Is it just me or...

DeVore

Is everyone somewhat surprised by the pictures of theirs which people like or dislike??

Let me explain... I sometimes take a shot and think "aw yeah, nailed it, nice!" and then no one else really seems to think much of it. While another shot will be borderline even being processed for me, but when I show others they go nuts for it. Its beginning to wreck my head because I looked through the 2000 odd photos from Asia and thought "there's probably 30 I have rejected that others would think were great!"

I know its subjective and all, but my intent on photographing things is to move other people emotionally, usually in a nice way but I'm just as happy with something melancholy or challenging. So while you might say "publish what YOU like" I would say that ALL photographers are really looking to publish what OTHERS "like" (in the sense of moving them emotionally).

Now i'm second guessing myself cos my prediction rate is about 10% lol...

Does this happen with everyone??

Victor

I think its a matter of catching the moment / zeitgeist / whatever.

Sometimes, if I post that witty one liner on After Hours as the second / third post on a thread, I'll be thinking "Thanks Jackpot" only to then find it receiving one or no Thanks. Then, I'll post something that I consider quite ordinary and get 30 Thanks and I'm thinking "Eh ..., where did that come from".

There are certain things that we are 'very' good at, simply because we have paid attention to / studied them and consequently they become very ordinary for us. Others find them extremely hard and if they see a demonstration of something that is two steps better than what they have achieved, then they will show appreciation.

You know the people we respect as leaders? Many of them are very nervous underneath that 'with it' exterior. This excludes the sociopaths that create an image of leadership, but are very hollow underneath.

Paulw

I think photographers publish what they like, in the hope that others like it too.

Obviously you shoot what you like, what you have an interest in. But, photography is so subjective. What you like, I may not like, and vice versa. That's what makes it so interesting.

But, you should always go with what you like.

pete4130

If your taking/processing photos for other people to like online, then your doing it for the wrong reasons.

People that are into seeing pics online, like on here or Flickr, or wherever and go crazy for them if they are over processed are generally the chumps who don't have a clue.


If you take a picture/process wanting/hoping that online masses like it, then how are you going to feel? Probably initially impressed it got lots of "likes" but if/when you look at it months down the line its worthless to you because you don't like it.

If you take/process a picture that YOU like and it gets appreciated then its more worth while. You'll feel that people have liked your vision, your outlook and how you saw something, compared to producing something that you hope other people will like.

Enjoying your photography for me, is about taking photos that I, and I only enjoy taking.

If other people don't get them, don't like them, don't understand them or don't feel they conform to their understanding of what a good photos is (namely people who read digital photo mags like a bible of what a good photo or not) then its their loss and your gain. Online "thanks" from those people count for nothing.

HDR is a prime example of shíte being pumped out with masses liking it because it looks "cool" and surreal.

A crap photo over processed is still a crap photo. Don't sell yourself short, don't let go of your vision for an image for what a meaningless online community/flickr goup/facebook friends might think. Be strong to your core values about your images.

I could take 100+ pics a day of beautiful images that would receive dozens of thanks on an online forum. I know how to take pretty/nice/generic/appealing photos. I don't though. I take photos of what I like because its more enjoyable for me.

Take photos to enjoy them yourself. In the end more people will truly enjoy them. The majority of people know sweet fúck all about photos and are impressed. so why impress these people? Try to impress yourself.

ScumLord

DeVore wrote: »

While another shot will be borderline even being processed for me,

No body else knows that though. If a shot doesn't live up to your expectations of what you wanted to achieve but there's something about it that still appeals enough to outweigh what you see as bad. Others will probably not see the bad parts that you see, and only see what's appealing about the shot.

BengaLover

I know exactly what you mean there, I post something that I really love and think is a great pic and it only usually gets one or two likes, but there is a heck of a lot of talent on here - I am always comparing what I think is one of my best pictures with the likes of Maggy M's work which is utterly uncomparably amazing and pullandbangs super professional stuff -( too many posters here to give credit to for their work) and there's my answer. Its all a huge learning curve, and the day I can pull off a 'pic of the week' or win a challenge will be my happiest day ever!

magicbastarder

take a picture of a good looking woman, and you're guaranteed to hit the thanks bingo.

