what SIMPLE thing can people do to make their photographs better?

Cholentpot · Jun 18, 2018

tedr1 said:
Don't use flash

Tame the flash. Get friendly with it and take it off the camera, maybe give it it's own space...

ReginaldSMith · Jun 18, 2018

Cholentpot said:
#9 works sometimes. If 12 year old Susan is smiling but grandma ain't and it's a closeup headshot the photo might be unusable.

Of course always season to taste.

Family snapshots are often made for the benefit of others. "Let's all stand by the x-mas tree" and that sort. Generally, the object is to create a cliche. And for me, a cliche is not an important photo. My comments were aimed at beyond those kind of photos. If I was doing a portrait of someone, and I have done lots of them, I want them to project what they want, not what I want. In my experience, I found there are "smilers" and "non-smilers" and after much thinking and shooting, I realized that a requested "smile" will almost never be a true one. The non-smilers usually do not feel comfortable smiling and the smilers always feel comfortable smiling and smile readily any time a camera is pointed their way. It's as natural as breathing; But for the non-smiler, smiling is a physical exercise they are always trying to master, but never do. I no longer say anything when taking a portrait. I just wait.

Cholentpot · Jun 18, 2018

ReginaldSMith said:
Of course always season to taste.

Family snapshots are often made for the benefit of others. "Let's all stand by the x-mas tree" and that sort. Generally, the object is to create a cliche. And for me, a cliche is not an important photo. My comments were aimed at beyond those kind of photos. If I was doing a portrait of someone, and I have done lots of them, I want them to project what they want, not what I want. In my experience, I found there are "smilers" and "non-smilers" and after much thinking and shooting, I realized that a requested "smile" will almost never be a true one. The non-smilers usually do not feel comfortable smiling and the smilers always feel comfortable smiling and smile readily any time a camera is pointed their way. It's as natural as breathing; But for the non-smiler, smiling is a physical exercise they are always trying to master, but never do. I no longer say anything when taking a portrait. I just wait.

When you're getting paid to get a photo of Susan and Grandma Goldberg at her brothers Bar Mitzvah you darn tootin' want the old bag to smile.

ReginaldSMith · Jun 18, 2018

Europan · Jun 19, 2018

Get totally drunk, recover from hangover, then load camera and go stare at the world. Let everything be and happen.

alanrockwood · Jun 19, 2018

#1 rule in my book. Look at the background before you take the photo. You may (or may not) like what you see in the background.

Now, going a little beyond the original question.

#2 rule, try to make my photos more like the ones my wife takes (makes). Even though she is not as technically proficient, she usually takes (makes) much better photos than I do.

#3 rule, trying to be "artsy" is fun, but realize that in 100 years the chances are that nobody will be interested in your artsy photos. They are more likely to be interested in that photo you took of auntie Jane on her 70th birthday.

#4 rule, move around the subject of the photo before taking the photo. The best angle/distance for the shot is probably not the one from where you are standing now.

#5 rule, use the rule of thirds to aid your compositions.

#6 rule, ignore the rule of thirds.

TonyB65 · Jun 19, 2018

I only have one rule, that's to enjoy it, enjoyment leads to everything else, increased motivation to do it and learn and be better etc. Once the enjoyment has gone do something else, life's too short. This rule led me to film from digital, I stopped enjoying shooting digital images, it become bland and sterile, I felt I was just going through the motions with no real challenge, shooting film is a blast, I'm really enjoying it much more. I shoot digital occasionally but it's just not the same and never will be now, but I have a much more fulfilling and enjoyable hobby now, and that's all that matters to me.

ced · Jun 19, 2018

Avoid clutter, unless clutter is what you're after. Frame the image that it will be pleasing for anybody to look at.

