What Are Your Pet Photography Peeves?
One of our readers (Ron) shot me a link today to a piece in Wired Magazine that listed 10 Pet Photography Peeves We’d Throw Down a Black Hole.
The list is of course unique to the peeves of the author (I’ll list them below) – but Ron suggested it might make an interesting question to pose to our community:
What are YOUR Pet Photography Peeves?
Here’s the main peeves listed in the Wired article (visit the article for explanations of each peeve):
- Trite Flickr Comments
- High-Dynamic-Range (HDR) Photos
- Shutter Lag
- Watermarks
- Wide-Angle Vertical
- The Megapixel Discussion
- Oversharing
- Rock-Concert Strobage
- The Arm’s Length Self Portrait
- Cameras?
OK – some of these are probably going to cause some debate (I know we have a few HDR fans in our midst for example) but what would you add (or subtract) from the list?
What are your Pet Photography Peeves?
130 Responses to “What Are Your Pet Photography Peeves?” - Add Yours
September 14th, 2009 at 3:12 am
Photoshop ! PHOTOSHOP !!
i’m tired of photomanipulating taking over photography…..
bad exposure and horrible photography skills + tons of editing =\= good picture, it just means you can edit, good job.
September 14th, 2009 at 3:21 am
My pet peeve is when someone has been able to photoshop the crud out of a photo to make it look nice, however, there are air conditioning units in the background of the photo or if the feet are cut off at the ankle at the bottom of the photo.
It drives me nuts that some people don’t pay attention to their surroundings if they are posing their subjects to where things get into the photo that upset the composition. Then you have poles growing out of people’s heads, and cut off feet, etc.
September 14th, 2009 at 3:31 am
HDR deserves another vote!
and a variation of trite flickr comments are animated gif flickr comments.
September 14th, 2009 at 3:38 am
Yep.. most of these are.
1 not too much, i appreciate all comments.. UNLESS they include pics/bunches of invites to groups/etc.
and 2.. well i love HDR, but I think the test of a true photographer is if he can do really well with 1 single image, it is an added bonus if they can do HDR.
10.. yeah sorta a pet peeve, especially when I see photo’s taken with Nikon D3/D3X, or Canon 1DSMKII/5DMKII and stuff and they think they are the best just cause of that camera. A camera only helps but so much with good photographs, it really relies on the photographers :)
September 14th, 2009 at 3:44 am
Brand Snobbery- Nikon D3x….doesn’t say Canon so it must be garbage! I personally love Canon products, everything I have is Canon, but that is because they work for me and have always been reliable. What I hate is when someone finds something that works for them and then flips and everything else is then considered trash because it’s not what they use. But that’s just my pet peeve…
September 14th, 2009 at 4:01 am
I don’t mind watermarks in the corner of images but the ones over the centre are annoying. I also don’t really like flickr comments with images in them.
September 14th, 2009 at 4:07 am
Over-sharpened pictures, and comments on those that aren’t saying the picture looks soft.
Weird colour tones on photos, especially wedding pictures. Were they going after some retro Polaroid look? Or was their monitor so far off adjustment that they screwed up the picture.
September 14th, 2009 at 4:09 am
Another great post by DPS.
My pet peeves are Print buttons on cameras, and photo websites with 1999 style browser pop-up windows that ruin the experience of viewing and evaluating images on the site. I mean come on… we use RSS these days… pop-ups and newsletters and Seinfeld and subprime loans are no longer hot, you know. :-)
September 14th, 2009 at 4:10 am
1. Excessive self portraiture. There’s a whole world of other stuff to shoot.
2. Complaints about HDR. It has it’s uses.
3. Complaints about Photoshop and post processing. It’s your art. Do whatever you want.
4. That said, I don’t have much use for selective color.
5. Flickr “interestingness” too often misses the mark.
6. Your brand of camera doesn’t define you as a human being. The Nikon/Canon thing is silly.
7. People that ask for a critique and then are offended if you give an honest one.
September 14th, 2009 at 4:18 am
Nobody genuinely has a problem with HDR
- Everyone has a problem with badly done HDR (of which there is way too much!)
September 14th, 2009 at 4:21 am
I agree, HDR photography certainly isn’t the problem, it’s the HDR photographer that I have problems with… particularly when they say “Oh, I thought it looked good like this” when there is very clearly a lot of things fundamentally wrong with the photo.
September 14th, 2009 at 4:36 am
I agree with the oversharing. 200 facebook pics of Disneyworld? No thank you.
September 14th, 2009 at 4:53 am
Direct Flash. Don’t buy a speedlight if you’re just going to point it forward. Waste of money. buy a low aperture lens instead.
bad HDR
Nikon vs Canon vs sony vs pentax vs olympus vs panasonic vs leica vs blahblahblahblahblah. Its a camera. D50. 50D. 5D Mark II. D700. Rebel XT. A900… a better camera helps a bit, but it isn’t the world. I look at flicker and I can’t tell what body was used. I can take a stab at the lens by the focal range and bokeh but past that. shut up.
photographers who color tone or put polariod effects on all their photos. I understand its an “art” but try color correcting sometime. or maybe you didn’t know your monitor is set on 4400k or 6500k or 9300k…
Direct flash. professionals only get away with that when its pitch black outside and there is nothing to bounce off of or they don’t have time to get strobes off camera.
megapixels. holy crap. I have a 5d mark ii with 21 and my old rebel xt with 8. 11×17″ prints look exactly the same. its only my hard drives that complain.
September 14th, 2009 at 4:56 am
1. The Canon vs. Nikon thing … who cares? The camera is a tool, use it to produce spectacular images, that’s what’s important.
2. HDR photography … again, who cares? Use it as necessary, but if I can tell you’re using HDR techniques, then you’ve not done it incorrectly.
3. Questions like “What camera/lens/accessory should I get next?” Geez, do your own research, what do you want it for, if you don’t know what you want?
4. Scores of images, all of the same thing, just slightly different, being shown to me. Pick the best of the bunch and show me just that. I don’t mind differing view points, but the fact that you moved a tenth of a millimetre to the left or right .. you get the idea?
Can’t think of anymore.
September 14th, 2009 at 5:02 am
… yes I can … 5. The megapixels war between camera manufacturers. This is a market driven thing, as soon as the average punter gets the idea that more megapixels DOES NOT mean better camera images, the quicker manufactures will be able to produce better camera technology.
September 14th, 2009 at 5:06 am
HDR: definitely has its uses, especially when you don’t have your Graduated ND filter, or indoor complex exposure situations. What I hate is when folks use HDR to compensate for a crappy photo, and then hope the HDR process will somehow, magically, “make things better”. Sorry guys, HDR is not the Phillips Light Bulb of photography.
Selective Coloring: getting tired of selective de-saturation or recoloring; it’s trite, over done, and is really only cute in certain circumstances.
Over-Vignetting: Nice that Lightroom offers easy vignetting, but please folks, the vignette doesn’t add diddly for that landscape….
Canon vs. Nikon: Yawn…..
Over-saturation: ’nuff said.
September 14th, 2009 at 5:09 am
1) Over done HDR – the ones that look just too fake or over processed.
2) Flickr’s “Interestingness” – some of the shots are just crap and make me cry because I have some pretty cool shots that I was so thinking would see get ‘explored’
3) People using STUPID animated (myspace like) Flickr “award” images saying things like GOOD SHOT, AWESOME etc.
Perhaps Flickr can add a separate thread for “award comments” away from the actual useful comments people might want to leave? Sort of like Trackbacks and Comments with WordPress ;)
September 14th, 2009 at 5:14 am
1) Using AWB for every photo. AWB is horrible for getting colourful photos, as the camera tries to make it as neutral as possible.
2) Calling everything that has a tonemapping filter applied “HDR”, even if the dynamic range hasn’t been changed at all.
September 14th, 2009 at 5:23 am
I don’t usually like going on about pet peeves, but I am so irritated by people who have more money than me running out and buying brand new DSLRs and expensive lenses, keeping the cameras on auto, and acting as if they’re great photographers. I worked hard for my bottom-of-the-line Nikon DSLR and have worked hard learning all the ins-and-outs of exposure and my camera, and I still have trouble calling myself “a photographer.” I would so love to own their cameras and put them to good use — I’m starting to outgrow mine, and they have more than they can use! I really think that unless you plan to eventually leave the auto settings behind (I completely understand them in the beginning, while you’re learning or in certain situations), you are much better off with the best point & shoot you can afford.
