What you do with your photos?

[snusmumriken]

Why do people feel a compelling need to show their photographs? Is it validating or something?

That’s an interesting question, or at least the answer could be. I imagine folk on this forum are to some extent self-aware about their photography. For instance, when most people come back from holiday they have photos of each other in nice places, or just photos of places; I come back from holiday with a picture of a dog in a pram, three blokes looking bored by the Eiffel Tower, and some nice light in an alley. So we know we are doing something a little differently. After that, I suppose it’s finding others with whom your brand of quirkiness chimes. Is that validation? Not if you mean validation in the sense of justifying your hobby and expenditure, but perhaps in a wider sense it is.

 

[mtnbkr]

Regardless of film or digital...
I print and frame anything I deem worthy of that treatment.
I've also used my digital and film photos to create photobooks for family, such as the one I made for my in-laws after our (them, my wife/kids, and my BIL and his family) big SW Desert trip last summer (was for their 50th anniversary). I also framed a bunch of those photos and currently display them around our house.

Specifically for film, I normally order 4x6 prints, so any worth keeping but not worth enlarging go into the growing stack of mini-albums. I keep all negatives and scans, but only keep prints I like even if they're not worth framing.

Chris

 

[MattKing]

If you like looking at other people's well presented prints, there is a good chance you will like showing your own.
I particularly like participating in group shows with those of my friends who share an interest in photography.
Photography can be a lonely and insular way to occupy your time. Getting out there and showing your work can help you engage with others.
I also like handing around prints with others who have similar interests.

 

[Don_ih]

The simple answer is the product of photography is something to look at.

So wanting people to look at it is far from odd, it should be the norm.

 

[faberryman]

The simple answer is the product of photography is something to look at.

So wanting people to look at it is far from odd, it should be the norm.

Should? Why should? How many people do you need to look at your work to satisfy this normative requirement? How about friends and family? Is that enough? Or does it need to be a private exhibition like at an old age home? How big an old age home qualifies? Maybe a public exhibition like a coffee shop or a train station? Who decides? Why are they the ones who decide? Who died and made them boss?

 

[Alan Edward Klein]

Regardless of film or digital...
I print and frame anything I deem worthy of that treatment.
I've also used my digital and film photos to create photobooks for family, such as the one I made for my in-laws after our (them, my wife/kids, and my BIL and his family) big SW Desert trip last summer (was for their 50th anniversary). I also framed a bunch of those photos and currently display them around our house.

Specifically for film, I normally order 4x6 prints, so any worth keeping but not worth enlarging go into the growing stack of mini-albums. I keep all negatives and scans, but only keep prints I like even if they're not worth framing.

Chris

For the first time, I did a zine from Blurb. The photobook has 48 pictures taken at my grandson's first birthday party. Nice gifting it to my daughter and family.

 

[Alan Edward Klein]

If you like looking at other people's well presented prints, there is a good chance you will like showing your own.
I particularly like participating in group shows with those of my friends who share an interest in photography.
Photography can be a lonely and insular way to occupy your time. Getting out there and showing your work can help you engage with others.
I also like handing around prints with others who have similar interests.

The photo club in my 55+ community is a way of showing pictures but also socializing with neighbors and friends. Even the contests are fun as we get together to talk and enjoy refreshments. There is the competitive edge and "showing off". But that's not unlike many other activities people engage in. I always find it strange when people argue that they have no interest in other's approval of their photography. Who doesn't like an "atta boy" compliment once in a while?

 

[Alan Edward Klein]

Should? Why should? How many people do you need to look at your work to satisfy this normative requirement? How about friends and family? Is that enough? Or does it need to be a private exhibition like at an old age home? How big an old age home qualifies? Maybe a public exhibition like a coffee shop or a train station? Who decides? Why are they the ones who decide? Who died and made them boss?

Frank, I looked at your gallery and your photos are very nice.

 

[MattKing]

Should? Why should? How many people do you need to look at your work to satisfy this normative requirement? How about friends and family? Is that enough? Or does it need to be a private exhibition like at an old age home? How big an old age home qualifies? Maybe a public exhibition like a coffee shop or a train station? Who decides? Why are they the ones who decide? Who died and made them boss?