Cholentpot · Jun 19, 2018

ReginaldSMith said:
Lol

And then when you deliver the work the first question is always 'You didn't get one of my mother smiling?' I ask back 'When was the last time you saw Mom smile?' Husband always tries very hard to keep a straight face.

removed account4 · Jun 19, 2018

looking back at what i said i think i had it all wrong.

looking back at what i said i think i had it all wrong.
i guess, a couple of the main things one can do is spend more than 1 exposure / view.
vary the aperture ( if you have the ability ) over expose a little and under expose a little.
shoot exaclty as the light meter says too. if you send the film to a lab, who knows what their processing
is like, if you are processing your own film, some things might look better a little thinner or denser, besides i
f it was important enough to take 1 view, its probably OK to waste a few extra frames on the same subject.
vary the way you see the thing you are photographing ..
see it from different angles, or perspectives ( down low, raking side view, up above, ) straight on,
center composition might seem boring to some, but it works too, leave room for the subject to breath,
or crop part of it off, skew-it .. don't be so rigid with the camera or with the IDK 40¢/35mm exposure that
you are afraid to do something different. and if there are 9 compositions inside your 1 exposure
don't be afraid to crop the heck out of your view. there aren't rules that say you can't crop,
just people who insist their way is the right way, and it is OK to ignore people's rules if you want.
fill your head with photography, artwork, architecture, sculpture, stuff that interests you, junk store photos
old tour books, anything you like, and allow it to seep into your way of seeing. there is no rule against
having an open mind, or borrowing ideas from people, or things, just rigid ideas of how things should or shouldnt' be done.

speaking of rigid, get a tripod or monopod or beanbag or learn how to lean against something and be rigid.
supposedly there is a rule of thumb that if you use a shutter speed slower than the focal length of your lens
you need a tripod. what does that mean ? it means if you have a 100mm lens and you photographat 1/60thS you might want to get a tripod because of "camera shake". or you can put your elbos against your chest hold your breath and exhale slowly and depress the shutter or limp your body and lean against a pole or tree and be a human tripod.

i could go on for an hour i guess but i'd rather not ...

do whatever you want
be comfortable with your camera
pay attention
nothing else really matters.

you follow someone else's recipe for success you have succeeded at photographing like someone else, you use a tripod or beanbag
or use compositonal tools or whatever ... that might not be you ... just figure out what you want to do/say and enjoy yourself.
and when someone asks " huh, why did you do that, that's kinda ... " have some sort of reasoning ( even cause i wanted to works ) ..

simple tips to take good photographs ...
just do whatever you want and not care what anyone else says or thinks and be comfortable with your camera.

nothing else really matters.

you follow someone else's recipe for success you have succeeded at photographing like someone else, you use a tripod or beanbag
or use compositonal tools or whatever ... that might not be you ... just figure out what you want to do/say and enjoy yourself.
and when someone asks " huh, why did you do that, that's kinda ... " have some sort of reasoning ( even cause i wanted to works ) ..

Billy Axeman · Jun 19, 2018

jnanian said:
.......
just do whatever you want and not care what anyone else says or thinks and be comfortable with your camera.
nothing else really matters ...

So now this has come full circle with the best advise so far.
I also think pdeeh (post #10) has some excellent points. I would say *all* his points are worth following.

ReginaldSMith · Jun 19, 2018

jnanian said:
what are some simple things regular folks with a camera can do to get better negatives

I should have noticed this, but didn't. The responses all depend on the meaning of "better." I apologize for falling into the tar pit.

jtk · Jun 19, 2018

ReginaldSMith said:
I should have noticed this, but didn't. The responses all depend on the meaning of "better." I apologize for falling into the tar pit.

Reginald, you also seem to have confused "negatives" (in your text) with"photographs" ( in your OT headline).

From what I've seen the simplest way to make negatives better is to settle down into one developer or one lab...rather than playing.

If the question has to do with photographs, we can all make them better by reflecting on why we're engaged in this activity.

pdeeh · Jun 19, 2018

Billy Axeman said:
I also think pdeeh (post #10) has some excellent points. I would say *all* his points are worth following.

It is clear to me that you are not only a man of great perspicacity and exquisite taste, but also an acute judge of good character and a true gentleman of the Old Skool.

Billy Axeman · Jun 19, 2018

Thank you pdeeh, too much honor

michr · Jun 19, 2018

Take more photos. If you find something that you'd like to photograph, instead of taking one photo, take three or ten, or more, exploring various angles and compositions.

markjwyatt · Jun 19, 2018

Be deliberate when you push the shutter button.

