Frusterated - what am I doing wrong?

[ronlane]

You want a popular photo?

Boobs ranks #1
Milky Way ranks #2
Sunsets ranks #3
Birds rank #4


Shhhhh don't tell everyone though, then everyone will become popular

Flowers (Macro) seem to rank up there about #5 too

OP, I would agree with others and say, don't get so hung up in the rating. It's a "game" more than anything else, I've seen photos on there that are good (not great) get very high ratings and then there are some that look amazing and they get okay to good ratings.

One other suggestion about it though, if you want better results. Be VERY selective about the photos that you put up, selecting only the very best ones.

Good luck.

 

[sm4him]

Several have already said it, but it bears repeating: Above all else, do NOT let whether or not your photos are "popular" be the main goal.
Look, I like getting "likes" here or trending on 500px as much as anyone (okay, I admit. I probably like it more than most&#8230, but it's NOT. THE. GOAL.
The goal is quality, professional photos that *I* am proud to have created. Everything else is gravy (and sometimes, if it's REALLY outstanding, it's bacon. )

You've gotten a lot of good advice on improving your photos--subject matter, composition, etc. Dig through these posts and find those things that will help you grow as a photographer.

I'd suggest using 500px as a learning experience. Pick a category that you've posted something in; particularly something you thought would "rank" better than it did. Now go to "Discover", choose Popular and then choose that category. Look at the pictures in that category that have the highest rankings. How are they different from yours? Study them and really try to objectively see how yours compare. Use that to get a better understanding of what you need to do to improve your skills.

But just for funsies, I'll also add a few things I've noticed about my OWN 500px experience:
1. WHEN you upload ABSOLUTELY matters. The day of the week AND the time of day can make a big difference in how well the photo does. Experiment with this. I once took a couple of photos that hadn't done well when I initially uploaded them. I removed them, and then re-uploaded them at times I thought might work better. They both did substantially better and one became Popular.
2. Title matters. With all those hundreds and hundreds of thumbnail images to browse, you have but a fleeting instant to grab someone's attention and make them look at YOUR photo. And you have only TWO things with which to garner that attention--the photo itself and the title.
3. Don't upload too much at once. I've found that uploading one, or at most, two photos a day is the best way to have a chance at getting a photo to go popular. MOST people have a tendency to not really go through your photo stream and "like" a multitude of photos. They click on the ONE that caught their eye. So, if you upload sixteen pictures, you are essentially competing with yourself and spreading the votes out.
4. It really does help to spend some time, especially in the first few hours after uploading a photo, "networking," as it were. I refuse to like a photo that I don't truly think is a great picture, but I *DO* spend some time in the Fresh and Upcoming categories, liking other photos that really are good--and then ALWAYS comment on the photos you like. No need to beg and do the "I voted; please visit my profile" kind of statement. I don't ask them to look at my work at all, but I find that at least half the time, they WILL go look at the photos of those who comment on theirs. Do that yourself as well--I always look at the photos of people who comment on mine. Again, I won't "like" any of them unless I truly do think they deserve it, but I always go look. It's just good manners.

Just for fun, I uploaded two photos this morning (and discovered that I haven't been on 500px in way too long).
One was an Osprey shot that is one of my better shots from this summer. The other, a sunset photo that is, in my opinion, just "nice." Not spectacular or breath-taking, just "okay." It's got some pretty swirling colors in it, which is the only thing that makes it at all attractive, imo. The scenery is just not compelling, and I didn't have an ND filter at the time to really make the sky look incredible.

The Osprey shot has already become Popular, less than two hours after uploading.
The sunset shot actually moved up faster than I expected but now seems to have stalled out at about a 58. I don't expect it to go much higher.
The point is--they have performed pretty much exactly as I expected them to, because I've learned (at least to a greater degree) to evaluate my photos. Don't expect a mediocre photo to do better than mediocre in the ratings.

 

[astroNikon]

You want a popular photo?

Boobs ranks #1

Kinda like this --> http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/...pictures-my-truck-chick-kept-getting-way.html

 

[sscarmack]

HAHA, exactlyyyyy. Sex sells

 

[robbins.photo]

Ok, so I spent all night watching the movie old yeller in a continuous loop while listening to angst ridden rock, I think I can now give a properly sympathetic response.

