How to learn from the Gallery postings?

[jay moussy]

Still very new to photography, I do check our Gallery to see members' works.

I have a feeling I should try to learn from what I see.
Composition is fairly accessible, but technical details,, exposure or print technique are more elusive.

What methods to gain more knowledge from Gallery offerings?

 

[faberryman]

I don't think you can learn much about technical details, exposure, or print technique by looking at digital scans of negatives and prints in the gallery. Looking at images in the gallery may give you some inspiration or ideas. Keep in mind that the gallery is not a juried exhibition. Some of the photos in the gallery are great, some are good, and some are mediocre.

 

[Pieter12]

First of all, take lots of photos. Sitting in front of a screen will only get you so far. You would be better off looking at photo books and museums and galleries. Some YouTube videos offer useful insights and information, but a lot is ill-informed crap. Read about technique and technical information. Then maybe you can reverse-engineer photos that you see. And take a class or workshop or two if that is available and manageable.

 

[Tel]

I agree that studying a print in a gallery can give more of a sense of process than looking at a digital reproduction on a backlit computer screen. But for many of us, the brick-and-mortar gallery opportunities are shrinking so we might have to make do with online galleries. I mainly look at other people's work to get ideas about composition. My reaction to a new photo is mostly visceral initially. If I really like what I see I try to figure out why. It seems simple but over time it leads to more and more subtle readings of images and I think these get incorporated into my own shooting style.

I also look at more radical departures in technique like cyanotypes, wet plate and other processes that might interest me. This is how I got interested in kallitypes. Once I got curious about the process I found a workshop and learned how to do it. So I think an online gallery can be helpful, especially if it stimulates you to go offline and try some new techniques. This sort of explains why I never got into digital photography I guess. It's only a substitute for something more tangible.

 

[MattKing]

As a subscriber, you can post comments in Photrio galleries. Use that option to post questions. Most of us who post in the galleries are happy to discuss procedure and intent.

 

[DWThomas]

Ah! This could be one of those relatively short questions that takes a lifetime to answer! I agree with the two* comments above. You can't fully appreciate the technical tricks of printing after it has been through all the digitizing steps to display it here. And I can't remember the name, but I recall there was some legendary photographer from the past who once made a remark about how his work began to improve after the first ten thousand images or some such thing.

I mostly view the galleries here as inspiration, and also just as knowing this community a little better; what things various participants are drawn to. Besides basic lighting and composition, there is a huge spectrum of subjects and styles. So first we need to decide what we are trying to accomplish and then, perhaps based on examples, try to figure out how to get there. I've been dabbling in the art for such a long time I can't even remember how I learned some of the things I know -- and alas, I know there is plenty more to learn!

I think picking some goal -- perhaps a certain "pre-visualized" image -- and trying to create it can be instructive. Like scientific experiments, keeping notes and not changing too many things at once is a useful approach. Going from film selection, metering and exposing, through developing negatives and darkroom printing, and all the chemistry can provide a huge array of possible variations. Thus, analyze a result, figure out what you like or don't like, and try again with a change in some parameter.

The technical end can get quite involved, but in the end result perfect technique does not necessarily result in an interesting photograph!

*Edit: Matt added his comment while I was writing -- and is quite correct. Although I confess that writing about some of this stuff can be more difficult/frustrating than just doing it!

 

[Sirius Glass]

Ah! This could be one of those relatively short questions that takes a lifetime to answer! I agree with the two* comments above. You can't fully appreciate the technical tricks of printing after it has been through all the digitizing steps to display it here. And I can't remember the name, but I recall there was some legendary photographer from the past who once made a remark about how his work began to improve after the first ten thousand images or some such thing.

I mostly view the galleries here as inspiration, and also just as knowing this community a little better; what things various participants are drawn to. Besides basic lighting and composition, there is a huge spectrum of subjects and styles. So first we need to decide what we are trying to accomplish and then, perhaps based on examples, try to figure out how to get there. I've been dabbling in the art for such a long time I can't even remember how I learned some of the things I know -- and alas, I know there is plenty more to learn!

