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01/05/2011 02:22:41 PM · #1 |
| I'll just add to everyone else's great suggestions. Find a local photography group and go shooting. Its helped my work immensely to see how others shoot and to be able to bounce ideas off of them while shooting. |
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01/02/2011 12:53:39 PM · #2 |
Originally posted by Jon_H:
Originally posted by Ja-9:
one more thing...WHEN you do your 100% commenting be sure to post your score and comment record in  Judi's thread for 100% Comment Club you will get some ba-bling to add to your profile page. I will add that no one has posted anything since August as Judi has had a terrible accident but I know that she will be catching up soon...and I guess that many of us (me included) need to get on our keyboards again and do our commenting... ;) |
Commenting on every photo is a challenge in its self but it is certainly worth it.like others have said it gets you thinking about what works and what doesn't. Although you will comment on others photos and then go and make the same mistake, i know i certainly do.
This was the first time i commented on all the images in a challenge.
Challenge:Member Challenge Kids With Toys (Dec. 20th 2010 - Dec. 26th 2010) [Challenge Details: Photograph a child (or children) using a toy (or toys).]
Rules: Advanced Editing
Submissions: 50
Voting Deadline: Jan. 2nd 2011
Details: Photograph a child (or children) using a toy (or toys).
Stats: You have rated 50 of 50 images (100%) in this challenge.
You have commented on 50 images (100%) in this challenge.
You have given an average score of 5.4000. |
be sure to post that in the 100% Comments Club...great job!!! for me I find that by doing all of the commenting (which I need to get my lazy butt up and do it) I give quality time to all the photos, and like I said it's easy to comment on the best ones...it's your lower votes that are really hard to comment on....that's why I do all my voting first then I go back and do the comments...some lower ones...some middle ones...some higher ones...that way I don't get bogged down with the lower ones... |
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01/02/2011 12:28:27 PM · #3 |
Don't feel you have to comment on an entire challenge. When I was in my early heavy commenting stage, I would just vote the 20% or thereabouts that I needed to have my votes count, and I would concentrate on commenting the 4's and 5's more heavily. I wouldn't worry as much about the high votes and those would usually get plenty of other comments.
Now Grog does the commenting for me.
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01/02/2011 10:45:26 AM · #4 |
Originally posted by Ja-9:
one more thing...WHEN you do your 100% commenting be sure to post your score and comment record in Judi's thread for 100% Comment Club you will get some ba-bling to add to your profile page. I will add that no one has posted anything since August as Judi has had a terrible accident but I know that she will be catching up soon...and I guess that many of us (me included) need to get on our keyboards again and do our commenting... ;) |
Commenting on every photo is a challenge in its self but it is certainly worth it.like others have said it gets you thinking about what works and what doesn't. Although you will comment on others photos and then go and make the same mistake, i know i certainly do.
This was the first time i commented on all the images in a challenge.
Challenge:Member Challenge Kids With Toys (Dec. 20th 2010 - Dec. 26th 2010) [Challenge Details: Photograph a child (or children) using a toy (or toys).]
Rules: Advanced Editing
Submissions: 50
Voting Deadline: Jan. 2nd 2011
Details: Photograph a child (or children) using a toy (or toys).
Stats: You have rated 50 of 50 images (100%) in this challenge.
You have commented on 50 images (100%) in this challenge.
You have given an average score of 5.4000. |
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01/02/2011 07:36:28 AM · #5 |
Originally posted by tinkie2010:
Hi
Please help with any suggestions to improve - big or small will be appreciated.
Kind regards
Marna |
Learning the language of the elements of design can really help. Consider a free registration at The Mindful Eye. Once you sign up, you have access to all the current and past content. You will find an ongoing series of videos commenting in detail on selected images in several sections. In particular, see all episodes of The Daily Critique (more like several times per week).
Craig Tanner concentrates on the design elements that affect how we perceive and react to images, and also teaches techniques of post processing to enhance images. Extremely useful resource. |
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01/02/2011 05:11:53 AM · #6 |
Originally posted by PennyStreet:
Originally posted by adigitalromance:
Maybe you could try something drastically different than your normal style. If you usually like having a picture one way, try editing it or cropping it completely different than you normally would. Or if you regularly shoot from shoulder height, try shooting from the ground up.
Spend a day shooting like you are a different person. |
Looking through your portfolio I only see a couple of candids - I love this one  . I agree that taking on something different, whatever you dream up, can often make things seem less boring. Your score may not reflect a change for the better but you might surprise yourself with enjoyment of the results! |
This is great advice. I belong to a night photography group in Melbourne and while on these walks I predominantly do black and white street images. On a particular night, a few months ago, the leader of the group announced that the theme for the night (we'd never had a theme before) was colour. A few people looked at me instantly as they knew I rarely shot in colour. Despite my eye rolling and inward complaints I decided to get into the spirit of the evening. It was an interesting night. I can't say I captured any amazing images but I certainly had a lot of fun. What ended up happening was that we all took on the idiosyncracies of other group members. We learnt a lot about what it took to construct their images and understood more about what they were trying to achieve.
