Why are everyone else's photos so much better than mine?

Luckless · May 26, 2016

What do you want out of your photography?

Visual arts are a language all in its own, and just like in writing the 'quality' of it will depend on the nature of the writing. One needs to decide what kind of direction they want to take their work in, as memoirs aren't remotely related to sci-fi, which don't read anything like Victorian style romances. They share many of the same fundamental elements that are used to compose the work, but the actual execution of them are very different from one and other.

In addition to the suggestion to study the work of past masters you also really need to study your own work as much, if not more, than the work of others.

Why isn't something working? What don't you like about a photo you've taken? Where are the weak points? Where are the distractions?

What works for one great photographer didn't work for all of them, otherwise there would be rather limited variation in photographic arts today.

MattKing · May 26, 2016

Actually, they are not.

But if you see something in the photography of others that moves you, then take it as inspiration for your next shots.

MartinCrabtree · May 26, 2016

If you think you can't unfortunately you're right. The opposite is true as well. It appears you think everyone elses work is better. Why?

Gerald C Koch · May 26, 2016

Years ago the major photography magazines would publish an annual each year, In it were the best photos that they had seen for the preceding 12 months. Just about every school of photography was represented. Looking at them was a great learning experience and source of encouragement. You might check for used copies. They can't be very expensive except perhaps those of the BJP.

TheRook · May 26, 2016

You have to learn to analyze your photos effectively to discover exactly what is about them that you find lacking. Once you know the problem, you can work towards improving your output.

MartinCrabtree · May 27, 2016

I believe a major contributor to these feelings by many is the large amount of post processing available to those who shoot electronic. To aspire to that level of (hesitantly....) perfection with film is insane and unreasonable. Slick production is a talent but it's not applicable to analogue photography. I find the tack sharp images with over saturated colors cartoonish.

So what is it you wish to achieve with your photography Alan? Do you know what you want yet? If you do you're ahead of me. I just picked the camera back up after months of being repelled by the damn things.

ME Super · May 28, 2016

That Ken Rockwell guy has a mnemonic I find useful in photography for better photos: FART.

F - Feel the urge to take a picture
A - Ask yourself what it is about the scene that makes you want to take the photo
R - Refine your composition and settings to emphasize what it is that made you want to take it
T - Take the picture.

I've found in some of my own photos where I've jumped from F to T without doing the A and R that the resulting photo goes fffffft like a deflating balloon.

So... FART, review the results, and repeat, adjusting where you think you missed the mark before. Or, if what drew you to want to take the picture was a cute girl (or guy, for the ladies), skip the photo and ask her out for coffee or dinner.

michr · May 28, 2016

I've been giving your question a bit of thought, and when it comes to my own work I've narrowed it down to at least these reasons, perhaps they apply to you also.

Comparing one's work, good and bad, to the best work of dozens or hundreds of people. We're all to aware of our own shortcomings and we only see what others want us to see. It's not at all different from the Facebook effect. Each of us is only one person, only the exceptional outshine everyone (which is why they're the exception).

Which brings us to the second point, we don't recognize we're in the middle of the pack. In most human endeavors, there aren't that many of the best, and the majority is about average. While it's discouraging to know I'll never be the next Ansel Adams, at least I can be assured that I'm better than some. Find some photos that aren't as good as yours. I bet you'll even find some photos by the giants of photography that aren't as good as yours. You can look up contact sheets for some of them online. So I disagree with the literal meaning of your post, everyone just can't be better than you. Even the best can't be better than you some of the time.

Finally, here's something I've been lazy about, but maybe is the most important. Figure out how the photos are lacking and work on it. I'm still trying to nail down the development process myself. So what I'd like to do is have a batch professionally developed and printed. Perhaps the photos themselves are plenty good, but I don't know how to develop or print well. HCB famously didn't print or develop much at all, and yet he's still considered one of the greats by many.

I'll also add that if you're doing the photography, developing and printing those are at least three people's jobs. What one person, perhaps an amateur, could be better than three professionals? I try not to compare myself to all of those who are retired, independently wealthy, or professional photographers. I have the occasional night or weekend to work, perhaps it is the same with you. The more time spent actively learning the better we will be, and some have more opportunities than others, so I just try to make the most of mine.

frank · May 28, 2016

Here's my advice: Strive not to better than someone else, but better than you were yesterday. Simply stop comparing your photography to others. You will either find yours worse and feel inferior, or find yours better and risk becoming conceited.

tedr1 · May 28, 2016

Besides the formula of work + learning = experience there is something else going on. Some of the "greats" that we can learn from were professionals and had a couple of things going for them that sometimes don't apply to others, they were more talented than the average photographer, they were in the right place at the right time to make great pictures, often because they were paid to be there, because they were talented. For the work of these talented professionals comparison with ones own work may be pointless simply because they were in a special place at a special time, and we are not.

alanrockwood · May 28, 2016

There have been a lot of good and insightful comments so far.

rwreich · May 28, 2016

My best work comes when I 'make' a picture rather than 'take' a picture. I believe it has a lot to do with one's ability to previsualize how they'd like a photograph to look in the end. If you don't have a vision, you'll be firing at nothing in the dark. On the other hand, designing a photograph before you take the shot gives you the opportunity to find beautiful variations on that idea, like considering other perspectives in time and composition. Sometimes, I get 'lucky' and make good choices in very short outings, but more often than not, these moments are the result of days or weeks of considering what I want my photographs to look like in the end.