Photography is a communicative art and craft. There is no point to most of it, if you don't in some way share it.
The way you share it is up to you - there is no particular "should" about what you choose, other than you shouldn't knock it until you have tried it.

 

[faberryman]

Photography is a communicative art and craft. There is no point to most of it, if you don't in some way share it.

I beg to differ. Who are you to say there is no point to my photography if I elect not to share it?

The way you share it is up to you - there is no particular "should" about what you choose, other than you shouldn't knock it until you have tried it.

Don_ih, to whom I was responding, introduced the normative should.

I share my photography with family and friends, and occasionally students and workshop participants. I have displayed my photographs publicly in the past. Been there, done that, got the t-shirt.

 

[MattKing]

I beg to differ. Who are you to say there is no point to my photography if I elect not to share it?

That is why my comment was limited by the modifier "most".
What I would recommend to most people is that if the purpose of photography for them is limited to provided themselves with inner satisfaction, without ever engaging with others and sharing their results, they are welcome to do so. I would recommend however that they try sharing it - for most, there is value in doing so - sometimes great value.
Public display is one way of sharing. It has advantages and disadvantages. When I'm engaged in that effort, I find it a good experience, that tends to improve the entire photographic experience. Others might not get the same benefit - which is entirely fine - but they shouldn't exclude the possibility without trying it. They may very well find that the "t-shirt" suits them.

 

[snusmumriken]

It’s clearly true that the end product of photography is visual, as @Don_ih said, but that doesn’t mean you must share it. You may want it just for your own pleasure. Its possible that the majority of photographs are made for that reason, not for sharing but as souvenirs or reminders. Not everyone finds it easy or desirable to post their entire life on social media. The more unusual/deliberate/self-conscious/‘artistic’ the photos, the more momentous that step of sharing becomes. I wouldn’t be surprised if most Photrio contributors experience both desire for appreciation and anxiety that there won’t be any. Think of Vivian Maier, for a classic conflicted case.

 

[VinceInMT]

While I had shared my photography with family and friends, my other work, my drawings, were never shared. I didn’t feel a need to and, maybe, didn’t want them critiqued. Then, in my mid-60s, I decided to get a BFA, both to challenged my aging brain and to improve my drawing ability, and hadn’t thought through that I’d not only be sharing my work but having it go through formal class critiques. I found the experience worthwhile in many ways and that it allowed me to expand the way I think about my work.

Having the feedback, and challenges, from a very diverse group, diverse in age, cultural backgrounds, sex, and a flurry of genders, was really valuable. Alan mentions getting feedback in a 55+ community and if it’s like the one my mother lives in, the diversity, well, there just isn’t much.

During my senior show critique by faculty, I had a real “Huh?” moment. All the work, drawings, painting, photography, and mosaics, was based around the shape of a circle and I had an evolutionary theme behind it. One of the professors took that work, due to that shape, as feminine and took exception to some of it and attempted to dive deep into the psychological reasons as to why I had chosen to do what I did. Hmmm, well, OK, that’s not what I had in mind but, based on where she as coming from I could see how she saw it that way. That’s one of the great things about art, that interpretation can be personalized.

 

[Alan Edward Klein]

I beg to differ. Who are you to say there is no point to my photography if I elect not to share it?



Don_ih, to whom I was responding, introduced the normative should.

I share my photography with family and friends, and occasionally students and workshop participants. I have displayed my photographs publicly in the past. Been there, done that, got the t-shirt.

But you do share it. That's great. I'm sure the viewers enjoyed it.

 

[Alan Edward Klein]

It’s clearly true that the end product of photography is visual, as @Don_ih said, but that doesn’t mean you must share it. You may want it just for your own pleasure. Its possible that the majority of photographs are made for that reason, not for sharing but as souvenirs or reminders. Not everyone finds it easy or desirable to post their entire life on social media. The more unusual/deliberate/self-conscious/‘artistic’ the photos, the more momentous that step of sharing becomes. I wouldn’t be surprised if most Photrio contributors experience both desire for appreciation and anxiety that there won’t be any. Think of Vivian Maier, for a classic conflicted case.

How do we know Vivien Maier didn't show her work to others? Is that true?