September 14th, 2009 at 5:31 am
It doesn’t peeve me in the least what other people do with their photos. I get very peeved with what people tell you what you can’t do.
1) People claiming copyrights on natural objects; Best/Worst example: Uluru in Australia. Sorry, you can’t claim a copyright on a rock. Worse yet is that the Australian government recognizes it.
2) “You can’t take photos here.” (But we will sell you photos) Examples: The indian lookout in the Grand Canyon; Sydney Tower, etc
September 14th, 2009 at 5:44 am
My pet-peeve? ‘What camera do you use?’….Does it really matter? I think it is a personal preference….
Oh, and I am not a professional photographer, just an amateur who likes to take pictures…
September 14th, 2009 at 6:37 am
Craigslist posters requesting top quality photography for free.
and, HDR haters. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Who am I to judge what is ‘good’ or ‘bad’ HDR?
September 14th, 2009 at 6:43 am
1. Trite Flickr Comments – Agree completely. It is one reason I don’t post on Flickr.
2. HDR – Apparently this person doesn’t like Ansel Adams. He used HDR a LOT — only his was analog dodge and burn in the darkroom, and mine is software assisted in Photoshop (or now Lightroom). My best HDR images are those that you can’t tell are HDR, but simply have excellent exposure wider than my camera could ever obtain in a single exposure.
3. Shutter Lag – doesn’t bother me a bit, since I buy a camera that doesn’t have it. This was a major reason I waited to get a digital camera myself though, so I guess I put this in the “hobby killer” category.
4. Watermarks – Huh?? This must be one of those children that thinks everything on the web should be free, and he should be able to steal whatever i (or anyone) posts. With this item, I begin to see that the entire list isn’t worth taking seriously.
5. Wide Angle Vertical. Oh, come on. I can’t recall seeing more than a handful of these, and most of those used it to an unexpected advantage. This guy is looking more like a loser the further down the list I go.
6. The MP discussion. Well, not a key peeve, but it does go too far in the wrong direction sometimes. However, it is still relevant when talking camera phones or Point & Shoot cameras. The high end DSLRs have gone far enough that other things matter more now (like noise).
7. Oversharing. No idea what he is talking about. Over-forwarding of cute photos on email would definitely hit my list though.
8. Rock Strobage. Huh? Not even sure what he means
9. Arm’s length self-portrait. Perfectly suitable for Facebook, which is the only place I have seen it.
10. Cameras. Now we come to it. I was right! This guy simply hates photography and therefore his entire list is bogus.
Not sure why he even got any press with this drivel… Only 1 of his items even fits on a good (ie, my) list.
September 14th, 2009 at 7:50 am
My pet photography peeve is actually a pet Internet peeve. It’s blog posts like the one that started this post off, the “my 10 things I hate about ” type posts.
So you don’t like HDR, slow cameras, people that can’t use their hardware correctly and think their Canon is better than your Nikon…
That’s great, so what do you like? Too much whinging on the Internet I think. Aren’t most of us doing this for fun? so what’s it matter if we use overused, tired techniques? There’s a difference between seeing 200 HDR images and actually making your own. If you don’t like them, don’t look at them.
I can’t stand YouTube comments, so rather than getting all annoyed over them I just… don’t look.
September 14th, 2009 at 8:13 am
Selective coloring! You know the black and whites with red roses? That always annoys me for some reason.
September 14th, 2009 at 8:42 am
My pet peeves are:
1. Self-important photographers who criticize everyone else instead of encouraging them.
2. People who do not appreciate that good images require work and underestimate the investment of photographers
3. People who think that the gear makes the image, and
4. Those lousy HDR images that look like that chick with way too much makeup on or that guy with the lousy toupee – all trying way too hard
September 14th, 2009 at 8:46 am
People that take self portraits with a point and shoot in a mirror and all you can see is the flash.
September 14th, 2009 at 9:08 am
David – quick response – you should only see that pop-up once unless you’re blocking cookies. If you keep seeing it please just allow cookies from DPS and you shouldn’t see it again. In terms of RSS – I think it depends upon the person. Here at DPS we have 200,000+ newsletter subscribers and 100,000 RSS subscribers (many of those 100,000 get the RSS to email daily emails) – while RSS is popular it’s certainly not something many people are familiar with.
September 14th, 2009 at 9:22 am
Darren, thanks for the reply. Fair enough on your opinion of RSS and experience of users on this particular site. I do allow cookies, perhaps that popup code has a compatibility issue with Chrome browsers. Just pointing out pet peeves since that delayed popup gets me every time I look at a image. No mal intent!
And I thought up one more line, oh wait 1998 just called and said it wants its popup window back. :-)
September 14th, 2009 at 9:43 am
Only one big pet peeve: Photoshop CS anything. Actually Adobe is my great pet peeve more than Photoshop itself. Adobe may be the most authoritarian software maker out there (certainly as bad as Microsoft or Apple i-anything). I am to the point where the only thing Photoshop is good for in my workflow is as a host for truly great plugins… I stopped using their interface (masks etc) more than a year ago in favour of far better 3rd party offerings.
OK, one more. It’s a late breaking pet peeve: Leica worship…especially the new ones just released.
September 14th, 2009 at 10:24 am
1. Snobs! Photography snobs who think the only “real” photography is the stuff that doesn’t use photoshop or any post-processing software, and must come straight out of the camera. DIGITAL photography has a DIGITAL Darkroom called photo editing software. When it was film only, you don’t think the most talented photographers tweeked exposure and played with different effects in their darkroom? Well, us digital photographers do that too.
2. OVER-Photoshopping! Its the whole reason that #1 is even an issue. Too many noobs get their hands on a copy of Photoshop Elements and go nuts. If you don’t know when to stop, you’re ruining your pictures. It shouldn’t be obvious that you photoshopped your picture. At least not OVER-obvious.
3. People who pronounce ISO “Eee-Sow”. Even “Eye-So” bugs me, but not as bad. But please… pronounce the letters. Eye Ess Oh. :)
4. Like dtk said, people who think that the gear makes the image. I don’t care if you have a $4000 camera with $10,000 of lenses, it won’t make you a photographer. Composition & Creativity does though! Some of my favorite flickr pictures were taken with even just a Nikon D40 using the kit lens.
September 14th, 2009 at 10:59 am
Who died and left you all as photo police?? The only person who has to like your work is you. Yes we all have ideas as to what we like. Just try and not judge others. Yes some are only beginners, so what we all were at one time. and some like myself are still learning. I really hope I never get to the place where I think I know it all. I believe if I stop learning I might as well though my equipment out. Sure some people will irritate us, but only if we are unsure of our abilities. As for those who have better equipment than I do, good for you. You are the ones that keep innovation going by the manufactures. Enough of me running on here, just go out and shoot (make) the shoots you want. If someone else likes them great. If not ask yourself “do I like it.” If the answer is yes it is a good shoot.
September 14th, 2009 at 11:53 am
My pet peeve is when you take a photo you’re really proud of, and someone says something like, “Wow, that’s great, you must have an amazing camera!” It makes me want to cry, I’m so insulted.
September 14th, 2009 at 12:41 pm
Mine…people who say “you must have a really good camera.” Ahhhh!
I also agree with Tyler’s comment about Flickr’s “Interestingness” photos. I have seen so many that do absolutely nothing for me and I have looked at others that have no comments that I think are fantastic on Flickr.
I have never done HDR, but I do like looking at HDR photos that are WELL done. But, not all are.
I just love it (being sarcastic) when people look at my Nikon D40 DSLR and ask how many megapixels it has (which is 6) and then they hold up their $79 point and shoot and proudly proclaim “well mine has 12!”
Or, when they look at my bag of lenses (most of which cost more than than the body) and ask what the zoom is on one, and then proclaim their camera has a 10X zoom built in. These things, of course, deserve no comment, but rather a head shake on my part. I have quite taking the time to educate them on the differences between a DSLR and point and shoot.
September 14th, 2009 at 12:47 pm
1. Trite Flickr Comments – I see how this could be annoying, but hey, a comment is a comment.
2. High-Dynamic-Range (HDR) Photos – I dont see a problem with HDR. Its a form of photography. Like it or not.
3. Shutter Lag – Not really a problem for DSLR people.
4. Watermarks – This is just retarded… The only people that would be annoyed by this are non photographers.
5. Wide-Angle Vertical – ? Really? No one really does this anyways, and if they do, its done well. I rarely ever see this.
