophy" shots that are trotted out on formal (or bragging) occasions. My stuff will be looked at whenever any of the participants wants to remember who was there, what they wore and how they looked - in other words, mainly family snapshots. And the other stuff, will pop up on Facebook or other sites to tell "hey, I went to a good wedding this weekend!".

 

[Civchic]

My skill level is somewhere between the pros and the "everyone else" group. Usually my images are pretty decent, and will show up on various family blogs and cell-phones, but most probably will never be printed. That's OK too. The official photographers will produce what they are paid to produce and those WILL DEFINITELY be printed. These are/will the the "trophy" shots that are trotted out on formal (or bragging) occasions. My stuff will be looked at whenever any of the participants wants to remember who was there, what they wore and how they looked - in other words, mainly family snapshots. And the other stuff, will pop up on Facebook or other sites to tell "hey, I went to a good wedding this weekend!".

THIS is really well said. I aim for what you've described yourself as.

Also, at family events where a photographer is not hired (birthday parties, anniversaries, backyard BBQs) your (and my) photos might be the best there is. Even if they aren't printed, it's important (to me). Is it so weird that I would rather have a NICE snapshot than a crappy one?

For my grandfather's 85th birthday golf tournament I took pictures, especially tee shots. They're not fabulous, there's plenty to critique about them. But they're in focus, bright, recognizable shots of a person hitting a golf ball. For most of my family, they're the best (only) shot they have of themselves teeing off at a golf tournament. For a couple of weeks, at least 8 of my cousins were using a photo of mine as their Facebook profile. Not exactly shooting for the photographic stars, there, but it still makes me smile.

 

[Derrel]

For a couple of weeks, at least 8 of my cousins were using a photo of mine as their Facebook profile. Not exactly shooting for the photographic stars, there, but it still makes me smile.

Yeah, see, now THAT is a very specific and a very good example of the new way people use photographs. Facebook profile photos! A photo that people feel so positively toward, that they feel makes them LOOK GOOD, a photo that they willingly select, to actually be their face, or their on-line representation. See, we have not had that kind of thing for all that long. That is a relatively new way to use photos, a way to use photos that never existed until the internet era was somewhat mature.

I think it's sometimes difficult for people to appreciate what is meant by "New ways of looking at photos", and also hard to appreciate what is meant by the phrase, "New way of using photos". we've come pretty far into the internet era, but back in the dial-up modem days of the mid-1990's, instant-on internet was NOT the way things were. And neither was motion video! And opening even relatively small images took a lot of computing power. Images were mostly SMALL, and fairly low-resolution by today's standards. Monitors were mostly 15-inchers. We are 20+ years into a technological revolution, and yet our thoughts about things are often not very deep or complicated with regard to what photographs are to us, today. It seems to me that many people who are old enough to remember rolls of color prints developed for $10.99 for 36 pictures, or $7.99 on sale with a coupon, are not fully grasping that that type of adoration of high-quality, low-in-number images is an old, now-gone affectation, an historical relic.

 

[jake337]

Sorry I didn't read anything but the OP.

Maybe when you are shooting in a similar situation you might have to start shooting differently.

Next time try shooting with a WiFi SD card. Try to keep horizons straight and expose as desired. You can now beat them to the punch with better quality images.

Similar to how some Pro sports photographers work.

 

[jake337]

I do feel like great photos are getting lost in a sea of crappy ones of the same things. There's an observation tower about 20 minutes away from here. I wanna go and take some pictures there, but I imagine 30,000 people have done that with their camera phones or point and shoots, so it's nothing unique or even interesting at this point because it's been beaten to death.

In sure 30,000+ images of Thors Well have been created but Majeed's seem to be doing better than everyone else's on 500px for some reason?

Check out this awesome photo from 500px: http://500px.com/photo/27282213

 

[Majeed Badizadegan]

I have an idea why photography is slowly dying.
As a contribution to the charity I spent the better part of the day shooting an Open House at a new dog training facility, 115 or so shots. Got home and worked the process through Photoshop cleaning up, straightening a tad here and there and fixing a red eye so had 35 or so nice shots.
So the "ah-ha" moment!
I go to the clients Facebook page and there are bunches of crappy photos, crooked, parts cut off, poor focus, bad lighting but many of the same scenes I have, just crappy versions. All taken with iPads and cell phones and put up on the net through the phone network moments after being taken.
Frankly, I feel like just throwing all my shots away. Sure, mine are better and the trash can is not in the 3rd shot and all the people in the group shots have good expressions but I don't think the people will care. They'll just think; Oh, I've seen that picture already.

People see millions of photos in their lifetime. Even if they can't always quantify what makes a good photo good, they still generally know the difference between quality and crap. So, post quality, and let others do their thing. Not your concern.

 

[imagemaker46]

Playing devil's advocate here: Some people don't care all the time. We don't need amazing photographs for every single event, all the time, everywhere. Sometimes people just want a snapshot.

