my photography sucks?

Question

okay.
so i'm a beginner for digital photography.
i love it so much, and i really want to take good pictures that i'm proud of. my friends have "photoshoots" sometimes, and i always think i've got some good shots, but in the end result i hate them all.

do you think i'll get better in time if i keep practicing and don't give up?

thank you :)

p.s. here's my gallery if you want to look, and see what i mean. there's nothing special about my pictures, they're so ordinary and boring.

:[

http://katiextc.deviantart.com/gallery/

Answer 1

Photography is one of those things that feels crazy, never quite seems to work, but after some practice, all of a suddenit seems to START fitting together. Than your hooked, but you have a bit of knowledge, and some ideas on how to get better.

What I generally suggest, is to take something normal and everyday in your life. A flower, a mailbox, a tree, etc... take a photo of it. Than, sit back and think to your self, what can I do to make this better. Shoot close ups, from above, below, the sides, wide angle, etc... Than stepback. See what is past the subject, and incorporate that into the shot. Take your subject, place it on one side of the camera frame, and focus on secondary object. Change your focus points.

See how all this works out for you, and how it developes your eye.

And have fun.

Answer 2

MV 1, 3 and 4 are definitely keepers.

Practice will help but what you really need is some training. There is a difference between a picture and a photograph. You have 5 photos at most in your gallery. Do some reading, you will find out how to add and subtract weight from a model. You will learn about composition and what to do with backgrounds. Do you know what "Depth of field" is? If you don't I suggest you learn, it will help when the backgrounds are too boring or busy to add anything. I suggest you lay off the extreme angles until you learn what you are doing. When you can take a monochrome photograph of an apple and the viewer can tell what color it is, you have arrived.

One more thing, work with scenery more and people less until you get a better handle on composition.

Good luck and always keep it fun. When it isn't fun anymore it will be work and you won't want to do it any more.

Answer 3

What exactly do you hate about them? I took just a glance at your gallery. I am not a big fan of that type of "art", and others may think they are great. To me they look like almost every other "my space" or emo pics.

What I see are static images with one point of view, taken with the on-board flash on auto settings, They are in focus for the most part, and that is refreshing. But there is little sense of perspective or composition. Brightly was nice, perhaps the best, and hot chocolate was a pleasing portrait.

I suggest getting a book or two on beginning photography. Look at the work in good magazines (think National Geographic, Look, and the photography magazines.) I suggest a book called "Understanding Exposure" by Bryan Peterson. Pay attention to light and how it changes throughout the day. Shoot things you normally wouldn't shoot. Try different angles and lighting. Study your camera manual and know what the settings do and how they affect your image. Then keep practicing. You will find your skill will grow when nurtured. By all means do not give up! You will hear folks talk about "the eye". I think some people do have an innate grasp of elementary composition, but it is a skill that can be learned as well. Have fun with your camera, and don't be discouraged.

Answer 4

Of course you'll get better. Practice makes perfect.

Not being pleased with your own work tends to be a curse upon artists. Many of us do not like our own work because we often demand higher expectations of ourselves than we can actually attain (at least at the time, anyway). We also see things in our heads we often cannot recreate perfectly and thus get discouraged.

I'm not sure what you don't like about your photography. I think the photos are nice and the Canon Rebel is a quality camera, and you seem to have some good computer editing skills.

I'd say you need to exit your comfort zone. Try something other than people. People are good practice, but people also pose on command. Try working with things that won't pose or cooperate for you to get a feel of motion, action, and natural behavior. It could be animals, nature in general, or even people in concerts, dances, streets, etc. Maybe play around with still-life or conceptional photos. Try taking a picture of an object or person or creature at all sorts of angles and various depths. Try colorful things and dull things. Variety tends to make art a little less boring.

Answer 5

Hi Katie,
I've been into photography for about 11 years now, and like anything else, you develop over time. I have to say, those are some really good images for someone that's literally just starting. The Mirror image is my absolute fave. Here's why: When you look at art, you want it to evoke some kind of thought or feeling, the more intense the better. The mirror image too me looks like an artistic impression of someone looking in a mirror and seeing the good self and the bad self. Like some kind of Freudian mental feud. The lighting is great, the the color scheme works well. The others are good, but the mirror image exemplifies the fact you do have a natural talent and eye, and you should continue on this path if it's what you like to do. Try to broaden your spectrum, like animals, objects, scenes, and mysteries. It's fun :D

Answer 6

If you love it, never give up. Keep trying.

Have you ever tried walking when you were a baby? Did you give up when you kept falling? If you gave up, you'd still be crawling on your hands and knees.. (although you might still do it now sometimes.., but that's another matter)

Anyways, keep trying, keep practicing. All the professional athletes had to practice.

Here's a secret for you.. a major league baseball player who gets $4 million dollars a year only gets 3 out of 10 hits right... and that's all you need to be a major leaguer.

It's the same with photography or anything. You only need to have 2 or 3 'masterpieces' out of every 10 photographs you take to make you a famous photogrpaher. Good job with these photos. It's a start. Take more of them. Go to art studios that showcase professional photos, and try to understand what make a great photo great. Look at composition, light, dark, contrast, color, greyscale, exposure, texture, patterns, mood, themes, style, subject, scenery, medium and the message. And develop your own style and themes.

If you have photoshop, you can also do some neat tricks with your photographs, especialy if they are digital. Try to print out the ones you like on different types of photographic paper, like matte, glossy, satin, eggshell finishes, etc., and try to frame them differently. You can create interesting effects by thinking 'out of the box' by thinking about the photograph beyond the photograph itself.

Read/ look at art books and try to get ideas from artists you like and admire.

Answer 7

Well, kudos for identifying that you have issues. 1) You've essentially got images of just about every cliched photo ever taken. Find something new and interesting. 2) Compositions should be dynamic - study compositional techniques such as the rule of thirds, the golden mean, etc. 3) Master exposure and understand what aperture, shutter speed and ISO do to exposures and how each one effects the qualities of an image. All this can be done at no cost through practice, experimentation and learning through others, the library and the internet.

Answer 8

Work on your composition. Learn about the rule of thirds. Don't stick things right smack in the middle.

Learn about lighting and find better sources of light. Bring your people outside. Try to use morning sun and late afternoon sun. It's better. Learn to see good light.

Find better backgrounds. The shower curtain just isn't doing it for me.

Get the book "Understanding Exposure" by Bryan Peterson. Read it.

When you find something cool to photograph, take many many photos from all different angles and perspectives.

Don't give up and keep trying.

Check out some of my pics here. http://www.myspace.com/badfish29

Feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

Good luck

Answer 9

the type of art that you call art isn't really my choice of art per say. i think that it is more of a my space profile. but still keep working on it and i can say that you will get better, but to say that you hate your work is wrong of you. just look at the positive things about your work and listen to the constructive criticism and you will progressively get better!>!>!>! :)
good luck :) :)

Answer 10

Try shooting Nature, Flowers, Sea, Sunset and Flowers- There's beauty in them even you don't know how to shot, you will appreciate it.