What do you do with your pictures?

Went to the Del Mar, CA Hot Rod Show yesterday. 2,000+ cars! Every one a winner! Aarrgghhh! Ended up with 164 pictures. My God. You never run out of film with digital, do you? So here's my question -- what do you do with your pictures? Leave them on the PC to look at... or, if you put them online, where? Or, do you print them out -- and put them in binders to organize them?



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Jonathon Donahue -- author, 'Drawing for Money' and 'Self-Publishing Secrets', at http://jon404.com

I don't think anyone here takes pictures. They only use the forum to complain about or defend how Pentax runs it's business.


It's not unique to this forum either - at the moment this is the most popular thread on DPR

http://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/51241232

put them in our photography club comps, print them at a4 and pin on my wall for a few months til the next shoot, my daughter photos while on holidays get displayed in my caravan from past holidays and i mean not a couple 30 at least at a time. also put them in my gallery here. all good fun.

cheers don

It's interesting how our habits have changed in just a few years. I still have boxes of 6x4 prints documenting the first 30 years of my life. They are all gathering dust because it's too much effort to just browse - I have to find the right box, then the right envelope, then remember to put it back in the right order.

So since going digital, all my 18,000 images are indexed in a Lightroom database for easy retrieval. Doing the indexing is not as bad as it sounds and has repaid itself many times over in saved time.

• Some images I to A3 for club competitions and for hanging.
• Some I put on Flickr
• For projects, I use Zenfolio

I think the move to online is great but the key is to take control of your digital assets and make sure they're searchable by content.

A little off topic, but it seems ironic that the move to greater MP has coincided with a move away from hi-fi printing towards lo-fi output media like tablets and displays. Which is one reason why the FF and MP debate seems to me to be so pointless. In five years time, social network connectivity is going to much more important than the size of this or that sensor.

--
Mike
http://flickr.com/rc-soar

James O'Neill said:

James O'Neill wrote:

I don't think anyone here takes pictures. They only use the forum to complain about or defend how Pentax runs it's business.

It's not unique to this forum either - at the moment this is the most popular thread on DPR

http://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/51241232

Click to expand...

Yep - saw that thread over there. Very interesting. I covered a little of that ground too in this post earlier today:-

http://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/51249039

Photography is certainly a boys-and-their-toys kind of interest (sorry ladies but it's true). It's like fishing and model cars & planes and hi-fi and vintage cars and on and on. The "gear" is often what attracts guys to particular hobbies as much as the hobby itself. I know fishermen, for instance, who have whole collections of rods and reels, not to mention lures and flies and bags and knives. They seem to spend a few hours a month actually fishing but many hours researching how to tie their own flies or prices and availability of reels online. But to each his/her own. Lots of people get enjoyment out of the gear and good luck to them. I'm one of them sometimes. But for me, it's mainly about looking for that keeper or special shot that always seems to be just beyond my shutter's reach.

I'm a packrat. I have to clean out my images-- both print and digital. I think I have every digital image stored somewhere, mostly disorganized!

I make books for projects like trips, and every once in a while a large print to hang.

emem said:

emem wrote:
Photography is certainly a boys-and-their-toys kind of interest (sorry ladies but it's true).

Click to expand...

I think that's nonsense. There are many great female photographers, both pro and amateur, as a search on for 'female photographers' will reveal - run your eye through the Wikipedia list and there'll be many that you'll recognise.

And of course there's our own Keitha (aravis121 on Flikr ) - a wonderfully creative photographer who has done more to inspire Pentaxians than all the stupid FF threads put together.

--

Mike
http://flickr.com/rc-soar

I rarely print my photos unless my wife wants them. This goes back to pre-digital days - in fact, to 1953 when our entire school went to the cinema for The Conquest of Everest celebrating the first ascent earlier that year. The view of the Western Cwm is pretty hackneyed now but as an 11-year-old I was astounded by it on a huge cinema screen and since then I've always preferred slides or some other way of seeing things big, such as my monitor

My digital images and slides (I've scanned a couple of thousand of them) I store and view like this:

1. "Negatives" (=raw files or scans) I store in folders by month (eg Digital negs 2006 > January 06 ). I don't keep every DNG I shoot: I reject crap or the un-needed sets from a bracketed set, for example. I process the best as JPGs. I keep sub-optimal ones in case I decide to process them later.