DeVore

Ok but I'm not talking about "likes" per se, I'm just talking about showing them to people I know and getting feedback etc. it's just seems like I'm kinda "out of phase" sometimes , lol.

Peter, I hear what you are saying but while I don't disagree, I wonder, if that's how you feel, why you would publish anything if you don't give a sh*t what others think. I think every photographer wants people to enjoy their photos or be moved by them, otherwise why publish at all??

BengaLover

I have seen photos of rusty wires get more votes that dewladen roses, so its really all down to composition, presentation and the 'feel' of the pic that gets people looking.
Some pics on here really inspire you to change your own outlook and view, and how you see things - after all each and every photo is down to the photographers view and interpretation of it.

DeVore

Ok and thats an interesting point, but do you guys and gals generally know when a pic is going to be a hit or not? Cos I seem to be way off a lot

pete4130

I post to share for my amusement. Some photos and threads I post are purely for taking the p1ss, like ridiculously bad HDR's and they received pages of praise and thanks from people who think its serious.

A lot of the single images I post are part of a much larger series I'm working on so are out of context. I still find it interesting to see how my images get perceived and who gives them a thumbs up or gives them a "like".

I've worked as a professional photographer in the past and it wasn't really for me. I didn't enjoy taking photos for other people that I had no interest in taking. It got to the point that I stopped working in photography to a point and now I only shoot what I like to shoot.

ThOnda

For the first, nobody can see into your brain (thankfully ), so we don't know what you like, how you like it and what interest you. That is very personal and cannot be passed onto somebody else.
The second and the most important is, that you have personal and emotional experience from the moment, when you've taken the photo. And you carry such experience through the whole process of processing, tagging, naming and uploading. Therefore you have very subjective opinion on your photos.
Some of the best documentary photographers did shoot film, developed the rolls and then left them untouched for a year. Just to get a bit distance between their emotional experience, so they can be a bit more objective with selecting the pictures.
And I can only agree with Pete above, you should take and make picture YOU like, unless you have good reason to take pictures for someone else. And the more you shoot, the easier it will be for you to realise if you are taking pictures as you want them, or for general (or targeted) audience.
And talking about internet galleries? They have most of the time the same value as randomly handpicked people on a train - you never know if they like it because they are good in photography (or art in general), or if they just like vivid colours and kittens.
It is good to hear feedback from people, but you should value such feedback and not follow it blindly. Just store, process and make up your own mind.

BlastedGlute

I've struggled to find definable context or a good reason for spending every penny I have or dont have(bank loan...) on camera equipment(polaroid,my dslr, hopefully a film camera very soon and the cost that goes with processing)

It really wasnt entirely clear to me until I was cleaning up my hard drive a few weeks ago. I had GB upon GB of RAW images and really didnt know what to do with them. So I decided to spend an evening batch converting the lot of it to jpeg so I could dump the raws.

There was so many images I totally forgot about, frames that could bullet point a day and what I got up to and who I was with etc. It became fairly clear to me at that point.

I'm nostalgic as ****. Always living in the past and pining over days gone, it's brutal really, not to mention counter productive for moving forward.

So I smashed together a video of over 2k images in 3 minutes and for me its like a flashback of the past year since I started taking photographs on a learning curve. It felt amazing and weirdly emotive to see so much of what I'd seen in the past in such a way. That video told me something about how important photography is to me as an individual and for my own happiness.

Getting the fuji x100 really pushed me that bit further. Im fairly shy about taking pictures, especially street or at parties and stuff, but I feel like a ninja taking bites of my own point of view, its incredible. I dont have a single picture on facebook anymore and I closed my "fan" page months ago

pete4130

Don't dump your RAWs. They are your digital negatives. Get external hard drives and back them up, then back these up onto DVD's or blueray discs as backup backups.

Dumping RAW's are like the equivalent of throwing out your analogue negatives. The jpegs you'd convert them to will be the equivalent of bad prints should you ever want to go back and use them for something in the future.