I think picking some goal -- perhaps a certain "pre-visualized" image -- and trying to create it can be instructive. Like scientific experiments, keeping notes and not changing too many things at once is a useful approach. Going from film selection, metering and exposing, through developing negatives and darkroom printing, and all the chemistry can provide a huge array of possible variations. Thus, analyze a result, figure out what you like or don't like, and try again with a change in some parameter.

The technical end can get quite involved, but in the end result perfect technique does not necessarily result in an interesting photograph!

*Edit: Matt added his comment while I was writing -- and is quite correct. Although I confess that writing about some of this stuff can be more difficult/frustrating than just doing it!

Photos in the galleries may have been worked over in the darkroom or on the computer, then posted. One cannot learn exposure and other technical techniques from them, but one can gain inspiration and learn about composition. Read some books, especially from the days before the computer and internet started to dominate. Take classes. On occasion You Tube videos can be useful, not all of them, but a selected group. Oh yes, you can learn from some on this website.

 

[gone]

I have a feeling I should try to learn from what I see.

That's the only way to do it. About the only thing I find informative from online images is seeing what the bokeh looks like wide open on certain lenses, and maybe, maybe how I might like to make a pic.

Plus, maybe go on a pilgrimage? That's what I did when first setting out as a painter. I went to NY, Chicago, Abq (ground zero for B&W photographers due to the light, they even used to call them the Photographic Mafia), SF etc. I needed to see the Big Boys & Girls's work in museums and galleries. One really needs to know what things are supposed to look like at that level.

Same w/ photographs. Otherwise, it's difficult/impossible to compare what looks so good on a backlit monitor to prints on a wall. They'll never have that glow like on a monitor. When you see how the pros did it at the highest levels, it gives you a base line and something to shoot for.

You can take classes to get the basics down, or just buy the materials and start making prints. That way you'll learn from your experiences (mistakes). Either way works. But make sure you have the film shooting and the film developing nailed down first.

 

[pentaxuser]

Another site I use called FADU insists on straight scans of the darkroom prints. By straight I mean that the submitter needs to look at the print and get the scan of it to match. Then you may learn something from the print.

Currently there is no way of knowing that what you see is reproducible in the darkroom but given that few seem to submit straight scans of prints simply because so few print in a darkroom then my feeling is that little can be learnt from what you see in the gallery

I have seen some great tones of what looks like a lith or sepia print only to be told that what I was looking at was a scan of a negative that was PSed in the appropriate was to simulate toning

pentaxuser

 

[Pieter12]

just buy the materials and start making prints. That way you'll learn from your experiences

Having a mentor in the form of an instructor or a book will make learning much easier than winging it. Making mistakes is fine, but it helps to have a resource to identify and rectify those mistakes.

 

[Pieter12]

Another site I use called FADU insists on straight scans of the darkroom prints. By straight I mean that the submitter needs to look at the print and get the scan of it to match. Then you may learn something from the print.

Currently there is no way of knowing that what you see is reproducible in the darkroom but given that few seem to submit straight scans of prints simply because so few print in a darkroom then my feeling is that little can be learnt from what you see in the gallery

I have seen some great tones of what looks like a lith or sepia print only to be told that what I was looking at was a scan of a negative that was PSed in the appropriate was to simulate toning

pentaxuser

It depends on what th OP intends to learn from the gallery. The best way to learn to print is to look at actual prints by good printers, or a book that has really good reproductions, and then to print and print and print to get close to those standards. But looking at the gallery or prints won't teach you to dodge and burn or bleach or split-grade print or flash.

