Help - my photos are boring !!

Moti · May 24, 2015

You have got some really great tips here so I'm not going to repeat them but I'll add one more tha I consider very important if you intend to produce artistic printed images.

Learn and master Post Processing because there is nothing like good and creative PP that can turn the ordinary into extraordinary.

Good luck

MinAZ · May 24, 2015

Your technique seems pretty decent, so I am going to point out the elephant in the room. The issue you seem to be having is that you are focusing too much on well-known landmarks (well except the dolphins). If you shoot fallingwater, you are competing with every other person that has shot fallingwater, and this is quite a lot of photographers. I think your photo is quite interesting, but hate to tell you this, I've seen better pictures of fallingwater! See the problem? You are in a really difficult market if you shoot what everyone else has shot because you have to be that much better. Instead, focus on the little seen things, what no one else sees. That will lower the bar for your photos.

VadymA · May 24, 2015

I have a friend who I would call a typical snapper photographer, meaning he couldn't care less about what camera he is shooting with or what lens or aperture or whatever. He travels a lot and likes taking pictures wherever he goes. His pictures are mostly like you mentioned "snaps" of different places he travelled to. Personally, like you, I would never consider printing them and hanging on the wall. But he is much less concerned about quality of his "art" and likes printing, framing and hanging his pictures around his house. One thing I noticed is that, surprisingly, they actually look very nice on the wall despite being rather average from artistic point of view. So I learned from that that often a nice frame and some personal facts about the picture go a long way to make even a snap photo a very interesting piece of wall art. So if you really want to print something and hang it on the wall of make a gift, just don't stop and try it with any picture you have. You might be surprised with the results just like I was.

rxb dc · May 25, 2015

I recommend watching some of the videos B&H puts out photographers talking about their craft. They are available on YouTube and here are a few:

They really have dozens.

I would also recommend a couple of books:

Extraordinary Everyday Photography: Awaken Your Vision to Create Stunning Images Wherever You Are by Tharp, Brenda, Manwaring, Jed

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www.amazon.com
John Hedgecoe's Complete Guide To Photography: A Step-by-Step Course from the World's Best-Selling Photographer

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www.amazon.com

They teach you about composition,lines/shapes/colors/textures, light, point of view and so on.

---

Safety Warning: Bad taste unmitigated by moderate skill

003tvd · May 25, 2015

Stop seeing like a tourist, would be my advice. I walk around touristy spots and look for creative little details. Locals and other tourists do look at me kinda funny because I'm not trying to capture the whole building (for instance), but instead am shooting the peeling paint on a window frame, or the patina of wear on the front door knocker. I rarely shoot the postcard image.

D Cox · May 25, 2015

GadgetNeil said:
nananananana said:

Shooting the Big Ben IS boring.

1. Because it's a boring building.

2. Because a million people have done it before you.

I don't think this is your fault, it's just not an interesting subject.

It doesn't help that they used that building for postcards for decades, I bet the Big Ben is probably one of the top most shot things in the world. So if you take a shot of it, people aren't going to very impressed, just like watching a really good film, gets pretty boring after the 10th time, no matter how good it was at the beginning.

People who are married probably can elaborate on that subject...

Click to expand...

You have a good point

I tend to take a lot of my photos while traveling,

There is your problem. You are photographing scenes you have never seen before, so you just point the camera at the famous building and click.

If you walked past Big Ben every day on the way to work, there would be a much better chance of your getting some good photos of it (although this must be one of the world's most difficult subjects).

GadgetNeil said:
and of course to me, seeing Big Ben or any other famous site is exciting, and I immediately want to take photos. But any significant site in any city I travel to is going to have millions of photos of it already on the internet. Maybe I am answering my own question: I need to work on creative approaches to the places I visit, seeing it from different angles or perspectives.

