Your Opinions On My Work - A 17-Year Old

[John Doe 57]

Is this stuff good for someone who is interested in film school?

[MacDawg]

Is this stuff good for someone who is interested in film school?

I can't answer your question, but I can say that I like your shots :)

Woof, Woof - Dawg http://homepage.mac.com/k.j.vinson/pawprint.gif

[brendanryder]

im going to be honest.

There just snap shots.
1. is ok, it has potential but i really dont like the trees in there.
2. is just weird. needs better composition and its a little to busy. would be better if the staircase was darker making it less of a distraction.
3. nothing special.
4. theres nothing to it? what am i suspose to be looking at?
5. the dark trees bug me, and its just a normal sky which seams over exposed.

at this point you have just gone out side in your backyard(from what i can tell) with your P/S and taken some snapshots. using a P/S is fine but switch it to manual, the little M. play around with the settings and you will be able to compose much better pictures.

do you have Flickr? (http://www.flickr.com) if yes PM your account and maybe i can give you some advice, if not, get it.

all in all these are not great photos but if you can take better ones, you just need to try.

[John Doe 57]

im going to be honest.

There just snap shots.
1. is ok, it has potential but i really dont like the trees in there.
2. is just weird. needs better composition and its a little to busy. would be better if the staircase was darker making it less of a distraction.
3. nothing special.
4. theres nothing to it? what am i suspose to be looking at?
5. the dark trees bug me, and its just a normal sky which seams over exposed.

at this point you have just gone out side in your backyard(from what i can tell) with your P/S and taken some snapshots. using a P/S is fine but switch it to manual, the little M. play around with the settings and you will be able to compose much better pictures.

do you have Flickr? (http://www.flickr.com) if yes PM your account and maybe i can give you some advice, if not, get it.

all in all these are not great photos but if you can take better ones, you just need to try.

This isn't my best work.

[epicwelshman]

This isn't my best work.

I'm gonna be honest here as well. If it's not your best work then why are you showing to us to critique? It seems like you heard the criticism and immediately became defensive. Constructive criticism is one of the best things you can get. brendanryder wasn't rude, he wasn't mean, and he critiqued your work AND gave you additional advice.

I have to say, I agree with him on all counts, but that doesn't mean you don't have potential. Use this criticism to push yourself harder, and further. Every time I begin to feel happy and content with my work I need someone to honestly critique it for me. It's the only way to really evolve as an artist.

You have to learn to show your work to people and not expect to hear "good shot", or "nice". I HATE the word nice. It's meaningless. I want people to be either blown away by my work, or deeply offended and hate it. I want to evoke a reaction, not hear "Sure, good job".

Go out, take more shots. That's the beauty of digital - take as many as you want to and learn from them.

[John Doe 57]

Well really I just wanted to see what you guys thought of it. I all seriousness, I just wanted to see how many comments I could get for it.

But I must say thank you for giving me (what to me sounds like) professional advice! I just have so many ideas for pictures but I never get out and take them. I have a library of only 220 photos taken over a period of 2 years! I need to change this!

[bleufire]

Well really I just wanted to see what you guys thought of it. I all seriousness, I just wanted to see how many comments I could get for it.

But I must say thank you for giving me (what to me sounds like) professional advice! I just have so many ideas for pictures but I never get out and take them. I have a library of only 220 photos taken over a period of 2 years! I need to change this!

220 photos? Yeah, you have a long ways to go...

I'm no where near pro, not even near intermediate, but i can tell you that when i started getting the photography bug about 18 months ago on a 3 day trip to Las Vegas, I took 300-350 photos over that short of time and it wasnt before long i realized... Wow, i still didn't take that many photos.

take a BUNCH of pictures of things, Review the pics you took and then learn the next time you go out what your pics were like before and try to better them again. Baby steps!

Go to a photography forum and see what people have to help you with. i personally like Photography-on-the.net

Also, the sky has some REALLY cool photos and can easily be attained by just about anyone with a camera on a nice cloudy day with the sun shining through and just aiming the camera up. (no offence!) I took a bunch of sky pics and thought they were really cool till i realized i had a couple dozen awesome sky shots and so does everyone else who owns any kind of camera.

Just keep taking pictures. You got a digi, you aint burning up film! :D

[PkennethV]

I agree with all the posts above. Once you get your flickr account, another great way to learn is by looking through other people's photos and seeing what you like about them. Once you have something specific to pursue like "how did that person get that look/effect/perspective", you'll find that you'll be more interested in learning new techniques and actually use them in your own photos. Whereas if you just read about a bunch of photography stuff without knowing what you want specifically to learn/improve, you won't think of/apply them to your own shots nearly as much.

Once again, don't get discouraged by the comments above, just keep working at it. Also, since few people know your "photography history", you should also encourage yourself when you see that progress that you've made. Today, I would feel embarrassed to show some of my pictures that I considered to be my "best photos" from last year (only really been into photography for about 3 years).

