[iliketag]

Is there anyone willing to contact that A.P.E. guy? I am honestly curious if he has any current work to show. All of his stuff is so outdated, I’m interested to see what he’s doing now. I would never book anyone without having current examples and I can’t seem to find anything on his site. I mean, even that blockbuster picture. That’s gotta be super early 2000’s at latest!

[iliketag]

Here’s a really practical example of how you could improve the last shot you posted.
First of all, there’s too much going on. What is your focus? What would you like your viewer to see?

You’ve got a heap of negative space on the right. I would have moved in, closer to the bridge, and shot facing back into the more wooded area. “But there’s a parking lot that would encroach on that side”, ok, tighten the frame again and move with an upward shot, grabbing the light through the trees. Lose the house in the frame all together.

Grab a girlfriend and have her sit on the railing of the footbridge. Get in closer and the distance of the trees in the background will create a smoother, softer bokeh of the wooded area behind her. “But there’s not enough light in front of her to brighten her up!” get a large piece of white poster board or a windshield cover and light that lady up! Bounce the light back into her face. If you go even tighter for a head shot, you can manage catchlights in her eyes.

These are all ways you could add interest to that location. I would love to have a little hidden gem like that close by!

[iliketag]

Wow, defensive much? He wasn’t being malicious dude.
Look, you need to find your niche. That’s what he’s saying. Don’t be a jerk, or else you’re going to rile up this small community and no one will be on your side.
Basically right now your work lacks anything of interest. Leaves and grass and flowers are great for practice but they won’t be your bread and butter unless you’re doing super macro for text books or natgeo. If you want to shoot portraits, go out and photograph people. If you want to do landscapes, shoot it. A camera’s kit lens is better than most people give it credit for and until you understand the functions and limits of it, you shouldn’t move on.

I started in high school on a Canon film camera. When digital moved into our school and replaced my photo lab, I adapted and took a Digital Photography class where they had us learning on a 5mp point and shoot with manual settings. I took my first set of portraits on a Canon Powersot A530 5mp point and shoot (the model one up from the ones I learned on in that 101 class) then adopted my mother’s lonely Rebel XTi my senior year.
My first portraits were senior pictures for a friend, shot with the little baby p&s. His parents were thrilled and they payed me $50 and loved them so much, they tipped me an additional $30. You can still take excellent photos with a basic camera. Don’t use that as an excuse. If you don’t know how to utilize your current equipment, practice! Experiment! Don’t think that high end glass and a 2k body is going to improve your photography. YOU have to improve it first.

If you want to take portraits, grab a friend. Who doesn’t love a new profile pic? If you want to shoot landscapes, go on a hike. If you want to shoot street photography, go downtown and hang out for a day on your weekend.

Don’t start a fight, man. You’ll get crushed in here when you start behaving that way. We’re a nice lot, but we won’t sit by and let you behave childishly.

[iliketag]

You seem to have a very strong grasp of portraiture, which is great. My grief is that you don’t necessarily want to post all the images from a session. For example, the album with the dark red headed woman with curly hair has several poses but not a lot of “wow” factor. The images are good, but there’s nothing that stands out for me. With a lot more custom photographers cropping up, it’s hard for me to fall in love with basic headshots. If the album was for headshots, I would recommend to make an album specifically for that and narrow the number of images posted to around 3 per unique shoot.
I understand it’s tempting to post all the great shots you get… but if you show images that feel repetitive (even if they may not be exactly the same) you’re going to start to bore prospective clients.

I really encourage you to continue to grow and exand. You’ve got talent, don’t squander it on the ho-hum!

[iliketag]

@Rizzo  Ok, so I looked at her page too. There’s absolutely potential there but it does strike me as odd that she has so many fans and is “always booked months in advance”. I think the thing that I had a problem with was constantly blow highlights and, especially in the most recent photos, the really noticable green cast. A lot of the shots just seem… off.

[iliketag]

I would never, in a million years, think that “Evidence Photography” is a smart move. An appraiser works for the insurance company and knows what to look for and what to detail. They know what the company needs and it’s part of their job! For an everyday portrait photographer to offer this is INSANE. If you miss any crucial detail, you could cost someone a LOT of money! Why the hell would you put yourself at risk like that? The measely 200 you collect from the client could become a lawsuit worth thousands… So so so so SO stupid!

[iliketag]

Heya Teal,

The T3i was the first camera I bought on my own, I had previously learned on an older Rebel XTi. Those are fantastic entry-level dslr’s and are great for starting out on! The great thing about Canon is that as you start to experiment with manual, the live view can show you how it’s adjusting (to a point, of course) and what your final product will roughly turn out looking like. This can be a great tool for a visual learner and I encourage practice practice practice! It seems to me you already have a fair understanding of lighting and how to take advantage of gorgeous, natural window light. What lens are you shooting with at the moment? If you’re using the kit lens, I would highly recommend (as I’m sure others here would as well) a 50mm prime. I started with the 1.8 II but know many that chose to invest a bit more and spring for the 1.4 for a sturdier, higher quality build (I recently upgraded to that one myself, sold off my old one). The 50mm can hunt a little if you’re working with auto focus but it’s a great prime!

