Home Forums Am I a Fauxtog? Here Goes Nothing… Critique (+ Intro)

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  • #10116
    Jones
    Participant

    Hi everyone.

     

    My name is Andrew, and I have been browsing as a viewer of YANAP for quite some time, but have only just gotten the courage to post here. I suppose we always ask the question (what if I am a fauxtographer?). Below is some ‘about me,’ and at the bottom is a link to some photos.

    Without further adieu…I am a high school student in Colorado, and I enjoy writing, being a grammar freak, and most importantly: photography. I took an entire year of photography this year in class (teacher is great… technically, students are supposed to take only 1 semester of photo, but I managed to convince them to let me in again). I am not yet finished with high school, and have been shooting seriously for about a year now.

    I first met Jenny at a school class. Our school does what is called an “elective week,” wherein all students take an entire week off of normal classes and instead focus on one specific topic for a week, 8 hours a day. Jenny taught a photography e-week, and I decided to take it offhandedly as a last minute decision.I only knew a few things about the class, and Ms. Jenny: It it was it was the one that filled up fastest, and nothing but good things were ever said about it, and Jenny was a 35-year professional shooter, specializing in weddings. Rock on. This was about a year ago. At this point, my photography experience was no more than that of a point & shoot on mostly auto… I read tirelessly about photography before her class, and I bought my first DSLR for the class… by the time the class had started, I was shooting mostly in “P” mode with everything else on “AUTO.” I didn’t know much about photography, but just as something to judge Jenny and give you a little chuckle: the first day of the class, she brought in 3 SUITCASES of photo equipment. She had an entire case of camera bodies (at least 3) and lenses (no idea how many) and a couple of flashes. No doubt it was her wedding bag. In addition, she had TWO suitcases full of studio equipment and large lighting. At this point, there is no doubt in my mind: This teacher is hardcore.

    Regardless, I took her class and learned more things than I thought possible. I was truly humbled by her knowledge. Because of that class, we became better friends and she noticed that I was really the only person in the class with any interest in photography beyond normal. I was a sort of apprentice under a long time friend and  a shooter who I considered to be a true master of her craft. Jenny was her name. I was planning on learning from her extensively, and she was going to teach me studio lighting, wedding shooting, among others (I don’t think I could ever do it… I have the utmost respect for you wedding folk).

    Sadly, Ms. Jenny passed away a few months ago, after a short but valiant battle with her third cancer, an aggressive form of Leukemia. I dipped into my photo-fund and purchased the majority of her studio equipment from the family, who was selling it to cover funeral expenses, in order to save Jenny’s lifework from a life of craigslist and eBay, something I could not handle.

    I have had people offer to buy my photos from me, and I make that available to them, making sure to clearly detail what the actual costs are going to. The graduation in the Flickr stream was volunteer work that Jenny used to do, and as her student I took it over. It was very nerve-wracking as I have the desire to do my former-mentor proud as well as do a good job for myself. I have recently run into a couple of photography problems… I have those who are upset with me because they are certain that the camera does all the work, and I have also received angry e-mails from people who do not think a student should be doing anything even related to photography (under Jenny, etc.) but it should be made clear that I don’t expressly “sell” myself… yet. I have performed countless hours of menial, physical labor to obtain a nice collection of photography equipment and education (workshops, etc. but it’s limited as I’m not even yet in college).

    I am continuously at odds with a couple of begrudging ‘friends’ of mine, who are also ‘photographers’ (I don’t even know if I can call myself a photographer…). They are Bri and Alec, and I’m truly not sure which one of them thinks they are better than the other. A little background, Alec recently told me that we should go into a photo business together, because his “pictures look basically professional and people would pay for them,” and he is “pretty sure mine are decent-ish too.” 🙂 I certainly do not pretend to know everything, but I think I have some more knowledge for my age than your average duck-faced instagrammer. Occasionally, people in my photo class and family friends (mostly snapshot moms) ask me for tips and tricks, and I am happy to help where I can but also happy to admit freely when I do not know the answer. I want to do the whole photography thing right, though, and a big phrase used in my family often is “go big or go home” — I’m just hoping I can make the “go big” happen in my photography instead of the “go home.” Again, I don’t know everything, but I did ask Alec recently about angle of incidence/reflection, bokeh, rembrandt lighting, etc. and I was shocked by the blank stare I received that he didn’t know any of them, and he markets himself as “professional,” because he uses the school’s old Rebel DSLR and excessive selective coloring (we are both on yearbook staff). Once, he was the only photographer at a school-event, and he decided to watermark ORIGINALS; thus, the photos could not be used in our book.

