I would love to hear what you think about...

BlueEyes01 · Apr 6, 2009

I'm going to state the obvious, people like different things. What attracts one person to something may not be something the next person likes.

I'm ametuer but have people who buy some of my nature photos. I recently shot a bunch of butterfly photos and there was one particular photo that I didnt much like, and ALMOST didnt post on my website. Turns out, it was a favorite by many. Go figure. This got me really thinking about things and how I look at my own images and I guess I was wondering if anyone else out there has had a similar experience? If so, have you adjusted the way you look at you photos as well as others'? Any wisdom you could shed on this would be greatly appreciated. Wisdom or variance of opinions, I'm curious what you think.

Also, Just as a study in this subject, what would you prefer, in this photo, cloud or no cloud?

manaheim · Apr 6, 2009

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder?

I know that's kind of flip, but that's all it is. One could go on and on about where that comes from, or theorize the definition of aesthetic, but at the end the whole thing boils down to that one sentence.

My most popular picture is like this. I always thought it was neat, but not that neat, and with a significant number of photographic flaws... and yet, it is hands-down a total crowd-pleaser. People love the thing.

On your particular pic, I would like it with something in the sky, but that particular cloud isn't very appealing to me, personally. Nice colors.

DRoberts · Apr 6, 2009

As stated its purely individual. Thats the main reason people have to take C&C with a grain of salt.
As soon as someone looks at a photo it stirs an emotion. If that emotion is derived from a fond memory then that person will like what they see. If its from a negative memory they will dislike it. There's no way to tell how it will turn out.
Thats one of the things I don't like when reading critiques on here and other photo sites...to many times they are based on the emotion brought on by the content rather than the technical quality. I have seen pictures of perfect quality get slammed because someone didn't like the content.

As far as the photo you posted...I think the cloud needs to be there, otherwise there would be to much wasted space in the sky and would require a crop to balance the photo...but thats just my opinion

Jaszek · Apr 6, 2009

I saw a video the other day (the link is somwhere in this forum) and the guy talked about how his photos suck and he hates them. But he makes a living off of them.

BlueEyes01 · Apr 6, 2009

Thanks for all of your feedback.

I'm glad to hear that I'm not the only one who has photos that arent my favorites yet others love them as well as I love photos that others just say "Eh, its ok".
Even though I KNOW that "beauty is in the eye of the beholder (or is that beerholder)haha", after quite a few totally opposite opinions lately, I was a bit confused and starting to wonder if my "eye" is just completly off. I have learned a whole lot from being critiqued, and have a thick skin as far as that is concerned, and was just curious if others have had similar experiences.

I had planned a trip out to a friend of mines house out in the country to "catch" the sunset in the photo above & hoped that a cloud would stray across the empty sky to give a more interesting photo for my sunset, and it did. I got the cloud above and was so happy (even though I agree it could have been a more interesting cloud). Anyway, so when I posted this photo on another forum & one of the few responses was "It would be better with a blank sky, no cloud", it really got me wondering if how I perceive things is just messed up. (if all of that makes sense)

I need to look up that post where the guy thinks his photos suck. Maybe it'll give me even more insight.

manaheim · Apr 6, 2009

I think critique (even harsh critiqute) is awesome, but not for what a lot of people intend it for.

I think a lot of folks are looking for a pat on the back and a "Yeah, good job, you are doing photography real good." or a "Hey if you insert tab A in slot B next time, that picture will be perfect."

If you're thick-skinned enough, you eventually realize (regardless of your intent) that while there are certainly some hard and cold mechanics of photography, there is a HECK of a lot to it that is not. There is a lot of value in just knowing that, even if you can't necessarily wrangle out of that how to make a picture that speaks to people.

Sounds like you're off to a great start.