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09/18/2003 01:09:43 PM · #26 |
I figure as long as a staged shot "looks" natural, then all is fair. But some pics look very staged which I tend to think detracts from the total image.
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09/18/2003 01:21:06 PM · #27 |
Originally posted by FatWillie:
I figure as long as a staged shot "looks" natural, then all is fair. But some pics look very staged which I tend to think detracts from the total image. |
I agree with this only when I believe that the staged shot's intention was to look completely natural. Some staged shots are intended to look staged.
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09/18/2003 02:25:11 PM · #28 |
Why would anyone care about whether a picture is staged or not ? It is the end result that counts.
I personally find staged shots often better, not because they are staged, but because the light is often better, the angle is better, the expression is better, etc. etc. All the components that contribute to the impact of a picture are orchestrated to maximum effect.
And secondly, it is a lot of fun and learning to stage a shot. Are we not here at DPC for exactly that ? I am. |
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09/18/2003 02:29:18 PM · #29 |
Originally posted by willem:
Why would anyone care about whether a picture is staged or not ? It is the end result that counts.
I personally find staged shots often better, not because they are staged, but because the light is often better, the angle is better, the expression is better, etc. etc. All the components that contribute to the impact of a picture are orchestrated to maximum effect.
And secondly, it is a lot of fun and learning to stage a shot. Are we not here at DPC for exactly that ? I am. |
Staging a nicely lit still life scene is definitely a great learning experience. In the past, when I have received comments regarding 'staged' setups, I generally go look at the portfolio of the person who left the comments and guess what? They don't have any to look at. Not really surprising though... just maybe that they don't appreciate it and have never tried it themselves..
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09/18/2003 02:49:26 PM · #30 |
Here is an example of one of my pictures which clearly was staged and did not achieve the required impact. Not because it was staged (I think) but because I did not give enough consideration to the impact the elements in the picture might have.
Using a plastic ant did draw away the attention from the rest of the picture, the humor, the attractive colors etc. The picture lost its impact because it was too artificial. Lesson learned for me. Great.
What if I would have used a real bug ? Would people have appreciated the picture more. Very likely. Would they object to it being staged ? Hopefully not.
Staging is fun and no problem, technical aspects are important, but impact always comes first.
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09/18/2003 03:11:58 PM · #31 |
Originally posted by willem:
Here is an example of one of my pictures which clearly was staged and did not achieve the required impact. Not because it was staged (I think) but because I did not give enough consideration to the impact the elements in the picture might have.
Using a plastic ant did draw away the attention from the rest of the picture, the humor, the attractive colors etc. The picture lost its impact because it was too artificial. Lesson learned for me. Great.
What if I would have used a real bug ? Would people have appreciated the picture more. Very likely. Would they object to it being staged ? Hopefully not.
Staging is fun and no problem, technical aspects are important, but impact always comes first. |
Now I really like this shot. It has a comic book feel to it. It's not supposed to be real, it's supposed to represent something that is real!
Here is another one I like with the comic book feel. IMHO it also didn't get the recognition it deserved!
Message edited by author 2003-09-18 15:18:36.
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09/25/2003 06:29:01 PM · #32 |
Originally posted by faidoi:
I noticed from comments on other peoples' pictures and around the forums that quite a few people don't like staged shots. Sometimes certain pictures can only be produced in the time alloted is by staging them.
I can agree when people say that the staging was bad because of the set up, but not when they say they don't like it because it was staged.
If the challenges didn't have a time limit, I bet a lot of the photographers have huge databases of pictues that they can pull from. Giving us a time limit gives us a chance to to be more inventive ,but sometimes staging can't be helped. |
..........and now it's snapshots, cats, dog, flowers, bugs, etc. When will it end.
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09/25/2003 07:02:03 PM · #33 |
| Please tell me how one week is not enough time???? If you have kids and work from sun up until sun down I understand! Im in the US ARMY!!! And I have plenty of time to take a picture... Except for the past few challenges... They froze my brain. |
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09/26/2003 12:45:23 AM · #34 |
I'm going to add my 2-yen to this discussion, albeit overlapping with what GeneralE and Willem opined here and with Gordon's comments from another thread. :)
John argues for a consideration of what's between the frame in a photo rather than how the shot was made. His argument is based on the fact that there are various types of photograph, each with their own distinct features and elements. As the proof is in the pudding, so to speak, only the strength of the final product justifies any work which went into it. I agree entirely.
Gordon talks about the importance of preparation, 'Its hard to be lucky with a great sunrise if you are at home in bed for example...' Intentional vs random thread. A part of that preparation, surely, must be learning about the various elements of photography. If we're not aware of, say, compositional aspects or expedient lighting conditions, it's unlikely that we'll ever make a good shot having good composition or lighting, except by chance. (Chance, by the way, doesn't pay a living wage for top-flight photographers.) Allied to Gordon's call for preparation are Willem's "components ... of a picture" and GeneralE's 10-second considerations prior to releasing the shutter.
Photographers need to be aware of everything that affects the final contents of their output. They need to develop both technical skills, such as the motor skill of manual dexterity, the psychomotor skill of framing and focusing quickly, cognitive skills, such as how to judge the impact of any choice, how to create certain effects, and artistic sensitivity. All actions will have some import into the final product, which is analyseable by itself by technical, artistic and emotive reasoning.
All-in-all, it appears to me that complaints about staging are really not about staging at all. They're confusing the term with a fault in some technical aspect of the photographic process. Or they're just expressing a preference against a certain type of photography. |
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