You ever find that people like a picture of yours...

lbcyalater wrote in post #8809001
oh and for an example, this pic below is my #1 viewed pic on my Zenfolio...granted no one may actually LIKE this picture but there is something that always seems to make people click on it to see it bigger.

People (and police too) always catch their eye on a bright red car. If the thumbnail is too small to see what the red building is all about, that might be the attraction . . .

bjyoder wrote in post #8814814
What happens to me far more often, though, is that I'll take a picture that I love and is technically a great photo, but most people just pass right over it like it was another typical shot.

I hate it when that happens. Sometimes I'll be super happy about how a photo came out but people will be way more interested in some technically 'crappier' shot I just threw in for kicks

lbcyalater wrote in post #8809001
oh and for an example, this pic below is my #1 viewed pic on my Zenfolio...granted no one may actually LIKE this picture but there is something that always seems to make people click on it to see it bigger.

I also might think it might be the 2 headed moose horse cow thing.

I'm about 50/50 for the shots I actually show my friends/family. However, when I'm messing around in PP while the g/f is sitting on the couch, she'll frequently exclaim that she really likes a particular shot that I'm looking and trying to figure out why it didn't work worth a damn.

I also have the problem mentioned of taking a shot that *I* love and having others just sort of look at it and go "meh"; That one to me is more frustrating.

The first issue helps me not be as totally hypercritical of my own work as I'm inclined to be otherwise. I sometimes get overly focused on whether a given shot is in exacting focus at 1:1 and forget that if it's viewed on a greeting card or other smaller print it's probably not even going to be noticeable to the person looking at it (unless they're a hypercritical photographer too).

I had an instructer tell me to never delete in the field, always give a decent exposure a second chance and a second opinion if possible. She said that even seasoned pros will be surprised by what the editors pick for print use. I have always had other people tell me they like different shots than what I would pick, sometimes they are trying to be supportive but sometimes a second opinion will help me see something I got that I wasn't really trying for.

DStanic wrote in post #8808982
I think as photographers we are more critical on technical aspects, and when we accomplish something that we think is amazing (something difficult to do) a "regular" person might not care at all. "Regular" people usually just care about the subject in the picture, how well it's composed and exposed only adds to how good it is.

I think this is a big part of it. We're too close to the process, plus we know the technicalities and the subtleties that were missed. An average viewer not as "into" the craft as we are doesn't, and actually has the freedom and luxury of not knowing and is thus able to just look at it and either enjoy it or not.

birdfromboat wrote in post #8830396
I had an instructer tell me to never delete in the field, always give a decent exposure a second chance and a second opinion if possible. She said that even seasoned pros will be surprised by what the editors pick for print use. I have always had other people tell me they like different shots than what I would pick, sometimes they are trying to be supportive but sometimes a second opinion will help me see something I got that I wasn't really trying for.

Yep. I can show a dozen people a dozen shots and ask each which is their favorite and get almost a dozen different answers.

everone really seems to like my 'event photos' even though they're just a bunch of pictures of people chillin.