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I've decided I suck


Square Wheels

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at photography.  It's too artsy for me.  I'm more of a technical person, very little artistic capability.  I remember taking guitar lessons, clearly an art.  I was learning scales.  The teacher said he'd play some rhythm and I should play some scales / lead over it.  I panicked to the point I could barely play.  Play someone else's song?  No problem.  Play it a little differently putting my own touches on it?  Sure.  Write my own?  Never.

I'll keep trying.  There is a shop that offers walking tours of different areas.  There are instructors along with you that help you take better pics, they'll have their hands full with me, I really do suck at it.

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I’m with you. 

Back in the day of film cameras I burned through roll after roll...and almost never got a picture I was happy with. I gave up and gave the camera away.

When digital came along, the price of taking shitty pictures went to almost zero, there was the possibility of tweaking them on the computer and since they were “free”, I felt freer to experiment and take a whole bunch of shots.

My pictures still sucked.

I have decided that my phone is plenty good enough - the capabilities exceed those of the operator - and it’s less of a PITA to lug around than a DSLR, so I’m more likely to have it, should something present itself.

My pictures still suck.

My trick though, is to take pictures of pretty stuff. That way even if the composition is shit, the subject matter is nice to look at. ?

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15 minutes ago, F_in Ray Of Sunshine said:

I’m with you. 

Back in the day of film cameras I burned through roll after roll...and almost never got a picture I was happy with. I gave up and gave the camera away.

When digital came along, the price of taking shitty pictures went to almost zero, there was the possibility of tweaking them on the computer and since they were “free”, I felt freer to experiment and take a whole bunch of shots.

My pictures still sucked.

I have decided that my phone is plenty good enough - the capabilities exceed those of the operator - and it’s less of a PITA to lug around than a DSLR, so I’m more likely to have it, should something present itself.

My pictures still suck.

My trick though, is to take pictures of pretty stuff. That way even if the composition is shit, the subject matter is nice to look at. ?

That is also my tactic.  Almost any picture of a road, woods, or lake is beeyootiful to me.

I did advance a tad when Longjohn told me aboot touching what you want to focus on for an iphone.  What will they think of next?!  :D

But lighting still confounds me.  A pic of a beeyootiful full moon behind wispy clouds never comes out well for me, but I haven;t tried the touching thing yet!

 

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Don’t give up.  I’m a very technical person with a little bit of an artistic side. Once you get the theory down pick a subject to concentrate on. I picked birds in the backyard. Set up a feeder, hide behind a blind. Or just shoot out of an open window.  I then picked old barns. I looked online at different angles of the photos I liked and basically copied them.  High school soccer is another one I like. My nephew plays, so I don’t feel weird going to the games. 

 

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All of the encouragement here is nice.  Never give up.  Do you know how many times Edison failed before he got a light bulb that worked?

OTH, you might be right.  You might just really suck at it.   :dontknow:

It just depends on how good at it you want to be.  I could be an amateur painter.  In high school, I was considered one of the best "artists" in my school.  But my meager talent always left me sad.  I gave it up because I could never please myself. 

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1 hour ago, Square Wheels said:

I really do suck at it

That's only one opinion, and so I'd just ignore it if I were you.

 

I would suggest this:

The next time you try to take pictures, frame the subject until you think it 'looks nice'. 

Not what you believe other  people will think 'looks nice', but what you  think - at that moment - 'looks nice'. 

And if 'looks nice' doesn't work for you, then try framing the subject with the thought 'This is how I'd like to remember it.'

Don't spend more than a minute or so trying to frame it because that's working too hard.  If it's not working for you, move on to another subject.

 

Then -

 

When you look at your photos that you've taken this way, seek out first what you like about the photo(s).  Do NOT seek out first what didn't meet your expectations, or as someone said 'what sucks'.

Keep trying this and it will give you a sense of what you like about your photos, which will help you frame them better, which will more things to like about  your photos, which etc. etc.  You will also gradually learn what situations work best for you for getting a good shot.

Notice I said it will give you a sense, as opposed to a formula or prescription.  Perhaps you won't create competition level photographs but I think you could eventually take pictures that you'd be happy with.

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Just keep shooting. When you see something interesting, take a BUNCH of shots,change settings and angles, maybe some of them will be good. Look at them and think about why you like the ones you do, and why you don't like the ones you don't.

The pixels don't care, they weren't doing anything.

If you're not having fun, slow down till you are, ya already got a job.

And don't compare yourself to others. The morning news has pictures to put most of us to shame....But I like my pictures   ;)

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I sucked when I first started taking pics. The technical aspects came pretty quickly for me. I kind of have a bucket list of pictures I’d like to take. My problem is that once I capture the image I’ve been trying for I have to find something new to challenge myself. I have a short attention span

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Don't say you suck.  I am certain that if you practice, you will improve.

I plan to start painting.  I am a complete novice.  Even if my first works will look like childs play, it will be a nice hobby to explore.  I like to draw abstract things, and my painting will most likely be similar to that.  Even if I do shapes, they will be my shapes.

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I don't think it is hard, you point a camera and take pictures.  Take enough and you will have some good ones.  Look at enough good ones and look for a common element that makes them good, then take more of those.  Now instead of one in a hundred being good, one in 43 are good.  

I think it helps to have a great subject.

 

IMG_6112 (2).JPG

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4 minutes ago, Longjohn said:

My grand-nephew married a girl named Isis. She friended me on Facebook, I'm sure that put me on the list too. 

I've posted elsewhere about how I blew up my pressure cooker (by running it out of water) and expected black helicopters over the house at any minute.

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Keep trying, SW, you never know when that great picture will present itself.

I was never that good at photography but, back in the '70's, snapped a photo of my cousin and his new wife, posing and smiling at me, just inside the church's doorway on the day they were married, ignoring the fact the light was coming in strongly from the doorway behind them - a big no-no.  But instead of turning them into silhouettes, the result was beautiful: a slightly misty looking picture with rays of light descending from above and enveloping them in their tux and gown. After I mailed to my aunt, my cousin's mother, a set prints from the roll of film I shot, I soon got a request for the negative. That was 40 years ago and the couple still has an 18" print of that picture in their living room.

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I suck at portrait photography. I can get some good informal shots, but in a studio type setting or planned outdoor setting I'm not very good. Some of it I put down to the fact that I don't like being around people. Throw in a pushy Mom and I cant wait to be done with it.

Baby pics are great though, if the parents leave.

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