Reply To: "Real" photographers are dumb

[cameraclicker]

People speak of not being able to look away from an ongoing train wreck.  I doubt any would describe it as good, but they certainly find it interesting.   I am astounded by the photos displayed here, and by the notion that people would actually pay money to someone to take those photos.

I get that there are different budgets, and different people like different things.  That’s why there are Fords and Ferraris for sale to car purchasers, but both those cars will get you down the road and provide value.  I took a Lada for a test drive when they were introduced here.  Leaving the dealer’s lot, I touched the headlight switch and it fell out of the dash!  I clipped it back in and returned the car to the dealer’s lot.  Lots of the photos presented here remind me of that Lada;  interesting but not good.

If it were your baby, would you hang the purple baby picture on your living room wall and point it out to all your friends?  The whole point of professionally done photos is to have a photo that a majority of people will consider pleasing not only today but twenty, or even a hundred years into the future.  The site is dedicated to failing portrait and wedding photographers.  I’m not sure “art” or “interesting” is even a requirement of this genre, but it would be nice if parts that should be in focus are in focus, colours are reasonable, [usually] digital noise or grain is minimized, exposure is reasonably accurate and detail is sufficient both in highlights and shadows.  The people who are the “stars” of these photos should look at least as good in their photos as they do in real life and should be proud to show the photos, not just because they are in the photos, but because they look good in the photos.  If they just want a photo of them selves, they can give their cell phone to a waiter in any restaurant and get back a reasonable likeness of themselves for free.  Why would they pay for an equivalent photo by a fauxtographer?  I’m still trying to figure that out.