    Here are their details…

    Dutch angle haters, beware!!!! The perspective-skewed papyrus watermark should tell anyone here all they need to know about Alec…

    https://www.facebook.com/AlecStreetPhotography?fref=ts

     

    Bri: http://www.photomagraph.blogspot.com

    She wants to be a photojournalist, but hates photographing people… O_o

    It was actually Jenny who suggested this forum/website to me. She suggested I come here when I thought I was ready to face a tough firing squad and get critiqued, and I am ready to do this. I would appreciate any insight/advice/”you are/are not a fauxtographer” from everybody here. The flickr stream is a collection of 50 photos of a pretty wide variety. I tried to select mostly middle-ground images, so there are some “better” ones I didn’t include, and likewise some “worse” ones I left out, too (barring any OOF throwaways, and so on).

    Sorry about the artifacts in some of the straight black areas on some of the photos… I’m not sure what they are, or how to get rid of them; they don’t appear in the original photos on my computer. Even though I think I uploaded to Flickr @ Full size and everything OK, I’m not sure.

    Kudos if you read this far. Thanks for any advice. Here’s to hoping I’m not a fauxtographer. 🙂 Thanks again anyone & everyone.

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/63706846@N08/sets/72157633717762043/with/8845069166/

    Andrew.

    #10117
    Rizzo
    Participant

    i don’t have much time to do an in-depth critique right now (i did read your entire post, though), but it can basically be summed in two sentences.

    they are NOT that good. you are.

    you seem especially at ease with sports photography (and kudos to that – it’s one area i refuse to touch) but i did notice some shadow issues in the graduation photos, so be mindful of those.  you can see the raw talent… and i’m guessing you’re young, so you have plenty of time to develop (har har pardon the pun) your style and technique.

    from what i’ve seen, if you’ve gotten criticism, it’s probably out of pure jealousy – most of the time that’s all it is (see browneyedgirl’s post about the 4-H photo contest for another example).

    since you’re not marketing as a professional, you are definitely NOT a fauxtog. i think you could be a very, very good photographer with a little more time and experience. build a portfolio. 🙂

    also, i’m sorry for the loss of your friend and mentor. i do think she’d be proud of your work, and what you’re doing to keep her name alive.

    #10118
    nesgran
    Participant

    A couple of things, do not go into business with your friends. I got seasick from looking at the first and bored looking at the second.  As a purely professional thing it isn’t great to bad mouth your friends, even if they are near fauxtog level.

    As for your actual photos, they look good, mostly. You have a couple of posed shots of more than one person where one person is blurry. You have chopped a fair few people in half, like the pic of the three cheerleaders which is guilty of both of the above.  There is the odd white balance problem and lighting could have been better in the sports shots though that is obviously hard to control but other than that there isn’t much to nitpick on. What you need is a better photographer than I am to give you proper critiques and I suspect the best way for you to get that would be to get a job as an assistant to a good photographer. You probably need to narrow down a little what you want to shoot (events, sports, studio?) and work from there. One thing though is that there isn’t a lot of creativity in the shots. They are sound but they are more of a documenting type (which is fine) but it depends on where you want to go from there.

    It is obvious you have good gear and know how to use it well. Some of those shots I wouldn’t have included because of pure technical problems. I wouldn’t call you a fauxtog even if you started charging people, I however think you’d benefit from being taken on by someone who is skilled and interested in passing on their knowledge. You should probably even consider taking more courses in photography at a higher level.

    I am very sorry for the loss of your friend, she sounds like a great person and photographer.

    #10120
    Jones
    Participant

    Many thanks, Rizzo. 🙂 I appreciate the words. If you do have the opportunity to look more in depth, I’d really value that too. I see what you mean when you mention the shadows, but for the most part I didn’t see anything ‘wrong’ with them (not saying that they couldn’t be improved upon, of course), so I appreciate the experienced eye to provide feedback on those sorts of things. Of course, as we are all learning, I suppose the next step I should take comes down to practice, practice, practice, and making sure I can get the basis of things right.