6. The Megapixel Discussion – Well…its just that a discussion, I normally skip these discussions. But if you think its a peeve, don’t read it!
7. Oversharing – How is this a bad thing? If people are sharing your photos, and making you more popular by word of mouth, you would love it.
8. Rock-Concert Strobage – Is this really an issue? I guess maybe to that group of people that do nothing but Concert Photography, but I mean….whatever!
9. The Arm’s Length Self Portrait – Yeah its lame, but again, if you have dont like it, dont watch it!
10. Cameras? – ? is correct…what does this even mean? Does the poster not like cameras in pictures or discussions about cameras, or just doesnt like Cameras? In that case why are they even writing this?
To me I really dont have Pet Peeves in photography. Photography means something different to every person, and I try to respect that. And if I dont like something, or a discussion, then I just skip it. I mean how hard is that?
September 14th, 2009 at 1:08 pm
@Elmer: Hi Elmer! I don’t think anyone is trying to be the “photo police,” just offering up answers to the question that was asked.
While it may be true, for some, that no one but themselves has to like their photos, that statement is most certainly not true for the “working professionals” who have answered here (I noticed a few). They have to please themselves AND a paying client! ;-)
@Andrea: That is so funny. I didn’t see your comment until AFTER I posted! LOL!
@dtk: So true about people who think the gear makes the image. I have seen some wonderful shots done on a point and shoot, because the photographer knew how to capture and frame the moment, not matter what camera they had on hand; and I myself, have taken crappy shots that never see the light of day on a DSLR!
@Jessica: LOL! Funny how what one person doesn’t like, another person does. I personally have only done selective coloring on two shots I can think of (and one was on my iPhone), but I have seen some done by wedding photographers that are fantastic. Doesn’t bother me too much, unless, like HDR, it’s done poorly.
September 14th, 2009 at 1:16 pm
OOH! that original article makes me angry! Wired is a technology magazine in general not a photography magazine! Just as it would be inappropriate for us to take a pole about what we hate most about cheap shots by publishers(because we really dont know if thats what they’re doing, and its not our field of expertise) neither is photography their field of expertise. Just because they have never been able to produce a decent HDR, for example, doesn’t mean the process should be thrown out! Just because they don’t like certain kinds of flicker comments, doesn’t make those comments bad… on the contrary, good photography requires a lot of confidence, and it is often comments like those that are necessary to keep up your confidence. Something is very wrong with a world that places no importance on building each other up! As for HDR… HDR is a tool that a photographer can use to help control lighting and contrast. You might as well say throw away flash, or reflectors, or light bulbs. What you are really saying is that you do not like someone’s art… you don’t have to. But simple human manners would then dictate that you just refrain from leaving your comments until you find something you do like and comment there.
September 14th, 2009 at 1:38 pm
My ONE pet peeve is digital photographers who say that they don’t edit their photos, and OBVIOUSLY do, or even OVER edit them. I’ve run into more than a handful of people who say that using photoshop is weak, and I get that there’s a certain merit to taking a GREAT photo in camera, but really? Faking it is LAME. No need to lie about something that’s so pretentious in the first place.
September 14th, 2009 at 4:24 pm
Of course everyone has opinions but I have to say as someone who enjoys photography as a hobby I found the original article totally patronising. Flickr, Facebook, these are peoples own accounts, nobody is forced to wade through someone elses photographs, and (I may be wrong here) weren’t these type of networking sites originally for everyday people to share their Disney/Cat/Car photos rather than for ‘professionals’? I thought the whole original list and a lot of the comments could be very disheartening to beginners (and others!) which, as this website is a “school” and aimed at non-professionals, seemed a very strange choice to post.
September 14th, 2009 at 4:42 pm
agree that a peeve with the people who say you shouldn’t digitally edit photos (photoshop or any other program)
perhaps they have they never seen what you can do in a real darkroom. people used to post process a lot in darkrooms as well. including editing by hand painting negatives and many other drastic manipulating techniques.
maybe it really comes down to bad PS as opposed to good PS techniques ;]
September 14th, 2009 at 4:48 pm
1. Hearing people say “Ooh, that’s a nice picture. You must have a good camera”
2. “Oh you have a big camera. You must be rich.” – honey, I saved up.
3. Photography snobs saying that their pictures are SOOC (straight out of camera). When the picture really isn’t anything near spectacular.
September 14th, 2009 at 4:48 pm
1.- I don’t mind people saying they like my stuff so long as they say WHY.
2.- Too many a photographer takes pride in HDR. I don’t claim to be an expert (far from it. Photomatix is a great mystery to me. o.o), but some of these images are UGLY. There are good ones, to be sure, that capture a surreal feeling that you cannot otherwise achieve, but most of them look alien and artificial.
3.- I hate shutter lag to the point where I carry my DSLR with me where ever I go.
4.- I have never watermarked a photo in my life.
5.- Like HDR, it’s a tool to be used sparingly to capture a particular mood, in this case, a towering, looming feel.
6.- Photoshop does a right dandy job of enlarging so long as you have a decent native resolution. (Other programs do it even better!)
7.- I don’t have as much of a problem with this. Personally I don’t do it, (my stuff for AP Art goes on my Flickr, the rare photo of friends goes on facebook) but if you don’t have a personal site or blog, I can see why one might need to post their images all over the place. Just please don’t tag me in every damn one.
8.- When I go to concerts, I’m in the mosh pit, no question. Not a place a person in their right mind would take a camera, let alone one one with a flash powerful enough to actually blind me.
9.- Camwhores need to die.
10.- If you’re more interested in the equipment than actually taking photos, why are you here? I find the inner workings of my Rebel fascinating, but the pictures I take with it and the way the world looks through the viewfinder is twice as interesting to me.
September 14th, 2009 at 5:01 pm
On watermarks: just want to kick in that there’s a big difference between a watermark and a stamp. I’ve started to add a small stamp to the corner of my images, just my url (tc.dk) and the word “photographer”, to make it clear that somebody actually have the copyright. It’s small, but you can’t miss it (and if you want to cheat it can be cropped away). A watermark is less easy to spot, but often bigger, often covering most of the images, making it impossible to use.
September 14th, 2009 at 8:37 pm
1) Oh what a great picture! You’re camera must be REALLY good! What is it? Maybe I’ll get one, too.
’nuff said
September 14th, 2009 at 9:53 pm
Great post…
1 – Animated gif flickr comments suck. I hate seeing a page full of them.
2 – Invites to groups that require post one comment on two rules. That’s how those animated gif’s get spread. it’s a virus I tell ya! :)
3 – Un-asked for critiques bug me. “You should have cropped out XXX” — well maybe I really wanted XXX in the photo.
4 – Overdone HDR. HDR has its place but when you can tell it’s HDR it’s overdone.
5 – Having to explain that a 17-40 lens does not take long distance photos. For some reason people equate a big round lens with the ability to zoom out a great distance.
September 14th, 2009 at 10:23 pm
2 things:
-Although I’ve never been able to successfully create an HDR, I want to defend them a bit and say that I think the reason for all the hate is that it’s become so popular. People always hate whatever everyone else is doing. You know, like those people who love a band until they become mainstream and then they don’t want to listen to them anymore because they’ve “sold out”. There’s also the possibility that they just hate it because it’s relatively new. Painters originally hated cameras. HDR doesn’t do it for me a lot of the time, but I don’t complain about it. If the photo looks good I’ll leave a comment to that effect. If it doesn’t look good I just move on.
-The watermarks that I hate are the ones over the middle of the image that keep me from enjoying it. If you’re that paranoid about someone using your photo without permission, don’t put it online. I’ve had a few photos published, so I’m not “one of those people who thinks photos don’t need to be protected because he has never had anyone publish them.”
September 14th, 2009 at 11:25 pm
#1) Raw vs jpeg: all digital photos start out raw and end up jpeg (or some other image file format). It’s like debating undeveloped film vs developed film. It’s not raw vs jpeg; it’s the manufacturer provided, in-camera processing software vs some other processing software.
#2) Photographers don’t study the history of photography. Take a look. All this hoo ha about image manipulation, brand choice, obsessing over this lens or that, new technology making things easier, etc… has been going on for over 100 years. Almost everything folks want to say negative about digital today was once said about film.
“Someone let the rabble in.” -Lewis Carroll, a devoted wet plate photographer, commenting back in 1890ish on how film made photography so easy anyone could do it.
