Is it just me, or is this a pandemic?

Am I really that bad at photography that for every photo I've submitted I've

received mainly 4's? That's like saying it's not good but it's not bad. I'd

rather it be either. Now to be fair I have had some amazing photographers who

have been doing it for some time now rate every one of my photos in the 6/6's,

but it just seems like the average person logging on is pulling drive-by 3 and

4's. Has anyone else experienced this? I've been shooting for about 2 months

now, so I don't expect to be perfect or even close. If you rate me low, let me

know how I can improve.

I would say that most of your eleven photos uploaded here deserve about 4's (in my opinion). Looking at your B&W's I think they could use a different B&W-conversion. Do you use Photoshop? Or do you shoot directly in B&W? Either way I think you should try to adjust tones and contrast a little in a image editing software of some kind.

<br>I hope you find my comment helpful, and if not just disregard it.

I know there's been a lot of talk about this. I personally didn't realize until just now that anyone was rating my stuff, or even what the scale was. My images here are simply a smattering of random low-end work, most of which I put up on my page to let friends see what I'm doing or talking about. I don't like posting images that could get snagged by others.

 

I don't think your work is bad. It looks a little "soft" on my monitor though. You might want to punch up the sharpness a tad. Also originality probably counts for a lot in the ratings. Your work is fairly middle of the road when it comes to subject matter. Maybe trying more unique perspectives or different point of view would help. Personally, I don't care what others think of the limited work I have on pnet, nor have I ever solicited feedback.

 

If real feedback is important to you, then be very strict about what you put on your page. It must be the highest quality (just like any portfolio). Don't include so-so images. For example, "Skeleton Fingers", "Shadetree", "Crockett Creek", and maybe "Farmers Market" (without the toning), would be in a very different league than the others. They all have a better tonal range, more contrast, and stronger subject matter than the other photos you have. People will probably rate you differently on individual images after seeing a more solid overall portfolio.

 

Also, 2 months is a pretty short amount of time to produce a cream of the crop portfolio of work. Give it some time and settle only for the best. I hope that helps you.

No I appreciate comments like this because you are giving me helpful advice. I generally shoot directly in B&W. Is this a no-no? Got any suggestions for some photo-editing software aside from photoshop?

Michael,

 

Thanks for the advice, I understand a lot of what you had to say. Second opinions from sharper trained eyes never hurt in any field, so I appreciate you and everyone else's advice. I've noticed that some of my pictures carry a lot of the same 'feel' and I'm not sure why. I suspect it's my P.O.V.? Also, I've been experimenting with different shots, trying to push myself and my eye. I'm going to send my work off to a friend who runs a photo shop professionally and have her touch up on the photos to see what we come out with. Hopefully we'll have some better images coming back!

<i>"Am I really that bad at photography ... I've received mainly 4's? That's like saying it's not good but it's not bad.</i><P>

No, you are not "really that bad at photography". 4/4 is "Average". For someone just starting out, that's to be expected. Looking at your gallery, when judged against the standard of the rest of the work that is presented on this site, I would say that's probably a fair assessment. Keep shooting, keep looking for new and interesting ways to photograph your subjects, and eventually you will make better photos (and get better ratings - although I would suggest you not worry about the numbers).

M.C., It's a lot easier to critique others work than it is your own<g>. My eyes are not that sharp anymore either!

MC, Here's an example of your Crocket Creek shot manipulated in PhotoShop by boosting the contrast and sharpness a bit, cropping a little tighter to let the trees frame the edge of the image, and burning in some of the peripheral trees to allow the more distant ones to fade into the air. It's a bit more dramatic than your original.<div></div>

And a larger view. BTW, This took all of about 30 seconds to do, with dramatic impact, but I would spend more time on this to really be more careful and use better techniques, like using layers to adjust the burning and sharpness.<div></div>

You might also try a warm-tone look as well.<div></div>

I've just sent about 5 pics off to a professional and she's going to be working on them for me. I appreciate the advice, Michael. Can you elaborate a little further on what you meant by 'burn'?

Hello MC, as mentioned above 4/4 is average and without wishing to be rude, that pretty much describes your work. It's competent but lacks that certain quality that would make it really good.

 

I agree that the images tend to lack contrast and sharpness, qualities that would bring life to the composition. Crocket Creek looks a good composition and with some work on contrast and sharpness, would look much improved.

 

The other element of your work that you would want to concentrate on, is composition. At the moment it looks a little formulaic and perhaps lacking in imagination. It's always good when you see something and you should always be looking, not just when you have your camera, to think about how you could photograph it in a new or different way.

 

Well that's just my 2p, feel free to ignore all, some or none.