Thats just my opinion. I find it hard to dump RAW files. I'll never know what, how or why I might need them in years to come.

BlastedGlute

I get ya pete, but I spent the time deciding what to keep as RAW and what to convert. These were mainly street and candid snaps of family and friends and are keep sakes more than anything.

pete4130

phew! fair enough you edited what was to be kept and what was to be converted.....its the 1st part of editing!

I was worried!

magicbastarder

i usually dump my RAWs. i just don't really like the notion of going back repeatedly to tweak my shots.

thebaz

DeVore wrote: »

Is everyone somewhat surprised by the pictures of theirs which people like or dislike??

Does this happen with everyone??

usually I have an idea what people like , but sometimes I'm out on a limb , with one I like , and no-one else , it is hard to keep faith, but my experience says persist , maybe in a few months the image might receive a more favourable response from others- I actually find facebook good for getting honest feedback , from a few freinds i respect -

one recent image that sticks out for me is an image of Mark Lanegan , that I liked and it seamed no one else , apart from 1 or 2 - nevertheless i still like it

DeVore

To be clear, I publish the stuff I like. If it comes down to two pictures, one I like and one I think will be popular, I'm always going with the one I like. In the end of the day I'll probably look at it more than everyone else combined anyway

But conversely I want MY choices to be received well, (I'm not sure I entirely buy any photographer saying they utterly don't care).

My question was, do other find that they seem out of whack with their hit rate of which pictures they reckon in advance will be popular? It was just a throw away query, I wasn't really going for an existential review of post-modern self consciousness

DeV.
Ps, I'm utterly bitten by the photography bug again now, hard core. I'm too broke to do anything about my Sudden Onset GAS but I can at least get out and shoot...

FoxT

Life is a lot simpler when you are an introvert.

dinneenp

Just out of interest where do you publish online? A lot of sites people simply comment "I like", "lovely" etc which isn't very helpful.

IF you want deep C&C then publish on http://1x.com/
Site has stunning photos and they have a system in place to promote proper C&C
Taken from the site-
"In order to stimulate the discussions in critique and ensure that everybody gets a reply on their critique requests, we have a system in place that gives you one critique slot for every 2 pictures in critique that you provided feedback on during the last 7 days."

Or submit some here; create a C&C thread. It can be a bit fustrating- upload X amount of photos and get many views but only 2 comments. Or you might get a lot of C&C.

BengaLover

dinneenp wrote: »

IF you want deep C&C then publish on http://1x.com/

What a site, wish I hadnt clicked the link now.. Going to be lurking on there a lot I think, truly awesome stuff. Thanks for sharing that.

EyeBlinks

DeVore wrote: »

But conversely I want MY choices to be received well, (I'm not sure I entirely buy any photographer saying they utterly don't care).

Well here's one.

Must admit I started off like that, and for a good while I was looking for my shots to be well received. However, after a while I got little satisfaction from that and got to asking myself why am I taking photos? Is it so they can be liked/appreciated by others or was there more to it than that.

I think for me, there is more to it than that. Which has resulted in me taking far fewer photos, thinking and planning much more in advance and posting hardly any on line. When I do post, I truly don't care if they are received well by the masses as thats no longer the purpose.

The purpose of posting now for me is threefold.

1. So I can look myself now and then over time and see how the image fits, gains or loses appeal, purely for myself.

2. That the image might be appreciated, or not as the case maybe, by a handful of people whose opinion I value.

3 A way of showing people who may be interested what I'm working on.

If the image gets no comments/ticks/likes or whatever it is, it doesn't bother me in the least. I certainly don't consider an image that has no comment etc as inferior to one that has loads. It may be one image is simply more accessible than another.

I have recently relaunched my blog and have yet to receive a "nice pic" comment. Success ....long may it continue

dinneenp

BengaLover wrote: »

What a site, wish I hadnt clicked the link now.. Going to be lurking on there a lot I think, truly awesome stuff. Thanks for sharing that.