September 15th, 2009 at 12:04 am
1. the cost of good equipment
2. shooting sports in indoor arenas
3. Bad on line courses for photography. I took one at the prompting of a friend who liked the line up of courses that they offered and wanted my opinion on the introductory course. During the course I asked about the lally cap and got the reply don’t use custom white balance just shot in cloudy that’s what she did. My favorite comment was that I was wrong 8-bit RGB didn’t have 256 reds, greens and blues it has 17 million colors. Let me just say that the one instructor was not happy with my reply to that and sent this to me privately “It is not your job to correct us. You are the student in this situation.”
September 15th, 2009 at 12:26 am
My pet peeve is amateur photographers keeping 95% of the shots they take. In particular:
“Oh, this one is all blurry but the composition is nice.”
“Oh, this one is horribly composed but really sharp.”
“I know, I’ll keep both copies, along with the other 117 unnecessary shots of my dog wearing sunglasses.”
Learn where that delete button is, people!
September 15th, 2009 at 1:20 am
My pet peeve is newbie -haters. Yes, I’m very much still learning. I’ve only had my DSLR for a couple weeks now, with only the kit lens (and one more on order). Every photo I take is a learning experience, and feeling this “stupid newbie” attitude is very discouraging…
September 15th, 2009 at 2:15 am
Camera phones – Who thought of this? This is the worst example of feature creep I’ve ever experienced.
My girl friend standing right next to me with her p&s and taking better images than I do with my DSLRs and thousands of dollars worth of glass… REALLY TICS ME OFF…. LOL
September 15th, 2009 at 3:01 am
CROOKED HORIZON!!
September 15th, 2009 at 4:18 am
Rock Concert strobage is my #1 peeve, since that’s where I take most of my photos. Very frustrating when everyone around you is blind due to some moron’s flash!
September 15th, 2009 at 4:41 am
I’m not fond of the animated images in comments often included with Flickr group invites. Invites are ok but I can do without the images in comments, particularly the animated images.
Speaking of Flickr:
- adding an image to the max number (50?) groups
- over tagging
- incorrect tagging
- publicly displaying geotag info for personal images.
To explain the last of the Flickr issues, geotagging is great. I often seek out a location and then use Flickr’s geotag feature to determine what there is to see in that location. When I do this, I’m not really interested in seeing images from your birthday party. I’m looking for things that I can visit (and photograph) for myself. Consider selecting ‘friends and family’ for who can see the geotag information for some (all?) of your images.
Watermarks across the vast portion of an image is very distracting. If you’re going to watermark, then please make it unobtrusive. I’m visiting the page to see the image, not the watermark.
Contrived top ten lists don’t do much for me, either. :)
September 15th, 2009 at 5:03 am
WEDDINGS.
September 15th, 2009 at 5:07 am
I have three, one of which you mentioned recently in a separate post, and one of which is on your list:
1. Using a small diffuser on a flash to allegedly soften light. It has to be big…
2. Cameras. I’ll bet 9/10 of us would benefit more from improving our skills than from improving our gear.
3. Anti-cropping police. We all start the day, or at least a given photograph, with a somewhat arbitrary and completely fixed aspect ratio. Why not compose knowing that you’ll print a different ratio?
September 15th, 2009 at 5:58 am
I kept thinking you were discussing “Pet Photography” … maybe call them “Photography Pet Peeves” ?!
My peeve:
Seeing backlit images of people where a flash should have and could have popped.
It’s good that casual photogs can’t figure this out I suppose, but it prevents proper exposure of the subject.
People usually post these on social web-sites to show that they have bad taste in images ;)
September 15th, 2009 at 6:03 am
Hello all: My pet peeve is trying to take a photograph at a public and having some one entering the field of the cameras view. The tripod is setting there with the camera and I am checking the scene. Grumble!
Ryan
September 15th, 2009 at 6:06 am
Model Mayhem. In their world, if you don’t have models to show in your portfolio, you are just a creepy “Guy With Camera” trying to exploit models.
“L” lens snobbery. Yes they are better lenses but I have to feed my kids so I’m going to buy a cheaper lens, instead. Doesn’t make me less of a photographer.
September 15th, 2009 at 6:50 am
-People who get on digital photography sites and bash Photoshop and post processing (because they can’t do it or are too lazy to do it)
-People who get on digital photography sites and bash modern photog techniques like HDR (because they can’t do it or are too lazy to do it)
-People who get on digital photography sites and post holier-than-thou comments about how film is so much better than digital (because they are 100 years old and can’t stand to change or can’t afford a modern camera)
September 15th, 2009 at 7:10 am
Eastman made photography so easy anyone could do it. …and they did.
September 15th, 2009 at 7:19 am
I have to agree with HDR, it is overused sometimes, and then overdone, if you apply it subtly, it’s great. Just take my photo (http://www.flickr.com/photos/skateaddict/3810837808/) as an example, I used the HDR effect only slightly so that just helps the photo look better. I’ve seen numerous examples where it looks completely fake, and that ruins it. HDR can be good and bad.
September 15th, 2009 at 7:20 am
I also get very annoyed when people use Auto mode.
September 15th, 2009 at 8:45 am
Photographers who always say in a hushed, holier than thou tone, “I always shoot RAW”, like chefs saying “I only use local fresh organic produce”. Raw has its role (probably a fairly major one), just like HDR, but it is not the ‘be all and end all’ – witness the megabytes of on-line debate on the subject. Pity the hapless vice at a recent camera club meeting who admitted to shooting something as a JPEG!
September 15th, 2009 at 12:10 pm
Walking around with camera or two around neck, monopod and/or tripod in one hand and possible some other camera gear in the other and wearing a large backpack full of camera gear. Someone always come up to you and asks “Are you the photographer?”
September 16th, 2009 at 2:00 am
HDR is like makeup on a girl….to much and it makes her look fake and less appealing but just enough will enhance her natural beauty
September 16th, 2009 at 2:41 am
I don’t see a problem with HDR or watermarks. I realize that I am nowhere near being a “real photographer” and people may not even want my photos, but if they do, I don’t think I should let them be stolen. A lot of people think that if they can find an image online (Flickr) they can just have it for free.
September 16th, 2009 at 2:48 am
I started reading everyone’s responses, but realized that I had my own.
1.Flash blow out.
I just cannot stand it when you see a great picture, and you cannot make out the nose or most of the face. Sometimes it can be artsy, but in every picture, every condition? UGH.
2. Smudges.
This is when you see a person on say FB or Myspace, post a whole “event” and there is that smudge that blurs out a portion, in the same spot on every single picture!
3. Concert lights
I think #8 is refering to the lights at shows. Good example would be Motley Crue. They always have colored lights, (or not) that totally can kill the image, usually by not letting the camera focus correctly in manual (which when Vince moves, you need auto focus!!) HOWEVER, on the other side, when you hit that shot, and it shows the colored lights and everything is clear, that is THE BEST!
4. Self Portraits
It is nice to have … SOME! But when they are all that you see on a page… find another subject, and be creative! :(
5. Deleting
When people delete images before looking at them on the PC screen. You cannot always see the magic of a picture on that 2″ screen.
When a person is like… oh that is a bad picture of me, delete it! You are your worst critic. As a result of this peeve, I never delete any pictures of myself right away. I leave it and go back to it another time. Something that you may hate about yourself in the picture may end up being completely awesome!
September 16th, 2009 at 9:19 am
#1 Pet Peeve People deciding what techniques are appropriate in somebody’s art – Next time you see an HDR, Tone Shifted or Polariodized photo try to understand that this is art and nothing more. Are they trying to express themselves or trying to make work that they enjoy for themselves? Then good on them – The End
September 16th, 2009 at 12:28 pm
I read a lot of blogs from some name brand phtog’s and it seem to me everything they shoot has to go thru some type of “photoshop ” PROCESS before it is exceptable. I spend $$$ on a D300 and lenses and I figure that if I cannot take a decent pic with this thing , I might as well throw the thing in the can. This camera has so many features that it is virtually impossible not to get a decent image. If you experiment with these cameras and all its features You can get great and original images without having to spend hrs trying to tweek in a computer. Take the pic with the Camera and store the pic in the computer and if you don’t like what you see throw it away and try again..It doesn’t cost you a penny. AMEN. (I think)
September 16th, 2009 at 10:10 pm
Interesting comments here, so i’ll add mine,
The thing that really bugs me is comments about digitally processed images being bad. Photoshop is a digital darkroom (for me at least), used well it complements the capabilities of the camera used for the original image capture – used badly it creates a mess. The real problem is that people think that using Photoshop makes a bad photograph good or even a good one bad. Digital cameras take images with 7-10 stops of brightness when our eyes can see 20 stops – using a darkroom to bring out the richness of the original scene makes perfect sense (whether digital or wet based). Of course some of the things that cameras now do (like noise reduction) used only to be possible in tools like Photoshop, does the addition of such tools into the camera body somehow make them turn from bad to good – i think not! The process of digital capture is complex and for me at least spans all of the digital tools available – I want to use the best tools available to create the image I visualised well before pressing the shutter release – wherever that tool lies – and I want to use those tools to the best of my ability and to increase that ability as time passes.