 

Best regards. Pete

Hi M.C. - I just rated (where I could) and commented on your 11 photos. Take what I have to say with a grain of salt. As I said in one of the comments, the 5100 is a fine camera, but does not have the largest dynamic range. Expose for shadows, develop for highlights does not really apply to digital. I would try to expose for the highlights more and tweak the shadows in photoshop. Crockett Creek does have potential, but it is hard image to work on due to angle of the sun falling on the trees.

 

As for 4/4, It's average. It's nice your friends would give you a 6/6, but have you seen the 6/6 photos on the top photos page? IMO an image needs to be top notch to get a 6/6. This would include originality. It's tough to be original shooting landscapes of trees, rivers, and houses.

"Got any suggestions for some photo-editing software aside from photoshop"

 

Elements - cheap

 

Paint shop pro - cheap

 

Picassa - free but limited

 

Gimp - Powerful, free, open source, large learning curve like photoshop

 

Shoot in color and convert later.

Here is how it works. Take a measure of all ratings. Then look at the median. And there ya

are. Unless you cheat.

This is great, I started this thread really bummed about my work but now I feel educated and better equipped. I'm excited to get out there and start shooting. Thanks to everyone who has replied with advice and help. Hopefully some other 'rookie' as we call them in my field of work will read this post and get some helpful advice too. Keep the suggestions coming!

MC, Burn means I darkened the threes in the upper corners to keep the eye into the image and give some frame to the work. Before, it sort of allowed the eye to wander off the image. I think any of Christopher's suggestions for photo editing software would be able to do what I did in PhotoShop.

I have photoshop 2.0, and have manipulated some images a bit with what I consider drastic improvements.

Thanks to all who have responded with helpful advice. I've taken my portfolio down and revamped it. If you would, please review my portfolio and give constructive criticism. I appreciate all the advice so far!

I saw on your bio that you just started. Your work is competent, technically okay, not very original but one can see the idea.

 

In other words, it's about 20% better than most of us when we started photography. If you enjoy it, you will get better, trust me.

You solicited advice from other newbies, so here I am!

 

I joined PN as soon as I got serious about learning the basics of photography. Like you, my process began by posting photos and seeing what people thought. I had this notion that knowledgeable people would look at my photos and give me feedback such as, "Nice idea. Try this same photo from two feet to the left. See the picture inside the picture. The whole frame counts, not just what's in the middle."

 

Not.

 

I got very discouraged because it seemed only nudes and images derived from photoshop mastery garnered good ratings. As far as ratings on PN go, that's actually true in my opinion. The ratings are so worthless that they are irrelevent.

 

Forget the ratings. THE REAL VALUE TO THIS WEBSITE IS IN THE FORUMS! The forums are where the information, tips, and education are to be found. There is a wealth of information here that would take decades to gather on your own. I look at the galleries to get ideas sometimes when my own stuff feels stale, but ratings are meaningless to me now.

 

I can't remember the last time I posted a photo on this site. All of the pics in my PN gallery are very old. I post all of my new stuff in my online gallery through Picasa. If you compare my PN gallery to my Picasa galleries you'll see that I've learned a lot. (I learned it here in the forums.) I am by no means in the same league as the others who have given you advice, but everyone I know (non-photographers) think my stuff is fantastic, haha! That was my goal when I got into this stuff anyway. I just wanted to learn how to take better pictures of my kids! Impressing professional photographers might be reaching a bit. Excellent goal, to be sure, but we might want to make that a long term goal...

 

I like your stuff.

 

http://www.picasaweb.google.com/john.jwphoto

Diane Arbus once said "Nobody will love your photographs as much as you do". There's a lot of truth in those words. So if you are happy with your work then it doesn't matter one bit how it's critiqued. If you are not happy with your work then you need to use the old trial and error method of trying new approaches until your work reaches your satisfaction.

Hi M.C., stumbled on this thread and took a look at your pix. I like them. Ratings here and elsewhere are interesting. I think you might need a wee bit of the female form for higher ratings and more viewers though. Regards.

4 is average. There's no shame in being average. I'm as average as the next guy. The 6 and 7 scores are supposed to be reserved for the really outstanding photos, and as such most of the 6 and 7 scores that are doled out are unwarranted anyway. A browse of the top photos will show that few are truly extrordinary, and most are formulaic rehashes of beaten to death stuff (see naked models, oversaturated seashore/waterscapes). Even these generally only average slightly above 6 at best. Don't worry about the ratings. Worry about improving your photos to please yourself better.

I'm in total agreement with John. Don't sweat the ratings. I pulled my portfolio a long time ago too. And I do not rate photos-I give feedback instead. Ratings don't tell you what you need to know. Forget the numbers--pay attention to the comments.