Give it a go. It's rewarding.
BTW I have never scored well in a challenge! |
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01/02/2011 02:29:10 AM · #7 |
| Thank you Thank you so very much... All these comments gave me a lot of fresh ideas and new things to try. I spend the bulk of the time shooting and mostly do very basic processing in photoshop. I also love wildlife photos, which is not something you can take on a weekly basis. |
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01/02/2011 12:35:01 AM · #8 |
Originally posted by hahn23:
.....I think everyone has a recognizable style that comes from how they capture images, not how they use post-processing techniques.
.... |
Yeah, and I've been able to nail your images a few times during voting recently too... :) |
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01/01/2011 10:38:12 PM · #9 |
Originally posted by Yo_Spiff:
Originally posted by Ja-9:
I haven't a clue who the Sam Dickens your talking about Steve (giggle).... |
Were your ears ringing? |
grinning like a fool... |
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01/01/2011 10:37:58 PM · #10 |
Nik is now 20% off with NIKPSS promo code. |
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01/01/2011 10:30:10 PM · #11 |
Originally posted by Ja-9:
I haven't a clue who the Sam Dickens your talking about Steve (giggle).... |
Were your ears ringing?
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01/01/2011 10:27:42 PM · #12 |
| one more thing...WHEN you do your 100% commenting be sure to post your score and comment record in Judi's thread for 100% Comment Club you will get some ba-bling to add to your profile page. I will add that no one has posted anything since August as Judi has had a terrible accident but I know that she will be catching up soon...and I guess that many of us (me included) need to get on our keyboards again and do our commenting... ;) |
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01/01/2011 10:20:45 PM · #13 |
Originally posted by Yo_Spiff:
I agree with both of the above.
To expand a little on what Trollman said: Many of the most improved people on this site spent their first year or so on DPC commenting VERY heavily. It does two things. By making yourself analyze why you do or do not like a photo, you will learn things that you can apply to your own photography. Especially true for the midrange votes. The 4's and 5's for most people. These are normally tough to comment on, because there is nothing outstandingly good or bad that you can easily identify. You will learn the most by taking such time on these. Secodnly, most members will appreciate the feedback to let them know why their masterpiece is only doing mediocre.
As Zeuszen said, you need to decide for yourself what a good photo is. There is far more to go on than just the overall average. The comments and commenter's average vote can tell you if you nailed what you were after. I have had many low to medium scoring entries that I consider 100% successes because they hit the audience that I hoped they would appeal to. You have to interpret the voting results to decide if you got what you really wanted out of it. |
I haven't a clue who the Sam Dickens your talking about Steve (giggle)....seriously tinkie2010 you will be amazed at how much commenting improves your skills...it really makes you stop and look at the photo's in depth and to analyze what you do or do not like about the picture, and as you do this process you make lots of mental notes of what YOU like in a photo... people are always grateful to have your comments and don't be surprised when you get some notes back for clarification...that is how I have made some of my best friends on here...there are only a few on here that take the comments way, way to seriously...but you will quickly find them and ignore them as the rest of us do....(ahhh hummmm)....
Start with a very small challenge and make a point to complete the whole challenge, this way your not picking only the easy ones to comment on, but you have to finish the harder ones where your not really sure what to say, those comments are the most beneficial ones, not only are you growing but IMO you are hopefully helping someone else to grow...I try to always be polite but to the point...(many of you are choking about now) This has been one of the biggest tools in my growth in the past 2+ years...I love it now...
If you want to grow comment...even if it's only 10 a day...and before you know it you get in a rhythm.... |
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01/01/2011 10:01:10 PM · #14 |
Originally posted by mike_311:
take a picture of a wine glass, that should help your scores. |
What a coincidence ... :-)  |
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01/01/2011 09:43:18 PM · #15 |
Originally posted by mike_311:
take a picture of a wine glass, that should help your scores. |
Full or empty? |
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01/01/2011 09:12:59 PM · #16 |
| take a picture of a wine glass, that should help your scores. |
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01/01/2011 09:05:14 PM · #17 |
Originally posted by tinkie2010:
Even though I do not have the self confidence to write my feedback down, I do review and compare and comment to myself in most of the challenges. I have casted 20 000+ votes and in each of these challeges I go at least twice through all the photos. |
Voting is not the same as commenting. By writing down your thoughts, you make your observations concrete and externalize your thoughts so they are more objective, to you as well. And stop worrying about what and how you say something. There are a lot of photogs who don't even speak English, and still manage to put something down. Nobody is passing out grades for comments. |
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01/01/2011 08:06:22 PM · #18 |
FWIW my photography has improved greatly over the last couple years, because I was lucky to meet Ryan ( Magnumphotography). I am not joking when I call him my private photography tutor, because I have learned so much from just shooting with him. Doubly lucky as he's been into photography since his teens. I saw some of his photos online, studio shots and especially long-exposure shots with LEDs, that I contacted him and after some correspondence and sharing photos back and forth, that we ended up meeting for what we both thought would be nothing more than an afternoon get-together.