The grain is something the T3i definitely struggles with, as will many other APS-C (crop sensor) dslrs. One alternative to having to crank that ISO up is to work with a black and white image. It’s not a perfect solution but it really does clean it up and, in really severe conditions, at least lend to a photo-journalism look.
Since you picked up a less expensive body, I would really encourage you to begin to invest in the glass. A good lens can outlive a body around 5 to 1 or even more! That’s part of why you see those super high price tags. Through avenues like craigslist, shopping sales and deals, and just good old fashioned saving; I have managed to establish a collection of lenses I am very proud of and that offer a lot of versatility. I really encourage you to grow and experiment – or even just rent lenses as you go to get a feel.

You have a lovely subject to continue to practice with 🙂

[iliketag]

Somewhat off topic but kind of on…
I can’t knock Glamour Shots. I just can’t. My dad got my mom glamour shots one year of Mother’s Day (it was like, 1997 I think) and my mom is a fairly heavy set woman. She was much leaner before having kids and I think that it really affected her confidence how much weight she had gained approaching her mid-forties. When she got those photos done, there was such a renewed confidence in my mom. Now, I’m not saying my dad couldn’t have been doing more to make her feel beautiful, but getting dolled up and doted on for portraits was a way he could SHOW her.
That being said, I would never do them the way they did in the 90’s… but I do think that projects that Photographers like Kari Rae and others do with seniors and families, partnering with professional hairstylists and makeup artists and wardrobe consultants/boutique owners is an excellent way to give a client that kind of feeling. I think when you build up confidence like that, your portraits exude it!

On the topic of selective coloring – The Kim Anderson look is far different from the stuff I see in the day to day. The vintage, hand colored look is a guilty pleasure. I think one thing I don’t mind so much is when the colors are muted or antiqued instead of completely converted to grayscale and then a certain color (only one!) is more distinguished (in terms of like, a rose, the color would be more crimson than say, a candy apple color). I absolutely agree that it can be garish and that I do not use it… but when done well, it really is a moment that makes me happy. :p

[iliketag]

I take a few days off and miss out!

@BEG:  I have been really tempted to contact some of these photographers through facebook but I also don’t want them having my personal page info, seeing as something of them are really blockheaded. Props for trying to reach out though! I personally have a very rough time with harsh criticism. I’m a little overly sensitive at times, it’s just how I’m wired… but I also understand when criticism is constructive and someone is trying to help me, rather than just be mean and hinder my growth. It’s a hard thing to swallow, when friends and family coddle you, then suddenly reality catches up. What I hate is that these people posting “great pic!” etc. don’t give their friend into any insight about what makes the photo good (let alone improvements to be made)!
It makes feel great when people “like” a photo I’ve taken on facebook, but when someone comments and leaves me some actual insight or a real compliment (lighting, coloring, feel, etc.) it means so much more. Even on Cain’s page when someone told him “I’m not into these photos” he immediately shot back with “Oh these aren’t mine, I just edited them” and that was the end of it. No dialouge about why they didn’t like them or anything.

@Totes:  Oh gosh… the poor babies! They look so incredibly uncomfortable! I would feel guilty if I looked back at that oreo shot… the poor thing’s head pressed up against the side of the bowl 🙁 and the ironing picture is the same way. Interesting idea but much too dangerous! The height, the firmness of the board with no head support (or body cushion either) and the fact that a toddler has a very heavy iron (it looks like an old sad iron, so VERY heavy, very dangerous.) next to an infant, elevated off the floor… Just… wow.

[iliketag]

I should share a photo I did when I was in high school, learning on a digital point and shoot. I was guilty of the selective coloring in this one. It was my little brother coloring with chalk on our front porch and he just looked so content. In the hayday of myspace, of COURSE everything had to be black and white except his chalk art! I was pretty proud of it at the time and it’s at least not my worst moment, but oh yes… I’ve done it too! Lol.

For high end photography, I think it cheapens it so severely! I saw a photo on Pinterest a while back that was a bunch of black umbrellas and the bride and groom lifting away a colored one. There is a version of it that I loved. It wasn’t selective color, they just removed the colored element by having everyone else covered completely by the top of their umbrella against a concrete floor. You could tell it was a natural pop. Every copy cat of the image I’ve seen has been selective color and it just looks… wrong.
Why do people want that for portraits? Is it still that popular?