Billy Axeman · Jun 19, 2018

michr said:
Take more photos. If you find something that you'd like to photograph, instead of taking one photo, take three or ten, or more, exploring various angles and compositions.

When you have more photo's from the same subject or environment you can make a small series and post/show them together. The art of making series of photos that belong to each other is a skill not seen much. One difficulty is that all the photo's must have the same properties like sharpness, grain, contrast, tonality etc. even when the lighting is different when photographed from different angles.

An 'advantage' of a series is that most individual photos don't need to be exiting and unique like single photo's as long as they fit together harmoniously.

I once saw a remark somewhere that (traditional) Japanese photographers were using it a lot but I can't find any info about it or a confirmation, so maybe I remembered it wrong.

jtk · Jun 19, 2018

The first bestest thing is to resign from Facebook (if you can figure out how).

https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/b...n-arguments-deleting-social/story?id=56009512

https://www.theguardian.com/technol...dawn-new-everything-interview-virtual-reality

michr · Jun 19, 2018

Billy Axeman said:
When you have more photo's from the same subject or environment you can make a small series and post/show them together. The art of making series of photos that belong to each other is a skill not seen much. One difficulty is that all the photo's must have the same properties like sharpness, grain, contrast, tonality etc. even when the lighting is different when photographed from different angles.

An 'advantage' of a series is that most individual photos don't need to be exiting and unique like single photo's as long as they fit together harmoniously.

I once saw a remark somewhere that (traditional) Japanese photographers were using it a lot but I can't find any info about it or a confirmation, so maybe I remembered it wrong.

There's an ambience that is created as a sort of gestalt from the presentation of multiple images in agreement. It's a rare skill. But it doesn't have to be. Gallery space has always been a scarce resource, but now that anyone can post online as much as they'd like, curating a number of images which fit together is technically easy and inexpensive. Harder is the planning and thought that goes into making a series from the start. That's definitely a skill I'd like to work on developing.

faberryman · Jun 19, 2018

michr said:
That's definitely a skill I'd like to work on developing.

To develop the skill you need to create an inventory of related images to curate. It is hard work.

removed account4 · Jun 19, 2018

ReginaldSMith said:
I should have noticed this, but didn't. The responses all depend on the meaning of "better." I apologize for falling into the tar pit.

better can mean whatever you want, better prints better negatives, better anything, even "more comfortable" with what you are making

jtk said:
The first bestest thing is to resign from Facebook (if you can figure out how).

https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/b...n-arguments-deleting-social/story?id=56009512

https://www.theguardian.com/technol...dawn-new-everything-interview-virtual-reality

FB has absolutely nothing to do with this thread ... especially because there are social groups on FB that
can MAKE you a better photographer. you know, people interested in photography instead of other stuff.

jtk · Jun 20, 2018

jnanian said:
better can mean whatever you want, better prints better negatives, better anything, even "more comfortable" with what you are making

FB has absolutely nothing to do with this thread ... especially because there are social groups on FB that
can MAKE you a better photographer. you know, people interested in photography instead of other stuff.

iNTERESTING that jnanian knows so much about facebook.

Vaughn · Jun 20, 2018

Buy work by better photographers then the photographs you have will be better.

ReginaldSMith · Jun 21, 2018

From the other end of the spectrum:

One of the reasons that photography is so-little respected as an art form is this blase attitude that infests the field: "Do whatever the heck you want. Have fun." There's just absolutely no respect for the history of art. Sure, there are some self-taught painters, but by far the majority of successful ones went to art school somewhere. They first learn the rules, then learn how and when to break them. They have respect for the traditions, even when they go off to develop their own. Give a naif a box of paints and a canvas and not much will result. Give a naif a camera and an average image emerges---WOW! I'm a photographer!

I totally and absolutely disagree with the "nothing matters, do what you like" advice. The world is awash in horrible, crappy, meaningless, insipid photos made by people who know absolutely nothing about art and its traditions. World of Wallpaper. Writers go to school. Poets too. Painters go to school, along with sculptors and print makers. Musicians go to school.

what SIMPLE thing can people do to make their photographs better?

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