Prettiness

[vandergus]

I came across this article the other day and thought that it touched on some things that had been floating around in my brain but couldn't quite articulate. First read...

Scenic Fatigue

Firstly, I really enjoy Mike Johnston's writing and think that he has a particular talent for basically saying things the way they are. If you haven't visited The Online Photographer, I highly recommend it as it's some of the only online reading that has been truly enlightening for me.

What I like about the essay are his comments on prettiness. When I first came to this site I tried participating in the critique section through submission and comments but thought that neither side of the process was really benefiting me. I've seen several other members express similar feelings and thought this article might help to explain some of the gap. Like many of the hobbyist photographers that Johnston refers to, my photographs don't have much behind them besides trying to be pleasing to look at (and perhaps documenting my life with wife and friends, but that doesn't really interest anybody either). And I've got no problem with that. If I were an aspiring artist, I would have a problem, but I'm not. I'm just a guy taking pictures, as are, I think, most of the participants on this site. So when you're trying to critique something whose only goal is to be pretty, you run out of things to say real quick.

There's also the technical side of critiquing (you should've used a smaller aperture, you should add a fill flash, etc.) in addition to the artistic side, but I think it's really just an effort to maximize the prettiness potential of a subject.

What I'm getting at is that if you want meaningful critiques of you photographs, there has to be something more there than just prettiness. Or at least the attempt at something more.

What do you guys think? Do you have any experiences with critiques that relate to this? Do you fall into the pretty is enough category or are you trying to achieve something more with your photographs?

[zona5101]

I agree with your post and with the linked article. I think on this site the level of skill is so broad that it adds to the dificulty of going beyond "prettiness". Also, I think a good, solid, well thought out critique is very personal between the artist and the reviewer. I think there needs to be some connection between the two for it to really be effectively given and recieved.