Don't post pictures of your own kids

[NikonNewbie]

Okay, here is my rant for the day.

Please, don't post pictures of your children for C&C. They are never good, and I feel really bad critiquing them.

When you are photographing you own children, you become photo-stupid. Everything you know goes out the window and the only thing you are concerened about is recording that "OMG... look at how cute he is talking on the phone to grandma" (I use that as an example because just last night, I shot 35 pictures of that very thing) adorable picture. All you see is how adorable your child is.... never mind that the lighting is wrong, the DOF is wrong, the focus is wrong, the rule of thirds has been violated, and that your husband can be clearly seen in his stained whitey-tighties in the background.

If you here at this site to become more serious about photography, and really want to learn more, you are doing yourself a serious injustice by posting pictures of your own children. Nobody is going to be brutally honest with you, and even if they are, you are just going to ignore them anyway because, "how could it be possible to take a bad picture of cute little Suzy". If you really want to get better, the emotion you have with the subject is doing nothing but holding you back. And if you are here just to have people say how cute your kid is... you are probably better off staying with Facebook.

well...yet another asshole thing to say...this is why this forum is a joke anymore, what you should say is "If you are here at this site to become serious about photography...LOG OFF AND GO SOMEWHERE ELSE WHERE PEOPLE DONT SAY STUPID **** LIKE I'M ABOUT TOO"

OPINIONS ARE LIKE A_HOLES EVERYONES GOT ONE.
But not everyone speaks from theirs.
:er:

 

[point-&-shoot]

Evans first Christmas by EvanAndrewPhoto, on Flickr

 

[NikonNewbie]

So the upshot of your advice is - don't post any photos that you've taken yourself - which then hits the site rules of not posting photos that you don't own - which results in - -- -- a photo forum where you can't post any photos at all :mrgreen:

I was being sarcastic about the "or your dog, or your cat, or your wife, or your girlfriend, or your mom or your dad, or your college roomate that you fooled around with that one time but you were both drunk so it dosen't make you a lesbian" part... If you have the same emotional connection to your son as you have for a picture of a football, then you have bigger problems.

I don't know if any of you who are opposing me on this have little children or not, but if you don't then you have no idea how stupid you become when your kids are around...its bad. Like I said... I took 35 pictures of my 18 month old walking around babbling on the phone to his grandma last night.

glad I read further...so it's your own pictures that suck and your bitter about it...nice.

 

[OrionsByte]

When I post pictures of my daughter for C&C, I'm by no means saying, "here's my daughter, pick her apart." I'm saying, "here's a photograph of my daughter, please pick the photograph apart."


If someone replies to that photo and says, "It's not very good. You cut off the foot, you should have used a reflector to bounce some light back on to her face, and she's got what looks like some food on her cheek," I have two options:

1. Consider framing the shot better next time, investing in a reflector, and wiping her face before my next attempt.
2. Taking it all personally and assuming people are being harsh because they think my kid is ugly.

So which of those two is the most sensible thing for me to do? There's nothing and I mean nothing that anyone could ever say that would make me think my child is any less beautiful than she is to me, or make me love her any less than I do. My photography though? It needs work. Please, tear it apart.

Obvioulsy, the first is the only sensible thing to do. But why would you have posted a picture like that in the first place? Aren't those critiques you SHOULD have seen on your own? Isn't it safe to say that some of those mistakes wouldn't have been made if you weren't so smittin on how cute your child was?

Well, nope, it's not safe to say that.

Until the first time that someone pointed out that I cut off my daughter's foot in a photo I posted for C&C, I wasn't really watching for it. Now I do.

Until the first time someone told me that a reflector could help light the shot I took of her standing under a tree, the thought never crossed my mind. Now I'm much more aware of lighting and ways to influence it.

Until someone pointed out that there was food on her cheek in a shot that was otherwise pretty good, it never really occurred to me that prepping for the shot means prepping her as much as prepping the equipment. Now that's a big part of getting ready for a photo session.

Those comments helped me grow, and every comment I get helps me grow more. Do I forget some of those things once in a while? Sure I do, but not exclusively with my daughter. There are plenty of inanimate objects that I have cut parts off of, or lighted improperly, or should have cleaned up before pressing the shutter. I'm learning, and if there's an aspect of my photography that I am consistently getting wrong, then I need people to consistently point it out. If I were being consistently "photo-stupid" with my daughter, then that is specifically something that I would need to work on addressing, as it would be a flaw in my photography, not in my parenting.

 

[Restomage]

I couldn't agree more with the thread starter. You got my support.

 

[vtf]

Sorry, got to take a break.
Be back at page 8.

 

[MichiganFarts]

glad I read further...so it's your own pictures that suck and your bitter about it...nice.

Sorta using your kids as a scape goat for your bad photography...it's all making sense now lol..

 

[ann]

Derrel, not enough negative space from the nose to the edge of the frame.

 

[NikonNewbie]

First off, the shot does not suck. Secondly, he is a dude, his fingernails are going to be short, his hands are going to be rough. End of story. The point of the photo is the frog, not the guy's hand. Dbag of the week award goes to....Oh!! It's a tie!!!

(just sayin)

Thanks for proving my point.

Is the picture of a frog or of a dude? Because if its of a frog... then why can't I stop staring and some dude's fingers that look like they just got pulled out of a meat grinder?

End of story.

probably because you are imagining them wrapped around your junk...I only saw the frog...your picky and probably like boys.

 

[OrionsByte]

First off, the shot does not suck. Secondly, he is a dude, his fingernails are going to be short, his hands are going to be rough. End of story. The point of the photo is the frog, not the guy's hand. Dbag of the week award goes to....Oh!! It's a tie!!!

(just sayin)

Thanks for proving my point.

Is the picture of a frog or of a dude? Because if its of a frog... then why can't I stop staring and some dude's fingers that look like they just got pulled out of a meat grinder?

End of story.

probably because you are imagining them wrapped around your junk...I only saw the frog...your picky and probably like boys.

How was that remotely called for?

 

[AprilEye]

I've decided that you are an idiot.

There. I said it.

 

[Dao]

Boom don't you see that your point is only going to apply to some people (one of which is yourself) and that as a general point of advice it does not work for everyone?
As has been said comment about exposure and such are photographic comments not comments on the model itself (be it child - wife - that guy on the corner of the street).

And some of us get very attached to our rocks and moths and stuffs!

I like my moths

Ahh a fellow moth fan :mrgreen:

But I like my fly.

 

[Boomn4x4]

First off, the shot does not suck. Secondly, he is a dude, his fingernails are going to be short, his hands are going to be rough. End of story. The point of the photo is the frog, not the guy's hand. Dbag of the week award goes to....Oh!! It's a tie!!!

(just sayin)

Thanks for proving my point.

Is the picture of a frog or of a dude? Because if its of a frog... then why can't I stop staring and some dude's fingers that look like they just got pulled out of a meat grinder?

End of story.

probably because you are imagining them wrapped around your junk...I only saw the frog...your picky and probably like boys.

How did "Is the picture of a frog or of a dude? Because if its of a frog... then why can't I stop staring and some dude's fingers that look like they just got pulled out of a meat grinder?" lead you into thoughts of homosexual masturbation?

You know what... never mind. I don't want to know.

 

[Derrel]

Goes both ways. I think your over reacting a little.

I have no clue what this part was referring to, but it doesn't matter anymore...you're a little late, there's a Canon vs. Nikon thread now and this thread is old news...

QUICK---let's stock up on beer and popcorn and head over there so we can get good seats!!!!!

 

[NikonNewbie]

I fear we might not see Boom for a few days now...and he was such a fun guy.

fun like AIDS.