Constructive Criticism Welcome

[roland985]

http://ramblingrampage985.blogspot.com.au

Have a look a my photoblog. Please tell me what problems you see with my photos. Please bear in mind that I have only got a cheap rubbish Olympus VG-160. All the photos before April were taken with a mobile phone. So the image quality here is not the best.

[stef]

Crops aren’t great (many are pretty bad), and -1 for quoting Ken Rockwell. Often the viewer is left guessing at your subject. A lot of vaguely interesting shots, but I didn’t really see anything I thought was particularly well-executed, framed, and exposed.

 

But overall I didn’t see gaping problems. I accidentally viewed your webpage thinking it was another “Here’s a really bad fauxtographer” someone linked, and I was thinking “These aren’t bad.” So, if that’s any consolation, while mistakenly looking at your page thinking you were a fauxtog, I was convinced you were not 🙂 Some of your stuff is “arty”, and actually might be salable with better crops and processing.

However, if you’re charging for your work in general, I would definitely call you out as a fauxtog. You need more experience, but you’re heading in the right direction.

 

My suggestions:

Be able to articulate your subject. “I want to convey solitude with this boat” or “It’s just a dying flower”. Whatever it is, it’s not coming across well.

Watch the entire frame. If there are wires that detract from the composition, move. Or remove them in post. Or crop in. Or zoom in. Or something, but don’t leave them in.

Don’t oversaturate. Too much saturation doesn’t make an uninteresting shot more interesting. It makes it worse. Composition makes something “pop”, not post processing. Post can help a good image become great. Trying to save a bad one is a waste of time. Shoot better.

Lastly, crop better. You might correct for your lenses, too… there’s some distortion, but that’s the last thing you need to look at.

Composition is what you need to concentrate on.

[roland985]

No, I am most certainly not charging. This is just a hobby.

I have huge limitations at the moment in the way of lenses, as I am using a rubbish point and shoot. I will agree that my crops are fairly bad.

I really try and get my shot right the first time, but composing on a screen that is reflecting everything into my face is a bit difficult. Not impossible.

I don’t really understand the Ken Rockwell hate, he has a few good ideas, and they are worth considering. (That said, there is some real WTF material in there also.)

I am currently working towards a real DSLR. I’ll have a lot more control and a better set of lenses.

This is my first 9 months of actually trying to learn to take photos. I’m sure that after a few years, I’ll be far better at composing.

[stef]

I’m teasing about the KR link. I like the guy, and have read most of his site. He’s pretty goofy, though. He’s like a magic 8 ball … sometimes he’s spot on, but sometimes, you need to “ask again tomorrow”.

 

And stop lamenting your equipment. I have some top of the line cameras, but I’ve been spending my off-time buying old equipment and using it. If you’re serious about photography instead of just wanting new gadgets, you can get some amazing deals on great glass and cameras if you are willing to shoot film. You can use your cellphone as a spot meter for a cheap medium format package, and still have money to buy a cup of coffee. So really, I have no sympathy for those who complain about their equipment when all they want is equipment, instead of the ability to make great photos. And you’ll take a lot more time composing your image when you only have 12 or 18 shots per roll, and requiring that kind of patience is exactly what you personally need.

Hit the yard and estate sales, and find yourself a mamiya 645 or RZ67 with a lens, or even an old pentax 67. Some of the old russian cameras are cool, too, but read up on them before buying (so that you can test the mechanism… some are very sensitive and possibly already broken). You’ll be able to sell it for what you bought it for if you don’t like it. You can probably get a good kit with 1 or 2 lenses for under $300, and it’ll take much better pictures than any digital camera at 10 times the cost. I’m not exaggerating, either. Borrow a friend’s scanner now and then and scan all your negatives.

You also get the bonus that negatives generally last a very long time. Far longer than any digital medium short of cuneiform. (Okay, there is one CD that’ll last hundreds of years, but in 100 years, nobody will know wtf a CD is or have a computer that can read it).

If you truly want to learn photography, you will at least consider starting down the path of film, price it out, and learn about it. It requires less commitment, but more patience. You can shoot a roll a day for a year and still pay less than a digital camera, and in the end you will have a much better understanding and appreciation of what makes a good photograph.

[IHF]

Nothing made me cringe and I was fully expecting to 😉

I like your “you don’t have to go very far” and how you feel about PP, we are 2 peas in a pod lol

I noticed too that your later work/posts have less like images.  This proves/shows me that you are being more criticle of your work than you were in the beginning, and developing a better eye.  I think you think like a photographer, and if you can take interesting shots wth what you feel is limited equipment, and understand that not all your shots are interesting, I think you are on the right track.  Keep keeping on!  And BTW  I love Stefs suggestions to you and agree completely.

[roland985]

Thanks for that guys. I really appreciate some input. I have family telling me that I’m good, and friends telling me that too. I need to learn about what I am doing badly so cheers for that, Especially Stef, you are very direct. Thankyou.

[lovethissite]

I think you have a good start

[Author]

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