Bad photographers will make bad photographs with any and all tools available to them, in their quest for a magic fix they will often go to extraordinary lengths to destroy the final image :-)
Good photographers typically spend a lifetime learning how to take good photographs and use only enough of a given tool to get the result they are after – less is more but learning this is a life’s work, I don’t see many shortcuts here and really when people complain about HDR, Photoshop, Digital vs Film I believe they are really seeing the same thing – a good tool used badly!
People spend a fortune on photography yet from what I can gather very few even read the instructions that come with their equipment let alone go and learn how to use what they have.
Summary, I hate it when people blame the tools used when really the issue lies with the people using them :-)
September 17th, 2009 at 1:44 am
Wow, who knew HDR was such a hot-button issue? After reading through the comments, it seems most people are peeved by the excessive, unneccessary, and/or ill-educated application of most things on the list. Watermarks for the blurry shot of junior’s b-day cake? No, thanks! HDR for the sake of techno-savvy instead for the sake of the pic? Again, no. This seems reasonable to me.
I’m just now learning the ins and outs of Photoshop Elements and I’m going to go ahead and give myself permission to screw up royally! It’s the only way I’ll learn. I welcome the over-processed, too sharp pics that have used four or five more effects than they need. The sooner I get those out of the way, the sooner I can start making *good* pictures.
Which leads me to my own pet peeve, I guess, and that is the the critical eye that jumps to the conclusion that every picture it sees is on the same level as the seer. That is: a little tolerance could go a long way for the beginner!
September 17th, 2009 at 5:08 am
My one and only peeve:
The “artful dodger” in any group shot, anytime, anywhere and anyplace. I spend more time getting people in the right position than any other endeavor. This summer was not all that hot but taking an extra few minutes to get Shorty or wild Willie to “get in front and squat down” had some moms with colicky babies leaving for the big inside ac thus losing some of the reason for a group shot at all.
September 18th, 2009 at 2:03 am
Are we really talking about HDR or are all these peeves really about tone mapping?
If that’s the look you are going for that’s fine. If you can use it and not be obvious about it good for you too.
September 18th, 2009 at 2:51 am
I have used flickr “Post 1, Rate 3″ groups to get excellent feedback and actually credit them to helping me get better. My pet peeve is when one of the ones I have to rate already has countless comments because either:
1. They know the photo is awesome and they want to up their comment count
2. They don’t even care if the photo is good or not and want to up their comment count
In either case, I feel like I am wasting my time commenting when I could be really taking advantage of a community of people trying to help eachother. I get the feeling that often times my comments are not even read.
September 18th, 2009 at 3:07 am
1. Canon lovers!…:D JK JK
2. The STUPIDLY…Is that a word?…must be, the spell checker (more on that later) likes it….confusing abbreviations that camera companies use. D5000, D50, 50D, 5D Mark II (What …Canon, are you trying to say that your camera is an over sized gas guzzling car!!) Camera bodies have no rhyme or reason to the numbering systems. I mean Nikon just came out with the D3000, so is it better than the D5000? Why not name it 5001? Or was the 3000 supposed to come out before the 5000 but the guy who developed it was sick that day and had to wait? How about something with meaning to the general population like Nikon/Canon LGxx MGxx HGxx (Low, Medium, High Grade with xx=model number which is last model’s number +1 or xxxx for the year it was released) Let the model number tell me something!
Same with flashes; SB-600, 400, 900, SU-800…What the sugar shack?! :) I am assuming that SB is an abbreviation for StroBe or Strobe Bounce or something But why change to SU for the 800 then go back to SB for the 900. And was there ever a SB-500, or a 700? Or are they coming out in the fall??
3. I agree with the comments above regarding “Oh what a great picture! You’re camera must be REALLY good!” Yeah, and I have a set of Tiger’s golf clubs..Why am I not on tour?
And my number one pet Peeve? When I was a kid, it was beat into me…My English teacher’s teacher was a nun :)…spelling counts.
ahem…*puts down camera and stands on soap box* People…and I am speaking to the people whose first language is some form of English here, those out there who are still learning I understand…but come on people, spell checkers have been around since the 1970’s PLEASE USE THEM! And if you are unsure if it is the right word (ex. bee, or be) then there is a book from a company called Merriam-Webster called a dictionary and if you open it…wait…wait… this just in, will such wonders never cease..this same company now has a website online called http://www.merriam-webster.com USE IT! *get’s off of soap box and back behind camera*
Whew! Thanks Darren I needed that. :)
September 18th, 2009 at 3:10 am
My peeves:
1) “You must have a really good camera!” or, when looking at a picture of Sally: “Sally always takes a great picture.”
2) When clients are looking at images and they make offhand comments like, “Well, I look fat, but you can just Photoshop that . . .”
3) The current trend toward over-exposed portraits with wonky colouration. Yes, I know it is supposed to look funky and cool.
September 18th, 2009 at 3:14 am
Oh, yes – just one more.
The “joker” guy at every wedding or in every large group who wastes my time by making rabbit ears or pulling faces, or, Heaven forfend, pulling his pants down to entertain and amuse his friends and relations. Ugh. Give me the “sullen teen” any day.
September 18th, 2009 at 3:25 am
Add:
1. No to Facebook photos
2. A “good” camera won’t make you a better photographer
Subtract:
1. HDR (come one if done well it isn’t so bad)
2. How can anyone add Photoshop to this list…that’s just well rediculas
September 18th, 2009 at 3:26 am
Wow, what kind of camera do you use? Geez.
September 18th, 2009 at 3:32 am
People who don’t RTFA. I’m pretty sure it’s linked for a reason – because the article provides context for the short forms on the list.
If you do read the article, you’ll find that most of those “peeve’s” are explained in detail.
Anyway, my pet peeves in photography are:
Not having enough time. It’s awesome for someone to say “If you really want to be a good photographer you need time and patience.” Yes, you do. You also need to provide for your family with your dayjob, take your kids to Dance and Gymnastics, spend quality time with your non-photographer friends and sometimes just put the camera away and shut up about your obsession – which means that you don’t have the time to take all the shots you want. I get it, I’ll “make time” to improve my art and craft, but that made time has to come from somewhere, and it seems trite for the professional photographer to come along and say “You just have to have the time and patience to wait for the shot to be perfect” when they make their living out of waiting for the shot to be perfect.
Hmm…. /rant I guess.
September 18th, 2009 at 3:38 am
For example: (from the article)
Rock-Concert Strobage
Your flash won’t reach the stage. It will just light up the dude’s head who is standing in front of you – no matter how many times you look at the photo you just took, scratch your head and then raise up the camera to take another one. For people who know better, this becomes all they can see while their favorite band is shredding on stage.
Turn off the flash and try to keep your hand steady. That’s all you can do.
How hard is it to read the article linked before spending the time to comment on it if you’re going to “guess that number 8 means…)
Otherwise, this comment thread is generating some pretty good, and very opposing, comments.
September 18th, 2009 at 3:49 am
My pet peeve is photographers who take themselves too seriously. Seems to me that capturing an image with a camera is photography; the folks who do it are photographers and the things they produce are photographs. I call the ones who make a living at it professionals. Photography forums are useful and entertaining but the too serious people who seem always to be lurking in every group waiting for a chance to demonstrate some sort of individual superiority can detract considerably from the experience.
September 18th, 2009 at 3:50 am
I have a few:
1. It annoys me when people spend so much money on equipment and expect themselves to become better instantly with every dollar they spend. Just because the 50mm primes are cheap doesn’t mean they’re worthless.
2. “My camera has more megapixels than yours” kind of people.
3. Out of town vacation pics, with the shot only showing your faces.
4. “I learned HDR and now every shot I take will be better in HDR” people.