In return he's joined the site, and we've been together since that fateful day :-)
So, if you are indeed fortunate enough to meet someone local to you, who would be willing to share knowledge and show you various new techniques, by all means go for it.
In the meantime...between 5.5 and 6.2?! That's not shabby at all, that's quite respectable. Keep on doing what you're doing. And if I might echo what others on the thread have already said, shoot and enter shots that you like. Shoot for yourself because there is just no way you can please everyone else. |
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01/01/2011 07:57:30 PM · #19 |
Originally posted by smardaz:
i understand the drive to improve but do you know how many people here would like to have their top 3 scores be 6+? i think you're doing just fine |
I second that. Having just 6s on my home page is my dream for 2011.
My current take on creating top photos - you either:
1. have a real talent - there are a few people on DPC who consistently score high, it is worth analyzing their photos, you can improve just trying to understand what makes their work stand out
2. have luck - be at the right time in the right place with the right equipment!
And most of all - have fun! I think there is a danger of losing it if you focus entirely on what other people think. |
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01/01/2011 07:38:33 PM · #20 |
Originally posted by adigitalromance:
Maybe you could try something drastically different than your normal style. If you usually like having a picture one way, try editing it or cropping it completely different than you normally would. Or if you regularly shoot from shoulder height, try shooting from the ground up.
Spend a day shooting like you are a different person. |
Looking through your portfolio I only see a couple of candids - I love this one . I agree that taking on something different, whatever you dream up, can often make things seem less boring. Your score may not reflect a change for the better but you might surprise yourself with enjoyment of the results! |
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01/01/2011 07:24:10 PM · #21 |
Maybe you could try something drastically different than your normal style. If you usually like having a picture one way, try editing it or cropping it completely different than you normally would. Or if you regularly shoot from shoulder height, try shooting from the ground up.
Spend a day shooting like you are a different person. |
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01/01/2011 05:42:23 PM · #22 |
| i understand the drive to improve but do you know how many people here would like to have their top 3 scores be 6+? i think you're doing just fine |
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01/01/2011 05:28:16 PM · #23 |
Originally posted by paulbtlw:
Also, the Nik plugins (I have them for PS too but I use them in Aperture) are really quick to use - getting the same effect in PS alone would frankly be beyond me.
Certainly you should consider downloading the 15 day free trials. |
Yes, I'm a huge fan of Nik software as well. |
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01/01/2011 05:23:46 PM · #24 |
Originally posted by hahn23:
Just want to speak up here and mention the gigo thing. As wonderful as the NikSoftware Suite is, 90% of a great image begins with a quality image capture with your camera.
Most of your time and effort should be spent on the image capture. If, instead, you are spending a lot of time using Photoshop, relative to image capture time, you might want to shift workflows. It's not totally the caliber of the camera equipment or speed of the glass which produces quality images. It's the artist in you which determines how you compose and expose the frames. I think everyone has a recognizable style that comes from how they capture images, not how they use post-processing techniques.
I assume you are capturing images in RAW format. If not, then look into the benefits, which are substantial.
I'd absolutely recommend participating in some field seminars, led by pros in the fields in which you want to excel. I am constantly amazed at how much my seminar participants do not know about the basics.
Sure, it can help to comment and vote on images at DPC. But, do those things with the intention of trying to emulate the best results you observe with techniques applied to your own photography. It will be 90% camera and 10% post-processing. |
I'd have to say it isn't like that for me, I'd say it is 40% capture (at the most) and 60% processing (my recent blue ribbon was about 95% processing, 5% capture). I also feel that in post processing I feel I have much more artistic control than at the point of capture. However, the capture phase has become more important as I have gotten to know my software because I now often have a post processing workflow in mind at the point of shooting.
If you are broadly satisfied with what you are shooting but want to increase impact, for me software is the way to go. Also, the Nik plugins (I have them for PS too but I use them in Aperture) are really quick to use - getting the same effect in PS alone would frankly be beyond me.
Certainly you should consider downloading the 15 day free trials.
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01/01/2011 05:18:49 PM · #25 |
Originally posted by zeuszen:
Make what you yearn for and submit that.
Collect even lower votes and accept those to build some negative capability.
What is a good photo anyway? Ask yourself this. |
Just saw Z's post. To the point! I agree that negative capability is important. |
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