photography pet peaves

[Don Kondra]

Uh, not to change the subject but

Two peeves come to mind....

One word topic titles and a picture, no explanation whatsoever?

Sorry, even in the right section it's not enough information for me to even bother looking..

And my absolute favorite, ta da....

Six or more HUGE files, no numbering, no information.

I have lately been blessed with a reasonably high speed connection but...

Do they think the picture will look better if it's a 5 mg file???

Ahhhhh, thanx. Now back to your regularly scheduled program.

Cheers, Don

 

[JerryPH]

It's sterile, you know.

I hear that sterility is what happens after being kicked in the gonads a few times?

KristinaS touched on a new pet peeve of mine... "pros" not being very knowledgeable about the basics, and asking here or some other public forum. My first desire is to tell them that their pro-level camera doesn't really make them much of a "pro".

 

[Unreal Tuner]

People thinking that its the camera that takes good pictures. Like many of you have said earlier, its the person not the camera.

People thinking that you can't take good photos with a p&s camera. Sometimes there are a few people that have really nice cameras and they act smug when someone has a p&s.

KristinaS touched on a new pet peeve of mine... "pros" not being very knowledgeable about the basics, and asking here or some other public forum. My first desire is to tell them that their pro-level camera doesn't really make them much of a "pro".

haha..this one too

 

[jvgig]

At my high school, many of the students in the b&w film photography class feel the need to take their already very visually appealing and feeling evoking images and take some paint or scissors or whatever other junk they can find and put random shapes/items on the pictures. It takes a very nice picture that I would hang on my wall and turns it into some piece of "creative" expression that no one can appreciate. I have even asked some of the students what they were trying to accomplish and almost exclusively their answer is "I just wanted to try something." If you have a reason for adding some feature to your image then great, but just doing it over and over again just to try it shows no artistic ability and actually detracts from the visual experience. Never try the same experiment twice expecting to get different results.

 

[Emerana]

I have a forum pet peeve!
When someone places up a photo in a gallery, presumably for C&C (without any specifics ie these are snapshots or please dont comment on my expression) and then are very offended by honest opinions. Taking a photo down because two people didn't like something about it. Insulting the reviewer when they took their time to give feedback. No wonder so many people look but not review!

 

[LeftyRodriguez]

At my high school, many of the students in the b&w film photography class feel the need to take their already very visually appealing and feeling evoking images and take some paint or scissors or whatever other junk they can find and put random shapes/items on the pictures. It takes a very nice picture that I would hang on my wall and turns it into some piece of "creative" expression that no one can appreciate. I have even asked some of the students what they were trying to accomplish and almost exclusively their answer is "I just wanted to try something." If you have a reason for adding some feature to your image then great, but just doing it over and over again just to try it shows no artistic ability and actually detracts from the visual experience. Never try the same experiment twice expecting to get different results.

I hate this kind of thing as well. Also, I've noticed a lot of students distressing their prints by scratching them and whatnot. I've even seen some scratch their negs, which strikes me as really stupid, in that you can't recover from that.

 

[Parago]

Not sure if this has been mentioned yet:

When I have to explain, again, that in order to create a 8x10 print from my images, some cropping NATURALLY is neccessary. "Yeah but.. then I have to either crop the head off or the feet' .. yea, duh. That's why we all hate 8x10 prints!! (Who in the world ever came up with that, anyways???)

Some people just dont understand the 'format' or 'ratio' concept itself and it's driving me nuts every time.

 

[The_Traveler]

Not sure if this has been mentioned yet:

When I have to explain, again, that in order to create a 8x10 print from my images, some cropping NATURALLY is neccessary. "Yeah but.. then I have to either crop the head off or the feet' .. yea, duh. That's why we all hate 8x10 prints!! (Who in the world ever came up with that, anyways???)

Some people just dont understand the 'format' or 'ratio' concept itself and it's driving me nuts every time.

Since the US and Canada have settled on the 8 x 10 as the standard size, why don't you shoot with this aspect ratio in mind? IMO, most portrait slooks infinitely better in 4x5 rather than 4 x 6.

 

[Parago]

Since the US and Canada have settled on the 8 x 10 as the standard size, why don't you shoot with this aspect ratio in mind? IMO, most portrait slooks infinitely better in 4x5 rather than 4 x 6.

You think so? I dont know, I really like the 4x6 ratio. For me personally it's either 4x6 or square. Plus.. 4x6 images are still the one size prints I sell the most (about 60% of all picture orders are 4x6) so all I would do is turn the dilemma around and force them to crop off the sides. Same difference.

I usually end up selling the 8x12 and have the customer have it custom framed.

 

[iflynething]

When people think their brand is the best.............and

People who have this great equipment, nice lens, but don't know what in the HELL they are doing

I work at Wolf Camera. This guy comes in there. "My subject is not in focus." I take one look in the viewfinder and it's out of focus. I don't mess with it and say is that viewfinder in focus. I focus the viewfinder and give it back to him and I'm like is that better. He's like oh yeah. Now I don't remember the focal length on this lens but it was a 2.8. Kinda long and black but it was on an XTi body. Nothing wrong with that but I was like your viewfinder is out of focus and that's why you're not getting the best shots. Well we keep talking and he was wanting to know how to set it up on spot focus where he could change around the focus spot.

I looked through the menus for a second and at this point, my manager comes over and I'm like I'm sorry but I'm not that familiar with Canon. He said exactly this "I guess you shoot Nikon, you must be a SNOB!!"

I was dumbfounded. I let my manager finish this.

I just hate it when people come in the store and don't know what they're doing yet they have thousands and thousands of dollars worth of equipment.

GEEZ!!

~Michael~

 

[obsessivephotographer]

but I think most of all, it's when I show someone a picture I just took of them, and they say "Wow! Your camera is awesome!"
....Well, uh...Canon says thanks but I say Ef You??

I'm going to have to remember that one.

 

[taracor]

Oh lets see here..

-Idiots who reach a hand in front of my lens (purposely, mind you) just as I'm taking the shot. Makes me want to cut that hand off..

-People who ask to take a look at my camera, then run around with it loosely holding it by the strap. I don't care if we're friends, you don't do that kind of crap!

-Newbies who are ignorant and think they are always right. You know the kind, they just get their first DSLR, and they say "I wanna buy that lens" and show you some massive focal length like..F12 lens. "So...what are you taking pictures of that requires that thing?" "Like flowers and stuff.." So you show them a better quality, less expensive lens that is better for..'flowers and stuff' and they get all mad and say "no I need that, you don't know what you're talking about". Unless you're shooting flowers located on the other side of the city, you don't need that thing.. seriously.

-Dial up internet, and the cost of broadband.

-This goes to the ignorant newbies example "Hmm this says it was at 1/300. That's bad, my camera can do much better" When the photo is not blurry. I explained, "Ok faster shutter speed is not always better, the photo isn't blurry" then they don't want to admit they are wrong and just ramble on. "Hmm..it can still do better"

-This is a quote from family guy, but I like it "Oooh you took a black and white picture of a lawn chair with its shadow. Aren't you so dark and brooding" Well those people. Seriously.. the ones that take some awful, awful, picture and claim its so..artistic and wonderful.

-Sensor dust

-Stuck on sensor dust

-'Myspace pictures'

 

[Jus7 A Phas3]

MYSPACE!!

 

[JimmyO]

I know its a popular one, but i hate it when people make a connection between expensive or extensive equipment and the picture. Especially after they see a pic and say, geez i really need one of "those" cameras

 

[Miaow]

I agree with the sensor dust lol