 

[Rick A]

Get a good book on the basics, learn to make good negatives. Take plenty of notes on everything you shoot, and develop. Stick to one film and one developer, and if you are printing (you should) one paper and learn to use them together to their best ability (and take more notes). Experiment (and take detailed notes). Compare your outcome with how you got there (that's what the notes are for). Buy a very large trash can for your darkroom, you're gonna need it. Don't try to copy anyone else's work, you aren't them. Ask lotsa questions. Shoot loads of film, burn through many $$$$ of materials, One day someone will ask you the same question you asked here, and you'll give them (hopefully) some sage advice.

 

[MattKing]

For the heck of it...
If you saw this image from my gallery submissions, you might consider asking about things like:
a) what drew me to take the photograph?;
b) how did I decide on the lens to use, and why?;
c) how did I approach metering the scene, and why?;
d) what compromises or other exposure related decisions did I make, and why?;
e) if I had a choice of films to use, why did I choose what I did?;
f) if I had a choice about how to develop the film, what choice did I make, and why?;
g) how did the resulting negative come out?
h) when it came time to print:
i) what mood or feel did I want to impart, and why, and how did I go about doing that?,
ii) what elements of the scene did I seek to emphasize, and why, and how did I go about doing that?
iii) what elements of the scene did I seek to de-emphasize, and why, and how did I go about doing that?
iv) what elements of the scene did I let fall the way they did?;
i) did I have in mind and did I employ any post development techniques such as toning or framing to enhance the results, and why?; and
j) is there any part of the result that I would like to change, and why?
Some of these things may not interest you. Some of these things would be infinitely more difficult to discuss over the internet vs. face-to-face. But this off the cuff and undoubtedly incomplete list might be helpful - at least I hope it might.

One Troll's Trash ....MSA Mar/April 2018

• MattKing
• Apr 30, 2018

Even those who live under bridges need a little comfort.
11d-2018-03-21-APUG

 

[bdial]

As a suggestion for making use of the gallery here for learning, I’ll echo what was said earlier, post questions, or, if you’re uncomfortable with that, PM the photographer, I expect most gallery posters will be happy to answer any questions.

Vermont Center for Photography host a “portfolio night” gathering every other month on a Sunday evening where folks get together and talk about their photos and projects.
It’s likely a bit of a drive for you but might be doable, and several people come from a fair distance.

 

[greg zinselmeier]

For me, the only question I ever have is. . .

Goes something like this

Why do you did you make an exposure of (this), (that) or I might say “why did you make a photograph of (this) (that)

I don’t really care about technical stuff when listening or reading about said artist/ work. What draws you to content conceptually is what I like to know.

 

[Sirius Glass]

For me, the only question I ever have is. . .

Goes something like this

Why do you did you make an exposure of (this), (that) or I might say “why did you make a photograph of (this) (that)

I don’t really care about technical stuff when listening or reading about said artist/ work. What draws you to content conceptually is what I like to know.

I agree. The exact f/stop and shutter speed for a particular lighting situation for a specific scene will not provide useful information. A choice of focal length or filter might be useful on a very limited basis.

 

[MattKing]

I don’t really care about technical stuff when listening or reading about said artist/ work. What draws you to content conceptually is what I like to know.

The exact choice of settings is, I agree, not useful.
But it can be helpful to learn about how the technical and the concept interact.
The exposure choices made for this image were intentional and in made in support of the desired mood:

Parked Inside - Sept/Oct 2020 MSA - "Interior"

• MattKing
• Sep 9, 2020
• 7

The parking garage in the interior of our complex

 

[greg zinselmeier]

Yes, again,,,, for the beginner:::: two items to note.
1. How did/ do you approach your Subject matter,, conceptually?

2. How did you approach your subject matter technically? How do you get your prints to look that way?

3. How does 1 and 2 relate to each other

Personally, I am only interested in 1.

But I can see why a lot of people are interested in 1,2, and 3

-for the beginner, ask to yourself. Why am I picking up a camera? Why am I doing film? So on and so forth