What you do with your photos?

Andrew O'Neill · Sep 26, 2023

The ones that I really like, go up on the wall. I only have a few up...
I try to cycle through my wall exhibit. The ones that come down, go in a box.
I exhibited quite a bit for years, but got tired of it. I may do it again, one day.
I prefer making them for me, but sometimes I gift them to friends, and family.

Pieter12 · Sep 26, 2023

From what I have seen, the world would be better off if most people did not share their photos online outside of their immediate family and close friends. But unfortunately that is not the case. Everyone wants their 15 seconds of fame and recognition today.

Corollary: the more expensive the camera, the worse the photos and the more clueless the originator.

Pieter12 · Sep 26, 2023

Andrew O'Neill said:
sometimes I gift them to friends, and family.

Ever wonder what becomes of gifted photos and art? Does it go on a wall, in a box in a closet or the attic?

Andrew O'Neill · Sep 26, 2023

Pieter12 said:
Ever wonder what becomes of gifted photos and art? Does it go on a wall, in a box in a closet or the attic?

That's a good question. I know my sister gets them framed and puts them up. My mum (when she was alive), pretty much had a gallery going on! I gifted a gum-over to an author down in the US. He got it framed and put up on his wall. I could see it on his wall when he did his book readings. He moved. Now I don't see it... When he moves, he gets rid of stuff... I gave a print to a good friend of mine years ago. He wanted it in poster size. I told him I can't Alt. print that big. So what did he do? He photographed it, and had it printed out that size at Costco. I saw it on his wall and lets just say, I was not amused.

Alan Edward Klein · Sep 26, 2023

snusmumriken said:
I don’t want to usurp the OP’s question, but behind it is the question ‘So why do you do it?’

See my #9 post copied here.

I have a Flickr page for photos I feel deserve to be in public. Other personal photos from vacation, trips, parties, I might make a video slide show to show on my TV or monitor. Some more public slide shows, I download to YouTube. If they're of a personal nature, Flickr allows you to create a password for selected videos which I would only give to relatives or friends. I sell nothing.

Alan Edward Klein · Sep 26, 2023

Pieter12 said:
From what I have seen, the world would be better off if most people did not share their photos online outside of their immediate family and close friends. But unfortunately that is not the case. Everyone wants their 15 seconds of fame and recognition today.

Corollary: the more expensive the camera, the worse the photos and the more clueless the originator.

I'm not sure it's only about fame and recognition. Everyone wants to express themselves. Some shoot hoops in the schoolyard. Others play baseball at the Little League park. Other's write poetry. Most of us are not as good as Michael Jordan, Willie Mays, Dickinson, etc. But we do the best we can. Better than just working for a paycheck. If you think you can express yourself better with a Leica, get a Leica.

MattKing · Sep 26, 2023

FWIW, I have one of Andrew's prints on the wall - it is right above me right now .
We did an informal print exchange - I made two prints of the one that he got from me, and one of those is right by the one he gave to me.

snusmumriken said:
I don’t want to usurp the OP’s question, but behind it is the question ‘So why do you do it?’

I read this question as "what motivates you to share your photos?", and I find the variety of answers very interesting.

Pieter12 · Sep 26, 2023

Alan Edward Klein said:
I'm not sure it's only about fame and recognition. Everyone wants to express themselves. Some shoot hoops in the schoolyard. Others play baseball at the Little League park. Other's write poetry. Most of us are not as good as Michael Jordan, Willie Mays, Dickinson, etc. But we do the best we can. Better than just working for a paycheck. If you think you can express yourself better with a Leica, get a Leica.

Yeah, but that’s self-expression. Sharing is something that’s differently motivated.

VinceInMT · Sep 26, 2023

One reason I share my hobbies, interests, and passions is to cast a line for others who might see a connection in some way. Aside from photography, I have many interests including collecting radio broadcasts of all kinds. Putting that out there has led to others contacting me with "I have these 16" records of radios show, do you want them?" or "My father-in-laws estate sale is this weekend and he was into recording tape, would you like to take a look?" or "My husband recorded stuff off the air in the late 40s and I need to get rid of those tapes." or "My parents are downsizing and they have all these radios in their basement."

It's worked in photography as well. At a recent car show where I had my '59 Volvo on display, an acquaintance said "You still do film? I have this enlarger in my basement that you can have."

Alan Edward Klein · Sep 26, 2023

Pieter12 said:
Yeah, but that’s self-expression. Sharing is something that’s differently motivated.

Amateurs who throw hoops like to hear "nice shot" as much as amateur photographers.

Alan Edward Klein · Sep 26, 2023

VinceInMT said:
One reason I share my hobbies, interests, and passions is to cast a line for others who might see a connection in some way. Aside from photography, I have many interests including collecting radio broadcasts of all kinds. Putting that out there has led to others contacting me with "I have these 16" records of radios show, do you want them?" or "My father-in-laws estate sale is this weekend and he was into recording tape, would you like to take a look?" or "My husband recorded stuff off the air in the late 40s and I need to get rid of those tapes." or "My parents are downsizing and they have all these radios in their basement."

It's worked in photography as well. At a recent car show where I had my '59 Volvo on display, an acquaintance said "You still do film? I have this enlarger in my basement that you can have."

The New Jersey Antique Radio Club's

RADIO TECHNOLOGY MUSEUM

at InfoAge

See the pictures of tabletop thru free-standing radios.

The New Jersey Antique Radio Club - NJARC.ORG

Pieter12 · Sep 26, 2023

Alan Edward Klein said:
Amateurs who throw hoops like to hear "nice shot" as much as amateur photographers.