     

    II see what you meant with the shadows on the graduation. I was trying to fill them without being tacky about it, but tougher than I thought it would be for me with a single on-camera flash in broad daylight. Some, as you can see, were definitely done better than the others, but it was definitely more hit and miss than I would have liked…live and learn, I suppose. Need to find some sort of middle ground where I can retain some run-and-gun maneuverability without sacrificing quality, but that’s just me rambling. Thanks once again for your advice; I’d love to hear anything you and anyone else has to say. 🙂

    #10121
    nairbynairb
    Participant

    Firstly, sorry to hear about Jenny.

    Secondly, she did a great job teaching you.

     

    You are quite literally miles and miles ahead of the other two photographers you talked about. Bri (imo) is much better than Alec. Alec just has random snapshots with horrible editing. Bri at least has some eye for noticing cool photo ideas.

     

    You have nothing to worry about. Keep learning, keep shooting and keep it up!

     

    (Don’t let this go to your head though ;))

    #10122
    nairbynairb
    Participant
    #10123
    Jones
    Participant

    Thank you for the more than kind words. No going to my head here; I admit we are all still learning, and I embrace the fact there’s places to go.

     

    Jenny was a remarkable teacher — I will look for some of her work and post a couple examples here, (that i have permission to!) just to show. Thanks so much again for your thoughts and advice.

    #10125
    Brownie
    Participant

    Hi Andrew,

    I don’t post here much anymore but I saw your post and gave it a chance.

    Let me start off my saying Alec Street’s work is horrendous for the kind of game he talks. Using dutch angles for no apparent reason is pointless and sickening. Even his logo is disorienting and ugly. I don’t want to talk anymore about this guy’s work.

    I will say that a few of Bri’s photographs hold a bit of interest for me because the compositions are pretty smart and well-done. Some is very abrasive and feels ‘clunky’  but some of her pictures I expect to see in basic (film)  photography at my university.
    To get back on track, I was the only staff photographer at the yearbook I was apart of and it was pretty ridiculous so I know what you deal with.  I specialized in photographing sporting events, mainly football, so I was drawn to your soccer photographs and they are pretty well-done. My only criticism is that you have a ton of negative space that isn’t used effectively. Sports photography is all about filling the frame with action, basically, and the picture feels passive although we have these great expressions and whatnot but due to the distance, we feel apart from it.  Changing where you are set up or cropping will help that. I’d suggest the first one. The track photographs have more of that feel that work a lot better as an illustration of the event.

    I also shot a lot of plays whilst in high school and they are a pretty good account of the event itself, it’s all about drama.I will say that one of my favorite moments of this is: http://www.flickr.com/photos/63706846@N08/8844339605/in/photostream/lightbox/ but having dorothy’s features cut off is disappointing and detrimental to the effectiveness of the photograph for me. In general, the plays look good, obviously the color will be off because of their stage lighting but to rectify this. you could consider changing your white balance to match the degrees of the bulbs.

    And to your graduation photographs: they are expected, but look okay.  I’m not crazy about the typical posed picture but there’s a place for that kind of thought process. What you can think about is to distinguish how you make this photographs your own so that the viewer can identify the photographer in the work, if that makes sense. Like  previous comment said, a fill flash would’ve worked wonders for you. I hated flash in high school because of how it was used but there are smart ways to use a flash, I’ve come around, as they say. When I would shoot, I always prefered being stealthy and making candid photographs than having all the ducks in a row and snapping them. I would consider using a flash with a diffuser over it and see how you feel about that. Obviously, you would have to change the white balance to match but I think you would be very happy with the results…

    Also, editing: I’m 95% sure that you edited these people’s eyes significantly, but I’m not completely sure,

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/63706846@N08/8844785054/

    if you did, I wouldn’t continue editing a single item in the picture and leaving the rest as is.

    nesgran’s comment about narrowing your shooting scope is valid,  but at your stage in the game, it’s all about learning different techniques in different situations to make photographs for your publication. I wouldn’t encourage you to only work on one thing, but compile these different events into portfolios and work from there. Organization is key. If the photographers I admire only shot the same thing, it would get quickly stale.

    I’m glad I looked at your work because I see someone that is actually interested in learning, in growing as a photographer. My hope is that in 10 years or so, you’ll see these pictures and think that they are a wreck, because you have improved so much and your understanding has increased exponentially.  The pictures aren’t there yet.

