What Makes..........

[Mike Parr]

A Good Photographer.................
Following on from Stephens thread, "Failure of the Day" this set me wondering, my succcess to failure ratio in quite low in my opinion. so what makes a good or successful photographer, are there any attributes that a good one posseses or not. I cant paint, sing, arrange flowers or do anything "arty". I would call photography my only hobby apart from carrying out spot checks on the strength of local ale, so I do practice a lot. (Both)......might be a link there I find some people have a natural eye and seem to spot a good image others like myself probably have to think a long time to compose the image. I do seem to have a knack.............of having the camera on the wrong settings for the task at hand, even after studying the manual for 6 months.
Stephen, Using your thread was the stimuli for this thread not a reflection of your photography skills by the way, hope you dont mind
I would be interested to read views on this

[bigbob]

Re: What Makes..........

The age old question ? can photography be taught or are the lucky few ''borne'' with a natural talent .
Well the technical side of photography , Depth of field , shutter speeds , flash technique , etc can be taught .
But composition ? some people are born with a natural eye and can see things that would pass most people by , others see colours and shades of light that are easily missed .
I think that it can be taught , but you need a willing pupil .
I've seen first hand on other forums how rank beginers in a few years can become very accomplished photographers .
Like ugly ducklings into swans .
It takes a willingness to learn , the ability to listen to others , as well as the ability to take critique and never ever think you know it all , no matter how long you've been taking photographs .
We can all take bad shots as well as good , the trick is to learn and expand your knowledge with every setback , learn from your mistakes , it's an old saying but a true one .

I remember in 2000 during the foot and mouth outbreak i was asked by a magazine to shoot a farm in Cornwall , i had to stay in a B&B pub in a small village just outside Plymouth .
Getting up the first morning , i went down for breakfast with my Nikon F90X and a small fuji digital 6800 (my first excusion into digital).
The bar had a few customers and interest was shown in my gear .
One guy said ''just as well you're only here for one night , there's nothing worth shooting around here'' i bet him a round of drinks that night against my nights bill that i could go outside and within half hour have 2 pictures that could hang on the pubs walls .
I won my bet , and as far as i know the pics are still there to prove it .

But to get back to the original question , my answer .....a good eye and a willingness to learn .

B..

[Autumn]

Re: What Makes..........

Because I have done so much of what you have done ie taking photographs when in the wrong mode, wrong iso, wrong settings, I have taken to leaving my camera in a harmless mode ie. auto everything. Once I am out and taking pics, I can then get around to thinking what I need but if any have been taking without thought, or at speed, then not too much damage is done.

[Mike Parr]

Re: What Makes..........

I have to agree with you, Bob,
I think composition is a skill that can be taught, but the real skill I think, is the ability to put the technical aspects and the art aspects together at once to create the Image you wish to portray. Not an easy thing for some.

I keep nearly every shot I take, good, bad, or terrible., I read all the raw data to see why I had the result on that setting. I find this a good way of learning from my errors.

Going back to your story, I have heard locals say similar things here in Cornwall, but since I started driving around Mid and North Cornwall as part of my work I now carry my camera in the car every day. I am lucky enough to go from coast coast most days and there is always a picture round the next bend. Ive stopped the car, reversed back up roads and parked in the gateways of fields just because ive seen a different view of something.

You can develop an eye for a photograph but it does take time and patience
Mike

[Archangel]

Re: What Makes..........

A "good eye" and "triggered imagination" for me.
A "good eye" is capturing the scene and the "triggered imagination" chooses the best composition type.
Both work complementing each other at all times.
The best shots are always taken by mind prior to the camera's shutter click.

The rest can be taught easily, but the above can be learned only by willing students.

Also a good photographer for me is the one who doesn't have a narrow photographic field. Is the one that can take good photos of everything, from Portraits to WildLife, from Macros to Nightshots and so forth. Is the one that you can give him/her a camera asking him/her to return with different types of shots and he/she will do that successfully.

A good photographer is like a good driver. He/she can drive all cars the same successful way and not only his/her own.


George

[Jocelyn Walker]

Re: What Makes..........

I feel its possibly like everything in life, if you just look at the sum total or if you look at its component parts that make the sum total! I feel if someone can embue their work with some form of 'emotion' or appeal, no matter what form their chosen expression may be! As in fine art or photography etc etc. Some people have a problem in correlating & portraying what they see 'in their mind's eye' to the final achievement & it sometimes takes hard work! Life is a constant dynamic of learning & applying skills.

[pewidane]

[Pops]

Re: What Makes..........

A good eye for composition isn't enough. One has to be there in mind and spirit and the whole thing must be an enjoyable experience.
The technical stuff can be learnt but only with the right motivation...i.e. enjoyment and self satisfaction.
Photography is a hobby with me, I can take a hundred shots and bin the lot but the important thing is I will have enjoyed taking them and will learn something each time.

[Mike Parr]

Re: What Makes..........

I think you hit the nail on the head there Pops, self satisfaction! I take all my shots for me, oh and my good lady, I dont post for critical acclaim, but that is always appreciated, all our tastes are different,.
Take Sunday, we went to St Ives, we looked in a lot of artist studios, some images were really c**P , yet others raved about them. Does that make them a bad artist? I think not.
I started this thread because I had a feeling what the response would be, and this has reaffirmed that this site allows people to express themselves and advance their personal skills on these forums through constructive critisism and advice.
Once again thanks to all for their comments.
Mike

P.s I is not no shakespeare with words but you get the jist