Some people are just being polite.

snusmumriken · Sep 27, 2023

Pieter12 said:
Some people are just being polite.

Of course. Isn’t that why (a small minority of) photographers want to pitch themselves to a wider audience of strangers?

Don_ih · Sep 27, 2023

Pieter12 said:
Ever wonder what becomes of gifted photos and art?

At least when you've given it to someone, deciding what to do with it becomes their problem....

Alan Edward Klein · Sep 27, 2023

Pieter12 said:
Some people are just being polite.

reminds me of the line: If you want approval, ask your mom.

Pieter12 · Sep 27, 2023

If you take a photo and no one sees it, does it really exist? Not literally, but for all practical purposes. If Ms Maier’s work had not been salvaged, would it be anything more than landfill?

faberryman · Sep 27, 2023

Pieter12 said:
If you take a photo and no one sees it, does it really exist? Not literally, but for all practical purposes.

I guess it depends on what you mean by "for all practical purposes". If it exists for me, that is enough. Perhaps not for you. Perhaps you have a need to share your photographs with others. Different people have different needs.

Pieter12 said:
If Ms Maier’s work had not been salvaged, would it be anything more than landfill?

Vivian Maier would have had the personal satisfaction of engaging in photography for a lifetime. Yes, other people would have missed out on seeing her work. Too bad. Vivian Maier didn't have an obligation to share her photographs with anyone. It is an unresolved question as to whether she would have welcomed the notoriety.

And please let's not turn this into a Vivian Maier thread. If you are interested, use the search function to find the scores of Vivian Maier threads. Better yet, read one of her biographies.

Pieter12 · Sep 27, 2023

faberryman said:
I guess it depends on what you mean by "for all practical purposes". If it exists for me, that is enough. Perhaps not for you. Perhaps you have a need to share your photographs with others. Different people have different needs. Broaden your perspective.

Vivian Maier would have had the personal satisfaction of engaging in photography for a lifetime. Yes, other people would have missed out on seeing her work. Vivian Maier didn't have an obligation to share her photographs with anyone. It is an unresolved question as to whether she would have welcomed the notoriety.

And please let's not turn this into a Vivian Maier thread. If you are interested, use the search function to find the scores of Vivian Maier threads. Better yet, read one of her biographies.

No one has any obligation to show anything. You don’t even necessarily need to process the film or review a digital capture for that matter.

VinceInMT · Sep 27, 2023

Alan Edward Klein said:
The New Jersey Antique Radio Club's

RADIO TECHNOLOGY MUSEUM…

The Friends of Old Time Radio out of Newark was a pretty big deal in the past and had a well-attended convention every year but with the aging of those who worked in the field and those who are interested, it’s a shell of of its former self.

Don_ih · Sep 27, 2023

Pieter12 said:
No one has any obligation to show anything.

Sometimes, a person feels obligated to their own effort and work to "put it out there". For some, it would be vindication, for others, just a natural outcome, and for still others, possibly cathartic.

There are a massive number of potential and real motivations (an obligation counts as a motivation) for the things other people do. It's arrogant to claim wholesale understanding when it's not even possible (or necessarily relevant).

faberryman · Sep 27, 2023

Don_ih said:
Sometimes, a person feels obligated to their own effort and work to "put it out there". For some, it would be vindication, for others, just a natural outcome, and for still others, possibly cathartic.

There are a massive number of potential and real motivations for the things other people do. It's arrogant to claim wholesale understanding when it's not even possible (or necessarily relevant).

I think you are confusing "obligation" in the first paragraph with "motivation" in the second paragraph.

Alan Edward Klein · Sep 27, 2023

Only dead people and stones have no ego.

Pieter12 · Sep 27, 2023

faberryman said:
And please let's not turn this into a Vivian Maier thread.

No. But under the discussion of what do you do with your photos, she did nothing. At some point, just taking the picture was enough. She (as well as Gary Winogrand, a total opposite character-wise) died leaving tons of unprocessed film behind. Maybe she couldn't afford it, but Winogrand certainly could have.

warden · Sep 27, 2023

João Paulo F Q said:
In the first five years or so when I started shooting I was already happy by only sharing my photos online, mostly facebook. The hole algorithm thing hadn't kick in yet back then and most of the times my friends and family would comment and or like the pictures and that was enough for me. Now not only I invested more in gear and improved in quality but my photos get run over by influncers, creators, big famous accounts and people doing strange dance stuff that get promoted by the ominous algorithm. So mostly I shoot to look at my photos by myself showing occasionally people close to me and have little to no interest in posting it online (I guees I could start sharing here at photorio at least...). So I was wondering what do you folks do with your photos that are taken just as a hobby or for the professionals, with the more authorial part of the work. Do you just gift your friends and family with prints, share online, try to sell some prints, submmit to photo contests or just keep by yourself an a photo-book or hanging in the wall? I would really enjoy knowing what you have to say!

The algorithm thing is something to me mastered if your goal includes having as many people see your work as possible, and I suppose some photographers enjoy seeing analytics improve along with their on-line sharing sophistication and the tailoring of their core photographic message to their audience. It doesn’t interest me personally, but if it interests you there is a lot to learn there.

Mostly I print for myself, friends and family, and share some work online. It’s not an organized effort as I’m not trying to make a living as a photographer or grow an audience. That sounds like work rather than play. ;-)

VinceInMT · Sep 27, 2023

While I have mentioned that I do share some of my photographs and other artwork, I don’t share all of my pursuits. I play the guitar and the piano and no one hears any of that, except maybe my wife, but I tend to play when she’s not here.

What you do with your photos?

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