I suggest concentrating on subjects within easy walking distance of your home.

mostlyboringphotog · May 25, 2015

Being an expert on the subject of boring photographs, I hesitated to respond, as I do not have a good news for you :-(

As the RE professionals would like to point out, it's the location, location, location; in photography, it's talent, talent, talent, IMEO ;-)

If you got it you know it; unfortunately, if you are wondering, I'm afraid you do not got it.

So I do what others do when they cannot do it; I became a photo critic and it's an easy job as, if any photo seems I could have done it myself, I can safely pronounced it as NG (no good). ;-)

BTW, not only I am expert at boring photographs, I'm always wrong

BTW2, photos with people in it (people, not babies and not kids (some exception here) and not dogs and cats, even if they come across as people) tends to be more interesting to others than the buildings.

BTW3, all the good advices in the thread are good.

BTW4, if anyone thinks I'm wrong, remember, I beat you to it.

Good luck!!

Rob · May 25, 2015

Other than what others already mentioned, I just want to add that lighting makes a difference. The exact same subject shot in exactly the same angle and distance with the same gear, will look very different if just the lighting changes. A lot of people get up early in the morning or wait until sunset, because they want that very dramatic directional lighting that creates all kinds of interesting shadows and rim-light.

You'll also notice that often photos taken in more flat lighting situations are punched up in post-processing with more compelling contrast, colors, detail, etc.

Or, the composition itself is interesting, choosing to look at the subject in ways that aren't conventional straight-on angles, and don't try to cram the whole subject into the frame.

Another thing to consider, is to shoot subjects that can emote, such a human and animals, or try to capture a narrative, a mood, an emotion, or even a sociopolitical statement. Add storytelling to your images so there's more to them.

--
Rob
Art, music, photography, writings, and blog: www.ethereality.info

davno22 · May 25, 2015

the first photo would look good up closer with a wider lens, a 10 stop ND to capture water movement, and the sun being lower, and a little more PP. doesn't have to be HDR, but just messing with shadow/highlight/clarity in lightroom can work wonders

Joris1632 · May 25, 2015

Your photos are competent but lack passion. Photograph only things you love (or hate!). If you don't have strong feelings for a subject why should another viewer?

Good Luck!

Midwest · May 25, 2015

GadgetNeil said:
I'm looking at my new Canon Pro-100, which I bought so that I could print some nice 13x19 in prints, to put on my walls, and give to friends and family. So, I am going through my Lightroom folders and trying to find photos I feel are worthy of printing large. But I can't find a single photo that I feel impressed by ! I know we can all be harsh judges of ourselves, but I really think the problem is that my photos look too much like snapshots. I would love any advice on developing a creative eye, taking photos that have impact, that are unique, or that evoke emotions - not just "record" shots.

Here are a few examples - these are among what I feel are my best shots (but which do not feel worth putting up framed on the wall:

Overall I think your posted samples frankly ARE boring, they don't draw the viewer in or make any sort of 'connection'. I'll give you credit for not posting photos of flowers or ducks or squirrels, that is something at least. This is what I think of each of these shots:

1. Too much foliage, not enough subject. If there was any real interest here it is in the architecture - I would like to see the screen mostly filled with the building so I can study the details much better.

GadgetNeil said:

2. Big Ben, just plain boring. Says only 'This - is - Big - Ben'... Nicely taken but that's not enough.

GadgetNeil said:

3. Too much foreground. It appears to be a photo of a driveway with (something) beyond. What IS the subject and why should we / would we care about it?

GadgetNeil said:

4. Too much background, not enough subject, poor lighting, poor color, background disguises part of subject, and really it's not a fascinating shot even if those were corrected.

GadgetNeil said:

5. Not a bad photo of a skyscraper, it's the best shot you posted IMO. It would help if the clouds / sky were more interesting (a circular polarizer might have helped) but even at best it's devoid of connection or 'soul'.

