How POTN has opened my eyes...

I'm a "still under construction" photographer with a loooooong way to go but after being on this site for a few years I have learned (and am still learning) what makes an excellent capture vs. a mediocre one.

I just ran across some loose pictures from my wedding ten years ago. WOW! I am amazed at the poor quality. Crooked lines from buildings, grainy noise- filled images, poor background choices....and this wasn't friend of the family photographer. This was a "professional" my parents paid good money for.

On one side of the token I'm disappointed now in the pictures I have from my wedding but on the other side I'm thrilled to see I'm starting to develop an eye for quality images and it makes me all the more motiviated to become a better photographer.

So thank you to all who contribute to this site and the support and encouragement found here!

And soon, you will start a thread called "how POTN opened up my wallet..."

SMP_Homer wrote in post #15828136
And soon, you will start a thread called "how POTN opened up my wallet..."

Truer words have not been spoken!

daystar wrote in post #15826153
I'm a "still under construction" photographer with a loooooong way to go but after being on this site for a few years I have learned (and am still learning) what makes an excellent capture vs. a mediocre one.

I just ran across some loose pictures from my wedding ten years ago. WOW! I am amazed at the poor quality. Crooked lines from buildings, grainy noise- filled images, poor background choices....and this wasn't friend of the family photographer. This was a "professional" my parents paid good money for.

On one side of the token I'm disappointed now in the pictures I have from my wedding but on the other side I'm thrilled to see I'm starting to develop an eye for quality images and it makes me all the more motiviated to become a better photographer.

So thank you to all who contribute to this site and the support and encouragement found here!

...please don't be disappointed in your wedding pictures. It sounds like ten years ago you loved them. You've now developed a critical eye and are looking at them differently. Were those images taken in digital or film? If they were digital it might be hard to remember but ten years ago digital cameras were relatively new technology. I still find it hard to believe that most of the images on 9/11 were shot on film, not digitally. Of course you will see more noise. We now have noise reduction software and photographers "shoot to the right" and they shoot at ISO 26,000 if they absolutely have to. Back then was a very different story.

So love those picture for what they are, and not for what you wish they were. And remember photography is not only about getting the technical details right: but its also about capturing moments and emotion. Congrats on joining the rest of us on what I call the "journey towards photography madness."

SMP_Homer wrote in post #15828136
And soon, you will start a thread called "how POTN opened up my wallet..."

Yes, my bank account cringes each time I start thinking about another lens...

banquetbear wrote in post #15828212
...please don't be disappointed in your wedding pictures. It sounds like ten years ago you loved them. You've now developed a critical eye and are looking at them differently. Were those images taken in digital or film? If they were digital it might be hard to remember but ten years ago digital cameras were relatively new technology. I still find it hard to believe that most of the images on 9/11 were shot on film, not digitally. Of course you will see more noise. We now have noise reduction software and photographers "shoot to the right" and they shoot at ISO 26,000 if they absolutely have to. Back then was a very different story.

So love those picture for what they are, and not for what you wish they were. And remember photography is not only about getting the technical details right: but its also about capturing moments and emotion. Congrats on joining the rest of us on what I call the "journey towards photography madness."

Oh, I do still love my pictures because they are all about that wonderful day. It's just interesting to see how my perspective has changed and how I'm tuning in more to the details. It's a good thing.

Be aware that while they are some good and a few great wedding photographers here on POTN this is an amateur community. Don't aspire to be as good as the best on here, aim higher.

tim wrote in post #15828703
Be aware that while they are some good and a few great wedding photographers here on POTN this is an amateur community. Don't aspire to be as good as the best on here, aim higher.

Thank you.

There's lots to learn and this forum has been great for me as well.

Wedding photography has changed immensely in the last ten tears and I'm wondering how our images we're taking now will be viewed in 2023.

I recently spoke to a wedding photographer from the 1970's (an old guy) and he told me he only took 36 photos per wedding -total.

Ten years ago, most weddings were shot on film. High ISO film created grainy pictures. The kind of processing we do with a few mouse clicks in Lightroom required a very large investment in darkroom equipment and a lot of time.

My wedding was 22 years ago. The guy did as well as can be expected with the equipment he had, and we got what we paid for.

This day and age breeds dissatisfaction where none should be occurring. People are picky and believe that things are poor quality because they are taught to perceive bad where bad doesn't exist. The standards of yesteryear's weddings were very different and the equipment was different, so the photos of things like ceremonies used bare flash instead of having some ISO3200 film that either didn't exist or didn't do a good job, and instead of manually focusing f/1.4 prime lenses...so it was either that stuff, since weddings have generally continued with the trait of being fast-paced since early years...or out of focus images, other images with other flaws, etc...

So basically people who look back 20 years or more and say their wedding photos sucked, really it was just the standard and the equipment that was available that has changed...

And quit **** about how this or that is dissatisfactory. Stupid people thinking that things are bad just because they like newer stuff better because they're taught to.

^ ^ ^
Let's try not to tell other people what to do, what not to do, and how to think. People should feel free to complain about that which they don't like.

Everything I know I learned here

Sorry guys. I wasn't trying to cause waves with this idea. I only was marveling at how my own personal standards have changed since taking an interest in photography and visiting this site. I understand technology has made major advances in the last decade and that you can't expect 10 year old wedding pictures to be on par with those of today technically speaking. But really crooked horizon lines and strange things in the background have nothing to do with how good your camera and lens are, right? That comes down to the operator. Maybe that's what I am more tuned into now - paying attention to the details that mark the difference between a snapshot and a quality image.

51% of everything I know, I learned here.
There are many ways to learn photography, spend time with the POTN community is a of the quickest way.