Having one of those days!

[elizpage]

I'm having one of those days where I look at every photo I've taken so critically and compare my work to others. Maybe I just need to upgrade my equipment? Is this why my photos aren't turning out the way I want them to? Am I a ****ty photographer?

There's really no reason for this, I suppose. This makes me want to do every session for free until I become better. Can someone offer me some words of encouragement?

/arrrgh

 

[D-B-J]

Some days I hate most of the images I take, and other days I am quite impressed. Sleep on it.

 

[elizpage]

Some days I hate most of the images I take, and other days I am quite impressed. Sleep on it.

Thanks for the encouraging words.

 

[limr]

I'm having one of those days where I look at every photo I've taken so critically and compare my work to others. Maybe I just need to upgrade my equipment? Is this why my photos aren't turning out the way I want them to? Am I a ****ty photographer?

There's really no reason for this, I suppose. This makes me want to do every session for free until I become better. Can someone offer me some words of encouragement?

/arrrgh

Welcome to photography

I absolutely have those days when I think everything I do sucks, and other days I think I'm super awesome. Most days, I realize that I'm probably somewhere in the middle.

It's always easier to say "Stop comparing yourself to others" than it is to actually do it, but it does help to remember that many times, other people aren't necessarily better or worse, but just different.

 

[astroNikon]

You want a bad day.
Try to go take photos of butterflies at a butterfly sanctuary.

I think I'm close to 99% failure rate (or higher) ...and a lot of wasted time.
Thus fluttering little (%(*&^^%^ were buzzing my face too.

 

[tecboy]

People who don't know anything about photography actually like my photos. People who do know a lot about photography actually hate my photos. I volunteer as a photographer just for fun and get more practices. I'm in your position, so don't feel left out.;-)

 

[Tee]

Take this a good sign. You are becoming critical of your work and recognize what's good and bad. :thumbup:

 

[pgriz]

Well, if you're comparing your work to another's and (in your opinion) it doesn't compare, then figure out what makes the other one look so much better. Now, try and replicate that look or image. If nothing else, it may push you out of your comfort zone (we all have those) and into some seriously-uncomfortable (but productive) learning.

 

[Derrel]

Keep on keepin' on! You WILL get better if you want to. I went to try and see your photos at elizabethpagewalker but nothing is coming up.

Rome was not built in a single day.

 

[Fred Berg]

Hi, I looked at your website and don't think it has to do with your equipment so much as with your style. Not that the photos are bad, but they tend to be a bit snapshot and that's your lot: I wouldn't pay you for one but would happily paste a freebie in my album.

 

[Derrel]

You want a bad day.
Try to go take photos of butterflies at a butterfly sanctuary.

I think I'm close to 99% failure rate (or higher) ...and a lot of wasted time.
Thus fluttering little (%(*&^^%^ were buzzing my face too.

I saw those on FB tonight...ACK!!! I went to one of those places a few years back...same thing for me.

Anyway, having one of those days...you know, I do want to encourage you to just stick with "the basics", the "fundamentals". I've read some of your posts,and I think I saw that one shoot of the dark-harired woman shot under trees a while back...I think that was you...a week or more ago, I pulled those three im ages into Lightroom in my TPF Re-Works folder, and you know, I was able to salvage every one of those shots with a few clicks and sliders in Lightroom.

You are not "that far off"...the difference between a home run and a bloop single is maybe 1/10 inch and 25 milliseconds...

Focus on doing the basics right...picking a good exposure, and not being afraid to up the ISO a bit to get to that exposure; FOCUSING properly; taking the time to get set up right and figuring out what the picture is supposed to be, and then MAKING the shot. Make haste slowly...do not rush things...work a bit more slowly and deliberately. Get things figured out by a test exposure or two, and a re-work of some elements...be confident to say, "NO, this isn't worth shooting, we need to do this _________." Nobody knows how fast a photog is supposed to work. Spend more time on the FRONT end of things...take the time to figure out the right light, the right settings, the right background, the right everything....work into that, focusing on the real fundamentals. After you get things really "nailed down", then shoot the crap out of it. Most people when starting flip that last sentence around, and then get a TON of crap that later they find themselves nailed down at the computer, trying to rescue a bunch of badly-originated images.

 

[elizpage]

Hi, I looked at your website and don't think it has to do with your equipment so much as with your style. Not that the photos are bad, but they tend to be a bit snapshot and that's your lot: I wouldn't pay you for one but would happily paste a freebie in my album.

What do you mean snapshot and that's your lot ?

 

[imagemaker46]

It happens to everyone. I had a shoot last two weeks ago and apart from a few shots the rest was garbage. It took me a few days to make up my own mental excuses as to why I had such a poor shoot, and it was a sport that I've been shooting for decades. I would like to blame the gear, but that wasn't it, it was simply not concentrating on what I was doing. Fortunately I was shooting the game for myself. Probably the worst shoot I've had in years.

I'm over it now, don't dwell on it, just move forward.

 

[The_Traveler]

Elizabeth,

I looked at your website and came away with two very distinct impressions.
First was that, in many situations, you aren't looking closely at the subject for placement in the frame and possible distractions of the background, before you shoot, and
second, that you aren't 'finishing' the pictures well for composition, sharpness and color.

IMO, it is crucial that you have a firm idea of what the finished shot should be and that you make that happen with the final image.

Here is one example.
I think the wb is off, her skin is dull and has a greenish tinge.
Her eyes are very dark and way up at the top
Her shirt is the brightest part of the picture and draws my eye.

2:3 aspect ratio is not great for torsos or portraits imo; it generally cuts off the person in what I think are the wrong places.

 

[dennybeall]

After looking at the examples on your website I see some good ideas with some fairly small things that I would consider problems if the photos were mine. All personal opinion and others will see things differently but then that's why it's an art. In the waterfall shot for instance I would have gone down lower to get more waterfall and less tree. Not sure what the big ball building is but it looks crooked and off center. The guy with the beard I would like to have seen less shirt and more head. You gain from agreeing with me and you gain from disagreeing with me but in both cases you gain.