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03/16/2023 02:39:31 PM · #1
I don't know what I'm doing wrong, why I only won once on here being on here for almost 20 years. Can anyone critique some of my photos. I really want to know what I am doing wrong.

Renee
03/16/2023 03:00:31 PM · #2
It's not just about you. There are so many talented photographers here who win ribbons regularly that it's hard for the rest of us. I've been here nearly a year longer than you have, entered more than three times as many challenges as you have, and I only have two ribbons to show for it.
03/16/2023 03:27:28 PM · #3
FWIW, you've been a member for 20 years and have averaged a little more than 10 challenge entries a year. The best way to get better is to work hard at it. But bear in mind also that your scores and ribbon count are not necessarily a measure of how "good" your photography is.

That said, you can (and I'd encourage you to) reach out to members whose work resonates with you by PM and ask if they'd be willing to mentor you. This can be very useful, as long as the selected mentor does the sort of work you wish to be doing.
03/16/2023 04:05:33 PM · #4
Perhaps the most important aspects of high-scoring entries are also some of the most difficult to master:
- Lighting. It's all about the light, it really is. Difference between "meh" and "WOW!"
- Composition. Learning to "see" a good composition is something that only comes with practice, a lot of practice. Some folks (not me) seem to naturally have this talent. Most of us just have to work at it.
- Meeting the challenge. This one is specific to DPC. Voters expect to be able to make a direct connection to the challenge, and the stronger the connection, the better it will score. Entries with difficult-to-make connections are generally not that well received. "Shoehorned" entries, for example those that are only tied to the challenge by their title, even less so.
03/16/2023 04:36:35 PM · #5
Thank you all for your suggestions. I am going to work on it more every week what you said Kirbic and Bear_Music I also will ask someone to be my mentor if they can be. Thank you all for helping me.
03/16/2023 05:32:32 PM · #6
It is extremely frustrating, especially when you keep trying for so long. It's important to remember that DPC prefers a very specific aesthetic, and if our style doesn't happen to fit that style, it's not as appreciated.

I have not looked at your port yet, but are you still trying new things, new genres, new ways of processing?
03/17/2023 12:10:39 AM · #7
Since you are averaging the opinions of so many people, anything hitting over a 6 has strong mass appeal, upper 5's is good work, just not appealing to all, lower 5's is decent but needs improvement, below 5 is snapshotty. there are exceptions of course. And that is just my opinion.

A turning point for me was when I learned to see the light as much as I see the subject. As Kirbic said, composition is also something that one needs to learn to see. Then it become instinctual. You may find yourself framing with a rule of thirds even when messaging your spouse a photo of a product in the store you are showing them.

When I find a subject I like, I often work it with a few dozen shots of different perspectives and focal lengths, sometimes with just a few inches change in view. Try approaching a subject that way and when you review them later, some will stand out to you more than the others do. Try moving around the subject at odd angles, you may hit on a framing that works well.

One thing I learned from doing that is that I really like dramatic wideangle shots. So an ultra wide lens is always in my kit. Not everyone likes those, however, and my killer wideangle shot will get low voted by some. There is one member who always votes a 1 if a certain type of object is in the scene. I appreciate his reasons.

Message edited by author 2023-03-17 00:11:14.
03/17/2023 12:18:35 AM · #8
I will have a look at your portfolio and leave some comments on the ones I would give a 5 or less, and why. Please remember, this is ONLY my subjective opinion.

Which brings up something I did my first couple of years here that really helped. I left lots of comments on challenge entries. But not the great ones, those already get wowed over. And not the poor ones, those are easy to pick out the obvious problems. I commented on the 5's. The ones that showed some knowledge but still didn't grab my attention. By forcing myself to figure out why these entries were "meh" to me, I learned things I could apply to my own photography.
03/17/2023 08:54:26 AM · #9
I have noticed something in my photography that may have been said here but I will say it in my words.
I have been doing photography for well over 30 years as a hobby I love, because it gives me an eye and a point of view to what I think most take for granted. I studied film photography at ICP for most of the years. When I go back and review the images my familiarity with the camera I am shooting with and the thinking ahead of how I want to present the end result has been where my outcome is best. You can catch the lighting with your cell phone then set up the camera for lighting and subject if you have time. Practice Makes Perfect. I may not be the best one to comment on this but I do have a lot on time in on the camera. Photography is never ending there is always more to learn but if you shoot, shoot, and shoot even more I feel you will see and learn more. I have been at the same point you are at, now I am satisfied with dropping the pressure and working toward my personal best.
03/17/2023 10:19:33 AM · #10
I tried looking at your portfolio and it say you don't have one....?
03/17/2023 10:25:25 AM · #11
Originally posted by tanguera:

I tried looking at your portfolio and it say you don't have one....?

She is not a paid member, so all that is available are her challenge entries.
03/17/2023 11:39:34 AM · #12
Originally posted by Yo_Spiff:

Originally posted by tanguera:

I tried looking at your portfolio and it say you don't have one....?

She is not a paid member, so all that is available are her challenge entries.


