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Photographic terminology and words you hate.

To me 'artist', or the status of being one, is earned, by recognition of others.

I think we all agree on that. It is fine if the term is used generically or collectively, as in representation, law, etc. In the individual sense, especially in self-reference, it seems pretentious.
 
I think we all agree on that. It is fine if the term is used generically or collectively, as in representation, law, etc. In the individual sense, especially in self-reference, it seems pretentious.

At the risk of repeating myself, you're an artist, when Artists consider you one, as my aunt once said to her son years ago when he qualified from medical school " to me you're a doctor, to the rest of your family you're now a doctor, but to other doctors are you a doctor ?.
 
Lexicon devilry

"contemporary vintage photographs" [prepare to hurl!]
Honestly....why? Vintage...........uuuuuurgghhh! Also when Edward Weston was referred to as an artist he replied, ''delete, or change to photographer,of which I am very proud !''.
 
"contemporary vintage photographs" [prepare to hurl!]

Dress up people in old clothes and photograph them is stiff poses so the sepia-tone photograph can be passed of as nineteenth century prints.
 
I'll start another rant in this high quality thread.

Just read over in the TMax 25 thread that someone thinks Pan-F+ is 'mushy'.

Another favorite word that makes me laugh out loud.

The same guy called Delta "clinical". What the hell does that mean?

Means he doesn't personally like them, hasn't figure out how to get the results he wants from them, they don't suit his personal tastes, or some combination of those. (Probably a combination of the first two.)
 
"Leica glow"

Bokeh

Gratuitous misuse of "DPI". "I don't understand why this photograph is blurry, it's set to 300dpi, not 72dpi..."

Analog

'tog

Giclee (Honestly, what is wrong with "archival pigment print"? They are pigmented inks, rather than dyes, anyhow).

Capture
 
Mushy and clinical both have real meanings.

'Mushy' is a lack of both micro and macro contrast, usually coupled with low acutance. It looks just like it sounds.
'Clinical' is in the opposite direction, so much micro contrast in the presence of low macro contrast or a short tone curve that makes the photo uncomfortable to look at or lacking in tonal interest. "Clinical" because it has little to no emotional impact in spite of high technical merit. Some people use this look to support the overall image; as with any stylistic judgment in art, it's subjective.

I don't get the backlash against 'bokeh'. It has a specific meaning for which there was no single English word. Simple. Adamant rejection of it smacks of xenophobia, IMHO.

Y'all're forgetting that this is an art, practiced by artists. Expecting precise, unemotional language from photographers is going to be disappointing at best. (that said, I don't much care for capture either, unless the photo is the raw data for a photomanip or a collage or the such)
 
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We're just having a bit of fun with language here.

I find 'mushy' to be particularly poor as a choice to describe poor detail definition in a photograph. I use mushy to describe peas that have been cooked and pureed, and something I eat with fish and chips.

Clinical is stupid because it's a very ambiguous word that in different people's minds mean different things. To communicate well is the art of making others understand what you mean, and when somebody says 'clinical' I have no f-ing clue what they're talking about. Sorry, but you're gonna have to do better than that.

Bokeh? If you focus so much attention to the areas that are out of focus, then in my view you use it as a crutch to try to improve photographs that otherwise have no substance and therefore suck. There are people who can support the content of their photographs by looking at the entire photograph, and that may or may not include the out of focus areas. But to make a whole concept surrounding what is not in focus is, to my taste buds, a bit foolish.

Them's my two cents, as a counter argument to yours.

 
I think you and I probably have very different styles. It'd be so damn boring if everyone shot the same way. ^_^
 
I think you and I probably have very different styles. It'd be so damn boring if everyone shot the same way. ^_^

Perhaps. I don't like the word style either. I'm going to be a terrific grumpy old man some day...
 
Perhaps. I don't like the word style either. I'm going to be a terrific grumpy old man some day...

A curmudgeon. Nothing wrong with being a curmudgeon, as long as you retain a sense of humour. Dull grumpy old people are the pits. Actually, dull grumpy people of any age are the pits, doubly so if they are politically correct.
 
A curmudgeon. Nothing wrong with being a curmudgeon, as long as you retain a sense of humour. Dull grumpy old people are the pits. Actually, dull grumpy people of any age are the pits, doubly so if they are politically correct.

Now that we completely agree on!
 
Life's too short to give a crap about the way others use language. If you're making photographs, do the words really matter?
 
I find 'mushy' to be particularly poor as a choice to describe poor detail definition in a photograph. I use mushy to describe peas that have been cooked and pureed, and something I eat with fish and chips.

Can you get good fish and chips on your side of the Atlantic?


Steve.
 
I think Steve is alluding to mushy peas.
 
I think Steve is alluding to mushy peas.

They also sell those where we go for fish and chips, and I like them so much that I usually buy them for on the side. I doubt British or Irish fish & chips purists would do that, but I'm a Swedish person living in Minnesota, so I have the freedom to do whatever I want.
 
Over here they sell the fish and chips in fake newspaper. That tells you just about all you need to know.
 
I thought it actually became illegal in England some time ago to sell it in real newspaper?

I don't doubt that, but I have often wondered what it is that makes it necessary to imitate the tradition.
 
I dislike the word upgrading as used on this site, when it applies to those changing to a larger format. It is not an upgrade, just different.
 
"Beautiful photograph, you must have a really nice camera."


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This one drives me crazy!