Went out, got shots, got home did not like them

This ever happen to you? You go out to a location, see what you think are some interesting shots, take the shots and when you get home and look at the shots you took and realize you don't like them?

This happened the other day. The sky was fairly interesting, I thought would make for some moody images with the sky and bare trees. Well, I got home and started to look at the images and they did not do it for me But I guess at least I got out and shot some photos

Go back to them a day from now and see what you actually have. Do some post processing on them. At worst, you have "lessons." What would you do the next time? Could you go back and improve on what you did? One of my favorite shots took 8 months and 3 visits to the site to get what I really wanted.

Frankly I've had the opposite experience, where I though what I'd taken was rubbish, but turned out much better. While perhaps you didn't get what you expected, you may have gotten something good that was unexpected. Give it a day and then see what you got.

Good luck!

Well, at least you got out and did some shooting which is always a good thing. The same thing happens to me sometimes but when I look at my images critically on the computer I always see things that I really like even when I'm not 100% pleased. I also find that after I do some post processing I always end up liking some of the images better than I initially thought.

Keep shooting!

If you find this is your view I strongly advise that you simply leave the photos alone for a while. Most of us are at our most self critical right after a shooting event (Esp if it didn't all go according to plan or if we didn't have clear thoughts as to what to create at the time) and that can mean that we are overly harsh on ourselves. We start to nit pick at little things - blow them out of proportion and also end up seeing problems which are not there and also failing to see how we can correct things as well.

Leaving the photos for a while - a day - a week or so - and then coming back is far better. We've had time to think about them, but also to forget all the little niggling errors and "mistakes" that we might have made- so its easier to judge the photo for its own worth.

For me it is the other way around, and I think with enough experience it could be for you too. I usually know what to expect from my shooting day, and generally if there are surprises they are on the good side, when I didn't expect the shot to be good, but it was. I think when you shoot for quite a while, and then thoughtfully go over your images and think why they turned out the way they were, then slowly you get this "hunch" of what your photos will turn out like. By the way, this "hunch" also helps you greatly when composing and making the shot.

I've had it happen like the OP describes, but lately it's been the opposite for me. The image SOOC isn't that appealing to me, but I see the potential. So I work on it for awhile, leave it, come back, work on it some more, try a few different ideas, and eventually end up with something I'm happy with and what I envisioned when I took the shot.

But look at the positive side, at least you got out and took some shots, and hopefully can learn from your mistakes. Typically, for me, when this happens it's usually because I tried to include too much in the frame, and failed to really focus on the specific details that interested me from the location.

I am seriously starting to think I may not have the eye for photography. I get very little feedback from most of the images i post here.

Happens me alot. Its part and parcel of the past time I think. I looked at your flickr....love your storm shots. You have an eye. With regards to feedback...are you doing it for your own pleasure or that of others? Should always be for yourself.

slitherjef wrote in post #11975958
I am seriously starting to think I may not have the eye for photography. I get very little feedback from most of the images i post here.

No no no no. This is a very busy site. I just saw a post a couple days ago from someone who has been here a long time. She's well known in some threads and is a good photographer. I commented on a photo she'd posted, as did a couple others. She responded with something to the effect that this was the first response she'd gotten in a long time.

Consider this. Under the Quick Links pulldown menu is an item for "Today's Posts." If you view that and go out to all ten easily accessible pages, you're looking at 300 threads. At the moment, threads on the tenth page were updated one hour ago. Anything much older than an hour is effectively gone, at least in terms of "new posts." Now of course it isn't gone, and anyone perusing the appropriate forum could find it. For instance, anyone looking under the "Nature & Landscapes Talk" forum would find this, even if the last activity was much older than an hour. It just takes someone to be looking for topics that way.

Here are a few other data points. At present there are over 3,000 members connecting to PotN. There are almost 1,000,000 threads, nearly 12,000,000 posts, and approaching 300,000 members. (These numbers came from the front page of the forum.) PotN is the New York City of electronic forums, just like all of the others, only moreso. It's big and it's fast and sometimes a bit tough. Don't knock your photography because you may not be getting much of a response here.