    I thought I knew it all coming out of high school, I really did. It was only until college I realized how little I knew; that is humbling and key to developing. I study fine art and I make photographs. and I find 99% of things I made when I was younger to be horrific and cringe-worthy.

    But I have talked way too long. Bottom Line: you learn from a combination of pure shooting practice, other artists/photojournalists and ambition to learn and I hope you never lose that. Look at work by photographers who make a ton of cash doing what you love. Email them and start a dialogue, it helps!

     

    I hope a fraction of this was useful!

    #10128
    Jones
    Participant

    Thanks. All of the comments were useful! Oddly enough, the eyes in the photo you mentioned werent edited color-wise. Especially the second person in left, I didn’t touch eyes. Shockingly enough, it is unusual but that how her eyes truly were.  I did brighten the whites of the eyes, and did a general contrast boost as well as removing an…offensive photobomber which I think was removed well, but that’s just me because I don’t usually do those things. I was using a flash, but it was more difficult than I thought it wwould be because of the varying distances. Auto wasnt working for me there, and I’m sure there is a better way to do it, but I don’t have the experience to do that. I agree with the starting dialogues with other people. Unfortunately, the majority of people around here are of the ‘secret curtain’ type, and the professionals don’t seem that open.

     

    The soccer was a bit if a fluke, and I agree with you. Our school has nothing for photo equipment besides a rebel and a 18-55 kit lens, because the photo department is poor and without help. Instead, I’m left using all my own equipment. The referees at the soccer game gave me a designated spot I could sit, which was upsetting but also not convenient for photos. now that I think about it, the final photos were cropped in the end, but the soccer photos that are there were at a surprising 400mm anyway, even though it doesn’t look like it. That’s not to defend the pictures, but instead to just explain because I know it doesn’t look like a 400mm lens. Thanks for the comments about the munchkin too. The actress who played the part of the witch did that once in the dress rehearsal, and it was a quick snap and grab. I was lucky I got focus (I know, no excuse but it is what It is. :p)

    you didn’t talk too long at all, and I appreciate the thoughts. 🙂

    #10129
    stef
    Participant

    You are quite literally miles and miles ahead of the other two photographers you talked about.

    He did say he was a grammar freak. He might be figuratively miles ahead, but it’s highly unlikely he’s literally miles ahead in a photography race.

     

    #10130
    Jones
    Participant

    He did say he was a grammar freak. He might be figuratively miles ahead, but it’s highly unlikely he’s literally miles ahead in a photography race.

     

    ROFL! 😀

    #10131
    Jones
    Participant

    Oh, sorry I didn’t see your post before, Nesgran. I didn’t mean it as badmouthing my friends; they are great people and I enjoy spending time with both, but I get upset when they pull the “I could do that for lots less than [professional in area] and I’ll give you a disc, too.”

    Sorry if I seemed as badmouthing them. That wasn’t what I meant at all.

    I will narrow down what I do someday, but since I’m still in high school as apart of our yearbook staff, it means I am pretty much forced to do lots of everything. I know that I will never touch a landscape, though. 😛

    I was lots too close to those cheerleaders. I admit that entirely, and there’s no way to defend it other than I was up against the wall.

    For the graduation, I wish I would have had some different equipment to use, too, something in the 24-70 range because the 70-200 was just not cutting it for keeping things in focus. That’ll be next on my list. Something wider than a 50. I am looking at some local college classes and that sort of thing, as well as some types of workshops around the area… I live in a pretty bad place for anything related to photography (nearest camera shop is about 50 miles.)

    Agreed on the sports lighting too, but I wouldn’t know how to solve that, so if anyone has suggestions please chime in. For that gym, there are varying temperatures of lights (for the bulbs that do work) that are seriously awful. I measured, and one end of the gym is a 2000K difference in color than the other end. I used my expodisc and gave it my best shot, but I still wasn’t happy with it. Flash isn’t allowed, otherwise I would set up remotes. 🙁 If there’s any way to get around the white balance issues, I’m happy to take any advice. 🙂
    Thanks everyone for your critiques… it’s been really helpful.

     

     

    Didn’t see the edit button til after this post. 🙁

    After Jenny’s passing, I am looking for a professional or … something around to apprentice under, but it is proving difficult. Many around aren’t willing to share.