[John Doe 57]

Some more:

[bleufire]

Today, I would feel embarrassed to show some of my pictures that I considered to be my "best photos" from last year (only really been into photography for about 3 years).

+ 1

I recently started feeling comfortable enough to start showing my photos to non-family members to get feedback and with some brutally honest friends, who WILL be the best people to help you in improving, let me know how my photos are.

I just came back from a camping trip and I took some photos and a select few i LOVED and put some time in photoshop to touch em up and i thought they were AWESOME. showed them to some co-workers and they let me know "Cool, this one is good, the others are ok..." Followed with how she felt about them. Very helpful stuff

[John Doe 57]

A good video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yWe_9lQo_WA&fmt=18

[penter]

I don't know much about photography, but kudos to you!
I am 18, and I produce artwork, so i have great sympathy for your work.

Check it out:

http://web.me.com/gabrielvf

[John Doe 57]

I don't know much about photography, but kudos to you!
I am 18, and I produce artwork, so i have great sympathy for your work.

Check it out:

http://web.me.com/gabrielvf

Cool!

[brendanryder]

Go to a photography forum and see what people have to help you with. i personally like Photography-on-the.net

best forum ever!(for photography :D)
Some more:
still not anything special. get out of our yard!!!!!!!!! and i mean that in the nicest possibly way. being young, im only 16 BTW, i know its tought to get out but it help soo much. because as ive learned not many good photos can be obtained from my yard.

[brendanryder]

Cool!

you sure?
both links are dead, you site is "under maintenance" and your link to another page is dead.

[John Doe 57]

you sure?
both links are dead, you site is "under maintenance" and your link to another page is dead.

Dude I was trying to be nice.

[sn00pie]

Your second set is much better then the photos you posted in your first post.

220 photos in 2 years? It should be more like 2200 photos. Keep taking lots of pictures, practice makes perfect. Invest in a better camera too, even new photographers can take amazing photos with a proper camera. :)

[John Doe 57]

Your second set is much better then the photos you posted in your first post.

220 photos in 2 years? It should be more like 2200 photos. Keep taking lots of pictures, practice makes perfect. Invest in a better camera too, even new photographers can take amazing photos with a proper camera. :)

Hey well thanks for the advice! This is a good website for photo stuff, but I should take a look at photography-on-the.net!

[brendanryder]

Your second set is much better then the photos you posted in your first post.

220 photos in 2 years? It should be more like 2200 photos. Keep taking lots of pictures, practice makes perfect. Invest in a better camera too, even new photographers can take amazing photos with a proper camera. :)
or 22000 :p
ive taken around 10000 in around 8 months haha.
Hey well thanks for the advice! This is a good website for photo stuff, but I should take a look at photography-on-the.net!

yes photography-on-the.net is an amazing website. you will learn sooo much.

[RainForRent]

Digital is a nice way to explore without wasting film. On the other hand, most people (in my experience) really learn composition, use of focus as a tool, and lighting as a medium of expression is through a plain-jane, fully mechanical, old-school, SLR film camera. Preferably a Pentax K1000. I would say that digital allows that wild, take 300 shots of an apple until you get it right, whereas the film makes you sit, meter, compose, and finally expose. Keep on working at it, no one is a pro at 17. Took some guts to post up on here.

[stiphone]

I just caught the photography bug and I'm waiting for my Nikon D80. Expected to arrive this coming Tuesday. Can't wait for it!!!

[penter]

Dude I was trying to be nice.

LMAO :D

I guess the server's down. I'll try to remember to come back to this thread whenever i update my site.

[Mr_Brightside_@]

I liked the second batch. In my opinion, after having been accepted myself into Photography at Uni, those would be a good start for a portfolio. If you'd like, I can post mine to give you an idea of what unis look for. Cheers

[thr33face]

... If you'd like, I can post mine to give you an idea of what unis look for. Cheers


Please post the portfolio that you used to get into Photography at Uni. I'm really interested in that, if you are ok with that.

How often did you try?
Personally I already had 2 attempts and didn't make it. But I'm going to try again. :)

[CrackedButter]

Out of all the photos, I only like the second one but only because it suggestive of something else. It reminds me of the film 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind', that alone makes it more interesting because its letting me think about something else. The others are very blunt and are just dark pictures of tree lines and the sky. If you want to be suggestive then you need to go back to the drawing board.

+ 1

I recently started feeling comfortable enough to start showing my photos to non-family members to get feedback and with some brutally honest friends, who WILL be the best people to help you in improving, let me know how my photos are.

I just came back from a camping trip and I took some photos and a select few i LOVED and put some time in photoshop to touch em up and i thought they were AWESOME. showed them to some co-workers and they let me know "Cool, this one is good, the others are ok..." Followed with how she felt about them. Very helpful stuff

I don't doubt your friends advice but when it comes to photographic theory, the best people to get advice about your work is from actual photographers or teachers of photography. A lot of people will appreciate photography for mostly the aesthetic only.

