Why I Suck at Photography

Hertizel · 04-14-2010, 04:56 PM

Get a Flickr account and comment other peoples photos a lot. In a few days, everyone will say your photos are wonderful. In a few weeks, you'll believe it.

On a more serious note, 5500 digital photos in a few months is nothing. As others have pointed, when you haven't got it, you have to sweat a lot more. For me, giving up digital and going for film has improved the hell out of my photos. I shoot a lot less, but do it in a more conscious way. In 10 years, maybe I'll be happy with my results. Not too worried about it, it's the path, not the destination that matters.

guest18 · 04-15-2010, 04:51 AM

hahaha, I sux at photography too

I used to miss by few cm in every picture I took
but now it is the difficulty of finding idea
especially when my main shooting subject is figurine

RioRico · 04-15-2010, 11:02 AM

How to shoot better? Other than: 1) Stop. 2) Think. 3) Shoot.

Change perspective. Crawl on your belly like a snake, or get an auto mechanic's dolly and roll around on your back, looking up, shooting up and angles. (Avoid heavy traffic when doing this.) Climb up trees and walls and buildings, shooting down. (Don't mess with SpiderMan.) Shoot off and into bridges, over/underpasses, stairways, wells, anything with elevation. Put your eye at a different level.

Get real close to stuff. I think it was Robt Capa who said that if your photos suck it's because you're not close enough. (Isn't that in some member's tagline?) For people shooting, that means, dive into crowds. Don't be shy. Be a camera fiend. You own a Pentax; it's your RIGHT, your DUTY.

Use weird lenses that force you into different usages. Sticking my Schneider Betavaron enlarger zoom onto my K20D makes me approach images in a totally different way. The huge Rubinar 1000/10 mirror puts me through other changes. Use glass that's too short, too long, too slow. Use a right-angle finder.

Shoot only reflections for a while. Shoot into mirrors, window and picture glass, still water, polished metal, mylar balloons. mirrored sunglasses.

My first digicam is still one of my favorites, a 1mpx Sony DSC-P20. It features a TEXT mode that shoots 1-bit black-white GIF images, like total Kodalith. Set +2 EV; always use the flash indoors. Results: form and shape only, no tone, no color, no grayscale, no distractions. Use it for portraits, plants, strange action, nudes, meshwork, architecture, shadows, etc. Too bad my K20D can't do that w/o PP.

Stage your photos. Build tableaux, dollhouses, model railroads, papier-mache action figures, toy soldier battles. Assemble plastic monsters. Be a director. Hey: cut out human etc figures from magazine photos. Glue them to card stock, trimmed, and glue those to popsicle sticks or straws. Stick them in your yard, in a sandbox, etc. Shoot scenes. In PP, insert word balloons. Now you're a cartoonist!

Figure out what you want your photos to look like. Define your market: posters, media covers, magazines, galleries (artsy or otherwise), newspapers, pr0n sites, calendars, scrapbooks? Don't just shoot randomly. Target your approach. Stop, think, shoot.

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Nature Why Teleconverters Don't Suck	cwood	Post Your Photos!	14	04-29-2011 10:21 AM
I suck	PrimeObjectif	General Talk	28	10-29-2009 04:19 PM
fedex suck	joele	General Talk	31	10-28-2009 07:54 AM
I still suck	xecutech	Troubleshooting and Beginner Help	21	02-22-2009 08:13 AM
I suck at this...	zoomzoomfan	Photographic Technique	46	10-02-2007 02:01 PM

04-14-2010, 04:56 PM	#106
Hertizel Forum Member Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Lisbon Posts: 85	Get a Flickr account and comment other peoples photos a lot. In a few days, everyone will say your photos are wonderful. In a few weeks, you'll believe it. On a more serious note, 5500 digital photos in a few months is nothing. As others have pointed, when you haven't got it, you have to sweat a lot more. For me, giving up digital and going for film has improved the hell out of my photos. I shoot a lot less, but do it in a more conscious way. In 10 years, maybe I'll be happy with my results. Not too worried about it, it's the path, not the destination that matters.

04-15-2010, 04:51 AM	#107
guest18 New Member Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: wellington Posts: 22	hahaha, I sux at photography too I used to miss by few cm in every picture I took but now it is the difficulty of finding idea especially when my main shooting subject is figurine

04-15-2010, 11:02 AM	#108
RioRico Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Limbo, California Posts: 11,263	How to shoot better? Other than: 1) Stop. 2) Think. 3) Shoot. Change perspective. Crawl on your belly like a snake, or get an auto mechanic's dolly and roll around on your back, looking up, shooting up and angles. (Avoid heavy traffic when doing this.) Climb up trees and walls and buildings, shooting down. (Don't mess with SpiderMan.) Shoot off and into bridges, over/underpasses, stairways, wells, anything with elevation. Put your eye at a different level. Get real close to stuff. I think it was Robt Capa who said that if your photos suck it's because you're not close enough. (Isn't that in some member's tagline?) For people shooting, that means, dive into crowds. Don't be shy. Be a camera fiend. You own a Pentax; it's your RIGHT, your DUTY. Use weird lenses that force you into different usages. Sticking my Schneider Betavaron enlarger zoom onto my K20D makes me approach images in a totally different way. The huge Rubinar 1000/10 mirror puts me through other changes. Use glass that's too short, too long, too slow. Use a right-angle finder. Shoot only reflections for a while. Shoot into mirrors, window and picture glass, still water, polished metal, mylar balloons. mirrored sunglasses. My first digicam is still one of my favorites, a 1mpx Sony DSC-P20. It features a TEXT mode that shoots 1-bit black-white GIF images, like total Kodalith. Set +2 EV; always use the flash indoors. Results: form and shape only, no tone, no color, no grayscale, no distractions. Use it for portraits, plants, strange action, nudes, meshwork, architecture, shadows, etc. Too bad my K20D can't do that w/o PP. Stage your photos. Build tableaux, dollhouses, model railroads, papier-mache action figures, toy soldier battles. Assemble plastic monsters. Be a director. Hey: cut out human etc figures from magazine photos. Glue them to card stock, trimmed, and glue those to popsicle sticks or straws. Stick them in your yard, in a sandbox, etc. Shoot scenes. In PP, insert word balloons. Now you're a cartoonist! Figure out what you want your photos to look like. Define your market: posters, media covers, magazines, galleries (artsy or otherwise), newspapers, pr0n sites, calendars, scrapbooks? Don't just shoot randomly. Target your approach. Stop, think, shoot.