[iliketag]

Alarnold, that’s exactly the reason I’m over weddings. I shot this last one for a friend and it was so stressful for me. It was a phenomenal opportunity (and she was very happy with the shots) but until I am ready and can find a second shooter I trust, I just don’t want to run the risk. It still takes me a fair amount of time to construct the shot so I am honestly not there.
I loved your shot there though, it’s very flattering too!

Is it really bad of me that when I think “Vegas Wedding” I think of really cheesy, really poor photography? I know they aren’t all like that, but it’s just what automatically comes to mind. I’m sure that must be hell for the quality photographers out there! Looking at those shots, like the Valley of Fire one… it’s a good shot. I liked it in the thumbnail… and then I blew it up. The editing job killed it 🙁 I wonder if maybe it was one they really liked but it was out of focus (the highlights were pretty blown but it wasn’t too awful) or something and they edited the crap out of it to mask it. It’s heartbreaking to toss out a shot you thought you had, I’ve had to do it with shots of my friend’s daughter a few times where I was working with too shallow a DOF with a toddler… but you can’t show that as your quality work. That has no place in a portfolio. If mom wants it to run a 3×5 at costco, I’ll give it to her (hey, she’s my friend), but it’s not going to be the beautiful 8×10 you hoped for.

[iliketag]

Absolutely! We were watching an episode of Castle the other evening and I pointed out to him “You see how they always try to get those little fleck of light in their eyes?” he nodded and said “Otherwise it would look really empty and dead right?”

… I was so proud.

[iliketag]

I’ve seen a few different things in the weddings I’ve been to.. Sand is probably the one I’ve seen the most – although there were no children involved any of the times. It was to signify the lives coming together. Sometimes they would shake the sand to mix it, others would poke it down to kind of blend it while still maintaining a pretty pattern.
I’ve seen the hand fasting one too. Where they tie the bride and groom’s hands together with a rope and then perform the rest of the ceremony. I haven’t looked too far into that tradition though so I can’t tell you the history behind it.

———–

Back sorta on topic here. I really, really hate when fauxtographers (and photographers, too) use horrid grammar or text speech… It’s lazy and unprofessional. Even in my text messages I don’t talk like that… the Babycakes Photography link just made me groan at that.
“BBBBBIIIIGGGGG things happening for my photography!!!! I’m sssoooo excited!!! Keep ur eyes open for NEWS!!” -ugh…

I bet whatever her news is, it’s blurry. Like so much in her life. *headdesk*

[iliketag]

Oh man PhotoAlertGuy, this is like the fourth or fifth post about this guy. Definitely deserves a spot on the main page! Go back a few pages and check out what we shared. This guy is a total creep!

[iliketag]

I am totally, 100% OK if this thread morphs into a Pinterest Fail showcase!

IHF: So, thankfully Pinterest does have some pretty right things going in terms of how it links. Items pinned directly through Pinterest itself retain the origin link when you click on the image. Things pinned from tumblr, for instance, link to the tumblr and not necessarily the origin. So repins from tumblr, reddit, blogs, etc may not link you back until you follow the link-trail. So there is a mixture.
When I first started using Pinterest I was very tactical in my pinning. Meticulously organized with personal notes on everything and making sure articles were worth putting on my boards before actually pinning them… but I found lately, that when I would log in before bed or something and just peruse, I would just pin. No custom messages or little notes to myself, no “fact checking” to make sure the links were not something stupid… I had gotten really lazy and I think that’s what made me have to take a look at it and essentially encouraged my “spring cleaning” of all the clutter I had built up.

The “inspiration” side of it is a little weird for me, too. Mostly it’s details or little reminders. Things here and there like a collection of different photos of the same pose; examples like that are more of a reminder that I don’t need to shift a client a bunch of times to get different shots. I suppose that could be mimicking the concept though. I have mixed feelings about someone creating a photo board and that being my checklist. Every photographer does things differently. There may be one shot I can get that’s better than the example and another that’s just not quite right. I suppose the conflict I see most often there is that Pinterest provides a great visual idea to a client but then they expect something spot on and there may be things that play in that make a carbon copy hard… not to mention completely compromising your value as a professional (and an artist).

The legal part of it is something I find really interested. I always thought it was kind of common sense that if you put your work out onto the big, bad internetz, you were at risk of it being stolen or copied. I have a facebook page for my “business” as a placeholder for the name that is completely blank. Until I am ready to launch it with the correct licensing and financial securities (liability insurance, legal paperwork ready to go, etc), I intend to leave it that way or possibly re-categorize it for hobby if I feel like watermarking anything. Sites like pinterest and facebook (and even flickr) that can compromise metadata worry me, so I simply don’t post there until I can embed watermarking in what I need to… this can be a real pain because I do lose some social media outlets to display and talk about the work I have done, but I’m not sure I would be prepared to fight someone selling my work as theirs if that ever came up… so preventative measures are what I’m using in the meantime.

[Author]

Posts