photography pet peaves

[dpolston]

I've been waiting for a thread like this! I have a few (some have been mentioned)

I think my number one pet peeve are the people that discredit taking professional portraits and quality work (and you know the level of work I'm talking about) as "ppppfftttt... anybody can do take that!" General dismissal of everything we try to do like technique, DOF, rule of thirds, composition, lighting... the list goes on! I don't generally shoot "snapshots"!

Flashes in an arena or concert or any other very large venue. "Flashes do not work when your 600 feet away from the subject people!"

Camera hogs. When I shoot pj work (which is mostly what I do), I DO NOT shoot the kid or adult "macking it up" for the camera. I'll tell them flat out "If you pose for me, I will not shoot you!"

This is a mother in law thing: "Pa-tog-ra-pher" or "Pa-tog-ra-phy". It's Photographer (Fo-tog-rah-fur).

Another pet peeve is anybody with a camera can now be a "photographer". 90% of the people that call themselves "pro's", SUCK! Just because I own a pair of tennis shoes does not make me an athlete!

<oh my god... my head hurts now just for thinking about this!>

 

[LeftyRodriguez]

When people use flash to try to light a subject that's 1/2 a mile away.

For example... in the US during the Superbowl when it's time for kick-off you see about 50,000 flashes fire. You have to wonder how many of those people really think the flash does anything to help expose the field.

My favorite was several years ago when I was flying from Dallas to Toronto for one of my many jaunts north of the border and this woman sitting next to me was trying to take pictures out of the plane's window with a disposable with the flash on. Was it wrong of me not to point out that she'd just take 27 photos of flash glare?

 

[AndersonPhoto]

People and their flashes drive me nuts! I, too, saw people taking pictures of the moon with their flash... I ALWAYS see people taking pictures through glass with the flash. People at hockey games with their flashes going off like crazy... Yeah, I really don't cope with "Stupid Flash Syndrome"

I, too, often get the "Wow, that thing must take great pictures!" (they assume since my camera is big [5D], that it magically takes perfect photos every time...I WISH!!)

So many more, but I just don't have the energy to write them all out...lol

 

[Emerana]

Newbies who think that all their photos are art! :thumbdown:

skieur

What a coincidence, cause one of my pet peeves is oldbies who think they are just so awesome and need to rip on newbies.

I guess I do have a newbie pet peeve though, I just think people rush to going pro really fast. I have a little talent but couldn't imagine charging anyone money until I have at least a year of practice under my belt. Not to rip on people who did this...its just me. I don't want people giving me money until I know I can deliver consistent quality. I will, however, take thank you gifts like haircuts, a little babysitting or a cake (from my baker friend). But I want to thank them for allowing me the chance to shoot them of their kids.

 

[Ajay]

People who broadcast proudly that their (bad) image they've posted is straight out of the camera. I've hardly ever seen a digital image that couldn't benefit from some post-processing in one way or another.

 

[Battou]

People who broadcast proudly that their (bad) image they've posted is straight out of the camera. I've hardly ever seen a digital image that couldn't benefit from some post-processing in one way or another.

I do this, I'll admit it. Sometimes it's more for the "don't bother asking what I have done in Photoshop" aspect or "what should I do in PS" but in my case it is more to the fact I don't shop my pictures despite the fact I know they can and likely would benifit from it witch is what I think you are pointing to.

 

[Ajay]

I do this, I'll admit it. Sometimes it's more for the "don't bother asking what I have done in Photoshop" aspect or "what should I do in PS" but in my case it is more to the fact I don't shop my pictures despite the fact I know they can and likely would benifit from it witch is what I think you are pointing to.

I don't mind it if the image is actually good, as all of yours that I've seen are. Sometimes, I admit, I get a little sad thinking back to my darkroom days and how important it was to get the image right in camera since there wasn't any pp that could be done besides burning/dodging. I love the results I'm able to get now in PS, but I find myself liking the images I created in the darkroom more than anything I'm creating now. They were so much more thought out.

I fully respect and appreciate photographers such as yourself who choose not to pp their images. I am not one of them right now because I am learning so much about photoshop and I'm getting so carried away experimenting and adjusting - then you click to see before and after and it's hard to go back to the before.

 

[Battou]

Completely unrelated to the above posts.

I was checking the statistics for PL and it dawned on me one of my other very big pet peeves in photography. That is "Photoshop Abuse" I am not talking about any normal post processing work (hence it not being related to the above posts) I am talking about some utterly undesireable fanboyism imagery....You know the stuff.... sharinggahn eyes, hangin with InvaderZim and other such manips. Man I hate that crap, and I am an anime fanboy.

 

[LaFoto]

Actually, I don't really MIND people who use flash to cover hundreds of metres of space with a compact camera in-built flash. It is THEIR photo, they will get the results, and you won't believe HOW MANY there are who are later HAPPY with their results. Nothing to be seen, but they were there! And took a picture! Oh yes.

But unless being asked, is it up to me to walk up towards them and say "This is not going to work"? OK, when it is family (my kids, nieces/nephews etc), and we are in a family setting of sorts, and I see one of them make a rookie mistake before they even take their photo, I will say, hang on, you might as well try it this way or that way.

But strangers photographing the plane window (blown out and totally blurred)? No ... let them do as they like.

But when TOLD, straight out, by someone, that photography (mostly so flash photography!) is not allowed, it grates on my nerves when people ignore this.

Though, truth be told: there's many there who actually just DO NOT KNOW how to switch OFF their flash in their compact camera, given a certain light situation, the camera will just pop it up and have it fire!

