How important is quality in a picture?

Hello fellow forum friends.

I would like to know how important you think quality is when shooting wildlife and maybe more importantly when posting the results of your photography.

Do you only post the best quality pictures and by quality i mean exposure, sharpness, framing, how "clean" your object is from annoying obstacles and so on?

Sometimes i feel like i don´t dare to post a picture that is slightly out of focus or isn´t "correctly" framed, why is that? Shouldn´t the feeling or emotion you got when you took the picture be more important than the actual outcome?

Here is a photo i took of a doe and her fawn while i was walking in the woods a week ago. The sun was setting so there were no direct sunlight to use, i had to crank ISO up to 1000 and i handheld it at 300mm and 1/160 shutterspeed, now since i have the tamron 70-300 with VC i thought it would be sharper, altho when taking the picture i was hulking under a tree so i wasn´t in balance when shooting.

The result was grainy, slightly oof and with no clarity in it.

But the feeling of watching this little family appear out of nowhere was really exciting and heartpounding, seconds later the buck appeared and they took of deeper into the woods, between the two trees in the background.

I am really happy to have had this encounter even tho the picture isn´t of any high standards i will still keep it but normally i wouldn´t post it for all to see.

I would make three observations:

1. The best shots are the shots YOU like yourself. What others think of them is immaterial;

2. That said, there is good reason you should post shots which are not technically perfect. The reason being there are thousands of folk out there who will give honest critique and help you improve. Learning for free! What better deal is there?

3. You take a shot using the available equipment, light, technique and skill at that precise moment. No-one can do otherwise. Sure, you can plan for likely shots within the environment with which you are presented, but often shots arise which are unpredictable. How you deal with those will make the difference between a so-so shot or a money shot.

Yup. I have loads of images I would never normally post, but I keep because they remind me of special moments - or I can use them to prove to friends that I'm not telling porkies.

This weekend I went looking for an Osprey that's been hanging around. I found it, with a Red Kite friend! The only semi-decent photo I got was pretty crap (power lines don't help) but it does show what I saw.

You make som really good points Lincoln, thank you for your input.
Nice action shot hollis, they look very similar in size.

The content of the shot overrides technical perfection, in my opinion. With wildlife you usually don't have a lot of control setting up a shot, you just have to play the hand you've been dealt, often very quickly. We all want and strive for the best quality we can get, but some posts I read that are obsessed with image quality, etc., make me wonder if the poster is really seeing the picture.

I have plenty of shots like the OP's shot in my archives; but no, I don't generally post those for 'normal' consumption. I prefer to put my best shots forward in the sharing sections, for the most part.

There are times when I just can't quite identify what went wrong with a shot, or just nabbed a quick snap to get ID later, etc that I will use the image to post for info/feedback; but general exhibition of your work, should (IMO), use your best work.

That said, and this is really more of an exposition on LP's number 2 point, if your best work still isn't great, don't let that hold you back from posting. If you don't know what is going on in those shots, the folks here can be a terrific resource for learning how to get better; if you plateau in how your shots are coming out and don't know what to do, this is a great way to get out of the slump. I know that type of thing has been a fantastic resource and method for learning for me in the past.

I agree that content overrides technical perfection to some degree. But at some point technical imperfections begin to be a noticeable distraction to the image. When that happens you reach the tipping point.

Mr.Aros. wrote in post #14938671
Hello fellow forum friends.

I would like to know how important you think quality is when shooting wildlife and maybe more importantly when posting the results of your photography.

Do you only post the best quality pictures and by quality i mean exposure, sharpness, framing, how "clean" your object is from annoying obstacles and so on?

Sometimes i feel like i don´t dare to post a picture that is slightly out of focus or isn´t "correctly" framed, why is that? Shouldn´t the feeling or emotion you got when you took the picture be more important than the actual outcome?

Here is a photo i took of a doe and her fawn while i was walking in the woods a week ago. The sun was setting so there were no direct sunlight to use, i had to crank ISO up to 1000 and i handheld it at 300mm and 1/160 shutterspeed, now since i have the tamron 70-300 with VC i thought it would be sharper, altho when taking the picture i was hulking under a tree so i wasn´t in balance when shooting.

The result was grainy, slightly oof and with no clarity in it.

But the feeling of watching this little family appear out of nowhere was really exciting and heartpounding, seconds later the buck appeared and they took of deeper into the woods, between the two trees in the background.

I am really happy to have had this encounter even tho the picture isn´t of any high standards i will still keep it but normally i wouldn´t post it for all to see.

I have some similar photos of some Moose (mother and baby) i recently photographed near the Maine/Quebec border. I'm sure a better photographer than me could have done a much better job. The results I got got were not fantastic (and I'd also feel a little uncomfortable posting them) but I love them for exactly the reasons you mentioned.

Is your photo straight out the camera or is it processed? I know I'm a newbie here but the framing looks really good and to me the only problem is that its too dark.

I'm a newbie here to the forum and an amateur photographer, so please take what I say with a grain of salt. I too have photos like the original post above and for my decision to share with others is dependent upon the audience and story behind the shot. I am constantly learning and trying to improve my shots, so I'm not as "shy" about posting them for that reason, but I have found that if one explains the story behind the shot, a lot is forgiven in the execution of the shot. The subject then becomes the prize of the shot. I say keep shooting; keep what you like; share what you want; and be prepared to tell your story. Here are some I've shared that were not my best, but I felt they were worth sharing because of the moment I experienced and the story behind the photo:

IMAGE LINK: http://www.flickr.com …s/lifespoetry/7​503026026/

IMAGE LINK: http://www.flickr.com …s/lifespoetry/7​136835173/

IMAGE LINK: http://www.flickr.com …s/lifespoetry/7​503025574/

IMAGE LINK: http://www.flickr.com …s/lifespoetry/7​120172561/

Holy dead thread revival batman.

LOL yea that's what happens when a newbie comes on and reads older threads....then responds to it.

Photos, regardless of imperfections, often serve to evoke the emotions (or even smells, the temperature of the air, etc.), that the photographer was feeling at the time he/she took the shot.

Fire away

sgribbin wrote in post #15105219
LOL yea that's what happens when a newbie comes on and reads older threads....then responds to it.

Hey, it's always a new thread to somebody

besides this thread isn't really *that* old.