Even the Good get it wrong ...

[FoG]

I know that sounds easy but as windrider said to me yesterday we all start somewhere... I spotted a wedding shoot being done at the local park so decided to linger quietly to see how the Pro did things... I was shocked when looking quietly from afar to see he had a tree growing out of the guys head (his view) and a waste bin sticking out of the brides bum... I thought he will spot it surely ?? But no shot after shot after shot was done there alternating between the two problems ... then whilst going home in the car I saw another wedding (some nice weather for them ) and the photographer was balanced up on a step ladder with a foot on the wall to support herself looking down at the couple ....

Where am I going with this ... well I stopped to ask the lady when they had finished where she worked ... answer she doesn't do it professionally was the bride's friend from school.. the other guy charged over to 200 pounds for trees in heads and the freebie does step ladders go figure.

Anyone else seen similar ?

[oldwolf]

yep. i've seen similiar plenty of times. it's a shame to see people pay that much money for an inferior product.

maybe the first one is a photoshop expert and gets rid of that afterwards? it's no excuse but i'd rather get rid of it before taking the picture. saves me lots of time later.

[windrider86]

I see it al the time. In fact I was at a function yeterday and was listening to a woman complain that she paid $325 for a 11 x 14 portrait of her family. She has taken it back 4 times as the faces were either blurry or stretched out.
I about fell over. There was another one I saw on a well known photographer's web site of a babies butt. Now you might think whats wrong with that? Well, it wasnt one of your normal adorable baby rear end. The baby was posed in a rather awkward position and you could see parts you really didnt care to see. One of those "what in the world were they thinking?"
It amazes me to no end sometimes the work that shows up all over the place. But then again, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
You'll find the more you observe people photographing things "wrong" the more you'll remember to do things right!

[oldwolf]

Originally Posted by windrider86

There was another one I saw on a well known photographer's web site of a babies butt. Now you might think whats wrong with that? Well, it wasnt one of your normal adorable baby rear end. The baby was posed in a rather awkward position and you could see parts you really didnt care to see. One of those "what in the world were they thinking?"

Hey! That was our picture and our website! What's wrong with the baby's parts? I take offense to that! That's it. I'm not coming here ever again if people can't appreciate art!

j/k It wasn't my website.

I'm in an ornery mood this morning for some reason. hehe

[Jim Poor]

Oh you'll definitely see folks out there "doing it wrong."

On the other hand, viewing from afar, you can't really say what the composition of the photo was. An inch right or left from camera position has a much different effect than from a position further away.

Maybe s/he needed some "wrong" shots for seminar that covered background observation

[Japaslavian]

I've seen countless web galleries of photographers who display commissioned work and just sigh to myself, "I can't believe somebody payed for this."
Pretty much anyone with a big SLR camera is all of the sudden a professional photographer it seems...

[Pathwriter]

I've seen my share of bad wedding pictures while working at Wolf Camera.

Some really are bad, and people actually pay for them.

Even one of the girls that I work with is a freelance photographer who thinks she is an incredible photographer and charges an arm for a shoot. I had never really seen her pictures, and then I went to her website and I really felt kind of bad for her. They aren't bad, but they aren't good either. She says she has been doing photography for about 10-12 years, but you would think a year or two tops if you saw her pictures.

I'm not saying I am better or whatever, but I don't go around charging people a lot of money for a mediocre product and I don't tell people, "I've been doing this for 10 years, so I know how to do it" either.

[Gobae]

I've seen this topic come up (as well as its cousin "What is a Professional?") regularly. I wonder if it might be time for the photographic community to start separating the term "professional" from it's traditional meaning and start using the term "paid" instead. At least in the examples given the "professionals" were merely paid, and the real professional was doing it for free.

[Murtasma]

200 pounds is nothing for a wedding photographer; you get what you pay for. I try not to concern myself too much about what other people charge or how they do their work. When it all comes down to it it's your customers that matter, the value you place on your own work and the word of mouth that follows professional work.

Odds are if those people aren't happy with their pictures they will tell lots of people about their bad experience that will eventually trickle down to the photographer and he will have a hard time getting new clients. Everything unfolds as it should, the people trying to make a quick buck will do so only for a little bit. The professionals will continue to get work and make money.

Nothing is easy about this game, you can't just buy a top of the line DSLR and expect things to happen for you.

[SusanH1970]

Originally Posted by Pathwriter

I've seen my share of bad wedding pictures while working at Wolf Camera.

Some really are bad, and people actually pay for them.

Even one of the girls that I work with is a freelance photographer who thinks she is an incredible photographer and charges an arm for a shoot. I had never really seen her pictures, and then I went to her website and I really felt kind of bad for her. They aren't bad, but they aren't good either. She says she has been doing photography for about 10-12 years, but you would think a year or two tops if you saw her pictures.

I'm not saying I am better or whatever, but I don't go around charging people a lot of money for a mediocre product and I don't tell people, "I've been doing this for 10 years, so I know how to do it" either.

I hear ya! Doing photography for 10 years is one thing...you can push a button over and over again for 10 years. Educating yourself about photography during those 10 years is a whole 'nother animal!

I've only been doing photography for a very short time, but every day I try to learn something new and I practice it until I get it right. Sometimes it takes a long time to get it right, too! Using this site, as well as studying the images of photographers I admire, and constantly asking how I can improve, taking advice and critique has helped my own photography improve. I'm nowhere near where I want to be yet, but I'm starting to get there.