Input is MORE than welcome, in fact NEEDED!

[LillieBelle]

will add some of them to flickr now, but there is literally about 1200. Was concerned with getting a good shot I think.

 

[Fern]

You have some really cute ones there. I will e-mail you through this site my comments.

 

[adversus]

As with any creative endeavor, if you don't fail with a ratio of at least 10:1 you aren't trying hard enough.

Learn from failure, whether it be failure to yourself, or failure perceived from other people.

 

[WesternGuy]

Thanks for all the input will scratch all and sell.....I am been shooting for 6 years. Obviously this is not the life for me.......

Hey, don't beat yourself up so much. You are never going to please all the people all the time. I have been doing landscape and nature for a lot longer than 6 years and I am my own worst critic - I sometimes look at a shot and think "Did I shoot that - ouch what was I thinking" - others I look at and think "That's not too bad at all". I figure that if I get one in ten that are what I think as any good, then that's a success - you will not get every picture to be perfect every time. You have to go with what works for you and as has been said, if you are going pro then you will also run into clients who don't like what you do - just a fact of life. If I were you, I would Google "composition design photography" and look at some of the websites that come up - because, once you get past the camera and the lens and the subject, it is really about how you put all the elements in your image together inside the frame. I am currently reading a book by Michael Freeman called The Photographer's Eye and it is most enlightening. You might also want to look at Freeman Patterson's book Photography and the The Art of Seeing, because when it all comes down to the end, it is really all about how you, as a photographer "see" things and put them together in an image. There are, of course some basic things such as the rule of thirds and the use of lines, etc., that can be used effectively until you get to the point where you have an intuitive feel for when to break the rules - I am an inveterate user of the rule of thirds, but I think I have enough experience to know when I can break it. Smile, chalk this little excursion up to experience and carry on. You have to decide whether you want to take pictures or make pictures - they are two completely different things and the approach for each is also completely different. Find an easy chair, sit back, relax and assess calmly what you have learned here and cheer up - at least you didn't wake up to a foot of snow on the ground this morning like I did...

Cheers,

WesternGuy

P.S. When you publish images on a website, it is probalby a good thing to let folks know what camera and lens was used and what software you used for post-processing. This helps give people a better understanding of your "tools" and will often result in a more informative reply and comment.

 

[fokker]

will add some of them to flickr now, but there is literally about 1200. Was concerned with getting a good shot I think.

Just a quick word of advice - just because it's digital and you're not 'paying for each shot' doesn't mean that randomly hitting the shutter button 1200 times will give you a good photo. It would have been better to spend an hour reading a photography book then take one photo that you thought about carefully.

 

[480sparky67 66]

..........o....I am not a run of the mill follow the masses or even the far other side. I like to challenge what the norm is in people's minds, hence maternity shoot on railroad tracks and the beginnings to an Abbey Road cover. It is different, that is why I do it, no rules. I am not quitting my photography, I was referring to this forum. I am not that swayed by criticism that I request....

In short.... "I don't care what y'all think"?

 

[KmH]

+1

Which makes asking for input in the first place disingenuous.

 

[e.rose]

Thanks for all the input will scratch all and sell.....I am been shooting for 6 years. Obviously this is not the life for me.......

Seriously? You post a thread titled "Input is MORE than welcome, in fact NEEDED!"... you state that you NEED feedback... and then when people give it to you, that's how you react? Some people here post photos for C&C and don't get ONE comment. Not one. And others get ONLY one comment... and are grateful that *someone* took the time to give them feedback, even if it was a post full of "you need to work on this... you need to improve that... this wasn't so great, try it again". You get three PAGES of feedback... and you snub your nose at it?

I'm sorry, but I don't care if you've had your camera for 9 days, or 10 years. I don't care if you started photography yesterday or have been doing it since you were a kid... there are improvements that need to be (and *can* be) made, if you put away your defensive pride for two seconds and listen to the feedback people are giving you.

If you've been doing photography for 6 years and this is the work that your producing, I would question whether or not you actually worked to improve your knowledge and skill, or just happened to have access to a camera with which you started snapping pictures expecting to magically improve over time just by doing that. That's not how it works. You have to put into it what you expect to get out of it.

