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#8684
mchilliard
Participant

Well, given the fact that you are producing films and music videos, not to mention running a record label, as long as you’re enjoying it, I think it’s safe to say you’ve done fairly well on at least a few of your more major life decisions :).  In terms of aspirations in photography, based on what you posted, I think you definitely have potential and may have been judged too harshly in the past, including some of the previous replies.  Of course, anyone’s reply is going to be based on their experience, expertise, and, at least to some extent, their personal opinions, but I’ll do my best to make a case for you  and back up my claims along the way.

Let’s talk about your images.

Shot 1: Right away, I liked the first shot.  The contrast and the depth of field (if you haven’t noticed this before, you’ll rarely see “depth of field” spelled out–everyone just writes “dof,”occasionally with some capitals thrown in) might seem off at first blush, but as a toned, soft-focus shot, it actually works (and the contrast is actually good–you have good blacks and whites, with good gradation between them–the slight sepia tone just shifts everything a little).  What I liked in particular is that the shot has a sense of storytelling to it–there’s mystery.  I wanted to know what was going on.  As a single image, it wouldn’t be very strong, mostly because it lacks a main subject to focus on, but as a part of a series, it would be a good early shot in a progression.

Shot 2: I liked this shot, too.  What makes this shot work is the kid’s facial expression and hand gesture–with the somewhat-squinting eyes and sideways glance, I felt it had a mischievous quality to it.  The dof is good, nice and shallow to isolate and emphasize your subject, but still retaining enough detail in the background that we can figure out the rest of the scene.  The focus does seem like it might be a little off.  With portraiture, one rule that should almost never be broken (unless you’re doing it on purpose, with a good reason) is to have the sharpest point of focus be on the eyes; in your image, the focus looks like it’s sharpest on the nose.  Focusing on the eyes can be hard to do, especially with a candid (as opposed to a posed) shot and, with an SLR, you can learn to adjust the size of your focal plane to control how precise you need to be (a wider/deeper focal plane, using a smaller aperture,  would give you a little more leeway that would be helpful in a candid situation).  That said, as an amateur, I’d still say you did pretty well, given the circumstances, because the emotion of the shot is still carried and other technical details, like your exposure and composition, are good.

Shot 3: Although I liked the pose and the facial expression, this image suffered on the technical side a little more, making it harder for me to appreciate what would have otherwise been a nice shot.  Your exposure, composition, and toning are all fine, but the point of focus is a fair ways off.  Somewhere around the chest and upper arm are the areas most in focus, when it should be sharpest on the eyes and face.  Here, the fairly shallow depth of field didn’t give you enough leeway to get the focus that far off and still have the shot work.

Shot 4:  I’m going to disagree with the previous poster and say that this is probably your weakest shot, not the strongest.  Although the exposure is decent (the highlights are a little blown [too bright] in some places) and the dof and focus is alright, the composition is suffering in several ways, mostly due to a large number of distracting elements cluttering up the frame.  Something that took me a surprisingly long time to figure out is that, taking a picture of something that seems cool to me–and this could be anything, from a musician on a stage to a section of cracked concrete, a flower, a building, a sign, etc.–doesn’t work unless I’m able to figure out exactly what it is that I like and successfully manipulate the camera, equipment, and tools I have at my disposal to properly translate that cool thing into a coherent picture.  In the case of your image, the smoke on stage and the intensity of the musician are interesting, but the microphone sticking out of his head, the stands, the macbook, and all the other detritus are filling up the frame, stealing attention away from the interesting parts.

Shot 5:  This image, like the first, has a sense of scene and story that makes it interesting.  The dof and focus are strange, probably not where you want them to be, and the blown out highlights are probably a little too strong as they are (this kind of scene can be really hard to work with, albeit very rewarding if you can get it right).  The problems make this shot not nearly as strong as the first image, and the problems aren’t ones that can be fixed in post.  Still, I think this shot at least shows that you identified an interesting scene and framed it well, even if the negative aspects ultimately outweigh the positive ones.

So, what should you make of all this?  You definitely have potential.  I think you see in stories and you already do a pretty good job of finding compositions that help you tell the stories you see around you.  That’s a talent that can help with many kinds of photography, including photojournalism, documentary, and portraiture, among others.  If you get your technical chops up to par, it will most definitely help you bridge the gap between fauxtographer and photographer, moving away from snapshots and toward fine art.  You’re headed in that direction already, and I guarantee that your experience in other artistic mediums–whether music or video or any other creative medium–has helped you think that way.

Personally, I can’t afford to be a starving artist (though I still feel like one sometimes!) so photography and the arts have to take a backseat to pre-med studies.  That said, I keep putting time in, taking art classes on the side, reading books and forums, watching videos–and most important, practicing, learning to critique myself, and trying to get feedback from others.  Calling myself an artist still feels a little pretentious to me, but I have had my work accepted into competitive juried shows, received positive feedback from other artists I respect, and I’ve become confident in my skills and what I do and don’t know.  I don’t hesitate to call myself a photographer, and I don’t really care if anyone disagrees.  Regardless of how long a person’s been shooting or what their skill level is, having the right mindset makes a huge difference.  I think many of the best photographers wouldn’t hesitate to describe themselves the same way you did – “a dude with a camera who aspires to do better.”

My best advice: Chase your passions.  If that includes photography, then keep pursuing it.  Should you open up shop as a photographer tomorrow?  No, but in a couple of years, if you are serious about practicing, learning, and getting feedback from the right sources, you might be ready.  Good luck!