Another very good site (quality, not quantity) is http://500px.com/

With 1x you submit a photo and it can be rejected or accepted. If rejected you can submit it to the critque section but must comment on 2 photos in the critque section before you can add yours.

dinneenp

EyeBlinks wrote: »

I have recently relaunched my blog and have yet to receive a "nice pic" comment. Success ....long may it continue

What's the url?

EyeBlinks

dinneenp wrote: »

What's the url?

Be warned, I have a big security guard employed who'll arrive unannounced to anyone that posts a "Nice Pic" comment :P:cool:

http://eyeblinks.ie/

Zillah

Nice blog.

sineadw

What eyeblinks said

humberklog

EyeBlinks wrote: »

Be warned, I have a big security guard employed who'll arrive unannounced to anyone that posts a "Nice Pic" comment :P:cool:

http://eyeblinks.ie/

Can I say "nice post"?

superflyninja

Paulw wrote: »

I think photographers publish what they like, in the hope that others like it too.

Obviously you shoot what you like, what you have an interest in. But, photography is so subjective. What you like, I may not like, and vice versa. That's what makes it so interesting.

But, you should always go with what you like.

true. But. Most of my most liked photos are ones (like the OP said) I thought were pretty obvious boring shots. This shot here for example http://superflyninja.deviantart.com/gallery/?sort=popularity&catpath=/&q=#/d28lwgs has almost 14 thousand views on one site alone, was printed in the metro for a comp,was stolen and used on a few album covers and a flatscreen TV advert in eastern europe etc. And I think its VERY standard.I could find a million better examples of that kind of shot in the random threads. Ive found that the more obvious photo works...sometimes i think it would be better if i just stuck to sunset shots and kittens. Im no judge of whether my own stuff is any good. So Ive found myself posting both what I like and some of what I think might be a safer bet....

DeVore

EyeBlinks wrote: »

Well here's one.

Must admit I started off like that, and for a good while I was looking for my shots to be well received. However, after a while I got little satisfaction from that and got to asking myself why am I taking photos? Is it so they can be liked/appreciated by others or was there more to it than that.

I think for me, there is more to it than that. Which has resulted in me taking far fewer photos, thinking and planning much more in advance and posting hardly any on line. When I do post, I truly don't care if they are received well by the masses as thats no longer the purpose.

The purpose of posting now for me is threefold.

1. So I can look myself now and then over time and see how the image fits, gains or loses appeal, purely for myself.

2. That the image might be appreciated, or not as the case maybe, by a handful of people whose opinion I value.

3 A way of showing people who may be interested what I'm working on.

If the image gets no comments/ticks/likes or whatever it is, it doesn't bother me in the least. I certainly don't consider an image that has no comment etc as inferior to one that has loads. It may be one image is simply more accessible than another.

I have recently relaunched my blog and have yet to receive a "nice pic" comment. Success ....long may it continue

But point 2 says you DO care.... Which negates you as a counter proof to my point. In fact, it supports it.... *confused*

sineadw

I think there's a difference between general praise though and recognition from a select few, and there's usually a big difference in image, for the people whose opinion I value at least. Maybe that's off the point you were trying to make?

From my experience, images i've made that are widely praised tend to have punch, or be aesthetically pleasing in some way. I'm in a slightly different situation to yourself in that it's my 'job' at present to make images or sets of images that are coherent and have a good conceptual background, moreso than they are pleasant or emotionally driven, or any of the other indicators that usually translate into likes. So i want mine to be successful. Absolutely. But measurements of success vary so much for individuals.

Not being very coherent at all here! Blame the large ball of snot where my brain is supposed to be. Bottom line though, do what you feel you want to do, learn as much as you can, and you find your audience

EyeBlinks

sineadw wrote: »

Bottom line though, do what you feel you want to do, learn as much as you can, and you find your audience

Thats it I think.

@DeVore - maybe I didn't explain myself properly there and maybe you are right to some extent. Though it's not for confirmation of a great shot or anything along those lines.

The Select few is a world away from general praise or not as the case maybe. These would be a handful of people, who I discuss things with regularily, who don't always have a similar interest in photography to me, but would be a good sounding board for me. I suppose everyone has that.