5. People who can’t believe you’d occasionally rather shoot without a flash at night.
Hmm…maybe its the people who annoy me.
September 18th, 2009 at 4:57 am
HDR, when it makes the picture look like a 1964 paint-by-numbers set. Re: Ansel Adams, good point, except that his pictures still somehow looked both beautiful and real.
Vignettes. Sepia. Polaroiding. They’re almost always downwardly pretentious.
Oversharing — Just because a digital camera lets you take 36 nearly-identical badly-lit pictures of your girlfriend, does not necessarily mean you are obliged to upload ‘em all. Pick out the two that are best, and then delete the other 34. You won’t miss them — and we sure won’t.
Slow shutter speeds on all moving water. This (like vignettes and HDR) has become so fashionable that the evaluators at the local camera club often downrate you if you don’t do it. Feh!
Automatic focus — I love it 75% of the time, but my D40 has a viewfinder that is virtually useless that other 25% when I want to pick the focus on my own. I miss my split-center thingy.
September 18th, 2009 at 5:01 am
I hate that camera makers have stopped making cameras that work with AA batteries that are available in every gass station in the world. Try finding a nikon dh6 lithium ion battery in Mali!
September 18th, 2009 at 5:03 am
@Tom Burtchaell – if you have the vertical grip with Canon DSRLs you can use AAs
I also agree w/ the person up there who complained about the stupid numbering scheme. That’s why we have the 7D that isn’t full frame.
September 18th, 2009 at 5:31 am
Ha! Originally I assumed (yes, yes, i know what that means) by looking at the title that it meant what are your pet peeves during photography. Which would mean that mine would be when someone looks directly at the camera and smiles in the same exact way. Give me something else people. Look at something else. You don’t HAVE to smile. That being said..well, i love photography with all it’s frustrations and learning curves and mistakes that turn out spectacular.
September 18th, 2009 at 5:33 am
Biggest Pet Peeve with me is: Tacky, over-used, unrealistic, and WHAT-where-you-thinking-???? FRAMES! You know the ones, swirls, curls, graphics, swishes, textures and just plain bad taste photo edges that some think it’s necessary to add and ruin a good photo.
Isn’t a simple black line enough, or better yet, let the photo stand on it’s own and get a nice wooden frame when you hang it on your wall.
September 18th, 2009 at 5:35 am
Gear geeks!
September 18th, 2009 at 6:54 am
1. When females have to do a self portrait and have to make the kiss face. Why are you trying to be sexy? Save that for your hubby or boyfriend!
2. Watermark or stamp right across the middle of the picture and your asking for critique. How can I critique when your name is right across their face?
3. People that say “I have just a crappy p&s, one day I will get a dslr and take awesome pics.
4. People who ask for help in getting a camera. Go to the store and test them all out and get the one you like, it’s your money
5. Sharing 200 pictures of your kid learning to use the potty
September 18th, 2009 at 7:37 am
I have just one:
When people make negative comments about others photos that are anything other than constructive. People (especially professional snobs) need to realize we all look at images and join sites like these for our love for photography. People who take photographs (ie “photographers” -again you professionals hate to label the amateurs that but by definition they are. We can determine how good you are by how much you make from your photos but we dont need to be told) are at different phases in their development. To give critical comments to improve the technique is great but to tell someone their picture sucks because they overused (in their opinion) HDR or post processing is annoying. Just remember that we were all there once.
Enough ranting. I have just seen way too much of it lately and even on this tread catch hints of it.
September 18th, 2009 at 7:52 am
I’ve had fun reading this thread!! Here are a couple of mine
1.people on flickr that have 600 comments and all but a couple are just the icons or gif files that someone has thrown at their shot. I’d much rather have 3 or 4 real honest comments about my photography!!
2.Camera…..I totally agree with this one!!! I have a Sony A100. I love it!! When I bought it, it was the best bang for the buck and I think I take some good shots with it. I have friends that have Canon, or Nikon, or whatever and constantly comment that my photos are better than theirs……if you don’t have the eye for photography, you’re never going to get the shot.
3. Photographers that won’t take pictures because they don’t want to waste space on their cards…..It’s digital…….if you don’t like it…….DELETE IT!!!! If you’re afraid that you’re going to use your card up, get another one!!! They’re cheap!!
4. “photographers” that say things like “I don’t like to get up that early” or “that’s too late to stay out” or “It might snow, it’s winter, you know”………Come on!!!! Get up early, stay up late, and who cares if it snows…..just be prepared!!! Have fun!! Isn’t that what it’s all about?
5. I’ve seen on here more than a couple people that have said that just because you can post process doesn’t mean you’re a photographer. I agree! That said………I did take an absolutely horrible shot that I had of my granddaughter and processed it using a new technique that I learned (just to play) and ended up with an OMG Fabulous result.
6. And I agree with those of you that said your pet peeve is someone that asks for a critique and then gets mad when you do critique their photo. All they want to hear is how wonderful they are…… I love critiques, it helps me learn to be better at what I do.
September 18th, 2009 at 7:52 am
1) What really erks me is the pretentiousness of galleries and photography exhibitions that are not interested in your photos if you don’t already have name for yourself or if you haven’t graduated from one the the well recognized fine arts institutions. Maybe it’s just a Vancouver BC thing…
2) Tuition costs for photography schools- Ridicoulous
3)As someone else mentioned, over edited photography and over use of photoshop with no composition skills whatsoever. Making a good picture as near to perfect as possible in camera with only minor tweaks via Light room, I think should be the rule.
September 18th, 2009 at 7:53 am
Correction: ridiculous
September 18th, 2009 at 9:01 am
Ha! Ha! There are lots of peeved people out there. I have found this forum to be thoroughly entertaining so thank you! I will take the opportunity to put my 2 cents worth in and although some of the ones I have read have resonated with me to a degree the one peeve that really annoys me is when I am either watching a sporting event (usually football-AFL) at an actual venue, or on TV and after the game all of the photographers rush out on the field and start taking pics of the players as they come off the ground and some of them have 2 or 3 different bodies with lenses attached hanging off them and bouncing around. I know there is a reason behind it as they don’t have time to change lenses etc to get the best shot as the action is happening but I find it ridiculous!
September 18th, 2009 at 9:12 am
I suppose my pet peeve is when you ask a photographer about equipment they tell you to go do research – excuse me – what was the question? you are the guy or gal with the equipment – is it good, why did you purchase that one and not another – what do you wish you had gotten – what do your recommend – why? Crap, I thought I WAS doing research, asking a photographer about photograph equipment.
I’ve got this 3,000$ set up – but I started out with a simpler camera until I learned how to use it, compose, use all the settings it offered, after I’d mastered the basics that one offered – I moved up to this more ‘fancy’ equipment. Would you believe there are days I take out that old worn Kodak Easyshare with the 6 megapix 10x and get great shots with it. MOST if not all the pictures I take – you ain’t got time to be fiddling with manual settings, no matter how quick you are – and at my age – I have to refer to my notes. What happend to my Brownie Box camera? rd
September 18th, 2009 at 9:17 am
I guess I’ll just touch on “watermarks”. Step one in getting ms to NOT look is to pull it up and across the whole face of the image is a water mark (like IK puts on when you ask them to). IF i were a buyer, I wouldn’t take a second glance – even though I know the watermark will not be on the final image. If you are worried about folks stealing your image, put it up in JPG at 72 pix/in.
September 18th, 2009 at 9:19 am
I’ve never written on here before but thought i’d throw my opinion into the mix. my pet peeves tend not to be so much about photography, but about the people who are posting about it (actually – i think they’ve only just emerged after reading this!). i do get annoyed when people say things like ‘gee you must have a good camera” and “what camera/photo editing program etc do you use? I’m going to get it too so i can take photos like that” Very frustrating as they think they can just turn on the camera, press the magic little button and get a fantastic image. But good luck to them. What annoys me even more is photographers – “professional” or not – telling people what they should be doing, how they should be doing it, and what they shouldn’t be doing. If you don’t like certain styles/formats/cameras/editing software/ideas etc, well, then it’s quite simple really – DON’T USE THEM!!!! Stop telling everyone else what’s right and wrong and go pick up your camera and take some photos that you do like – and leave everyone else to do the same. I’m all for constructive criticism, but why do some people feel the need to say “oh you shouldn’t do that” instead of “oh i like to do it this way because . . .” I’ve only just started really getting into photography and i’m LOVING it, but all these over-opinionated snobs really take away from it a bit i think. As for me – i’ll just keep doing what i’m doing – HAVING FUN and getting (in my opinion) some beautiful shots that i love. ok – rant over. xx
September 18th, 2009 at 11:39 am
Jackie! Like you’re thinking!
