Signs that you may be good at photography?

[chrisburke]

it is great when you get comments from people who are in the biz, but i gotta be honest here, i dont consider the walmart photo department people to really know what they are doing... they take pictures everyday, but the pictures they take, require one skill and one skill only... the ability to press a button... if you put a DSLR in their hands, they wouldnt have a clue what to do... thus I have a hard time considering them to know what they are doing, BUT its still cool to have non-family members say "wow" to your photos, its such a great feeling!!!!

in regards to the copyright thing, YES walmart does honor professional copyrights... my friend went with some pictures that were done by me of their wedding, quite a while a go, and walmart would NOT print them... eventually they just called me to verify that it was ok to print them, and all went well.

 

[ksmattfish]

Somehow I don't think Walmart gives a rip.

http://photos.walmart.com/copyrightpolicy#143791

Of course they do. It's against the law, and they are a rich target for legal action. US copyright law allows for fines in the millions. On a local level it's not very difficult for local wedding and portrait pros to get thousands or even tens of thousands in settlements if Walmart violates copyright law. Just like many stores have a policy to card for cigs if the buyer looks under 30 just in case, Walmart employees (and many other stores) are told to ask for copyright permission if there is any suspicion that the photo may be professional.

In my town the state professional photographers' organization successfully sued a grocery store chain that was encouraging customers with copyrighted photos to use the self serve photo kiosks. It was a 6 figure settlement.

 

[epp_b]

Just like many stores have a policy to card for cigs if the buyer looks under 30 just in case, Walmart employees (and many other stores) are told to ask for copyright permission if there is any suspicion that the photo may be professional.

The difference is that minors and cigarettes is a valid health issue. Copyright is statutory monopoly and it shouldn't be the employees' responsibility to watch for it.

In my town the state professional photographers' organization successfully sued a grocery store chain that was encouraging customers with copyrighted photos to use the self serve photo kiosks. It was a 6 figure settlement.

OK, but there's a difference between "encouraging" and "ignoring".

 

[stsinner]

What I'm starting to think more and more is that you don't have to be all that good at photography as long as you are good at Photoshop.

 

[LaFoto]

stsinner, I hope you will agree with me disagreeing.
For I think that if you take a poor photo (poorly composed, exposed, planned out, previsualised), no pp is going to make that one a good photo. People who know a little bit about photography will see all the tweaks and treatments done, and still see where the photo was no good to begin with! You can quite (!) effectively use pp software to make a GOOD photo even BETTER (or more "yours", is how I see things).
But even the very versed use of pp software - of whichever kind - is not going to make a masterpiece out of a mere snapshot.

So, when someone's there who says: "Hey, I have never seen anyone else take photos like this!" and apparently means it (and be he a farmer whose potato harvest you asked to cover in photos, just so you learn some more), then it gives you a good feeling, and why should we not be given at least that?

 

[RebelTasha]

I've had the very same experience at Walmart, she told me if I wanted to get the pictures reproduced I must bring the negatives, that she knew they were mine but they looked professional and Walmart would not reprint them without the negatives..
That was back when I used my Rebel 2000 35mm and my youngest was just a baby.

 

[Jaszek]

When ever someone sees me with an SLR and standing in the same place for +5 minutes trying to take a picture they automatically think I'm a pro, even though I had my DSL for nearly three months and i'm 17 lol.

 

[JerryPH]

What I'm starting to think more and more is that you don't have to be all that good at photography as long as you are good at Photoshop.

Uhhmm... no. A crappy pic is a crappy pic and though you can save many pics via editing, it still doesn't change the fact that the PHOTOGRAPHER did not what was necessary to do it right in camera.

A good photoCHopper doesn't a good photographer make.

I am talking from the point of view of what is technically needed to get a proper picture, not artistic additions added via post processing.

 

[tirediron]

Ok, what's the punchline to that sign.

Punchline Drew? I have no idea what you're talking about...

 

[JerryPH]

When ever someone sees me with an SLR and standing in the same place for +5 minutes trying to take a picture they automatically think I'm a pro, even though I had my DSL for nearly three months and i'm 17 lol.

Try being 48 and walking through a mall with about $7000 in camera equipment in your hands, you get asked for cards about every 10 feet!

Still doesn't mean that I am a pro or even know how to do anything more than hold the darn camera.

 

[mrodgers]

So, what do you do when Walmart refuses to print your photos? When they tell you that you need a release signed, do you rip it from their hands then sign it right there? LOL

 

[stsinner]

stsinner, I hope you will agree with me disagreeing.

I adore you, Corinna, so I would never take your comments as cross.. I wasn't saying what I think but more what I'm observing.. Even the very good or professional photographers I see on here seem to be addicted to PP. When I joined, I was only posting pictures straight out of my camera-same with my portrait fiasco that many people helped me with. I wasn't touching them up, but trying to get good pics right out of the camera.. Anyone can shoot with crappy or incorrect settings and adjust exposure in PP, but I thought being a good photographer meant being able to take a good picture and appreciate it right out of the camera, just like the days of dropping film off at the local pharmacy without the luxury of PP. You had to have your camera set right then, but now it seems people just shoot devil-may-care and head to Lightroom to make it right..... I want to take them right the first time...

Photoshopped pictures are often magnificent and made exceptional with some adjustments, but they are um.... extraordinary... Unnatural, if you will.. I like things that look like something you might see with your eyes, but many people in photography evidently don't think that way.. Take my most recent post in the COLD assignment thread-the original post is how I saw it, but the contrast-adjusted one looks better. Better isn't correct though, becasue that's not how it looked. People will like it more, though, even though it's not reality... I'm confused....

 

[Jaszek]

So, what do you do when Walmart refuses to print your photos? When they tell you that you need a release signed, do you rip it from their hands then sign it right there? LOL

I would do that...or just go to a different store if thats possible. I have a coupon for 25 free prints at rite aid and if they dont accept it I just go to the other rite aid down the block. If you want the coupon PM me. You can use it until the end of the year for as much as you have ink in your printer at home.

 

[tirediron]

Try being 48 and walking through a mall with about $7000 in camera equipment in your hands, you get asked for cards about every 10 feet!

Still doesn't mean that I am a pro or even know how to do anything more than hold the darn camera.

Dam... I must go to the wrong malls. That never happens to me!

 

[LiveWave]

I think a good sign that you're good is find yourself a person who knows photography or has been doing it for a long time. Show them your portfolio or samples of work and have him critique it and rip you to shreds. Take his advice next time you go shooting apply it and show him the new stuff. Eventually if you are proactive and break down what you need to improve at take the steps to improve and work at it you will.