DWThomas · May 28, 2016

But then even when you start out on a preconceived mission, try to leave a little room for spontaneity or serendipity. One of a series I shot before going out to do what I came for garnered an award and a sale. Just looked out the car window whilst finishing a cup of coffee before starting a hike .... Voila!

Wallendo · May 28, 2016

I used to read a number of photography magazines and admire the professional photographers' work.
Their equipment was better than mine, but in only a few cases (fast telephoto lenses for example), was the equipment a big factor.
What impressed me with many of those images was how much preplanning was involved. The pros were reading moon charts, and charts (now apps) of the exact direction and timing of the sunrises, sunsets and shadows, and watching weather forecasts. In some cases, the photographers had photographed the same scenes many times before getting it just right.
I have a full-time job and family and simply can't do that. I have accepted that I will be unlikely to produce many images of that quality, but have taken note of what the successful photographers have done and try to be prepared for when I luck into the "perfect shot".

michr · May 28, 2016

Wallendo said:
I used to read a number of photography magazines and admire the professional photographers' work.
Their equipment was better than mine, but in only a few cases (fast telephoto lenses for example), was the equipment a big factor.
What impressed me with many of those images was how much preplanning was involved. The pros were reading moon charts, and charts (now apps) of the exact direction and timing of the sunrises, sunsets and shadows, and watching weather forecasts. In some cases, the photographers had photographed the same scenes many times before getting it just right.
I have a full-time job and family and simply can't do that. I have accepted that I will be unlikely to produce many images of that quality, but have taken note of what the successful photographers have done and try to be prepared for when I luck into the "perfect shot".

I think you're spot on with planning and preparation. That's the part we as the audience don't see, and it's easy to overlook the years of effort that went into a practice as well. Here's an article that got me thinking about why my photography wasn't up to the pro level. Am I willing to put this much planning and effort into creating a photograph? Probably not. The thing I didn't think of in my previous post was that a good many photographers are specialists. They've perfected a certain style of photography and a number of techniques. Am I willing to narrow my interests to create better photographs?

Here's that article. (Sorry it's the Daily Mail, the only link I could find easily)

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencet...s-instinct-capture-bat-swooping-scorpion.html

scheimfluger_77 · May 29, 2016

Alan I hope you won't despair. Like you I could easily say that about myself, but I don't think it's true nor is it true for you I suspect. As a young man I consciously on purpose chose not to make photography my primary means of support, artistically or professionally. I had finished a degree in motion picture production and was working toward one in still photo as well. I got tired and pooped out. Consequently my production over the years has been spotty at best, but it is a means of personal expression for me and I did not want to ruin that.

I find now that getting out and shooting, with at least minimal planning, can often lead to that state people call "Flow". It doesn't matter where you are or what you are doing. Pretty soon things begin to fall into place, and usually I will have one or two outstanding things, and sometimes more if I think differently about expressing them. Rockwell's F.A.R.T. approach is very good. If I skip from F to T, there is nothing. If I stick with the process, Flow happens.

The other part of the puzzle is to constantly expose yourself to photography, good and bad. The masters are fine, but they are not the final word. These forums are a great place for that exposure and I often skip text in favor of the photos. There is not an image in these pages that I don't try and exercise my "seeing" muscles and ask myself how I could have made this or that image better. That doesn't mean mine is the best vision, just that I am visualizing the A. & R. portion of the acronym above.

And speaking of visualization, there is lots of research into athletes who visualize their best performance as the winning one, and then do it. Cognitive psychology is beginning to recognize that in human learning generally. That's why as an online instructional designer I try to find ways for people to engage with content in a way that allows them to rehearse the correct motor or cognitive skills needed. Such visualization is a natural for us in this visual medium.

I mentally rehearse the process I'm going through to get my darkroom set up in spite of the obstacles (full time job, cluttered house, lawn, repair, honey-do's, etc.). It's the same with conceptualizing, shooting, processing, and printing for final output photographically. I find myself doing this unconsciously much of the time even though at the moment I am producing nothing. It is the entire process that gives me joy and ultimately I would do it even if there was no one to share with. I am not giving it up.

frank · May 29, 2016

For me, photography and golf are similar in that usually I flub shots, but every now and then I smack a real good one and I'm reinspired to keep trying.

jerrybro · May 31, 2016

There are some things I am very good at, and many that I am not. But, I know the process I need to do to improve, at least on a technical level. But there is technical talent and artistic talent and the artistic side is where I struggle. How to improve that takes a lot of work. I need some inspiration. And time. Oh, money too. And some ....

tomfrh · May 31, 2016

ME Super said:
That Ken Rockwell guy has a mnemonic I find useful in photography for better photos: FART

I like his "SEX" advice too.