September 18th, 2009 at 12:52 pm
people not putting their lens cap back on their lens when they are not using the camera!
and they walk around with it.
i wonder if its just me…
September 18th, 2009 at 12:57 pm
My top ten photography peeves are not being able to afford the top ten lenses for my camera! Criticism doesn’t kill me, it helps me learn….but I want some new lenses!!!
September 18th, 2009 at 3:08 pm
The one thing I can’t stand is seeing so many pictures of hummingbirds. These pics are usually taken when the dang bird is at the feeder. BORING!
Other types of photos that get on my nerves are of people sitting on railroad tracks. I’d rather see them swinging from a tree scratching themselves.
September 18th, 2009 at 5:55 pm
2 pet peeves.
1… a technical issue.. i hate noise. Those underdeveloped shadows that have all those nasty little spots all over the place.. I didn’t ask for them.. I dont want them.. and I hate them. What are they… how do we get them… are they some kind of alien plot to take over the planet or what?
2… next one is.. conceited photographers. You know those guys who are standing next to you while you are shooting your Independance day parade, the ones with 4 canon mark 1 camera bodies, 12 lenses, 3 tripods, a 200 page notebook, decked out in the latest goretex photo vest and over size camera bag who behind his mirrored glasses sneers and ignores you when you say hello… yeh, thats the one.
September 18th, 2009 at 6:11 pm
Very interesting! Having read the multitudinous reasons it’s not a good idea to get involved in photography I am now thoroughly despondent. If the list of “Peeves” was required reading before buying a camera the Industry would die!
Having just got out of bed at an ungodly hour I would have preferred to read a really positive slant on the subject to kick start my day!
However, as a believer in the bottle always being half full rather than the opposite it occurs to me that this creates an opportunity for us to accent the positive and remove the cloud this topic has cast over our past-time.
I have spent many,many hours trawling the Net looking for answers to how I can get more from my photography and have been successful to an extent but believe that too many times the articles do not provide the whole picture.
For example I have seen the advice “then use a tripod”. But I have not come across an article that gives definitive answers to the “when, where, what and how” aspects of doing so. Likewise the recommendation to use a shutter speed of “one over the lens focal length” to ensure hand-held image sharpness assumes the photographer is holding the camera correctly and doesn’t stab at the exposure button thereby causing excessive shake. Oh, and the subject better not move either! It also assumes the corresponding Aperture will provide the required Depth of Field and that the ISO setting will not result in unacceptable Noise.
When I started writing this the object was to suggest that we all change to a positive view of our photography and share how we get our “WOW” results “of what, where, when and how” – How about that?
.And now – SOME GOOD NEWS!
As a result of my rambling above I have had to think of the relationship between Subject, Light, Depth of field, subject movement, camera shake, Aperture/Shutter speed and ISO level. In all situations accurate Focus is assumed.
In my case, and apparently many others do the same, I prefer to shoot using Aperture priority to have control over Depth of Field. My main interest lies in African wildlife and close-up/macro subjects.
To handle subject movement and a long lens (in addition to Image Stabilisation) fast Shutter Speeds are required. Early morning and late afternoon shots are necessary and although a car window bracket is used hand-held shooting is also required.
Quite frankly I have to confess I’ve been stupid (but then I’m 70 next year). and have ignored the one setting which provides maximum flexibility and control in all the others – ISO!!
Thinking about it good sense has been completely blocked by the constant reference in articles and reviews to ISO and the threat of “NOISE” in exposures. How many of my shots have suffered because of my constant “ISO 100″ setting???
For those of you not saying “How stupid can you be?” as I now see it the use of a higher ISO setting in a particular light situation can assist in providing:
– A greater range of useable Aperture/Shutter Speed combinations;
– Faster Shutter Speeds to counteract camera shake/subject movement;
– Greater control of Depth of Field;
– More responsive focussing;
– Sharper pictures;
– WOW perhaps?
Finally, anyone who wishes to comment on any aspect of the above (other than emphasing my stupidity please) feel free.
Darren, please forgive me if I’ve hi-jacked this thread.
September 18th, 2009 at 10:25 pm
To the dude who doesn’t like camera phones. Get out of the rock you’re living in. Camera phone technology is becoming astoudingly great.
I have been able to take absolutely beautiful sunset, macro, and sillhouette (sorry if the spelling’s wrong, english teachers) pictures with my now-stolen Sony Ericsson K850i and [still with me] C510. Like true photography gurus will tell you time and time and time and time again…. it’s not about the gear, it’s in the photographer. I can tell a lot of people here are well aware of that. Of course, my D60 probably would have opened up more possibilities, but i only had my phone. What could I do? Mind you, Sony Ericsson’s are the best in the business of camera phones in my opinion.
I do hate it, though, when people buy a cheap camera phone for the sake of having a camera phone. The Nokia E71 has 3.2 megapixels and my aged Sony Ericsson K700i with a VGA sensor could take better pics. And I am *quite* annoyed when people underestimate camera phones, however expensive they may be. When I got my C510 after the K850i was stolen, I went and took a sunset picture to show people that camera phones in the right hands can take awesome-er pictures than an SLR camera with 24 MP in the hands of someone who is materialistic.
Sir, with all due respect, I love my camera phone even if it only has 3.2 Megapixels and you can’t say anything against this phone’s camera because I know I can take better pictures with this 11,000 peso phone than people with 80,000 peso cameras who don’t know anything beyond megapixels and showing off.
September 18th, 2009 at 10:59 pm
the whole RAW versus JPEG discussion – it’s not a foto if it isn’t processed
September 18th, 2009 at 11:38 pm
People who say they love your photographs and want a print, but want to pay a Walmart enlargement price for it.
September 19th, 2009 at 1:15 am
What I don’t understand is why professionals feel the need to degrade newbies. Do you think that tough love is going to make us better? The first time I looked for outside critique I posted to YA! a photographer who goes by the name of Ansel said my photos were rubbish, garbage, unworthy snapshots. I’ve since learned to bypass comments like those, but the point is it hurt. Not only did he put down things I was proud of, but he didn’t offer any critique to make them better. I know that I need to learn but don’t crush my dreams in the process. Also those little comments, I like them. I am not a technical person, sometimes a pictures grabs me but I can’t explain why. So, when somebody makes the “amazing capture” comment I know that I have grabbed them, stirred something in them, regardless of their ability to tell me why in technical terms. At the end of the day that’s all that matters, that the photograph touches someone, even if it’s just you and your cat.
September 19th, 2009 at 1:52 am
I am a purist (as much of a purist as you can be digitally), and am not a firm believer in over editing. Those who are and have an aptitude for doing so, Kudos to you for your beautiful work.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and while I’ll never make a living off my hobby, every once in a while I get a shot I feel is worthy of sharing.
I use a Sony Alpha 200 and the editing software that came with it, and with the exception of adding a bit of contrast, slightly adjusting the RGB scale, and cropping, I don’t do much else to my shots. It either has it or it doesn’t.
Thanks for taking the time to consider my opinion.
Harnish
September 19th, 2009 at 1:56 am
Ebay is where I buy my camera supplies and I’ve not yet had a bad experience.
September 19th, 2009 at 2:31 am
The thing that popped into my head immediately is the weekly challenge. People don’t pay attention to the topic and end up posting images that have nothing to do with the subject for that week. This last week was terrible with the “Seven Deadly Sins” because people are choosing subjects that are not sinful. Sin applies only to humans, so a cat taking a nap in the window is not a sinful demonstration of sloth. Oh, and just because you ARE on topic doesn’t mean your picture is interesting. So many people take a picture and say, “It meets the definition of the challenge, so here it is.” The point of photography is to tell a story, not just meet a deadline, so please try to provide us with something interesting.
September 19th, 2009 at 3:02 am
Beautiful subjects with lousy composition–stuff growing out of heads, poor backgrounds, etc.
September 19th, 2009 at 3:38 am
I read this article and while I can understand what they are saying about why these things peeved them, I really didn’t get number 4. Watermarks? Seriously? I didn’t know it was that bothersome. My peeve is that it made their list! Just kidding.