GadgetNeil said:
Any input (especially if constructive) would be appreciated. I am also wondering if others struggle with this - I know a lot of artists often feel their work is not that great, when others are in fact quite impressed with it.

thanks,

Neil

IMO an interesting photo is memorable - you enjoy looking at it, and can easily remember it later on and wouldn't mind seeing it again. An interesting photo makes me feel like I am 'in the scene' or makes me wish I WAS in the scene myself. An interesting photo makes me smile or think or evokes some other feeling because it connects with me. It's not just a nice photo, it has to have something else going for it. It does not just say 'This is a duck / flower / bug / statue / tree / squirrel', however pretty it might possibly be. I've seen a million pretty photos and can't recall a single one of them but I can tell you about a lot of shots that stuck in my head even to this day.

Keep trying, digital photos are dirt cheap, you'll iron it out eventually.

maiaibing · May 25, 2015

GadgetNeil said:
I'm looking at my new Canon Pro-100, which I bought so that I could print some nice 13x19 in prints, to put on my walls, and give to friends and family. So, I am going through my Lightroom folders and trying to find photos I feel are worthy of printing large. But I can't find a single photo that I feel impressed by !

Extremely boring for sure. But that's because the subjects fail - not your shooting.

Images that interest have everything to do with emotional attachment and close to nothing with technical qualities (as we photo-geeks would have it). So go for what people attach themselves towards.

To impress your family in 3 easy steps:

1) Good start: Take pictures of people (not things - because no-one cares about things).

2) Even better: Take pictures of people they know or can relate to.

3) Best: Take pictures of them (they may not like it, but people around them will love it).

You can impress yourself and people at dpreview with great technique. But if you want to make your family and friends happy focus 100% on them.

(For the sake of honesty I have to add that pets qualify at the level of people here. I just hate them myself. So if there are any pets around - snap'em).

Happy shooting!

Abrak · May 25, 2015

Generally lots of good comments here. My 2 cents.

1) I totally disagree with the poster who says 'not taking boring photos' is all down to innate talent. I think what it takes is study, dedication and hard work.

2) I think you have already crossed the biggest hurdle - namely to realize that most of your photos are boring and that you need to do something about it.

In terms of inspiration. I really like this video.

The video has virtually nothing to with its title and the first 5 minutes are a bit boring but after that it is great. I think it has great insight about how you go about taking good shots.

And if you need visual stimulation go to www.1x.com. You will actually do well to find a boring photo there.

Dessert First · May 25, 2015

You photos are technically good, but I agree that with the possible exception of the dolphins photo, non of them screams "print me as a large canvas". I fought with that for years and still do. One thing that has helped me is to take existing photos and try some creative cropping. You might be surprised how easy it is to eliminate distractions or create a better focus by cutting much of the photo out. Sometimes showing people part of something rather than the whole creates a sense of intrigue that makes the viewer interested to see more. I've done this sometimes on car museums where I couldn't really show the whole without introducing many distractions (because things were placed so close together).

davidedric · May 26, 2015

I don't know they are as bad as you say! I think it's often small things.

The first image needs a slight anti clockwise rotation. The vertical is most obviously off. It just looks wrong until you notice, and once you have noticed it will drive you mad. It could also benefit from a bit more space on the right - the building appears crowded.

Take the building with the red roof. You've got the path leading the eye into the picture, great idea, but for me it still doesn't really work. Why? I think it is because the path actually wanders off to the left and draws my eye away from the scene. I don't know if the image can be rescued, but if you just do a rough clone of some grass to cover that part you should see what I mean (or even just cover that bit with your finger!)

Just a couple of ideas, feel free to disagree.

Dave

Bob Janes · May 26, 2015

GadgetNeil said:
I'm looking at my new Canon Pro-100, which I bought so that I could print some nice 13x19 in prints, to put on my walls, and give to friends and family. So, I am going through my Lightroom folders and trying to find photos I feel are worthy of printing large. But I can't find a single photo that I feel impressed by ! I know we can all be harsh judges of ourselves, but I really think the problem is that my photos look too much like snapshots. I would love any advice on developing a creative eye, taking photos that have impact, that are unique, or that evoke emotions - not just "record" shots.

