Show me your photographers

Rachellebee27 wrote in post #6273107
I didn't mean you, just in general. It was very hard for me to start photography as it seems that people have personal criticism about everything, silly or not, my problem, or not. That's all.

Ok. But remember: Only criticism will bring you further. You don't learn anything from "nice picture". I hate those comments. /OFFTOPIC.

Rachellebee27 wrote in post #6272189
Good point and maybe some noob will save a lens because they read this, but I don't think it's fair to criticize a person we know nothing about.

Well said Kaylene. I sometimes think that this thread should be retitled 'Show me your photographers, and I will criticize them!'

advaitin wrote in post #6271498
So, while I don't recommend it, if someone has the light behind them and they aren't planning on looking for candids behind them, then they can do as they wish, especially with auto-focus.

Well said.

Rachellebee27 wrote in post #6273107
it seems that people have personal criticism about everything

Well said.

arnie12 wrote in post #6273632
Only criticism will bring you further.

That's right. Going out and shooting won't bring you further, nor will reading dozens of books and magazines on photography, nor will taking lessons from pros, nor studying other people's pictures, nor will practising learning to see the way a good photographer does, nor will practising learning how to use the light, etc, etc.

[Gets off soapbox. For now...]

I say personal criticism, not artistic criticism.

And just to stay on topic, here's one my hubs took of me a few days ago. I know I do it all wrong...

Took this at Millennium Park today. Caught him pre-chimp!

Rachellebee27 wrote in post #6274621
I say personal criticism, not artistic criticism.

And just to stay on topic, here's one my hubs took of me a few days ago. I know I do it all wrong...

Actually, that is just about perfect. Hands are in the right places, neckstrap around the neck, making use of open shade, bracing your arm against your body, stance exactly like they show in the camera's instruction manual and a beautiful family!

I always think of this thread when I see fellow shooters. Is that wrong?

Diesel_Dog wrote in post #6276657
I always think of this thread when I see fellow shooters. Is that wrong?

Actually so do I

I should in retrospect have had my son take a picture of me this afternoon. We went on a trek up a river valley that had both scenic qualities and that I knew from a previous visit was visited by heron, osprey, turkey vultures, and various smaller birds.

I decided for some (probably irrational) reason to take the hike "fully loaded": a 1DM3 with the 300 f/2.8 IS and a 1.4 TC around my neck, the 5D with the 24-105 around my neck, a medium size Tamrac bag filled with lenses, filters, and other accessories around my neck, and a tripod and a monopod in a tripod bag around my neck. I looked worse than the photog with the two telephoto lenses on two bodies in the shot a little above this post.

Needless to say, I only took shots with the 5D/24-105 and the 1D/300 combo, and only used the monopod. My bag of lenses/filters and my tripod were...baggage.

But, it would have made a fun shot for this thread! I missed a photo op!

I had to take a cliche shot of myself in front of the bean

http://farm4.static.fl​ickr.com …535947_2ae99bf8​c1.jpg?v=0

<OFFTOPIC>

garryknight wrote in post #6274492
That's right. Going out and shooting won't bring you further, nor will reading dozens of books and magazines on photography, nor will taking lessons from pros, nor studying other people's pictures, nor will practising learning to see the way a good photographer does, nor will practising learning how to use the light, etc, etc.

[Gets off soapbox. For now...]

Why do I have the strong impression that you didn't want to understand what I was trying to convey? You're not even contradicting me in substance . Please remember: We're not all native speakers here.
</OFFTOPIC>

garryknight wrote in post #6274492
That's right. Going out and shooting won't bring you further, nor will reading dozens of books and magazines on photography, nor will taking lessons from pros, nor studying other people's pictures, nor will practising learning to see the way a good photographer does, nor will practising learning how to use the light, etc, etc.

You use the word "practice" an awful lot. In every field that I've ever been involved in, it has been stressed that only perfect practice makes perfect. If you practice doing something the wrong way then you're doing nothing but making those bad habits more ingrained.

Shooting the same crappy pics over and over will not make you a better photographer. Criticism is what shows you what is right and what is wrong so you'll now what to work on next time.
Reading dozens of books and magazines on photography will only be of value if you are reading good articles. Public criticism of those articles is what tells the newbies to ignore Ken Rockwell.
The primary value of taking lessons from pros is getting immediate feedback (aka criticism) from a pro.
Studying other people's crappy pictures will only teach you to take crappy pictures of your own. You have to learn how to critically evaluate the pictures you see and study what makes them good or bad. Learning to do that will make your pictures better, sharing your feedback with other photographers will help make their pictures better and improve the community as a whole.

I beg to differ with the above. Criticism - in my view - is no doubt extremely helpful, but entirely complementary. Trial and error is, as far as I'm concerned, the ultimate learning tool.

Curiousity combined with practice and the intake of new information will help someone further themselves, and I'm fairly sure I'm not the only one that applies to.

Now, how about some more pictures of photographers?