These are my very best photos. Where do I go from here?

[rexbobcat]

I agree. I think that we're kind of knit-picking technical aspects which can be summed up as technique.

People here talk a lot of "concept" - but what concepts are being conveyed here? They seem weird for the sake of it, visually striking for the sake of it - I think there is a lot of skill here and a good visual vocabulary, but I also think that it's being wasted on gimmicky trick photography that is artistically under developed.

Yes

 

[bleeblu]

Thank you, everyone, for your inputs! So I guess the general consensus is to work on my lighting. I'm a self-taught photographer (still can't get used to being called that) and everything I've learned is from the internet, a few books and trial and error. So, let me ask you, if I could buy one or two books to help improve my lighting, or any other aspect of my photography, what would you suggest? I'm a poor college student who can't afford tons of books and lighting equipment, mind you.

As for the gimmicky photography tricks...

I don't know. It's just something I like. Photography has always been about documentation. I've been intrigued by the fact that it doesn't have to be anymore. That I can take pictures of things that have never happened. There's no other genre of photography where I can spend this many hours on thinking about the concept, shooting and editing the photos. I really enjoy it and I understand it's not everyones cup of tea!

 

[enzodm]

You have very good and patient friends

So, let me ask you, if I could buy one or two books to help improve my lighting, or any other aspect of my photography, what would you suggest? I'm a poor college student who can't afford tons of books and lighting equipment, mind you.

Books:

• Light Science and Magic is a technical book with practical examples and exercises
• The hotshoe diaries is really a sort of diary with concrete examples, discussed in a funny way. Nikon specific in terms of technologies, but general in terms of approach.

Regarding lighting equipment, start thinking after having read the books. For the kind of pictures you take, I'm sure what you will read will be inspiring for you, because you will have an additional tool for expressing ideas.
One other place worth to be read is the Strobist blog , where you can find also cheap and diy solutions. I have a couple of very old flashes connected to cheap triggers that make their job - at expense of more work and time than when using more modern devices.

Photography has always been about documentation. I've been intrigued by the fact that it doesn't have to be anymore.

Photography has not always been about documentation (never been?). So, an additional suggestion could be to read some book on history of photography - surrealists did also photography, for example.

 

[cayto]

First of all, generally i like your photos! And these are the kind of photos i love too, but...not even always i have time to spend to apply what i thought! You have a great imagination, and better yet, you can apply what you thought that could be a nice photo. Thinking and taking a good shoot is different. Invest in lighting, and you have your return :thumbup:

Send some more, to see another pics

 

[fjrabon]

I was trying to remember who your stuff reminded me of. This is the kid I was trying to think of: More Amazing Photography by 19-Year-Old Brian Oldham - My Modern Metropolis

 

[fjrabon]

Thank you, everyone, for your inputs! So I guess the general consensus is to work on my lighting. I'm a self-taught photographer (still can't get used to being called that) and everything I've learned is from the internet, a few books and trial and error. So, let me ask you, if I could buy one or two books to help improve my lighting, or any other aspect of my photography, what would you suggest? I'm a poor college student who can't afford tons of books and lighting equipment, mind you.

As for the gimmicky photography tricks...

I don't know. It's just something I like. Photography has always been about documentation. I've been intrigued by the fact that it doesn't have to be anymore. That I can take pictures of things that have never happened. There's no other genre of photography where I can spend this many hours on thinking about the concept, shooting and editing the photos. I really enjoy it and I understand it's not everyones cup of tea!

One thing for you, is you'll just have to practice A LOT. Because you shoot creative shots, you can't just pick up a book and look for 'how to shoot a sidelit portrait with a softbox'. Standard studio shots, with the amount of info today, you can pick up a book and recreate the shot if you have the right equipment, in like 30-45 minutes and get fairly well in the ballpark. With your style, however, you're going to really have to practice so that, in your head, you can envision a shot, and the lighting you'd like, and then be able to reverse engineer the lighting to know what you'd need to light it that way.

That takes experimenting with light A LOT. A WHOLE LOT. You have to first see so much lighting that you can envision the lighting you want in your head, and then you have to practice so much that you can deconstruct where the light in your head is coming from and how to get that light with a light or combination of lights.

 

[KmH]

If you think "

Photography has always been about documentation"​

, you don't know near as much about how photography got to where it is today as you maybe need to.

 

[davisphotos]

For learning more about the history of photography, I highly recommend the book 'Classic Essays on Photography' which contains essays by photographers throughout the history of photography, and is a really interesting look at the history of photography, and some of the discussions that were prevalent in the early days of photography. I also highly recommend 'On Photography' by Roland Barthes, it is a pretty heady book and kind of tough reading, but it will really make you think about why you photograph what you do. Susan Sontag also has some great books about the human aspect of documentary photography, 'Regarding the Pain of Others' and 'On Photography.' Also reading up on general not photo related art history is highly recommended. The mirror series in particular I feel could speak to personal identity, anonymity, personal power, or a whole host of themes along those lines. Covering somebodies face in a photograph is a highly loaded statement that can be very powerful when used to make a statement.

 

[unpopular]

If you think "Photography has always been about documentation", you don't know near as much about how photography got to where it is today as you maybe need to.

This objectivity is one reason I cannot stand f/64, I think the approach is hypocritical and shows a lack of understanding about the medium.

 

[bleeblu]

Awesome. I'll look into some of those books. Since we are still roughly talking about lighting, I just bought a large reflector and I've seen, heard of many photographers that strictly use natural light. Do I really need to buy a soft box or some other electrical lighting equipment to make my photos better?

 

[spacefuzz]

I'm a self-taught photographer (still can't get used to being called that)

Even the photographers who went to school or took classes are still primarily self taught through trial and error. Books and classes can give you a solid base but everything else you learn on your own.

You are just a photographer.

 

[spacefuzz]

Awesome. I'll look into some of those books. Since we are still roughly talking about lighting, I just bought a large reflector and I've seen, heard of many photographers that strictly use natural light. Do I really need to buy a soft box or some other electrical lighting equipment to make my photos better?

It really depends on the look you are trying to go for. You should learn what is possible with flash and how controlling light better may help you more easily express your creative vision. Then you decide.

 

[fjrabon]

Awesome. I'll look into some of those books. Since we are still roughly talking about lighting, I just bought a large reflector and I've seen, heard of many photographers that strictly use natural light. Do I really need to buy a soft box or some other electrical lighting equipment to make my photos better?

You never need anything other than a camera. The problem becomes with what you want out of your vision. If you only shoot natural light, there will be visual images that are in your head, that just cannot be achieved with natural light and you'll have to scrap that idea, or just alter it to fit a natural light scheme.

You can, to some extent, fake lighting if you get really good with photoshop. Especially a couple of plug ins that are more or less designed to be for that purpose. However, I don't think that would really give you the quality you want/need.

 

[enzodm]

Awesome. I'll look into some of those books. Since we are still roughly talking about lighting, I just bought a large reflector and I've seen, heard of many photographers that strictly use natural light. Do I really need to buy a soft box or some other electrical lighting equipment to make my photos better?

by the way, the term "natural light photographer" is often a sort of synonym of "craigslist photographer" from what I heard about.
Before spending, try to learn where to go - when knowing (and I'm only at the beginning) there will be no difference between "natural" or "artificial" light, they will be just tools to exploit, with the same rules but different flexibility. In your case, since you aim at creating a world, why not control its lighting too?

 

[rexbobcat]

It depends on what you want to achieve. As an artist, you really don't HAVE to buy external lighting if it doesn't fit into your creative style, but as a working photographer ($$$$$), then it's pretty much a MUST.