If you have been taking measures to try and improve your craft, then good for you. Keep at it. You'll have improved even more by this time next year... but it takes time. Or *maybe* the methods in which you have been using this whole time in order to try and improve, don't work well for you and you need to find others.

If you *haven't* been taking measures to try and improve your craft, then several people have suggested many useful sources to do just that. And THIS FORUM is one of them. Posting for C&C is one of them. When you post a photo, you can't just wait for the "OMG, PRETTI PEEKCHUR!" comments to pour in. You're going to get people that are going to tell you what needs improvement, and hopefully how to do it. If they don't specify how to to do it, you either look it up, and learn it, or simply ask the person to elaborate on their comment. Having *other* people pick out the flaws (and the good points) of a photo and present them to you, is a great way to find where you need improvement because they may pick out things that you just never noticed before. And after applying that feedback to the next body of work you do, it gets just a little bit better. Then you post from THAT project, and people give you feedback... you take it... apply it... improve that much more.

No one here was mean to you.

All I saw were great suggestions on resources for you, what you need to work on, and even people *encouraging* you to continue your craft.

I'm not trying to be mean *now*... but I seriously think that some people just need a little tough lovin' and need to grow a thicker skin. Your mission... if you choose to accept it... is to do just that. And then come back, and start interacting, learning, and improving.

 

[Bitter Jeweler]

I like the "not following the masses", "no rules", "being different", "challenging the norm" comments.
From what I saw, she actually is following the masses, or, the majority of beginning photographers in every way, including processing.
Want to be different? Learn about composition, posing, and lighting, and get really good at it. Then you will become the minority.


She really should have had the woman lay across the train tracks, just to see how powerful imagery can be, and the message it gets across. Now THAT would be different!

 

[RauschPhotography]

Want to be different? Learn about composition, posing, and lighting, and get really good at it. Then you will become the minority.

+1

 

[Lukep]

OK right first off. I like your ideas. It's obvious you have an idea of what you want.

But I did the same as you. With regards to snapping away. I however didnt have the guts to go for C&C straight away.

So I am not going to hold punches but here are some things I'd consider. But bear in mind I am still learning as well:

- Don't vignette so much
- I love this one. RailroadPrego2 | Flickr - Photo Sharing! But the vignette is distracting.
- Learn about the rule of thirds. So many of those photos would be improved using this Photography tutorials. The Rule of Thirds.
- Dont always have the preggers girl looking into the camera smiling. Try n get some candid shots.

 

[vtf]

This is a friend of mine. A very close friend. I've been so inactive on the forums lately that I didn't even get to see these pictures when they were up. I only saw the ones on facebook.

Shooting digital is WAY different than shooting film. I think that's probably addressed somewhere in the forums.

I am the one who suggested she join this site cause I've learned so much here. I probably should have warned her that things can be pretty rough here as well. It took me a long time to ignore things that weren't constructive and just focus on the things that are.

I'm upset that I've recommended this forum and it's upset her so much.

The pictures weren't bad in my opinion and since we have the same camera I'm still more than willing to help her and offer any advice that I can.

She's got a passion for photography and I can totally understand that. Hell, it's admirable.

Anywho.

You came back, I remember your first posts. WOW. You've come a long way in a short time, she can too!

 

[LiquidGrace]

I like the "not following the masses", "no rules", "being different", "challenging the norm" comments.
From what I saw, she actually is following the masses, or, the majority of beginning photographers in every way, including processing.
Want to be different? Learn about composition, posing, and lighting, and get really good at it. Then you will become the minority.


She really should have had the woman lay across the train tracks, just to see how powerful imagery can be, and the message it gets across. Now THAT would be different!

Picturing this image is just powerful in my mind. What an amazing idea and it would speak 1000 words..

 

[LiquidGrace]

For example this photo StepsPrego | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

The composition is very good. What I'd love to see is the original untouched file. I find the vignette to be overdone and it stands out to much. It doesn't add to the photo it's taking away. I find that the actual photo is dark and the saturation skin tones are off. I find that your biggest issue is actually in post processing and lighting. Maybe getting a speedlight or a reflector to help light up her entire body would work?

However I wouldn't add more equipment till you've figured out how to make it work with your camera. On a bright sunny day or even overcast there should never really be a reason for dark faces and bodies.