Frusterated - what am I doing wrong?

Lightsped · Aug 26, 2014

I am having problems getting decent ratings on photos. I have tried multiple techniques and a variety of subject matter.

If anyone has time, can they glance at some of my works and tell me what I am doing wrong? I really love photography, but lately I seem to be in a slump.

Gallery is David C. / 500px

I am open to any and all criticisms and comments. Bad or good.

Thanks for your time.

AlanKlein · Aug 26, 2014

Hi. You have some very nice photos. Just scanning through them, what I noticed is that many have little breathing room for the main subjects. Or you've actually cropped the subject where it doesn't make sense. Some are just touching the edge of the frame.

tirediron · Aug 26, 2014

The technical aspects of your work seem fine; above average even. Focus, exposure, lighting, colour, all good. What stands out for me (and why I suspect your ratings aren't what you want) is... nothing. That is, while your work is good, there are tens of thousands of images just like them, In order to get noticed, you need to stand out. Consider concentrating your efforts on a single subject, and doing it the best you can.

chuasam · Aug 26, 2014

Your problem is simple - caring about ratings. Your work is technically sound but nothing about it makes me want to really look at it again and again.

Scatterbrained · Aug 26, 2014

While there are certainly techniques that will help you get more attention on your page (posting at the right time of day, commenting/liking tons of photos, etc), what you really need is compelling subject matter that is shot well and edited well. You need images that make people want to take a second look.

Of course, it helps to know that the quickest way to get "Popular" on 500px is to post a colorful, long exposure landscape; preferable with mountains or an ocean in them.

jmurphy · Aug 26, 2014

I don't know that much about the rating system 500px uses, but personally I wouldn't care too much about it. I know it can be easier said than done. I looked through your photos and didn't really see anything I'd call wrong with them. The only other thing I can comment on, and I really don't know what the general consensus is on this, is the variety of types of images you post. I only mention this because I recently showed a couple professional photographers my Flickr page and that was the advice I received. I also heard something similar on a creative live web class recently. Again, I'm not sure how much it really matters, just food for thought.

chainsawal · Aug 26, 2014

I would echo jmurphy...

I looked at your sight.. and initially I thought..."these pictures aren't bad..." and when I saw the first lego one that was the B&W with a police holding a baton and shield, I thought it was cool... but then as I scrolled down I kept seeing the same thing over and over (macro insect, lego, etc.) and the quantity of the same type of shots I think takes away from the good ones. They are all great pictures... nothing wrong with them.

I know it is hard... but my advice would be to cull down the number within each 'type' ...

Lightsped · Aug 27, 2014

Thanks for the feedback. I'll address a few of the points mentioned here.

- Cropping of images. The thumbnails actually open up the entire photo. Just looking at the thumbnails it would like they are cropped too much, but once the thumbnail is clicked the entire image is shown.
- Concentrating on a single subject. I am not sure what is meant here? Like just take photos of one item only? Different settings, different environments, different techniques, but always using the same subject?
- Caring about ratings. I do admit, that is somewhat of a problem. I guess its like I post something, and it barely gets noticed or liked. Its somewhat discouraging.
- Types of photos. I do really love macro photography. Perhaps that's why I have insects, legos, and items like that. I am not opposed to trying different subjects or techniques. I kind of thought I had a good variety of other types posted.

Thanks again for the input. If anyone has any other thoughts (good or bad) on the gallery as a whole or a specific image(s) I'd appreciate hearing it.
David C. / 500px

Scatterbrained · Aug 27, 2014

Images in the "fresh" catagory on 500px fly by pretty fast. If you want to get noticed try posting your images around 5am eastern time. I remember loading images before leaving in the morning and I had a dozen images in a row hit popular. Considering that I'm really not active on 500px (I don't browse/comment/like/fave, follow, etc) that's significant. When people mention sticking with one type of photo, they're talking about one genre. You've got random travel shots, architecture, candids, macro bugs, macro toy still lifes, etc. Nothing wrong with having images that are all over the place if that's what you want to do, but if you want to garner a following you'll need to focus on excelling in one genre. People who like those kinds of shots will follow you. Me personally, I don't really care. The only site where I really limit what I post is 1x. Flickr gets everything that is fit to print, and 500px gets almost everything that Flickr gets. I'm not even sure why I even stick with 500px to be honest.

astroNikon · Aug 27, 2014

I don't venture on 500pix, but I looked at your photos. I like the photos but what everyone else said .. there's really nothing stunning.
Why don't you look at what is getting "rated" and compare them to yours. Become your own critic. Even try to replicate some photos.

I Just looked here --> Popular Photos / 500px
What are the subjects that are getting highly rated, perspective, how are they post processsing the photos. and compare those photos to yours. If you are after ratings. It seems that you take alot of photos of things but you don't slow down to figure out how to make it more "stunning" (for ratings). Of course, many of those "popular" photos I just looked at look heavily processed.

chuasam · Aug 27, 2014

Mmmm Boobies go a long way towards getting a high score.

unpopular · Aug 27, 2014

I think you are too product-oriented. You're too wrapped up in being a great photographer that you're not actually *making* any photographs. You seem to have a collection of odd objects, but I am not any closer yo understanding anything about how you see the world around you. Your body of work has a very literal sense to it that I don't think people find very inspiring. It's going to be hard to critique on a technical level because they are all so sterile. Your catalogue looks like corporate newsletters; there's just nothing there besides facts and figures about a wide number of things.

gsgary · Aug 27, 2014

http://vimeo.com/m/100946762

unpopular · Aug 27, 2014

^^ I know exactly where that was filmed. God. The sound quality of that space just brings back SO MANY MEMORIES!

Lightsped · Aug 27, 2014

Thanks for the continued feedback.

Wow I am not looking for any pity, I feel it is noteworthy to mention I am a beginner. I have never been paid to take a photograph, and I have never attended any kind of photography school. Everything I have learned has been online tutorials. Unfortunately I have no photography friends in which to share ideas, experiences, or stories with.

I suppose I am still searching for narrowing down what I like to photograph. I do notice that on 500px and several other photo sites it seems a fairly large portion of the members have galleries that have a variety of photos. I mean, there are the members who just do bugs, or just do snowy landscapes, or whatever, but many have a large variety of types of photos.

Maybe I should move over to 1x or a similar website where ratings aren't so important. I do know one thing, while I am a beginner with no professional or educational experience, taking photos is something I really enjoy. I always have one of my Nikons with me at all times in hopes of getting a decent shot of whatever I can.

Thanks for the time and feedback and I would still be interested in more tips or ideas in which to build on.