I would assess what they say, maybe clarify what I was trying to achieve and accept/part accept/reject what they say. But I would always consider it first, which is invaluable to me.

Generally it would be non technical stuff, like fitting a project or not.

luisspellcast

"beauty is in the eye of the beholder"

and i could have stopped my post at that (tl/dr version)

perception itself will widely differ from person to person when analyzing whatever form of art it's presented to their senses

we're not judging functionality or usefulness-- and i think you're trying to measure taste here

you must not forget that different people will look for different things in a photo-- different cultures, educations, past experiences or knowledge of the subject or technique will greatly influence on the person's final analysis...

elven

OH HAI!

It's friday, isn't it?

I think Sineadw nailed it.

If you were a band, and you recorded something that sounded like Nirvana, and you played it for a bunch of Justin Bieber fans, would you be surprised if they didn't like it? It's all about knowing who it is you're sharing it with, knowing their taste, deciding if that aligns with your taste, and whether you care.

If your photography is so all over the place that you don't think someone who knows you could pick it out in a line-up, don't worry, keep shooting, post what YOU like, rinse and repeat. Don't force yourself to find 'a style', keep trying stuff on till it feels like it fits, step back now and again, be ruthless in editing, put pictures next to each other instead of looking at them all individually. See if you can pick threads that you can follow and be more aware of when you're shooting next time. Look at stuff you shot last week and look at what you shot last year, compare them, see if you can notice a progression.

When you do feel like you have something that you can call your own, start thinking about who it is that you want to share it with and whether you care what they think.

picaaf

EyeBlinks wrote: »

and have yet to receive a "nice pic" comment. Success ....long may it continue

nice words

Calina

I'm always interested - to some extent - in what attracts others and what doesn't. And yes, on many occasions, I have been surprised by how certain photographs catch other people's attentions, and a few others remain hidden.

But your post raises something for me - it suggests seeking validation. I know you've subsequently posted that you'd typically go for what you like yourself rather than what you think will be popular - but since you're not clear on the dynamic that separates out the two, it's hard to say if you'd even be right.

Photographs tell a story, both for the photographer, and for the viewer. The stories don't always (in fact might often be said not to) overlap.

The other thing worth noting is a lack of feedback does not necessarily imply a lack of emotional response. Simply put, someone might not tell you how a particular photograph of yours has moved them.

At the end of the day though, you have to tell your story.

dinneenp

Good music analogy but just to add to it-

There's a style/certain type of photo that you could say is like mainstream music- the general public will like it, ticks all the right boxes. Doesn't mean that it's a great or bad photo.
Here's an example of mine-

Spanish Arch low tide by Photoblog.ie (Patrick Dinneen), on Flickr

Then you have 'indie' photos- could be abstract or a certain style that I might really like but the general public mighn't appreciate or think is a good photo.

There's an argument that the 'standard' photo has been photographed to death so why not try to shoot from a differnet angle/perspective/style.

I shoot anything and everything but often try to shoot from a different persepctive.
Here's a few example of some of my photos that I like that others/general public mightn't:


flying by by Photoblog.ie (Patrick Dinneen), on Flickr


Inception Limbo/Into the White by Photoblog.ie (Patrick Dinneen), on Flickr


Galway Triathlon abstract by Photoblog.ie (Patrick Dinneen), on Flickr


VOOOOMMM by Photoblog.ie (Patrick Dinneen), on Flickr

Each to their own I say. Of course you're happy if others like your photos but would you change your style of photograhing to make it more liked publically? I presume that no is the answer (as long as you're an amateur).

I'd suggest post some in a new thread asking for C&C and you'll get feedback.

Cheers,
Pa.

luisspellcast

if by "general public" you're referring to, mostly but not only, people that couldn't care any less what is playing on the radio (or how many times it plays per hour) then your mainstream definition will compare to people that either see something objective on the photo or don't see anything at all

I think realising one's a good story teller (or not) is one thing-- general acceptance or understanding of the story is a completely different one

there will be never anything going in the radio that will tick all boxes-- same goes with art-- the trick is to find the balance between what you want to say, how you want to say it and how to make the people you're targeting listen to you

Anouilh

I tend to upload photos that reflect a mood or the season that I'm in, so really it's arbitrary when it comes to other peoples' opinions.

