Hide your bad photos

[darkosaric]

Hi,

I like to put my pictures on classic FB paper, and also on web. I like spending time in darkroom, and usually I print a lot of pictures. And I like to put also photos that are not so good. If I like them even a little - I usually put them on 18x24 cm print (good for scaning, and boxes of 100 sheets are not so expensive), and on my deviantart page.

Good ones are going on 20x30cm or 30x40cm paper

Is this very bad habit? Will my better photos be hidden by not so good ones? I know also that I don't shoot only for me - many people don't care so much for opinion of others - but I do. I want to prove "something" to myself, but to other people also. Don't ask me what is this "something"

Soon I will make one personal web page - what is number of photos that you suggest it is okay to put it as portfolio on personal web page?

thanks,

 

[Whiteymorange]

Prove what you want, print what you want. Put as many pictures on your personal web page as you see fit. It seems to me that personal expression should not be enslaved to other peoples opinion. If they like it, they will look; if they really like it, they will pay you money for it. If someone does not care for your work, let them look elsewhere. What is "not so good" in the eyes of some may have a little magic in it for others.

As another painter I know often says, "You can say anything you like about my work, just write it on the back of the check."

 

[Anscojohn]

Hi,

I like to put my pictures on classic FB paper, and also on web. I like spending time in darkroom, and usually I print a lot of pictures. And I like to put also photos that are not so good. If I like them even a little - I usually put them
Soon I will make one personal web page - what is number of photos that you suggest it is okay to put it as portfolio on personal web page?

thanks,

*******
An early mentor told me "the waste basket is your best friend."

 

[Domenico Foschi]

*******
An early mentor told me "the waste basket is your best friend."

I agree.
It is another facet of being an artist to use that waste basket judiciously.
Don't be too critical but also don't be too self-indulgent.
There are millions, billions, trillions of good images to be taken out there, look forward to those.

 

[Jeff Kubach]

*******
An early mentor told me "the waste basket is your best friend."

I agree also.

Jeff

 

[catem]

Agree learning to edit is essential.

But not always straightforward. Sometimes I look back at photos I rejected and decide - they're OK. Maybe quite good.
Or I look at photos I thought were really good and realise - maybe not.

It's not an issue for me whether I should print or show the ones I don't like so much, though. I can never keep up with myself printing or showing the ones I like. Not to say I have so many I like I wouldn't think of it - just that my turnover and ability to keep up is probably a lot slower than yours.

As for showing on a site - it's a balance. Less is usually more, in my view, but self-judgment can change over time. I think it's normal. The important thing is in the end it has to be your judgment always and not other peoples'. It's important to be able to consider other peoples' views but also to have the confidence to disregard them.

So if you have the time, I think it's fine to keep and even print/show the ones you don't absolutely hate. Keep the negs at least. They might surprise you in the future. I do think, though, If you show too many of the ones you're not wholly satisfied with, you might regret it later. But it does depend what you're looking for - if it's primarily to sell, rather than building up a portfolio of your best work, and they are selling, and you don't mind what you think of them - why not.

Hi,

I like to put my pictures on classic FB paper, and also on web. I like spending time in darkroom, and usually I print a lot of pictures. And I like to put also photos that are not so good. If I like them even a little - I usually put them on 18x24 cm print (good for scaning, and boxes of 100 sheets are not so expensive), and on my deviantart page.

Good ones are going on 20x30cm or 30x40cm paper

Is this very bad habit? Will my better photos be hidden by not so good ones? I know also that I don't shoot only for me - many people don't care so much for opinion of others - but I do. I want to prove "something" to myself, but to other people also. Don't ask me what is this "something"

Soon I will make one personal web page - what is number of photos that you suggest it is okay to put it as portfolio on personal web page?

thanks,

 

[VaryaV]

I agree with what you are saying and I think it is a valid point I never considered before.

For me personally, I edit the crap out of my work and only show my very best, or what I think is my very best work. Work I want to be known for.

 

[darkosaric]

thanks for your thoughts

I often do selection together with my best friend - who is also photographer . Do you usually do it alone, or together with trustful friends?

 

[Sirius Glass]

An early mentor told me "the waste basket is your best friend."

And I might add "cropping is your best friend".

Steve

 

[catem]

I often do selection together with my best friend - who is also photographer . Do you usually do it alone, or together with trustful friends?

At the moment, mostly alone, and I'm happy with that, but sometimes I like to test out decisions, sometimes with a couple of people I trust, most often with an old friend who knows me very well, who isn't a photographer but who has a love and appreciation of the visual arts generally. I've looked for feedback in all sorts of different ways in the past though - I think different ways work at different times - and sometimes its dependent on circumstances.

 

[removed account4]

i wouldn't say i hide them, and put them aside and live with them for a while.
eventually the bad ones become the good ones, and the good ones not as good
as i thought they were ...

 

[arigram]

i wouldn't say i hide them, and put them aside and live with them for a while.
eventually the bad ones become the good ones, and the good ones not as good
as i thought they were ...

Exactly.
I agree though that you should only show your best work outside and only the ones you are apprehensive about or even hate to people that you trust for critique.

 

[Sirius Glass]

I have looked at a bad photograph months or years later and realized that it would be a great photograph if I did this or that in the darkroom. I would be glad that I saved the negative and original print.