    Here are some links to various images by local professionals.

    https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/943379_535789256462498_1084752850_n.jpg

    https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-frc1/400689_535788073129283_1185033183_n.jpg

    https://fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/297139_3251147976755_57214831_n.jpg

    https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn1/12716_3251149056782_102068645_n.jpg

    https://fbcdn-sphotos-d-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/559586_519248368103965_1732074937_n.jpg

    Now, it’s not to say that any of those photos are necessarily BAD, because they are by local photogs who are being handsomely paid for what they do, but they are just not the kind of style that I LIKE or want to create, so any kind of apprenticeship under them may simply be a waste of energy for both parties.

     

    Now comparing that to some of Jenny’s past work:

    https://fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-frc1/577547_465568203459053_101533585_n.jpg

    https://fbcdn-sphotos-e-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/521327_465567850125755_519026356_n.jpg

    https://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/556758_465567276792479_366230205_n.jpg

    https://fbcdn-sphotos-d-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/27108_101072386602036_6639261_n.jpg — her own self-portrait. She is, literally, the ONLY person I know that could pull off that backdrop for ANYTHING, photographer or subject-wise.

    That is the kind of style I am trying to lean towards. I find the other two photographers’ work too oversaturated/bright, and then too … “instagram.” Each to their own, of course, but it is not the direction I want to go someday. It is easy enough to self-teach technical things, but I’m finding it much harder to learn “styles” without any sort of direction. It is tough to lose your teacher when there was still so much to learn, but I am thankful for the things I did gain. Keep learning and pressing, I suppose.

    Thank you all so much for the advice so far. 🙂

    #10132
    Brownie
    Participant

    I was talking about the whites of their eyes looked edited, should’ve clarified. Oh really? Is it over the girl’s shoulder left side? I think I see some repeats in the grass, but still, looks good. Just watch the edits. The only pictures that should be enhanced like that are studio shots for magazines. Hah.

    Oh, I’m not saying about professionals in your area, national professionals, people that shoot for magazines, newspapers, sports teams etc. (I’m facebook ‘friends’ with Donn Jones, the sports photographer for the Tennessee Titans) People love to be complemented and praised. Most will want to help you!

    Ah, that is upsetting. I always trotted around anywhere with it! Hahaha. I used an XSi in my time and you can really get some nice photographs with it if you know it well. It can’t handle any low light very well but you gotta deal with it. I use to drool over a 400mm you don’t even know. Hah.

    No trouble at all, happy to help in any way.

    #10134
    Brownie
    Participant

    And basically, most high school gyms are hell to shoot in. You just kinda have to wing it. Consider investing in a prime wide angle lens for your camera, it will make a difference if it is full frame or not.

    #10137
    Jones
    Participant

     

    After Jenny’s passing, I am looking for a professional or … something around to apprentice under, but it is proving difficult. Many around aren’t willing to share.

    Here are some links to various images by local professionals.

    https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/943379_535789256462498_1084752850_n.jpg

    https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-frc1/400689_535788073129283_1185033183_n.jpg

    https://fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/297139_3251147976755_57214831_n.jpg

    https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn1/12716_3251149056782_102068645_n.jpg

    https://fbcdn-sphotos-d-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/559586_519248368103965_1732074937_n.jpg

    Now, it’s not to say that any of those photos are necessarily BAD, because they are by local photogs who are being handsomely paid for what they do, but they are just not the kind of style that I LIKE or want to create, so any kind of apprenticeship under them may simply be a waste of energy for both parties.

     

    Now comparing that to some of Jenny’s past work:

    https://fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-frc1/577547_465568203459053_101533585_n.jpg

    https://fbcdn-sphotos-e-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/521327_465567850125755_519026356_n.jpg

    https://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/556758_465567276792479_366230205_n.jpg

    https://fbcdn-sphotos-d-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/27108_101072386602036_6639261_n.jpg — her own self-portrait. She is, literally, the ONLY person I know that could pull off that backdrop for ANYTHING, photographer or subject-wise.

    That is the kind of style I am trying to lean towards. I find the other two photographers’ work too oversaturated/bright, and then too … “instagram.” Each to their own, of course, but it is not the direction I want to go someday. It is easy enough to self-teach technical things, but I’m finding it much harder to learn “styles” without any sort of direction. It is tough to lose your teacher when there was still so much to learn, but I am thankful for the things I did gain. Keep learning and pressing, I suppose.

    Thank you all so much for the advice so far. 

     

    I was going to edit this in, but then a couple of posts went by and I figured to make it visible it’d be easier just to post again… 😛

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