Looking back over photos favourited in Flickr is a good way to understand another photographer's point of view. The choices tend to run to type.

For some reason, photos of flowers continue to get most response on my Flickr Rosewoodoil site, while portraits are non-starters.

dinneenp

also bear in mind that getting C&C from sites/forums like these will be from 'photography minded' people so their look on photos will be differnt than the rest of people...

e.g. looking at composition, noise etc vs Oh!, that's a nice colourful field/photo

FueledByAisling

DeVore this is actually the fear that is holding me back from doing Photography in College. Sometimes people like the photos I like but sometimes I hate the ones that I get lots of great feedback about. I've started to think that photography has become too much like english these days, some people process every aspect of the image claiming that it is 'wrong' . Critics look into everything too deep within the photo trying to make everything perfection instead of just accepting it's simple beauty.

As a result of this, I'm now a teenager scared to hell about what to do in college now

sineadw

FueledByAisling wrote: »

DeVore this is actually the fear that is holding me back from doing Photography in College. Sometimes people like the photos I like but sometimes I hate the ones that I get lots of great feedback about. I've started to think that photography has become too much like english these days, some people process every aspect of the image claiming that it is 'wrong' . Critics look into everything too deep within the photo trying to make everything perfection instead of just accepting it's simple beauty.

As a result of this, I'm now a teenager scared to hell about what to do in college now

Ah no! Studying photography in college, and the crits you get, are a million miles from what you get here and on similar online spaces. Go for it!

lisatiffany

FueledByAisling wrote: »

DeVore this is actually the fear that is holding me back from doing Photography in College. Sometimes people like the photos I like but sometimes I hate the ones that I get lots of great feedback about. I've started to think that photography has become too much like english these days, some people process every aspect of the image claiming that it is 'wrong' . Critics look into everything too deep within the photo trying to make everything perfection instead of just accepting it's simple beauty.

As a result of this, I'm now a teenager scared to hell about what to do in college now

I used to think the same thing, before I studied photography I enrolled in the new york film academy and on the first day I was scared to even leave my car, I sat there listening to music until I finally plucked up enough courage to walk in and sit down. I quickly found that common interest alone meant people were more civil about their criticisms, sure the tutors came down hard on assignments but fellow students with the same passions as myself were open minded enough to realize we were all learning and there are no experts.

You can post something on a site and "experts" will say this and that about them but nothing qualifies them to say those things they are going on personal taste, don't let something like that stop you from learning more about a subject you love and that goes for anything in life. There are of course bad photographs but the whole reason for studying something is to learn how to improve on your current skills, you can't expect someone to just pick up a camera without prior knowledge of things like composition and lighting. I'm not saying ignore feedback, that's not the answer either just realize that there is always room for improvement and college is a great way to learn how to make those improvements.

When you opt into having someone critique your shots online you will get exactly that, many shots you like will be less liked or recognized than you thought and the ones you might not like just might end up getting the most recognition. It's good to get critiqued but at the same time remember people have their own ideas of what is good and bad so there are already going to be preconceived ideas.

Don't let it put you off studying photography, if anything let it be that extra push into improving your skills by doing a course in the subject.

FueledByAisling

lisatiffany and sineadw thank you for your advice! I went to the IADT open day earlier this year and I got really excited looking around but I have acquaintances who study photography in other colleges who (judging from their photos) have no idea of ISO, exposure or f.stops even :eek:

I'm terrified that I may end up graduating with skills like those said and not finding any jobs and having to go back to college to study something new as I can't keep my head above water!

sineadw

Like any other course you'll have good and bad students. I finished an honours degree last year and i'm in a masters now, and i've learned sooooo much more than i did i the years i was trying to teach myself. It depends on how much you want to learn though- if you're expecting to go to class and have knowledge fall into your head then you could well come out not knowing one end of the camera from the other. If you want to learn and really apply yourself though you will

Again, go for it!