2. When first taking files from camera to computer I name them by topic, date and number (eg Rome 2012 120623 - 037) but preserve the original file number in the .dng (eg K51_5678).

3. My Pictures then has folders such as Holidays > Holidays Italy > 2012 Rome. I store processed JPGs there (note: I use CS6, not LR).

4. I use Carbonite http://www.carbonite.com/lp/media/i...-_-swGpwCYHK&gclid=CMuatM6Mu7YCFWLHtAodrSYAmQ as an online back up. This progressively backs up everything on my computer as I go - more or less: it takes a few hours to back up a set on .dngs. It also lets me retrieve things I delete accidentally for up to a week, which I've only done a couple of times but it's great when it happens.

5. I back up periodically to a USB drive thaty I normally keep separate from the computer in case of theft.

6. I post selected images to PBase (see link in my signature). These can be full size or downsized: usually I only store downsized images.

7. My wife likes traditional albums of prints so occasionally print sets that she selects; rarely I do bigger prints for framing that she wants for herself or family.

8. I have some folders transferred as albums to my iPhone for easy viewing, although I can also access PBase and Carbonite from the phone.

--
---
Gerry
_______________________________________
First camera 1953, first Pentax 1985, first DSLR 2006
http://www.pbase.com/gerrywinterbourne

jon404 said:

jon404 wrote:

So here's my question -- what do you do with your pictures? Leave them on the PC to look at...

Click to expand...

Not to look at, but to store and process. For looking at I use online galleries.

jon404 said:

or, if you put them online, where?

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SmugMug. Nice thing is that you can automatically sync other devices like tablets and smartphones with your galleries so you have all your finest pics with you all the time. Not that SmugMug is the only service offering this feature ...

jon404 said:

Or, do you print them out

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Usually a few good shots immediately after every photo opportunity; real good ones in A4 size. Larger prints occasionally, especially from panoramas to store or hang (not enough wall space, though ...)

jon404 said:

-- and put them in binders to organize them?

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No, but I regularly design and print photo books using a couple of online services available for that here in Germany. That reminds me: Anybody here with some sort of experiences with Blurb? It's integrated in LR4, and I'm wondering if it's worth a try ...

Phil

Model Mike said:

Model Mike wrote:

A little off topic, but it seems ironic that the move to greater MP has coincided with a move away from hi-fi printing towards lo-fi output media like tablets and displays. Which is one reason why the FF and MP debate seems to me to be so pointless. In five years time, social network connectivity is going to much more important than the size of this or that sensor.

Click to expand...

Chuckle! I've wondered about that!

Many people put them on websites, needing perhaps 1 megapixel per image (or less).

Many in my club project them, using 1400x1050 pixel images, needing about 1.5 megapixels for image.

Some of us print them, perhaps at A3+, so, at (say) 240 PPI and 13" x 19", this needs about 14 megapixels.

Is there any use other than printing that needs many megapixels and/or the other advantages of FF?

I store all my images in a structured folder system on three hard drives in two separate locations. I have a play with some of them, but the majority sit and wait for me to have a better idea of what to do with them. Mostly waiting for my PP skills to develop.

Over the course of two years I scanned 20,000 negatives and stored them on the same three hard drives in structured folder systems.

Needless to say I have enough to keep me busy every winter sorting, PP, and sharing.

Excellent question. I share my pics wherever I can, there are lots of sites to choose from. I post on National Geographic at Your Shot, on Facebook for my friends to see, Instagram is another good place to show your pics and see others (for inspiration).

Your local newspaper(s) is another good place to go, with the possibility you may get published. That 's always fun!

Contests, coffee shops and art fairs are also good ways to do something with your shots. It does seem to be a waste to simply shoot, store, and shoot some more. So get out there and share baby, share!