But I can't keep comments such as "That photo is going to have a very crooked horizon line", or "The flash will never reach" unsaid to my family when I see that happen . If they overhear such comments, those other photo-takers, I mean, my comments might soon enough become THEIR pet peeves. They might downright begin to HATE all those "know-it-alls with their bigger cameras and longer lenses, pffff!"

So it is all just a matter of standpoint.

 

[Battou]

Though, truth be told: there's many there who actually just DO NOT KNOW how to switch OFF their flash in their compact camera, given a certain light situation, the camera will just pop it up and have it fire!

There is also a facet I am guilty of in this, that being variation of cameras and developed tendancies, My Sure shot the flash is by default off and must be turned on manually, wile my C-743 is by default on, once turned off it stays off and my T-3D the flash is by default on and needs to be turned off manually with each shot taken.....Needless to say I have taken a hand full of shots with an unwanted flash with both the C series and T-3D :blushing:

 

[sabbath999]

I don't mind it if the image is actually good, as all of yours that I've seen are. Sometimes, I admit, I get a little sad thinking back to my darkroom days and how important it was to get the image right in camera since there wasn't any pp that could be done besides burning/dodging. I love the results I'm able to get now in PS, but I find myself liking the images I created in the darkroom more than anything I'm creating now. They were so much more thought out.

I fully respect and appreciate photographers such as yourself who choose not to pp their images. I am not one of them right now because I am learning so much about photoshop and I'm getting so carried away experimenting and adjusting - then you click to see before and after and it's hard to go back to the before.

While I totally respect where you are coming from, I take a different approach. Photoshopping something allows me to be sloppy, and so I simply do not do it.

I never, ever say, "well, I will take it now and fix it in post." Ever.

As far as I am concerned, getting it right in the camera is the only option for me. I refuse to accept the fact that I am not very good, and I will not rely on post processing as a crutch. The only way *I* will become a better photographer for me to dedicate my efforts to getting it right, in camera, every single time.

Obviously, some times I get into situations where my technical skills are not good enough... and sometimes I reach beyond the technical limitations of my cameras...

But the only way to improve my skills is to suffer the consequences of failure, and learn from that. Does that mean my pictures are "not quite what they could be" if I spent a bunch of time playing with them in Photoshop? Absolutely. But it also means that I am motivated to do it better the next time.

I rarely ever Photoshop anything. I use Capture NX to crop and resize and correct any problems that were caused by technical problems such as purple fringing (something I simply can't do anything about technically, other than replace lenses), and I do minor color corrections when the camera goes a bit wonky. Also I use it when I shoot RAW, which I do from time to time.

Mostly, I just use iPhoto.

I have Aperture 1.5, and Lightroom, but I like iPhoto better because it is simple, quick and I just really don't do hardly any post processing at all.

That's what I do... I make no claim whatever that my way is the right way, or the best way, for anybody but myself.

 

[sabbath999]

There is also a facet I am guilty of in this, that being variation of cameras and developed tendancies, My Sure shot the flash is by default off and must be turned on manually, wile my C-743 is by default on, once turned off it stays off and my T-3D the flash is by default on and needs to be turned off manually with each shot taken.....Needless to say I have taken a hand full of shots with an unwanted flash with both the C series and T-3D :blushing:

I used to have one of these cameras, where you simply couldn't turn the dumb thing off reliably. I used electrical tape over the flash.

 

[Ajay]

As far as I am concerned, getting it right in the camera is the only option for me. I refuse to accept the fact that I am not very good, and I will not rely on post processing as a crutch. The only way *I* will become a better photographer for me to dedicate my efforts to getting it right, in camera, every single time.

Obviously, some times I get into situations where my technical skills are not good enough... and sometimes I reach beyond the technical limitations of my cameras...

But the only way to improve my skills is to suffer the consequences of failure, and learn from that. Does that mean my pictures are "not quite what they could be" if I spent a bunch of time playing with them in Photoshop? Absolutely. But it also means that I am motivated to do it better the next time.

I am working towards getting my photos right in camera and I can't wait until I finally do! In the meantime though, I am not going to scrap an image that fell short in camera when I can improve it in photoshop. I feel it is my job as a photographer to make the best version possible of any shot I take and if I didn't achieve that in camera I'll try my best to do it afterwards. Doesn't mean that I won't go out and just continue taking bad shots - I will try even harder next time and slowly my pp time is getting shorter and shorter. (not that I don't delete hundreds of shots all the time - a lot of times there are mistakes that just can't be fixed of course - a hard lesson sometimes). I think the reason I do like postprocessing is because I enjoy shooting mainly portraits and people want to see themselves looking beautiful. Sometimes that takes very little work and sometimes more extensive work, but I am not going to tell the senior girl I photographed that her skin looks mottled and thats just the way its going to look - if I can make her happier by retouching her skin then I definitely will. Some people seem to think that is selling out, but I don't know, thats just not the way I feel about it. We all know that there is a huge learning curve in photography (with lostprophet sitting prettily at the top :greenpbl and we all do what we can to slowly climb it.

I'm glad that there are so many different viewpoints and opinions on how to do things and I am equally happy to be sharing them with people that don't think that theirs is the only way.

 

[bhop]

HDRs. I have seen some that look great, but I usually don't like most of them..

.

 

[MarcusM]

I just scanned through, and don't think this has been mentioned, and technically this isn't photography per se, but my biggest pet peeve related to posting photographs on these forums is when people feel the need to put a big, fat, ugly watermark over their 200 x 300 pixel images that covers about 30% of the picture, and then they want a critique. You can't even appreciate the photograph.

It's not like someone's going to try to steal an image that size and try to blow it up for prints and sell them.