Home › Forums › Am I a Fauxtog? › Opinions?
- This topic has 7 replies, 6 voices, and was last updated 10 years, 7 months ago by
nesgran.
-
AuthorPosts
-
September 12, 2013 at 3:15 am #12943
fireandroses
ParticipantSo after quite some time of checking out photos, I have started to wonder…am I a fauxtog? I think I do pretty well, but it is always nice to get a new opinion from others. https://www.facebook.com/agwphotography let me know what you guys think. What may be some areas I can improve on, or keep doing what I am doing?
September 12, 2013 at 6:31 am #12944Worst Case Scenario
ParticipantIf you want honesty I’d have to say you are border line…. sorry!
You work is mostly okay but there is no WOW factor. You do have a few faux traits,
wrong focus point
spot colour
Nappy!
WTF?
wrong colour temp
There’s lots more I could point out but honestly there has never been a picture that couldn’t be ripped apart in critique or improved with hindsight. So I’d like to ask is this your only advertising page or do you have a website as well? Because this page looks more like a collection of everything you have ever taken rather than an advert.
Only post your best work online, not everything you take!
If you were to weed these down to the best 20 images you’d have a much better looking page.
Hope that helps…….
September 12, 2013 at 6:43 am #12945cameraclicker
ParticipantThere are a some that I like. But I see one that has sensor dirt or birds flying in formation, or a really distant air squadron. I see one with spot colour. I see focus issues. Saturation and white balance suggest monitor calibration may be required. As I go through them, I seem to be able to check off most of the boxes! Not good.
Facebook is not the best place to display photos. Flickr is free and supports display at the size you upload. 500px specifies the upload size. Both display better than FB.
If you want a critique, put up a photo or two that you think are best and point to them.
September 12, 2013 at 11:11 am #12947ebi
ParticipantWhat may be some areas I can improve on, or keep doing what I am doing?
You should most definitely not keep doing what you’re doing. You’re pictures are mediocre at best and you are charging for it. Great that you got people to pay for that. But you should stop doing that and take the money that you’ve (hopefully) saved with this little side hobby and put it towards learning some basic camera and lighting. Or better yet, find a local photographer in your area, that does exceptionally good work and charges exceptional prices and offer to assist for a low rate so that you can get your feet wet.
The good news is, that the first step to dealing with being a fauxtog is admitting that you are a fauxtog. So please, repeat after me “Hi, My name is ______ and I am a fauxtog. It has been 2 days since my last fauxto” One day at a time!
So that I do not come off as a complete asshole which incites a forum riot that draws attention away from you, I’ll comment on a few photos that I think could get you heading in the right direction.
This image has potential. Unfortunately the light is just too flat and frontal. If it had some shape to it, giving it a little mood and drama, it would be gorgeous. Also it’s grainy.
See the dark circles in their eyes? This is the result of overhead ambient light. You don’t want that. And you really don’t want to flash this either. You need to either kill the ambient altogether or take them to a different place.
…Honestly, that is all I can bare to look at, at the moment.
A good first exercise is to start looking at other photographers work and start finding images that you think are really good. Pull them as swipes for future reference. If you are uncertain about how to light something, you can post a link to it here and I can probably tell you how it was done.
Good Luck.
September 12, 2013 at 4:06 pm #12958nesgran
ParticipantBloody hell ebi…
I will echo the others and saying that you need to learn a lot more about lighting. Very few of the shots have any wow factor over them but look a bit like snapshots I’m afraid.
September 13, 2013 at 12:12 am #12968IHF
ParticipantFireandroses,
I agree with everyone here. I think the very best thing that you could do for your photography right now, is to stop shooting for others, and shoot for yourself, and your learning process. Get the basics down, and get to know your gear, how to focus, how to color manage, manipulate/use light etc. I don’t say this to be mean or spiteful. It’s just that it’s really hard to take on business AND the basics/fundamentals of photography simultaneously. When shooting for others (wether for money OR for free) the technical side of things tends to take a back seat, while customer service, marketing, gear and other expenses, people skills and props, posing etc etc become the main focus. It just won’t work. Think about it. It becomes more about shooting franticly, trying your best to not miss moments, and then trying to edit the select few to make them interesting, rather than working on your skills. Be honest, how many times have you forgot to even change your settings during a session after your location/light changed? Most people don’t have the patience to stand/sit there and wait while we fumble around with our settings and equipment. That’s why it’s important to go into it already with an understanding. When we are hired it is expected that we know what we are doing, or at the very least know more than most. So we work fast, to make them happy, without taking the time we should be taking to teach ourselves. You have to have your foundation built first if you want any chance at succeeding at business. I’m afraid if things stand as they are, you’ll end up following the same foot steps as other fauxs who skipped the most important step to starting a photography business, becoming a photographer first. Fauxs eventually burn out and fall out of it entirely OR they chose to take the steps necessary to do things more productively, and honestly, and take down their price lists, start saying “no” and buckle down. Learn the exposure triangle, know how to work your camera like it’s just second nature, take the time to learn proper color management, go on to learn good editing techniques, learn DOF and how it affects our photos,and how to work it to your advantage, learn about composition, and how light affects your photos and adds dimension and mood, and flatters your subjects. All these basics can be and should be learned without soliciting to/marketing to, or using the public. Use objects, chairs, vacuums, stuffed animals, still life, ect to learn exposure, lighting and DOF. Use family members and close friends to learn posing in a more direct practical and hands on way. Practice practice practice and when you are done, practice some more. You can do THIS! It’s takes some dedication, and it can be quite frustrating, and lack that creativity we are lusting after, but without the basic foundation there… it’s all for not anyway
September 13, 2013 at 12:44 am #12970Participant@nesgran, i’m not sure what you mean or if that is good or bad. It doesn’t sound good. lol.
September 13, 2013 at 2:22 am #12976Participantgood, albeit somewhat forced 🙂
-
AuthorPosts
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.