Have you considered reading any stuff up on the rules of composition? These advise on placement in the frame and advise on stuff like leading lines... once you know and understand the rules, you can then understand when it works best to break the rules.

Use of PP to effect contrast and add drama can also help - there are lots of good resources out there on the internet.

As for the examples you posted, I think you are hard on yourself - but here are some suggestions that might work...

GadgetNeil said:
Here are a few examples - these are among what I feel are my best shots (but which do not feel worth putting up framed on the wall:

1. Try some more contrasty processing, maybe if shooting again try a slightly slower shutter speed to get some movement into the water.

GadgetNeil said:

2. Either crop in on part of the building, or include it from the base - the cut off part way down the railings seems a shame here. Might be possible to do something with that sky in post to inject a bit of drama. If shooting again, look for a composition that has more diagonals...

GadgetNeil said:

3. A nice composition (I like the diagonal path). Could benefit from a little more contrast and bringing out some detail in those clouds.

GadgetNeil said:

Needs a bit of straightening - well timed shot, but quite static considering it os of four large mammals propelling themselves out of water. Maybe a tighter crop? If shooting again, try a slower shutter speed to get some blur and movement into the shot.

GadgetNeil said:

Nice set of diagonals! If shooting again, try to use the symmetry or near symmetry of the building features - something almost symmetrical can draw the eye as the differences can be mildly disturbing (in a good way). Look to use the reflections in the windows.

GadgetNeil said:
Any input (especially if constructive) would be appreciated. I am also wondering if others struggle with this - I know a lot of artists often feel their work is not that great, when others are in fact quite impressed with it.

thanks,

Neil

...As I say, just suggestions. I like to look for shadows, reflections and diagonals, but each photographer has their own style. Don't be frightened to bring in some drama in post processing (sometimes it can be a bit more subtle than cloning in a large ape - but maybe not as funny

. If you don't shoot RAW already, this will make post-processing lighting adjustments much easier.

Hope this helps...

antoineb · May 26, 2015

Hi GadgetNeil:

On the artistic side:

- indeed I'm not personally stunned by your compositions. I'm sure you put time and effort in them, but to me these four examples largely look like snapshots anyone will grab with a smartphone (and thus why bother with a DSLR right?). I also note that you photographed Fallingwater (the house) just the very same way as everyone else has - when other angles of view are possible!

- how does one improve the artistic side? Well.
One bit of it is a given: some people just "have an eye", and even when they are lent their first camera as a child, can often produce first shots that will be a lot more interesting than those from most photographers, including pros.
However the other bit, as in most art forms, is NOT a given: it is called practice, with a bit of education perhaps. The easiest way to develop an "eye", and the cheapest, is just to browse through photography books (in a library), or even on-line photo collections; and take the time to understand what draws you to these shots (in many books the photographer will explain what their intention was). Other ways to progress are to try the same shot, or a series of similar shots, with different angles of view, distances, exposure variables - and carefully go back to the results and think about what worked, and what did not. The last and final way is, of course, to take a photography class - usefulness and prices vary a lot, better known photographers charge higher fees, and you learn the most in those classes where in the evening, shots get cross-examined and discussed.

Now on the technical side:

- "photography" means "writing with light". A few of the shots you show, have rather bland light, apparently quite close to noon. Clearly the light tends to get more "interesting" earlier in the morning, at dawn/dusk, etc., or when the sky is not clear, you name it. I'd suggest you try this instead of apparently mostly only photographing around noon on clear days. Or if you really want to shoot around noon on clear days, then perhaps add a polarizing filter at least.

- processing. To my eyes, most of your shots have a very "consumer" aspect, cute and saturated colours, like on a Smartphone. Not sure whether it's your choice, or the camera set on Auto, or some color profile called "vivid". You might want to try a more "neutral" or "standard" profile, and see what happens. Or different exposures.