I can show my friends and they wouldn't go into detail as much as my fellow photography friends or my lecturers.

Your second set is much better then the photos you posted in your first post.

220 photos in 2 years? It should be more like 2200 photos. Keep taking lots of pictures, practice makes perfect. Invest in a better camera too, even new photographers can take amazing photos with a proper camera. :)

More like 22,000 personally. :)

[bleufire]

I don't doubt your friends advice but when it comes to photographic theory, the best people to get advice about your work is from actual photographers or teachers of photography. A lot of people will appreciate photography for mostly the aesthetic only.

I can show my friends and they wouldn't go into detail as much as my fellow photography friends or my lecturers.


If you have those kind of people around. But if your average joe can see flaws in your photos, imagine what the actual photogs and teachers will say. They would have a field day on a single photo.

[polar-blair]

only 220 photos over two years! I have 4600 photos for 2 years, and I have only really started to enjoy photography for the last 6 months. What has really helped me is a book my late uncle had, its called how to take a photo of absolutely everything. It is aimed at someone like you who likes taking pictures but may need some help and inspiration, I helped me with all the basic jargon and let me see everything differently, Im now going around and kicking myself I left my camera at home, there are some many opportunities to take photos, just go out and take them. I dont know if the photos you have been compressed when they were uploaded, but it looks like you need a better camera! Im no Pro Im only 18 but I would say go for something with a better sensor and lower mega pixel, 6.0 or there about's is plenty. But like what has been said, keep on asking for peoples opinions (generally people who know what there talking about) and you should improve faster than you would think.

[CrackedButter]

Best advice I ever had was to ALWAYS carry a camera with yourself and to just shoot, shoot, shoot!

[telf22]

Take ALOT of pictures. I took 1016 shots today for instance.

[leighonigar]

People say take bazillions of photos, but do remember to think about them.

[telf22]

People say take bazillions of photos, but do remember to think about them.

Of course, I just mean that he should take advantage of digital photography and that he shouldnt feel restricted to taking just a single shot of an amazing subject.

[zblaxberg]

You really need a dslr or at least borrow someones. Also putting photos in a slideshow and putting music along with it isn't anything special. Also you might wanna learn some photoshop/ post production type stuff.
http://photos-e.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v241/153/84/1223310406/n1223310406_30190908_7083.jpg

http://photos-e.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v241/153/84/1223310406/n1223310406_30191116_4259.jpg

[dawnraid]

I reckon there alright, but maybe you could work a bit on the composistion/subjects (the light coming through the door is cool.) or play around with the pictures in photoshop to make the colours or lighting a bit more interesting.:)
Tell me what you think of mine. (flickr link below, im 17 too btw)!!!

[pinktank]

sosmeone had a comment about a dslr, you really do not need one, it is not the camera that will make the pictures, you are fine as long as you have something that captures images, try to think and look at the world through the viewfinder, obviously it will be different in film school but it will help

[ftaok]

Just my non-pro opinion ...

Of the 2nd batch, I like #2 and #5 the most. I don't know why, but I seem to be in a "background blur" phase and if anything, I think #2 and #5 could use some more background blur.

Especially #5 as I think it would give a different "feeling" if the house was blurred so that it would "feel" further away. Give it a somewhat hopeless feeling to it.

As for #2, I think the street and sidewalk in the background distracts from the picture. If it were blurred, it would give it a more natural, undisturbed look to the photo. (Edit - I would probably crop out the driveway in the bottom of the photo as well, or compose the shot so the driveway was not in the frame)

Personally, I think the composition is there and the photos themselves are interesting. I'd just like to see a little more blur.

ft

[FrankieTDouglas]

still not anything special. get out of our yard!!!!!!!!! and i mean that in the nicest possibly way. being young, im only 16 BTW, i know its tought to get out but it help soo much. because as ive learned not many good photos can be obtained from my yard.

That's not true. Great photos can come from your yard. If you don't think so, here are some exercises to work with in your yard...

Photograph the alphabet. Stay on your property and find elements that create letters. You'll have to look at every object differently and focus on compositional angles in order to obtain each letter.

Photograph circles, squares, and triangles.

Photograph the colors red, blue, yellow, and green.

Photograph circles and blue at the same time. Mix it up for all shapes and colors.

After you do this in your front yard, see if you still think nothing good comes from your front yard. These are techniques taught by Vincent Versace, who trains Navy photographers on aircraft carriers.

[kjs862]

Stuff looks good... I think if you looking to go into film school, you wouldn't really have to worry about what you shooting now, just make sure you have the ambition to learn and you will get good in time and practice.

I started at about your age I'm 22 now, heres my site...

www.pbase.com/kjs862

[kjs862]

Also try the forum, www.dpreview.com for critique, better than this site