what type of photography intimidates you, or you don't like, and why ?

Arklatexian · Jan 31, 2016

What type of photography intimidates you

benjiboy said:
Nude photography although I love photographing people, every time I have attempted it the results have been almost pornographic, I am not a prude but to produce something that is beautiful and tasteful is the most difficult branch of photography I have ever attempted and stopped trying years ago.

This answer reminded me of a good friend and fine photographer (especially of people). I asked him one time if he had ever done photography of nude women. His answer, I will long remember, was "if I am in the same room with a nude woman, I don't want a camera anywhere near". My sentiments exactly........Regards!

Steve Smith · Feb 1, 2016

Nothing really makes me uncomfortable but I have no interest in street or nude/glamour and to a certain extent, portraiture.

I have never understood the desire to own photographs of or including people you don't know.

Actually, I do have a strange example of a photograph making me feel uncomfortable. An old 1940s photography book showed two prints of a scene showing a country lane with tres on one side and a house with a short fence on the other. One was printed normally and one was a mirror image.

The first image gave a feeling of a safe, nice place to be whereas reversing it gave it an uneasy feel. I have no idea why.

Steve.

removed account4 · Feb 1, 2016

thanks for posting to this thread, it has been interesting to see
what people's likes and dislikes are and why.

as for me, im not really intimdated by much. i've had to photograph
all sorts of situations over the years, ive got some memories that won't go away
( sites and smells ) but i guess that is just being human seeing smells trigger memories ...

cliveh said:
Any type of photography that offends or is intrusive to humanist values.

me too.

hoffy · Feb 1, 2016

Portrait and human study photography intimidates me, but it is something I dearly want to try.....unless its wedding photography.

TheFlyingCamera · Feb 1, 2016

oldtimermetoo said:
This answer reminded me of a good friend and fine photographer (especially of people). I asked him one time if he had ever done photography of nude women. His answer, I will long remember, was "if I am in the same room with a nude woman, I don't want a camera anywhere near". My sentiments exactly........Regards!

This is, in a nutshell, the great problem with so much nude photography. The whole idea that nude=sex, and therefore the photographer's inability to separate the two when photographing is so utterly ridiculous. It also speaks to the lack of self-control of many people, and the notion that women are objects to be possessed.

markbarendt · Feb 1, 2016

cliveh said:
Any type of photography that offends or is intrusive to humanist values.

I respect your feeling.

I though see most photos as an expression of an idea or an ideal, others I see as a memory jogger.

While I don't see a need to purposefully offend or be mean, there are times I feel photos are well suited as an extension to words in presenting different ideas and there are those that get their knickers in a twist when certain ideas are presented that compete with their ideas. So be it.

blansky · Feb 1, 2016

cliveh said:
Any type of photography that offends or is intrusive to humanist values.

But isn't art supposed to jog your senses and invoke a response.

If you took a picture of two men walking down the street kissing, the audience response could be anything from indifference to hate, to disgust, to a celebration of humanity, and lots of places in between.

The "artists" job is not to censor or filter or even be that concerned with what the audience feels.

Photo Engineer · Feb 1, 2016

TheFlyingCamera said:
This is, in a nutshell, the great problem with so much nude photography. The whole idea that nude=sex, and therefore the photographer's inability to separate the two when photographing is so utterly ridiculous. It also speaks to the lack of self-control of many people, and the notion that women are objects to be possessed.

The same could be said about photographs of nude men!

PE

TheFlyingCamera · Feb 1, 2016

Photo Engineer said:
The same could be said about photographs of nude men!

PE

Possibly, but it's a very different social dynamic when a man poses nude than when a woman poses nude.

Ian Leake · Feb 1, 2016

I don't feel intimidated by any photography, but I don't like conceptual stuff, erotic/glamour, and boring photos

cliveh · Feb 1, 2016

blansky said:
But isn't art supposed to jog your senses and invoke a response.

If you took a picture of two men walking down the street kissing, the audience response could be anything from indifference to hate, to disgust, to a celebration of humanity, and lots of places in between.

The "artists" job is not to censor or filter or even be that concerned with what the audience feels.

I am speaking from my own personal stance on photographic art and not for photographers in general.

Ko.Fe. · Feb 1, 2016

I don't watch what I don't like. But if it happens, I don't like so called street photographers taking pictures of less fortunate people for no reason, I don't like same "street" photographers taking pictures people while they are eating. And where is one idiot who was posting same crapshots from halloween on Christmas and New Year. And don't like these Halloween walking dead's crap, crowds of idiots watching some idiots shows.
I don't like digitally over processed images.

markbarendt · Feb 1, 2016

blansky said:
But isn't art supposed to jog your senses and invoke a response.

