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11/16/2005 07:34:37 AM · #1 |
If I haven't learned anything else on DPC, I'm learning to make a photograph to satisfy voters and not just my own artistic tastes. Call it mass appeal or what you will. I've learned that while certain things may be interesting to my eye, the same image may provoke disgust or displeasure to others.
No image can satisfy all viewers, but the successful images simplify the theme and show it with unique style. So, I study past winners and try to diagnose what made them successful. I then attempt to add that flare to my own photos and that I believe makes me better in what I do.
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11/16/2005 08:31:01 AM · #2 |
While it is good to try to satisfy others and learn from their styles I believe that should only be done some of the time. It is never a good thing to always photograph what appeals to others and not what you like this holds true in almost every job. If you are always doing what pleases others without regard for your own likes then you will soon hate it and you will be miserable. Some jobs luckily give the best of both worlds and people can actually do what they like and help others at the same time...I'm waiting patiently for that job :(
I say shoot what you like, learn from others and try different stuff but if you're not shooting for your own enjoyment then there is no enjoyment in shooting.
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11/16/2005 08:46:52 AM · #3 |
| I also say shoot what you like, who cares how you score in challenges. Not everyon likes the "popular music". personal artistic taste makes life interesting. |
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11/16/2005 09:08:59 AM · #4 |
| Always know what the client wants. If you shoot for a customer you are aiming to please him, be it or be it not your style of photography. DPC is just like another client, you shoot something to please the crowd, even if it is not your style of photography. Remember DPC is only a small part of your taking photos, just like any client you shoot for is also only a small part. If you want to shoot something in your own style, then you have plenty of time and opportunities to do it for yourself, or other contests, galleries, exhibitions or whatever. The majority of the photos I have taken for DPC challenges are not my style, and definitely are not what I would do if I wanted to, say, show an exhibition of my work. |
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11/16/2005 09:43:05 AM · #5 |
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11/16/2005 09:44:24 AM · #6 |
If you never shoot anything except what pleases you, you will limit yourself to a rather narrow path. Part of the challenge concept here at dpc is to learn to do things that you might never attempt if it were not for trying to meet a challenge topic and do well in the eyes of the voters. Just as dpc shouldn't be your only photographic outlet, shooting what pleases you the most shouldn't be either.
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11/16/2005 10:18:49 AM · #7 |
Exactly, I was stating that I'm growing by learning to shoot shots that I would not normally do and to adopt other styles.
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11/16/2005 10:57:12 AM · #8 |
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11/16/2005 11:04:27 AM · #9 |
I still stand by: unless your working for a client (not DPC, unless your tring to sell prints). Shoot with your own artistic taste. Shoot other styles by all means but to learn, not to satisfy.
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11/16/2005 11:22:45 AM · #10 |
A similar lesson that I have learned...
If I post to my portfolio or enter a challenge and don't get many views, comments, or favorites on the image it is because I failed to capture the viewers attention.
I don't shoot to please DPC, but I believe the goal of photography is to communicate and if you don't have viewers you are not communicating.
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11/16/2005 11:31:49 AM · #11 |
but if you want to shoot to satisfy others then does that count as your own style?
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11/16/2005 11:42:52 AM · #12 |
It basically boils down to one question...why do you shoot or for what purpose?
If you were the only one person, to see your own images then shoot whatever you want, however you want and hope that the final product makes you happy.
I hope in some way, to show people how I see my slice of the world, so it's very important to me what people think and whether I've conveyed or met my purpose with an image.
I tend to gravitate towards lifes underbelly and takes lots of images of not such pretty things. If my image of a woman picking through garbage makes you pick up the phone and order $300 of food that you couldn't possibly eat or finish and then plan a decadent... extravagant vacation then my image probably had little impact on you...
Message edited by author 2005-11-16 12:02:49. |
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11/17/2005 03:30:37 PM · #13 |
| Style developes over time. Some know right away what they want, but even they have to learn how to achieve what they think they see. Looking at qualitiy photographs helps you to learn what makes a good photograph. If you merely copy what you see, then you will probably not learn much. You will take a bit of everything and decide what is important to you and also what works for you. Different pictures have different intentions. Is is just to show a pretty scene? Does it tell a story? If I did not think I could learn from the great photos here, I would not visit this site. But I still want to show how I see things. |
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11/17/2005 03:39:01 PM · #14 |
Another great way to develop your eye is to vote and comment on the entries. You can develop your sense of what you like, what you don't like, and learn how to describe it. And a plus you don't get when trying to ribbon - if your style and preferences are not in line with popular opinion, that's ok. Every opinion helps contribute to the learning experience and lives at the end of the image to benefit others!
Hurray for commenters!
:D |
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11/17/2005 03:51:19 PM · #15 |
There are countless websites on the internet where you can show your photos.
Most of them put NO restrictions on your photos, so that is where you do whatever YOU like, no matter how outrageous it might be - wonderful freedom, right?
Then there is DPC, where you can learn different skills: being creative within strict guidelines, and trying to please a wide range of viewers - also VERY useful skills, right?
No need to constantly break "out of the box" - nobody is trying to lock you in, you are simply here to learn a particular set of skills. |
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11/17/2005 03:56:31 PM · #16 |
......sites like this one bring out the best and worst in human nature. (That's one thing I've observed)
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11/17/2005 04:08:16 PM · #17 |
If DPC has taught me nothing else ... tolerance
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