Steve

 

[bobwysiwyg]

I view them all as good, I learn from each one. Now that doesn't mean I have to "share" the experience though.

 

[brian steinberger]

I have looked at a bad photograph months or years later and realized that it would be a great photograph if I did this or that in the darkroom. I would be glad that I saved the negative and original print.

Steve

I agree totally with this, and sometimes I think it happens because our emotions towards or feel for the photograph changes over the months or years and the image "grows" on us. This happens to me alot and also vice versa.

As far as editing, I would absolutely only show my best work. Other good photos you have are certainly great to keep, but only show the general public your best work (exhibitions or websites).

 

[darkosaric]

I have looked at a bad photograph months or years later and realized that it would be a great photograph if I did this or that in the darkroom. I would be glad that I saved the negative and original print.

Steve

I am saving all negatives. Not so good ones I just put in one big box, without nice negative sleeves, but I don't put them in trash.
When I will be putting my photos on personal web page - I will be more strict than now on deviantart

 

[Travis Nunn]

My 2 cents.... If I don't like a print, I'm the only one that sees it. I may keep it, I may trash it, but I never show anyone any print that I don't like.

 

[Anscojohn]

thanks for your thoughts

I often do selection together with my best friend - who is also photographer . Do you usually do it alone, or together with trustful friends?

*******
When I am in doubt, I put the work prints up on a cork board in my cluttered office and "live" with them a time. Sometimes my initial impressions change. And although I believe the wastebasket to be useful, I keep all my negs.

 

[Shangheye]

I share my apprehensive ones to my wife...she is my harshest critic. She is also always right...I know, becasue she tells me so

 

[insertclevername]

The problem I have as an inexperienced photographer is that I don't really know what is good or bad. I mean, it's hard to know if I like one of my prints because of circumstances surrounding the it or because of the print itself. How do you people judge your own work? That is, how do you distance yourself enough from a print to be able to effectively judge it?

 

[arigram]

The problem I have as an inexperienced photographer is that I don't really know what is good or bad. I mean, it's hard to know if I like one of my prints because of circumstances surrounding the it or because of the print itself. How do you people judge your own work? That is, how do you distance yourself enough from a print to be able to effectively judge it?

Its all about experience really and a bit of self-understanding.
Its about finding where you are and where you want to go and be very honest about it.
Such experience will only come from taking photos and viewing photos.
Photography is a bit trickier than other arts with more difficult craft, because good photography thrives on "mistakes": photographs you find blurry, out of focus, badly composed, over exposed or underexposed or just plain weird or uninteresting, might be masterpieces if viewed with the right mindset. Or they might not be.
Only you can really judge that.
Seeing master photographs will help you a lot, not only for inspiration, but understanding.
Especially take care of photographs you find uninteresting: discover what makes them good.
So, in the beginning, take photos, view photos and either show all of them to people, or don't show any, it doesn't matter. The time will come that you will be able to pick them.

 

[catem]

The problem I have as an inexperienced photographer is that I don't really know what is good or bad. ......, how do you distance yourself enough from a print to be able to effectively judge it?

You can't ever distance yourself.

Though possibly, to some extent, this depends on the kind of photography you do and how you approach it. I can only speak for myself.

Part of it has to be getting beyond "is this good, is this bad", and certainly comparing yourself with other people, to something like "does this express what I'm trying to say, in the best way I can, at this moment".

Looking at other photographers/artist can be useful all the way through, but it can also be a distraction and diversion - you have to find the right balance - the key is to be involved in what you are doing to the extent that you are not worrying or thinking consciously so much about "judging" - so that the work itself takes over, and you know if you are getting what you are after, as soon as you see it. The other thing, we can all be our harshest critics, and you have to learn to let go of that a bit. The key, I think, is having a clear direction and following it.

 

[darkosaric]

You can't ever distance yourself.

I find it difficult to distance myself from my work. Probably that is why I always ask confirmation from my friend. But it goes better with time, in beginning (around 3 years ago) it was absolute impossible for me to tell anything about my work. Maybe after 10-20 years it will be possible to distance myself

 

[clayne]

And I might add "cropping is your best friend".

And I might add "composition is your best friend."

To the original point: I believe self-editing to be the other half of the equation.

You can't ever distance yourself.

I distance myself by leaving film to be latent long after I've shot it. Not years, but quite a few months typically. The more I let it sit, the more objective I become towards it. Of course with that comes the risk of loss of memory of the moment - which can make contextual description more difficult.

 

[Contrastique]

I always contact print each film, whether I know in advance it sucks or not, and store them properly, never throwing a way a single negative. I only print the ones I like or when I doubt between some I print them all and then choose. I only show the ones I really like. If you don't believe in your product, who will, and besides what's more important your own opinion or someone else's? Your own opinion is, but therefor you need to have one.
Selecting is maybe the most difficult part of photography but in my opinion a very vital one, and something a lot of people have serious trouble with (it remains difficult but gets a little easier over time). You have to "kill your darlings" my teacher used to say.

After some time go wading through your old stuff, your opinion has changed, your view on things has changed, your hormonial state has changed and you might find a new jewel in your old work.