On Feb 2, 2009, at 3:42 PM, John Celio wrote:
A month or two ago someone posted a photo of a guy in a cafe. His
near
arm was in focus while his face was not. Many people lauded the photo
as great, while I did not.
Now it's my turn sharing a photo with a face out of focus and an arm
in
and zero people seem interested in finding much good in it.
I find this frustrating.
John
I read this earlier, but wanted to let it stew for a while before I
responded.
The last thing you want to do when considering whether a photo you
produced is worth sharing is how a shot you see as similar was received.
Everyone here is on his or her own stage of evolution, so what might
seem good coming from one photographer may seem a little off when
coming from another. Not that either one is bad, just that there are
different levels of expectation. This may seem harsh, but really it
isn't; if you continually hold up your work against that of someone
you consider a master, you can always find something lacking.
Having an obvious technical shortcoming is not always a hindrance.
Look through any history of photography survey, and count the blurs
and exposure oddities, the strangely-cropped heads and the skewed
horizons. Stop when you get to a hundred. Some of them are strong
enough to overcome the flaws, some work because of the flaws.
Now, that said, sometimes a technical flaw is all you can see, so the
photo doesn't work for you, either as the photographer or as the
viewer. The flaw overcomes the rest of the photo. I'm not saying this
happened here, but it happens. My files are full of them.
In the end, all you can do is decide whether the photo you're about to
show is representative of where you are right now as a photographer.
If it is, put it out there and be proud. If it isn't, don't be afraid
to say so. You can get some good advice here, some of it
contradictory. That's when you turn this whole thing around. Advice
from someone you consider worth listening to gets more weight from
someone who may not be as strong in your opinion. You decide what's
valid and go from there, hopefully learning something that you can
apply to your photography.
Finally, use the frustration. Turn it toward your chosen subjects and
ask yourself if you are showing in your photo what you mean to show
clearly enough for others to see. Then see if you get the right answer.
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