My real photography peeve is the extras in tv shows and movies who don’t know how to hold a camera! Why can’t they (directors or who ever) take 5 minutes and show them how to hold a camera so they look like actual press photographers!
September 19th, 2009 at 4:51 am
“”Other types of photos that get on my nerves are of people sitting on railroad tracks. I’d rather see them swinging from a tree scratching themselves”"
Laura!! I loved this comment!! Made me laugh!! What is it that people think is so great about taking shots of people on RR Tracks?? I prefer the track by itself – but, I do have to confess, my co-workers and I went out to some RR tracks one day and one of them was laying on the track with his head on the rail…..looked like he was taking a nap instead of a picture…..I had to capture that moment! It’s hillarious!
I also agree with the comments about critiques. If you want to critique my shot I’m totally up for hearing what I could have done better! But don’t just tell me that the shot isn’t any good. What’s not good about it? The composition? The lighting? The color? The exposure? What do you not like?Give me an idea of how I could have made my shot better: changed my position, changed the lighting, whatever. And if it’s a subject that you just don’t care for (I love abandoned building, farms, vehicles, etc) Please don’t tell me that you don’t like the subject. I don’t care if you like the subject or not, that’s not what I’m asking for in a critique. I’m looking for ways to make the shot better, not some bozo telling me that I should shoot something different because he/she doesn’t like my subject! You shoot what you like, I shoot what I like! If we all shot the same things, it would be a pretty boring world!
September 19th, 2009 at 5:13 am
My biggest pet peeve of photography has to be the generally poor photos that you see from time to time from people who either do not have a clue, or simply have a very bad point and shoot camera. I’ve been motivated since the time I bought my first digital camera to not become one of these people, hence the subsequent upgrades over the years to a good P&S and eventually a DSLR. Why even bother keeping a pic if it isn’t clear and sharp, and everyone is easily identifyable in it?
Also, when the pictures are so overwhelmed by the flash. That is annoying to me as well, though I understand that with some cameras this is oftentimes unavoidable. Another reason why I’m a member of this fine DPS blog! Keep up the great work, Darren!
September 19th, 2009 at 7:44 am
My biggest pet peeve is when people walk righ the hell in front of you when you are obviously trying to take a picture. Serioiusly? The gigantic camera in front of my face, people, means I AM TAKING A PICTURE! If it is not aimed directly at you, that means I DON’T want you IN IT! This is especially true for other photographers. C’mon, are manners and consideration a thing of the past? God I hope not!
September 19th, 2009 at 3:42 pm
The article has good inforamtion about the main peeves listed . I get irrirtated when I see someone walking around with his lens uncovered and open to air. so I think a photographer must put the shutter cover on the lens when he is not taking photographs. It enhances the life of his qpuipment.
September 19th, 2009 at 9:10 pm
GOM* alert! Those recent entrants to photography who want Image Stabilisation on their 10-22 WA zoom. IS is great for telephoto and long zoom (and there, I am a committed fan), but I question its necessity on anything shorter than 75mm.
Errr . . . dare I whisper the words “Decent Technique”? Cradle the lens, elbows tucked in and shoot on the out-breath. There, that’s not too hard, huh?
*GOM = Grumpy Old Man
September 20th, 2009 at 9:35 am
OK.. I sell some shots in the store I work in as photocards. I get the “What kind of camera do you use? ” question all the time.. I educate people by saying it does not matter.. and the truth is .. I took many of the shots I sell with my compact point and shoot.. My pet peeve is people who ask me where I buy my photos, like they can’t actually believe I took them!
Manipulating images in Photoshop or whatever used to really really bother me. I felt it was cheating. In my day you had ONE chance to get that shot.. and just hope for the best after development . A friend told me.. “Isn’t the object to come out with a really great photot?….”
That helped me get over it and now I manipulate.. I do still strive to use what skills I do have.
We all started out taking pictures because it’s something we enjoy… Why ruin it with putting others down and worrying about what others are doing?
September 20th, 2009 at 10:40 pm
My pet peeve is people with pet peeves.
To Dave Kowloski….My daughter is one who placed an ad on Craigslist to do free photography. She’s out of a job. “professionals” wouldn’t let her intern (that’s free help) Oh Yeah, it’s also future competition. “Professionals” are like lawyers and chiropractors. Your on every street corner. There’s plenty of photography to go around. I’ve always chased after her to do something with her artistic, creative talents. She’s taking advantage during her un-employment phase to enhance those skills. Family and friends don’t like to be models. So she had no alternative. She makes certain everyone knows they get what she delivers and after her 2nd photoshoot, she got two referrals. Now after eight photoshoots, she is charging. Minimal fee, granted, but charging none the less.
September 21st, 2009 at 10:46 am
Flickr photos which have comment boxes added by people who didn’t take the photo. If used they should only draw attention to something – nothing trite!
Over use of photoshop HDR or whatever. I daresay it’s a taste thing but so many images these days don’t seem natural.
September 22nd, 2009 at 1:33 am
What drives me up a wall are so-called Pros that only use the Program. Working with a news papers I could not believe it, myself and 3 other photographers use Manual.
September 22nd, 2009 at 4:28 am
I have to agree with Eddie wholeheartedly on this one. “#1 Pet Peeve – People deciding what techniques are appropriate in somebody else’s art .”
What would have happened to Van Gogh’a paintings if he heeded advice from another artist on where the subject’s eyes should be??
True art really doesn’t have any specific “rules” to speak of and is (or should be) subective only. I consider photography an art. Sure, it helps to be educated on your equipment, post processing techniques, composition, etc., but in the end, our work comes from the heart and soul, born out of ideas of what looks pleasing to us. Fellow photographer’s should stop picking apart other people’s art and making suggestions on how to “fix” it. I proudly posted a photo on a forum that I really liked and the client really liked, just to have another photographer “borrow” it, “fix” it and repost as a better example of the shot. I thought it looked horrible. But the helpful fellow didn’t. lol
September 22nd, 2009 at 7:37 am
My pet peeve is people telling me that taking pictures is easy, just get a p&s or camera phone and start snapping. Photography is not easy, because doing it right is hard work.
September 22nd, 2009 at 11:59 am
My Pet Peeve…. Simple Camera Phones, They Should Be Destroyed
ImageOfTheEye
September 22nd, 2009 at 12:53 pm
People who claim that equipment doesn´t make a difference, “it´s only the person behind the camera that does”. Whatever!!! Wouldn´t a nature photographer need the most stable tripod in the market to make good shots in windy weather?! The examples are endless. I mean, if your point and shoot is good enough for the situation you are shooting in, then great. But what if you´re shooting in somewhere not so bright and need a 1.4 lens to do the trick?
September 22nd, 2009 at 7:47 pm
Interesting list.
Well I cannot complain about HDR because I’ve been taking lots of HDR lately, but it’s still mainly because of the novelty or else if I’m in a place that is hard to expose properly (e.g. inside a church).
I find that Flickr comments are similar to a large circle of people patting the back of the person to their right. Often it doesn’t do much to help other people’s photography, it just helps people get accepted in groups on the internet via yet another channel. Yes it’s nice to get praise for one’s snaps but I didn’t take the picture so the people in the landscape community would like me.
Watermarks can be useful if you’re trying to sell pictures on the internet. Once again I use them sometimes on my webspace, even though you supposedly cannot save pictures from it. You know, just in case.
Excessive photoshopping can be annoying especially if you know that the individual is just snapping away without thinking. Its not the editing itself. Knowing that a photo starts itself as a mindless snapshot of a potentially inyteresting subject and them moulded into something decent annoys me. starting this hobby made me really appreciate my surroundings so much more. Losing that to think about how one’s going to make things look better later is a bit soulless. The exception to that would be product or stock photography I guess, where you kind of have to think on those lines.
Finally I don’t like people who are patronizing about photography. I’m talking about the people who try to give the impression that they hold the key to the secret knowledge behind a great photo. The people who would only state exif data without saying why(or if it is the right exif data) and lying about any editing or post-processing, and the same people who would shoot down any attempt to “replicate their talent”.
Anyway, this is quickly turning into a rant so I’ll stop there. Glad I could get it out of my system though :)
September 22nd, 2009 at 7:48 pm
Oh yes I forgot to mention that I do agree that good equipment is way too expensive. And you do need good equipment, even though you can achieve some good results with less sometimes.
October 4th, 2009 at 7:58 am
My pet peeve is to read other people’s pet peeve lists.
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