 

[Alan Edward Klein]

While I had shared my photography with family and friends, my other work, my drawings, were never shared. I didn’t feel a need to and, maybe, didn’t want them critiqued. Then, in my mid-60s, I decided to get a BFA, both to challenged my aging brain and to improve my drawing ability, and hadn’t thought through that I’d not only be sharing my work but having it go through formal class critiques. I found the experience worthwhile in many ways and that it allowed me to expand the way I think about my work.

Having the feedback, and challenges, from a very diverse group, diverse in age, cultural backgrounds, sex, and a flurry of genders, was really valuable. Alan mentions getting feedback in a 55+ community and if it’s like the one my mother lives in, the diversity, well, there just isn’t much.

During my senior show critique by faculty, I had a real “Huh?” moment. All the work, drawings, painting, photography, and mosaics, was based around the shape of a circle and I had an evolutionary theme behind it. One of the professors took that work, due to that shape, as feminine and took exception to some of it and attempted to dive deep into the psychological reasons as to why I had chosen to do what I did. Hmmm, well, OK, that’s not what I had in mind but, based on where she as coming from I could see how she saw it that way. That’s one of the great things about art, that interpretation can be personalized.

Thanks for the compliment. Yeah, I know, we're all old, and one step into the grave. Actually, I'm the only one who still shoots film. All the rest laugh at me like I'm a Martian, old fashioned. But these old timers have taken to Photoshop and frankly all the current "rules" of photography that does limit diversity.

 

[MattKing]

How do we know Vivien Maier didn't show her work to others? Is that true?

According to the biography I read, she made some efforts, and was well known as an enthusiastic amateur proud of her work in some of the camera stores she frequented. But her other issues - including compulsive hoarding at the end - meant that her work ended up being far better known after her death.

 

[snusmumriken]

How do we know Vivien Maier didn't show her work to others? Is that true?

Pretty much, yes. I recommend the biography by Ann Marks, ‘Vivian Maier Developed’

 

[Don_ih]

Should? Why should? How many people do you need to look at your work to satisfy this normative requirement? How about friends and family? Is that enough? Or does it need to be a private exhibition like at an old age home? How big an old age home qualifies? Maybe a public exhibition like a coffee shop or a train station? Who decides? Why are they the ones who decide? Who died and made them boss?

Do you think you can relax for a few seconds? Maybe get a drink or something.

 

[mtnbkr]

For the first time, I did a zine from Blurb. The photobook has 48 pictures taken at my grandson's first birthday party. Nice gifting it to my daughter and family.

Haven't heard of Blurb. I used Shutterfly. We were very happy with the results, but sifting through nearly 200 B&W photos and 2-3x that amount of digital color shots was exhausting. But, the In-laws loved theirs and that's all that matters.

I've been considering making up my own photo project and publish as a booklet rather than photos in a box or on the wall just to do something different. I've bookmarked Blurb in case that idea ever progresses.

Chris

 

[Snoop]

I mostly take pictures for myself, I dont show them, almost never at least since Im not counting family or some of my friends with a passing interest in photography
I would say that with digital taking over and everybody putting their pictures online I felt showing mine even less than before
I have known others that have done the same

And its not fear of judgement, in my past life I had jobs that entailed showing my work (other art forms) and never been uncomfortable with it

 

[OAPOli]

I have a public flickr stream and google picture album shared with family and friends that's updated every month. Once a year we print a few albums of the best pictures of that year and sent it to family. When we visit or have visitors I'll print a few 4x6s and mail them after.

 

[Alan Edward Klein]

According to the biography I read, she made some efforts, and was well known as an enthusiastic amateur proud of her work in some of the camera stores she frequented. But her other issues - including compulsive hoarding at the end - meant that her work ended up being far better known after her death.

Pretty much, yes. I recommend the biography by Ann Marks, ‘Vivian Maier Developed’

If not for the web, who would know my "work"? Or anyone's work for that matter, for most of us?

 

[Alan Edward Klein]

I have a public flickr stream and google picture album shared with family and friends that's updated every month. Once a year we print a few albums of the best pictures of that year and sent it to family. When we visit or have visitors I'll print a few 4x6s and mail them after.

That's nice. Sharing your photography makes yourself happy and your family who gets the shots appreciative. What could be wrong with that?

 

[snusmumriken]

If not for the web, who would know my "work"? Or anyone's work for that matter, for most of us?

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