Wow I am not looking for any pity,

Ahh crap. Oh well.

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.

Ratings only have the importance you give them. If you want some free advice, ignore the ratings or if they are too difficult to ignore, change websites. Life is too short to get bogged down by the silly and unimportant.

 

[ronlane]

Ok, so I spent all night watching the movie old yeller in a continuous loop while listening to angst ridden rock, I think I can now give a properly sympathetic response.

Wow I am not looking for any pity,

Ahh crap. Oh well.

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.

Ratings only have the importance you give them. If you want some free advice, ignore the ratings or if they are too difficult to ignore, change websites. Life is too short to get bogged down by the silly and unimportant.

Robbins, please go back to your regularly scheduled TV and music.

 

[chuasam]

You're doing great for a beginner then. You've got the technical nailed. Now go out there and take photos of things that move you. (not cars and buses).

 

[unpopular]

Hey lightspeed - you know that cliche: amateurs photographs things, pros photograph light? It's pretty much true, except that I like to add that artists photograph ideas.

It's not so much what is around you, all over the world that's pretty constant. I can have a pretty good idea what a shanty town in S. Africa looks like from a generalized level without having been there. I know this through all the informative images I've seen. But what is life LIKE in these places? What might a photographer who lives there think is a worthwhile subject? As an outside photographer, what are my thoughts and feelings?

In my opinion arts is about finding the purpose to things. You're attracted to certain odd objects, but describing them clinically I don't think works well as showing it's value and what aspects you find interesting, be it visually or conceptually.

 

[sm4him]

You're doing great for a beginner then. You've got the technical nailed. Now go out there and take photos of things that move you. (not cars and buses).

What's wrong with taking pictures of buses?!?!? I do it for a living (well, that and about 16 job descriptions. But I *do* work for public transit, and I do take a lot of pictures of buses)… :lmao:

 

[pgriz]

You're doing great for a beginner then. You've got the technical nailed. Now go out there and take photos of things that move you. (not cars and buses).

What's wrong with taking pictures of buses?!?!? I do it for a living (well, that and about 16 job descriptions. But I *do* work for public transit, and I do take a lot of pictures of buses)… :lmao:

Yeah, but not all of us can do a "Sharon Monet".

 

[gsgary]

I'm beating you by one.

You won't by the end of the day I'm going to tell everyone how wonderful their photos are

If you actually carried through with that, I've a feeling you'd spontaneously combust as a result of the

I want my like button turned off because it's embarrassing because nobody likes me

 

[astroNikon]

You're doing great for a beginner then. You've got the technical nailed. Now go out there and take photos of things that move you. (not cars and buses).

What's wrong with taking pictures of buses?!?!? I do it for a living (well, that and about 16 job descriptions. But I *do* work for public transit, and I do take a lot of pictures of buses)… :lmao:

That's very moving.
Emotionally I mean .. not just transportation-wise

 

[The_Traveler]

OP, you are coming up against a realization that comes to most or all of us eventually and painfully.
Taking technically adequate pictures is a skill that virtually anyone can acquire with some amount of experience and a bit of innate ability to understand how the camera and light interacts.
Smart cameras provide a huge boost to virtually anyone thus the billions of OK pictures but the ability to get beyond technically adequate, to 'create' images that people remember takes work, insight, effort and some talent.

If you've ever seen the movie 'Amadeus', it might be enlightening to you about the gap between adequate and good art.

You have some skills; that shows.
I have no idea if you have any talent or creativity.

 

[ronlane]

If you've ever seen the movie 'Amadeus', it might be enlightening to you about the gap between adequate and good art.

Isn't that the movie about the white kid from Detroit that wanted to be a rapper? :lmao::lmao::lmao::lmao::lmao::lmao::lmao:

 

[astroNikon]

If you've ever seen the movie 'Amadeus', it might be enlightening to you about the gap between adequate and good art.

Isn't that the movie about the white kid from Detroit that wanted to be a rapper? :lmao::lmao::lmao::lmao::lmao::lmao::lmao:

No, that movie was about M&Ms
or Em&ms
something like that ...