Is there no way to see them all in one place?
03/17/2023 12:13:27 PM · #13
Originally posted by tanguera:


Is there no way to see them all in one place?

I don't think so. I just clicked through the list of her challenge entries.
03/17/2023 02:28:43 PM · #14
Shoot.

Take your camera EVERYWHERE.

Shoot.

There's a spot in front of the car seat but behind your feet for it and it's low enough that if you can't take it with you when you run inside, it's not readily visible.

Shoot.

DO take it inside most places.....you never know.

Shoot.

The more you become familiar with having your camera everywhere, the better your images will become.

Shoot.

You *are* your own worst critic, STOP taking every image apart, and look at the image and ask WHY did this scenario make me want to shoot it. Run with that and the next time, add to that inspiration. It's so much easier to shoot when you're shooting to add to your vision rather than to try to filter it.

Shoot.

What is helpful as well is to simplify as well. Try to find a default automatic setting that works fine for most of what you shoot. I'm lazy, I've been doing that for years.

Shoot.

Another thing..... I haven't looked at your port, but be careful about putting too much importance on scores. I've shot stuff that I've sold in our gallery, and repeatedly, that has at best garnered "Meh...." scores, mid- to low 5s. I also have two blues that completely floored me, one of which I entered in jest.

I have also of late been submitting some images that please ME but haven't particularly resonated with the voters. BUT..... I got comments from people who I have respected and admired for years.

Take Don posthumous He's entered 1700 challenges and gotten two yellow ribbons. Yet when I get a new nail on the wall in his fantasy gallery I feel like I hit the freakin' lottery. And there are no less than a dozen others that if I get a positive nod from I don't care at all what the score ends up being. So don't make ribbons the benchmark.

Shoot.

I have prolly hundreds of thousands of image files that are complete crap from when I was doing this trying to get better. What's funny is that almost twenty years later, looking back through some of them, there are some gems.

Shoot.

Did I mention shoot, shoot, shoot? There is absolutely, positively *ZERO* downside to shooting as much and as often as you can. Everything. The more you do this, the more you'll become comfortable with how best to photograph whatever it is you're shooting.

Just shoot....

Just my perspective and experience.

Remember it's fun. And what's most important is to get to the point where you know that when you pick up your camera, you get what you want when you shoot.

Just my $0.02 USD. YMMV
03/17/2023 02:49:29 PM · #15
Originally posted by NikonJeb:


Just my $0.02 USD. YMMV

that was about $5 worth, Jeb. But good stuff.

I'll often enter something that I know will do mediocre on average, but I am looking for those handful of comments from the narrow crowd I hope it will to appeal to.
03/17/2023 04:07:33 PM · #16
Originally posted by NikonJeb:

Just my $0.02 USD. YMMV


Originally posted by Yo_Spiff:

that was about $5 worth, Jeb. But good stuff.


Thanks, Steve.

Originally posted by Yo_Spiff:

I'll often enter something that I know will do mediocre on average, but I am looking for those handful of comments from the narrow crowd I hope it will to appeal to.


It bears mentioning that one should never confine oneself to any criteria other than that which is your interest. I'm all over the place with the ones I've done well with but there are some definite trends in my photography. I do love abandoned stuff a lot, and cars/trucks/mechanical stuff are of particular interest to me as that stuff IS my "real life" if you will.

That stuff does not generally garner the comments from the art & soul group who see truth and meaning in an image that surpasses a quick glimpse.

I like street photography but have never thought I was particularly good at it. I found a FB page that's an HCB inspired street page, all entries vetted, and out of about forty images submitted, and much to my surprise, about thirty-five have been posted. And I dug into some of my older images that hadn't inspired me before. Street photography is a fairly quick way to learn and realize that technical aspects are not necessarily all important.

Another thing that has always served me well at DPC has been my bridges. My city has a bunch of them and they're beautiful, and since they don't move much, they're fairly easy to get a good shot from. Architecture and other structures shot from interesting angles and perspectives seem to do well at DPC.

Another thing..... Perspective. If you've been at all active outside of challenges, you know that we're an interesting melting pot of different people. Find a local camera club and spend some time there. I think by the third visit here at one for me I realized how limited most small groups are and how the wide range of photogs at DPC exposes you to ideas, styles and techniques that are quasi normal here but virtually unknown in small groups. It will give you both the realization that you know more than you think you do, and a boost of confidence in that knowledge.

I should prolly be quiet now.....


03/19/2023 11:42:18 AM · #17
I took all of your suggestions to heart and tried a different approach. I been trying to change my photography as to tell a story like someone suggested. Also use natural lighting. I already entered Bits & Pieces 3 and Wall 2. I hope you guys see a difference. Thank you all for helping me.
03/21/2023 12:04:25 AM · #18
Originally posted by Wildpurple:

I already entered Bits & Pieces 3 and Wall 2. I hope you guys see a difference. Thank you all for helping me.

I have an entry in both of those myself already. I tend to usually vote in the challenges I am entered in, because I am interested in seeing how others approached the topic. I am presuming you saw my comments on a few of your past challenge entries, but if you overlooked them, they are there waiting.
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