Skip to main content

Why are there so many bad photographers?

Browsing social photography websites like Flickr and 500px is a frustrating experience. Overall the quality of photography is horrible.

Home truths. Straight from the horse's mouth
Nobody dares say anything negative. Often votes and comments are motivated by a desire for reciprocation rather than because the viewer actually likes the image. Many people spend less than a second viewing an image. It's so easy to click the fave icon on a page of thumbnails.

People that receive a lot of votes/likes/favs are either good photographers or just good at playing the social game.

This has all been said before and I really am not bothered by the social side. The thing that bothers me is the lack of interest, effort and passion for their images among so many photographers.

Do they not see that when they push the saturation slider out near the maximum that the colours look awful, unnatural and garish?

Do they not see that when they over-sharpen or over-use the clarity tool that the images develop spots and artifacts that make it look horrible?

The list goes on, with cartoonish HDR and many more aberrations caused by filters and effects.

Sadly, under all the manipulation there's often a good image. But no, the photographer just could not resist adding a sun flare filter and putting some awful frame around the image. Why? Is reality not good enough?

Here are some truths to take away:


  • A poor composition can't be fixed with a filter.
  • An unsharp image will never be properly sharp, no matter how much sharpening you apply.
  • Without real interest, care and passion for your images they will never be good. 
  • Software will never make you a better photographer, one who engages and connects with their subject and produces beautiful work that stands up to serious scrutiny from people who know what good photography should look like.
  • Likes and favs are not a measure of photographic skill.
I'm not claiming to be the world's greatest photographer but I certainly know what good photography looks like, and it's really scarce.

What do I want to achieve? I'd like photographers out there to take a long, hard and honest look at the images they produce and aim to be better without trying to rely on tricks and gimmicks. 

My strongest plea is to those photographers who do make good compositions, to not add all sorts of filters and to go easy on the sliders in Photoshop, Lightroom etc. Camera manufacturers spend millions on research to make cameras that produce an excellent quality jpeg right out of the camera. Usually you have to do very little these days to get a decent quality image. 

Focus on taking great pictures, not on trying to produce them after you've pushed the shutter.

Thanks for your time.

Paul




Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Approach to taking a portrait

Portrait of Amitabh Bachchan. Click on the image to see larger version. Every portrait is different but there are also elements which are the same, whether you’re shooting the famous or the locally famous. Fame is of course all relative. It depends on profession, accomplishments or media celebrity status. Whoever the ‘famous’ individual is there are millions of people in the world who will never have heard them. For example I photographed the legendary Indian Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan, who amongst his many accolades was awarded the Legion d'Honneur, the highest civilian award of France. But I’m positive that many people in North America will not have heard of him – although he has more fans than Tom Cruise, Jack Nicholson and Robert De Niro put together. I find that however well known a person is cracking through egos and insecurities is really important when it comes to getting authentic strong portraits. However I hasten to add that when it came to photographing Amitabh th

Capturing the truth: The power of documentary photography to shape public opinion

Photographer, writer and artist, Paul Indigo (Photo by Magda Indigo ) Documentary photography is more important than ever because it plays a critical role in informing and shaping public opinion, particularly in today's fast-paced, information-saturated world. With the rise of social media and the 24-hour news cycle, we are bombarded with images and information daily. It can be difficult to separate fact from fiction. From a trusted source, documentary photography counterbalances the often sensationalised and biased coverage of social and political issues. Documentary photography can challenge dominant narratives and foster greater understanding and empathy by presenting a nuanced, humanistic perspective on complex issues. It can highlight underreported and marginalised issues, giving voice to those who are often ignored or silenced. In a world where many people feel disenfranchised and marginalised, documentary photography can help to create a sense of community and solidarity by

The portrait photographer's motivation

Easy access to the Internet and digital photography has resulted in an ever growing number of photographers uploading their images for comments and ratings from peers. Online communities evolve and these mini-societies each have their pecking order, internal groups and communal preferences. Photographers learn from each other. On sites that have a rating system there is often pressure to conform to certain styles, techniques and even subject matter. Although I participate in numerous sites (it's great fun), I recognise the danger of becoming a herd animal and losing the edge of individual creativity. There will always be the creatives that lead the way and the imitators that can only try to follow in their footsteps. This lead me to think about classifying photographers according their inner motivation. So as a bit of fun here are a few different types: The innovator Driven to always find something new, different and creative. Wants to be leading edge. Motivated by creative satisfa