What motivates you when you attempt a good pic?

Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR II

06/03/2010 02:53:18 PM · #1

I took three candidate pictures to a colleague who does film photography exclusively, for hobby. I wanted to know his opinion on which one to submit. He did pick one. But not without stirring me up a little by questioning my motives when I clicked an old person's portrait in the street without his knowledge.

He asked me if it would really make a good picture if I just clicked a street shot without 'connecting' with the subject. His argument was that my motivation is not to try to understand what a subject is feeling (and then portray it on film/pictures), rather I just wanted to capture him/her as a third person, hoping to 'move' people, and get a good score in a challenge.

And after a long debate, I did admit that my primary motivation was to get a better score on DPC, and only a secondary goal was to become a better photographer 'as a side effect'.

Begin ETA {

However, I do want to be able to take pictures like these... that grab your attention when you look at them. Is that such a bad thing to be motivated by:

.. and many many more.

} End ETA.

So I am curious to know.

"What motivates you when you attempt a good pic?
Is it the desire to express what and how you see things?
Or is it the desire to score good in a challenge?
Or is it both? And if so, how do they relate to each other?"

Thanks in advance for your input.

P.S. Let me be very clear: this is NOT a rant post. I like being on DPC, and I am continually learning both the aesthetics and the technicality of digital photography here. This post is a genuine desire to understand how you approach photography, and what goes in your mind when you click that next shot:-)

Message edited by author 2010-06-03 15:15:50.

snaffles

Nikon D7100

06/03/2010 03:22:48 PM · #2

FWIW, it's about getting the picture I visualize, or as close as I can possibly get to it, preferably without having to PS the crap out of it later. And I far prefer to shoot to please myself first, voters a distant second. FS aside, it generally isn't too difficult to pick out the top 5-top 10 in many challenges. And some here are fortunate enough to have a natural shooting style that is also very dpc-friendly. Nothing wrong with that at all.

But I consider my one ribbon to be especially sweet, because I ribboned on my terms, not in any particualr effort to please the voters.

ETA: Once upon a time, yes, scores here mattered to me. A lot. But now I treat the site more as a place to learn and socialize, and play around with the entries as opposed to taking them as seriously as I once did. And hell, after 4 years here...my average score is still under 5.0! And it can stay under 5, for all I care.

In the end, it's all up to you.

Message edited by author 2010-06-03 15:27:13.

Yo_Spiff

Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark III

Olympus 12-100mm f/4.0 M.Zuiko ED IS PRO

06/03/2010 03:23:03 PM · #3

I think the biggest thing for me is when I get a shot that makes me say "Oh, cool, I can't believe that I shot that!" My recent yellow ribbon was one of those. I had planned the shoot a month prior and most of the motivation was in getting a bunch of interesting photos I could give to my coworker who is part of that fire department. His buddies are really liking the collection of shots I did, including a few that might have a tough time holding a 5.0 here. I've caught him using my photos as desktop backgrounds, so I know they are being appreciated. That is motivating.

I've also been shooting for the YMCA my wife works at. I get a free Y membership and use of the shots for challenges or online use. ( I did discuss the legalities of the photo usage with their director, and there are no issues there) Since I have been trying to improve my people photography, that works well. (I've used a few in challenges before.) What they get is a disk with the photos that they can use for whatever they like to promote the YMCA.

When possible, I try to talk to the person I have taken the photo of, to ask their permission. I've sometimes been fascinated. It added a lot to my shot of the fireman to know the story about his burned and melted helmet. Other times I've had to find an excuse to separate myself from them. It's not possible to always make that personal connection, and frankly, sometimes I don't want to!

It's also great when others like what I have done, but I also realize DPC is a different audience than most. I try not to judge my progress solely on DPC scores, though it is one good indicator. I've learned to interpret the resulting votes and comments to determine if my entry really was lacking or if it was just something with narrow appeal.

Not sure if that really answered the question, but it was kind of open ended...