- lens. As far as I can tell you seem to be using an 18-55mm kit lens. This is a cheap kit lens and it is flexible and good value. But, it provides shots that look largely like everyone else's shots. And its aperture is not very large so it is limiting on this front.
My suggestion would be to try using a different lens. Affordable lenses will include for example a 50mm f1.8 - the focal length will have been covered by your kit lens, but the much larger aperture (about 4x more light gets in) will allow you to play with light much more, especially when light levels come down of course.
Or, given that you seem to like landscapes you could go for a wider lens. A fairly well-regarded and affordable wide lens for APS-C, is the 10-18mm f3.5-5.6, for $250 or so. A slightly better regarded is the 10-22 f3.5-4.5 but it is closer to $600 while going no wider and not being brighter either.

Hope this helps a bit.

A

GadgetNeil said:
I'm looking at my new Canon Pro-100, which I bought so that I could print some nice 13x19 in prints, to put on my walls, and give to friends and family. So, I am going through my Lightroom folders and trying to find photos I feel are worthy of printing large. But I can't find a single photo that I feel impressed by ! I know we can all be harsh judges of ourselves, but I really think the problem is that my photos look too much like snapshots. I would love any advice on developing a creative eye, taking photos that have impact, that are unique, or that evoke emotions - not just "record" shots.

Here are a few examples - these are among what I feel are my best shots (but which do not feel worth putting up framed on the wall:

Any input (especially if constructive) would be appreciated. I am also wondering if others struggle with this - I know a lot of artists often feel their work is not that great, when others are in fact quite impressed with it.

thanks,

Neil

Spotted Cow · May 26, 2015

walkaround said:
GadgetNeil said:

I'm looking at my new Canon Pro-100, which I bought so that I could print some nice 13x19 in prints, to put on my walls, and give to friends and family. So, I am going through my Lightroom folders and trying to find photos I feel are worthy of printing large. But I can't find a single photo that I feel impressed by ! I know we can all be harsh judges of ourselves, but I really think the problem is that my photos look too much like snapshots. I would love any advice on developing a creative eye, taking photos that have impact, that are unique, or that evoke emotions - not just "record" shots.

Here are a few examples - these are among what I feel are my best shots (but which do not feel worth putting up framed on the wall:

Any input (especially if constructive) would be appreciated. I am also wondering if others struggle with this - I know a lot of artists often feel their work is not that great, when others are in fact quite impressed with it.

thanks,

Neil

Click to expand...

I'm not sure I would've done any better at these well known and well photographed sites, but what my photography teachers (Bryan Peterson, Michael Freeman, Jay Maisel, etc) would probably say is: go for a different light (rather than midday clear), get closer (physically or telephoto), or tell more of a story with a wide angle by having a foreground, middle, and distant subject, and include yourself or family?

Great suggestions. Sometimes getting closer means taking a photo of one detailed interesting part of a building and if you can find vibrant colors and/or patterns within it, even better.

Reilly Diefenbach · May 26, 2015

Don't care for the last three, but number one is an excellent shot. I played with Topaz Adjust and Photoshop and came up with three takes on it to try to get it to be more wall hangable. Remember to straighten your verticals if they are supposed to be straight :^)

Hiraloam

Lomo

Film

Nice one!

lbuclk= · May 26, 2015

Carey Brown said:
GadgetNeil said:

Chris Noble said:

Do you take lessons or workshops?

Do you practice regularly? (Going out with your camera expressly just to shoot, with a project in mind).

Do you enter contests and solicit feedback?

This is how artists of all types learn: musicians, writers, also photographers.

Click to expand...

Very good points Chris !

I have joined a local photography club, and I am starting to get involved in seminars, club competitions, photo outings, and small group evaluations.

But you are reminding me of something I had already been considering: entering contests, and especially soliciting feedback, eg. from posting photos on dpreview and other sites.

thanks

Click to expand...

Before entering any contest, read the fine print. Sometimes the contest sponsors will own the rights to any submitals.

Help - my photos are boring !!

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