Being relatively new and considering myself a total beginner I like to take what I think are my best photos and put them on here for a critique or a place like 500px webiste . Gives me an idea how to get better and over the last month or so I've learned more about photography be studying what some of the photographers that I consider good . Some of my favorite photographers are right here on DPR and I took some advice and backed all what I consider my good photographs and backed them up 500gb G-drive mini external drive .

philzucker said:

philzucker wrote:

That reminds me: Anybody here with some sort of experiences with Blurb? It's integrated in LR4, and I'm wondering if it's worth a try ...

Click to expand...

I've not use Blurb, Phil, but my sone has. He made a photobook of a family holiday we had a couple of years ago and my wife shows it off to all our friends and family. I'm pretty impressed with the output but I've no idea about the process.

I've made a couple short books with Blurb through LR4 and am very impressed. The process is easy and fairly intuitive and the quality of the books is fine. I'm thinking of, at least, doing an annual photo book of family stuff and the occasional just for fun more artsy kind of thing.

I print very few of them... basically only the ones my gf wants to see on the wall.

Best ones I always print large and frame for the house.

Better & family go on SmugMug

I keep an eye out for the various photo print site offers, such as a Snapfish offering prints for 1p, took a while to down load but spent £50 to get 5000 done in one go.

All processed in LR4 so current year on local drive and previous on external drives.

Quite a few friends and family have large gallery prints or canvas prints (up to 60cm x 45cm) of some of my photos hanging on their walls at home. My younger sister also puts together a good quality calendar using my photos from each month throughout the year, which she distributes to friends and family too.

The PC's of many friends and family are also using my photos as desktop backgrounds and I even have a shot on display at work in one of the staff break areas that won a staff phot comp a couple of years ago. Other than that I just like to share on this and other forums with other likeminded photographers.

I am godfather to my friends two children (5 and 7) and will probably be at some point to their 3rd, now 9 months. Most of the framed prints of the children are ones I have taken over the years watching them grow. That for me makes it very worthwhile, being able to document the children growing from a few hours old to present day.

Model Mike said:

Model Mike wrote:

Model Mike said:

emem wrote:
Photography is certainly a boys-and-their-toys kind of interest (sorry ladies but it's true).

Click to expand...

I think that's nonsense. There are many great female photographers, both pro and amateur, as a search on for 'female photographers' will reveal - run your eye through the Wikipedia list and there'll be many that you'll recognise.

Click to expand...

Well I beg to differ - it's far from nonsense. And of course there are female photographers - and good ones. I have attended several camera clubs here in Sydney - almost as many women members as men. But far and away the guys have a far greater interest in, and understanding of, the equipment than the ladies. The women are artistic and produce some great photographs but there is an acute difference in the approach of the two. There will always be an overlap of interests and abilities between men and women. But they approach things differently. I'm happy to talk about this for hours - it's one of my great observational interests in life. But no, Model Mike - it isn't nonsense, your opinion notwithstanding.

emem said:

emem wrote:

emem said:

Model Mike wrote:

emem said:

emem wrote:
Photography is certainly a boys-and-their-toys kind of interest (sorry ladies but it's true).

Click to expand...

I think that's nonsense. There are many great female photographers, both pro and amateur, as a search on for 'female photographers' will reveal - run your eye through the Wikipedia list and there'll be many that you'll recognise.

Click to expand...

Well I beg to differ - it's far from nonsense. And of course there are female photographers - and good ones. I have attended several camera clubs here in Sydney - almost as many women members as men. But far and away the guys have a far greater interest in, and understanding of, the equipment than the ladies. The women are artistic and produce some great photographs but there is an acute difference in the approach of the two. There will always be an overlap of interests and abilities between men and women. But they approach things differently. I'm happy to talk about this for hours - it's one of my great observational interests in life. But no, Model Mike - it isn't nonsense, your opinion notwithstanding.

Click to expand...

In effect, you changed the subject there!

You started by saying "Photography" is a boy's thing. Which it certainly isn't, as Model Mike pointed put.

Now you are saying instead that "photographic equipment" is a boy's thing. And you may well be largely (but obviously not entirely) right.