Reply To: Kind of new am i a fauxtog?

[IHF]

I decided to look further and go to your website as well just to get more of a feel of where you are coming from and what you are trying to get from this critique.  If I peg you wrong I apologize, but it’s what your port tells me…so… If I’m wrong it’s up to you to have it tell people something else.  I’m going to assume that your interest isn’t with event and portrait photography, and maybe you are just looking to sell a few prints or maybe submit for licensing eventually? or maybe you just are looking for input so you can get better because you just love the process?

awkwardly putting on my teacher hat for someone who’s an amateur like me and also has no idea at all what they are doing or why they do it  lol I HAVE been breaking even on my hobby though and completely pay for all my photography stuffs by sales of my finished work.  HA HA I break even, that’s how successful and bad ass I am at photography he he he  So take all I say with a grain of salt and keep in mind where it came from.  Not a pro here… far from it

First, I want you to print and finish your work.  Shop for a good lab, and also learn how to print yourself as well.  This alone will help your photography tremendously.  I don’t care who you are…Print, finish, mount, and display your photographs.  When you start this process you will learn so very much about what makes a good photograph a good photograph.  Anyone can make an image look good on the web, but creating great prints… That’s a challenge.  It will even change the way you shoot and see things.  Your framing will change, your thought process will change, your compositions will get better.

Learn about color managing.  This will go hand in hand with finishing your photographs (and why I knew you needed to start printing.  If you already are, then you need to print more).  It doesn’t look as though you are properly calibrated.  It’s a pain in the ass but it HAS to be done, and you will be thrilled you endured the torture of learning color management .  I promise

Cull and edit your port.  If you have multiple shots of a composition or subject, chose only one.  Which one will make the cut?  The one that you yourself would pay $350 to $450 or more to print, finish, and display.  If you’re broke… why did you get started on this photography thing? lol Joking aside though.  If money is tight, ask yourself if you had $350 + to spend on art, would you spend it on finishing that photo large and have it prominently displayed in your home?  No?  Trash it.  Get it out of there!  (no, you don’t have to delete them, just create a port that isn’t a dumping ground, and remove it) Cull down to your 50 best photos, if you can cull further then by all means do it.  Culling is one of the very best exercises you can do for your photography.  It’s also very difficult, and sometimes very long process.  I tend to cull as I go.  If I add a picture to my port I ask myself if I HAD to remove one, which would it be?  9 times out of ten… I end up removing one, and you know what?  My baby, my “OMG I can’t beleive how much I really like this picture I made.  I just know this will always be a favorite” photo gets removed, and I don’t even miss it..  lol and no one else does either 😉