In closing, many times I'll open a thread and get folks viewing my work but no response. Given what folks have said when they have responded, and given outside responses I've received, a "no response" situation isn't necessarily an indicator of the quality of my work. Likewise, you should consider that a "no response" doesn't indicate your lack of eye for photography.

slitherjef wrote in post #11975958
I am seriously starting to think I may not have the eye for photography. I get very little feedback from most of the images i post here.

Yeah, dont go by this at all. I have posted what i feel are great shots and asked for specific feedback, and got nothing on 150 views. then you look at people taking snapshots of their cat and a bird feeder out of focus, and they get two pages of replies...

I recently came home from what i thought would be my best outing ever, and literally got NOTHING. There was a shot there, I just missed it. Get out again as soon as possible. Or try something totally different if youre in a rut.

A couple weeks ago I went up to the lake, got what I thought where great shots. I really liked them, was stoked to get them home and process and share them and did not get much in the way of feedback on them anywhere.

So, Another trip up to the lake, a cold front was moving in, it was cloudy with some interesting skys so I got some more shots, got home and did not like them. I think the difference was, the first shots I got that I liked where pretty much for me.

The second trip I am starting to wonder if it was a couple things
- some where shot to be shot
- I think perhaps I was thinking, "maybe this would get a response" so I was not shooting for my self
- Perhaps I am starting to refine my eye and tastes while on shoots
- some shots where done in harsh lighting resulting in some hot areas - a GND would have helped
- the shooting conditions where not the best

On the bright side, like many of you have mentioned, at least I got out and was able to do a little scouting around

You know what's really helped me? I found a couple people on flickr that really impressed me, figured out what they were using, and tried to rip their shots off almost verbatim.

Of course they were local so it's easier to plagiarize a shot of a specific beach or the gg bridge or something. But same principle applies.

You seem to be set on gear. btw, how you liking that Singh ray reverse grad? I have one on order.

My shot vs his shot

My shot vs his shot

The singh-ray grads I got are P sized. I am looking into getting the Z sized 4x6. They are nice filters

slitherjef wrote in post #11963965
This ever happen to you? You go out to a location, see what you think are some interesting shots, take the shots and when you get home and look at the shots you took and realize you don't like them?

Its going to happen. No one is going to go out and shoot 400 wall-hangers in a single outing. Sometimes we see things that just aren't there...its all part of the hunt.

slitherjef wrote in post #11975958
I am seriously starting to think I may not have the eye for photography. I get very little feedback from most of the images i post here.

If you want a critique, be sure to post in the Critique forum. Problem is, anyone can give a critique, no matter the experience level. You'll see some critique posts with detailed information on how to improve, followed immediately by an "I love it" or "Looks great" post...doesn't make sense, but that's what it is. If you post in the Landscape image forum, you won't get much of a critique at all unless you ask for one (its pretty much a "pat on the back" forum).

projectmayhem713 wrote in post #11980540
Yeah, dont go by this at all. I have posted what i feel are great shots and asked for specific feedback, and got nothing on 150 views. then you look at people taking snapshots of their cat and a bird feeder out of focus, and they get two pages of replies...

I recently came home from what i thought would be my best outing ever, and literally got NOTHING. There was a shot there, I just missed it. Get out again as soon as possible. Or try something totally different if youre in a rut.

Not everyone viewing a thread has the ability to post a response...just something to remember.

Slitherjef - I have felt the same sentiment about not having 'an eye", on many an occasion.

Sometimes it's the disappointment at not being about to do a beautiful setting/scenery justice. At other times, it's comparing myself to some of the seriously nice work others post on this forum.

FWIW, I count your Flickr stuff among the latter.

That's what makes photography such a wonderful interest, the multiple dimensions one can take to improve. A small gear upgrade here, a different lighting technique and composition trick there. Keeps it fresh.

I'm personally at the 'all the help I can get' stage and I am turning to PP'ing for help. With each new PP technique I learn I find myself revisiting old photos and trying something to make them better. Maybe it's the time spent away from the shots as some have suggested but when I revisit some of my old shots, they do look better (even more so after some PP work