Message edited by author 2010-06-03 15:25:51.

Sigma 18-250mm f/3.5-6.3 DC OS HSM

06/03/2010 03:31:14 PM · #4

Thank you Susan, and Steve for your thoughts and experiences. As you can see, I was really moved by that colleague's questions. In fact I am glad he asked them. These past two challenges, when I asked my wife about what she thought I should enter, at first she would pick one that may get popular votes (relatively compared to my own other candidate). But then she immediately realizes I would pick the other one, hence would encourage me to enter the one that's more dear to me:-)

It may take me some time to switch my priorities from 'getting an avg 6.0' to 'getting a shot that I can tell a story about'. And that's exactly why this thread was spawned.

Thanks both again for your input...

Ammie

Nikon D500

06/03/2010 03:38:10 PM · #5

I shoot merely for high scores which, I am sad to say, I seldom get but I learn from the different challenges as to get better shots into the magazine I work for which was recently critisized as happy snappy! See, I have to shoot for higher scores!

Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark III

06/03/2010 03:41:11 PM · #6

Originally posted by Ammie:

:-)

Yo_Spiff

Olympus 12-100mm f/4.0 M.Zuiko ED IS PRO

06/03/2010 03:45:14 PM · #7

I don't think you have to make a personal connection to tell a story. In fact, as I said before, you may not want to.

I think the concept was made to me with minimal words when I entered a shot in a street photography challenge and the first comment was from

Pawdrix: Why are you showing me this person?

He was right. There was nothing engaging about the scene. I should have gone with this alternate of a couple of kids feeding koi, which wasn't a great shot either, but had something of more interest going on.

Interesting the perspective that a couple of years gives me on my earlier photos.

spiritualspatula

Panasonic LUMIX DMC-LX100

Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8G ED

06/03/2010 04:17:56 PM · #8

Originally posted by Prash:

I took three candidate pictures to a colleague who does film photography exclusively, for hobby. I wanted to know his opinion on which one to submit. He did pick one. But not without stirring me up a little by questioning my motives when I clicked an old person's portrait in the street without his knowledge.

He asked me if it would really make a good picture if I just clicked a street shot without 'connecting' with the subject. His argument was that my motivation is not to try to understand what a subject is feeling (and then portray it on film/pictures), rather I just wanted to capture him/her as a third person, hoping to 'move' people, and get a good score in a challenge.

And after a long debate, I did admit that my primary motivation was to get a better score on DPC, and only a secondary goal was to become a better photographer 'as a side effect'.

So I am curious to know.

"What motivates you when you attempt a good pic?
Is it the desire to express what and how you see things?
Or is it the desire to score good in a challenge?
Or is it both? And if so, how do they relate to each other?"

I think that you cannot capture a scene that will move people without first understanding to some degree the person, and connecting with their situation. There is blind luck, of course, but Iâ��m speaking purposefully. How can you depict and accentuate somebodyâ��s feeling and move viewers without first knowing that feeling in the first place? A successful photo does that. You have to understand humans, the full spectrum of life, to do street photography. You have to anticipate the joy, the abject failure, the decrepitude, and then you must capture that moment with an atmosphere befitting the situation. The two cannot be separated in a successful photo.
Iâ��ve sorta said this a few times in other places, for related contexts, but I use DPC as an impetus. It asks me to attempt either a specific subject, or style, or approach to things, and I use that to push me in that direction, a direction I would not necessarily have gone on my own. I use the scores as a way to gauge how I did at a specific approach to some extent, but I also consider how itâ��s the first time I may have tried such an approach. Photography to me is learning. If I am learning as I do things, I am successful. I learn the techniques and approaches so that I may deliberately capture a wide variety of scenes later. In this way, I can depict what I see, and share it with others, or move others through the medium. I value favorites more than most anything, because it means Iâ��ve made something that resonates with a viewer, which is the best you can ever do, in my opinion.