I try and produce amazing images at every event I shoot, perhaps this is the difference in the thinking of a professional compared to an amateur.

 

[runnah]

Just another cane shaker lamenting the days of yore.

 

[imagemaker46]

People will always have room for excellent images. The images posted on face book or instagram for the most part are the same as what people used to get printed put in little albums and showed the relatives, they are snapshots, and they do serve a purpose, and they are as important to a lot of people as my high end images are to the people that hire me. My last five big shoots I produced some great images, a lot of them, and I had a lot of positive feedback. I posted some of them on face book and had more positive feedback. People still see and understand quality images, I have started to notice that more people are drifting back to that way of thinking. Maybe it's just a cycle photography is going through, but people are starting to appreciate good images again, I think we have face book and instagram to thank for that, people are seeing so much crap now that when they see images that are well put together that doesn't have some lame special effect added they do see the difference.

Will photography ever go back to the way it was, no, not a chance, will great images always be needed, absolutely. I have to believe this otherwise why do I keep working so hard at it.

 

[Civchic]

Maybe it's just a cycle photography is going through, but people are starting to appreciate good images again, I think we have face book and instagram to thank for that, people are seeing so much crap now that when they see images that are well put together that doesn't have some lame special effect added they do see the difference.

Will photography ever go back to the way it was, no, not a chance, will great images always be needed, absolutely. I have to believe this otherwise why do I keep working so hard at it.

It's a chicken or egg, that. The technology has really leapt ahead as well - I mean, the quality pictures I can shoot on my cell phone (Samsung Galaxy S4), with just a touch of editing from a quality app like Snapseed (which has the heavy-handed filters as well, but it's basic editing tools are pretty incredible) are pretty freaking amazing. A basic knowledge of framing and a good eye for a pleasing picture (which some people just have) and people don't even need a good camera to post quality snaps instantly. The fact that people appreciate the good quality is because the quality is available - if our cell phone cameras were still s&*t the s&*t would still outweigh the quality.

 

[Bitter Jeweler]

Just another cane shaker lamenting the days of yore.

I personally don't see the difference to the days of yore.
My "middle class" family only paid for professional studio portraits of us kids at ages 1,2,3, then Senior pictures (yearly school portraits aside).
That's it. Never saw "professional" shooters at our sports events or birthdays. We only have the snapshots from our mom, for our swimming, and diving competitions.
We have our snaps of family events, and we do that with the phone camera now, because it's convenient, and can share easily.

As an average person, I see the advent of affordable digital has increased demand for baby and toddler themed shoots, and having a dedicated photographer for kids birthdays.
I think, it's my opinion based on my own experiences, that that market increased, then as digital became more affordable, more average people jumped in to become "professional". So, a new market, later became saturated.

I do think it has hit harder for people like imagemaker, and photojournalists. Digital has been a game changer for them.
Family/studio photographers aren't hit by the phone pics that are shared instantly like the OP bemoans. They are killed by the idea that anyone can buy a camera and start a business.
Maybe it shows that (digital) photography really isn't that hard, and there is no longer a demand because people are seeing that, and are capable.
Sure, it's harder to be an exceptional photographer. But average people can become quite decent fairly quickly. This forum shows that.

 

[Derrel]

Just another cane shaker lamenting the days of yore.

Wow.....just wow. What an utterly disrepectful, insolent comment. What's next? Gay slurs? Femi-Nazi rants in the style of Rush Limbaugh?

The last thing TPF needs are well-known members going around making ageist put-downs of members and trying to hide behind alleged "humor".

 

[rexbobcat]

Just another cane shaker lamenting the days of yore.

Wow.....just wow. What an utterly disrepectful, insolent comment. What's next? Gay slurs? Femi-Nazi rants in the style of Rush Limbaugh?

The last thing TPF needs are well-known members going around making ageist put-downs of members and trying to hide behind alleged "humor".

 

[runnah]

Just another cane shaker lamenting the days of yore.

Wow.....just wow. What an utterly disrepectful, insolent comment. What's next? Gay slurs? Femi-Nazi rants in the style of Rush Limbaugh?

The last thing TPF needs are well-known members going around making ageist put-downs of members and trying to hide behind alleged "humor".

Ageist put-down? You are the KING of the ageist put-down. Or does it only offend when the young pick on the old?

 

[rexbobcat]

Just another cane shaker lamenting the days of yore.

Wow.....just wow. What an utterly disrepectful, insolent comment. What's next? Gay slurs? Femi-Nazi rants in the style of Rush Limbaugh?

The last thing TPF needs are well-known members going around making ageist put-downs of members and trying to hide behind alleged "humor".

Ageist put-down? You are the KING of the ageist put-down. Or does it only offend when the young pick on the old?

There's no such thing as reverse ageism.