If you took a picture of two men walking down the street kissing, the audience response could be anything from indifference to hate, to disgust, to a celebration of humanity, and lots of places in between.

The "artists" job is not to censor or filter or even be that concerned with what the audience feels.

Agreed, challenging the viewer can be great.

Seems to me that fitting photography "into a PC box" is normally driven by external forces like a business plan, political/religious/societal bias, membership in f/64 or the HCB club...

Hatchetman · Feb 1, 2016

I don't know anything about strobes & related equipment. That subject intimidates me.

markbarendt · Feb 1, 2016

Hatchetman said:
I don't know anything about strobes & related equipment. That subject intimidates me.

There is a significant learning curve to do it well, the rewards are nice though.

cliveh · Feb 1, 2016

markbarendt said:
Agreed, challenging the viewer can be great.

Seems to me that fitting photography "into a PC box" is normally driven by external forces like a business plan, political/religious/societal bias, membership in f/64 or the HCB club...

Yes you are correct and I am in the HCB club.

markbarendt · Feb 1, 2016

cliveh said:
Yes you are correct and I am in the HCB club.

Clubs are cool, like families and countries, they each have their own rules.

removed account4 · Feb 1, 2016

markbarendt said:
Clubs are cool, like families and countries, they each have their own rules.

the club i am in while it isn't the HCB club it is more like the treat people with respect club ..
if someone doesn't want their photograph taken, dont' take it, don't make photographs that degrade people
don't throw money at sleeping homeless and that its OK to take a photograph sort of thing. not sure if that is humanist
but it seemed to be more humanist than other things...

Nathan King · Feb 1, 2016

blansky said:
Forensic would bother me.

But mostly what I always shy away from is photography for an overseer. Like a art director, or client who has specific wants or needs.

I prefer doing what I want, although am not against collaboration. But don't like being a subcontractor. The help.

So I haven't done that for years.

This. I once did some photos for a work colleague. I kept expectations low and refused to charge, but despite this I was extremely anxious during the few hour session. I hid my anxiety well but wow what a different experience photography is when somebody is counting on you to deliver something! They had some specific ideas from other photos they had seen online too. The family loved the photos but thought my Mamiya 645 was funny looking.

I've never had the desire to do photography professionally since.

markbarendt · Feb 1, 2016

jnanian said:
the club i am in while it isn't the HCB club it is more like the treat people with respect club ..
if someone doesn't want their photograph taken, dont' take it, don't make photographs that degrade people
don't throw money at sleeping homeless and that its OK to take a photograph sort of thing. not sure if that is humanist
but it seemed to be more humanist than other things...

There are cops that don't feel they should be photographed doing their work by bystanders, many banks and factories similarly dislike having their facilities photographed by outsiders and they will send out security to intimidate us, should we defer to their wishes so that we don't degrade them?

removed account4 · Feb 1, 2016

markbarendt said:
There are cops that don't feel they should be photographed doing their work by bystanders, many banks and factories similarly dislike having their facilities photographed by outsiders and they will send out security to intimidate us, should we defer to their wishes so that we don't degrade them?

naah that isn't what i am refering to.

markbarendt · Feb 2, 2016

Iluvmycam said:
Cops are bad...

Not in general, IMO.

canvassy · Feb 2, 2016

Weddings would make me uncomfortable. I enjoy portraits, but weddings are too chaotic, stressful, and there aren't any do-overs.

lauffray · Feb 2, 2016

There are a few type that don't interest me, but lately one particular aesthetic that makes me cringe is flash-based work with little to no formal compositions. I just don't understand it, it seems like a trend that people just imitate. To be fair there are very few people who make anything interesting with this

blansky · Feb 2, 2016

lauffray said:
There are a few type that don't interest me, but lately one particular aesthetic that makes me cringe is flash-based work with little to no formal compositions. I just don't understand it, it seems like a trend that people just imitate. To be fair there are very few people who make anything interesting with this

Could you post an example of what you mean?

what type of photography intimidates you, or you don't like, and why ?

Arklatexian

Steve Smith

removed account4

hoffy

TheFlyingCamera

Membership Council

markbarendt

blansky

Photo Engineer

TheFlyingCamera

Membership Council

Ian Leake

cliveh

Ko.Fe.

markbarendt

Hatchetman

markbarendt

cliveh

markbarendt

removed account4

Nathan King

markbarendt

removed account4

markbarendt

canvassy

lauffray

blansky

what type of photography intimidates you, or you don't like, and why ?

Membership Council

Membership Council

Privacy & Transparency

Privacy & Transparency