Simplify

and

EXclude

Many of my photos have been made less bad by remembering to follow this advice and trim away the clutter...

Vaughn · May 31, 2016

Wallendo said:
...What impressed me with many of those images was how much preplanning was involved.
...

Like we use to say when I was fighting forest fires; Mind the Six Ps: Proper Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance.
Or not. Depends on how one approaches photography. I dislike going thru that type of planning ("preplanning" -- must be like "pre-visualizing" ). I tend not to 'scout'. I rarely rise for 'early light'. I usually check the moon or tide charts after I have decided when and where to go somewhere. I wander, I look, try to see, and perhaps record and translate that experience by the way of a photograph.

Look at photographs...not to copy, but to find out what is possible and to form a background library of visual resources to draw upon and build from.

dasBlute · Jun 1, 2016

Don't believe everything you think.
Read "Art and fear" every couple years.
No one ever got worse at something by practicing.

ME Super · Jun 1, 2016

tomfrh said:
I like his "SEX" advice too.

Simplify

and

EXclude

Many of my photos have been made less bad by remembering to follow this advice and trim away the clutter...

This is also good advice. The mnemonics (FART and SEX) KR has come up with are just Jedi mind tricks that help us all to remember the steps.

blockend · Jun 3, 2016

tomfrh said:
I like his "SEX" advice too.

Simplify

and

EXclude

Many of my photos have been made less bad by remembering to follow this advice and trim away the clutter...

It depends on the genre. Someone mentioned railway photography, which made me think of O. Winston Link. Link was a preparation freak, he'd install a few dozen flashbulbs that were automatically set off by the arrival of a train. He lit the loco, the carriages, the bridge, the buildings and the people watching the Drive-In as it passed. Nothing was left to chance. That kind of stuff doesn't happen by accident, the preparation was as detailed as a rocket launch.

On the other hand if you shoot candid stuff you have to give up that kind of control. There are still a few guidelines I've found invaluable. First, go where things are happening. While it's possible to make a great photo from a boring subject, it's that much harder. Secondly, if in doubt, take the shot. Third, be prepared. Make sure exposure and focus is where you want it before you lift the camera to your eye, and leave it there just long enough to take the picture. Four, don't be afraid of complexity, and five, get close. Six, expect most of your images to be duffers and welcome the rare peaches for the exotic fruit they are. Three great shots a year is an amazing tally. Over a forty year career you'd have 120 brilliant shots, a number of masters have built a reputation on one-quarter that amount.

darinwc · Aug 17, 2016

Great photographers photograph greatly.
Quite literally, professional photographers are photographing day in and day out. It is their career. A portfolio of 20 images is the result of months or years of work. Being paid to travel or sent hundreds of models. Thousands of images.

If you are an enthusiast.. how can you complete? You shoot maybe a roll a month. Walk around suburban landscapes that look like every other. When you do take a trip, you get 1 day at a location. What are the chances the moon will be rising behind the cliff just as the sun is setting?

So frankly, I think you need to lower your expectations. Make images that matter to you. Experiment more. Get out more. Meet more people. Live more.

Fixcinater · Aug 18, 2016

Eric Kim tends to think and write about these sorts of questions quite a bit. I've found his articles helpful.

http://erickimphotography.com/blog/

As for what has helped with my own work, not that I'm terribly good:

1) Pre-planning for the moon rise / cliffs in sunset situations.

2) Making more time for actual shooting (I've done a terrible job of this in the past 4-5 months and have no images to show for it)

3) Shoot more heavily than you think you should right now, edit hard and then re-edit down again before printing.

4) Don't show anybody anything right away. Give the negs/prints some time to rest and then edit once more before showing anything to anyone unless they are vacation/record-keeping happy snaps.

5) Get the technical stuff down to a routine so you don't make mistakes as often. Having lots of gear is fine but having less that you use a lot and are very familiar with is even better. I have a huge collection right now and still tend to grab the same 4-5 cameras when I want to actually go make images for printing. I'm comfortable using my phone or sunny 16 for metering, so I don't use in-camera metering as it messes with the routine. My 6x7 and 4x5 cameras don't have it, so the less I change the better off I am at not screwing something up.

6) Thinking about WHY you want to make yourself go through all the work it takes to shoot/process/print a film photograph before you shoot it will help you edit before you waste the film. If you haven't shot sheet film, doing so will slow you down and force you to think about what you want to say with an image more than roll film ever can.

Why are everyone else's photos so much better than mine?

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