Found this article fascinating and it’s exactly right with regards to emotion. Some of my photos which I’ve loved are because of the moment, more than a perfect picture. I’ve felt quite offended with a judge’s comment but they were right. It meant did more to me. However one image which I loved, I knew wasn’t perfect but it was a grab shot that I loved. And so did the judge!
Hot chocolate photos: Love it. I've made plenty of them. They're frustrating because they're 80%-90% of the way to working. John Loengard, former picture editor at LIFE magazine, suggested that the solution to these was a dash of peculiarity.
“Unless there is something a little incomplete and a little strange, it will simply look like a copy of something pretty,” Loengard said. “If there is nothing peculiar, don’t take your cameras out. You don’t need to see a two-headed cow; the peculiarity may be something small, only part of a picture… However, you have to be able to say it is peculiar, not dramatic, or beautiful or interesting or historic, although it might bar those things too. A photograph, I realized, needs a dash of peculiarity the way a Bloody Mary needs a bit of Tabasco.” That's from his book, Pictures Under Discussion - I recommend it;
Ah that is a great point and reference. Reminds me of Barthes’ punctum in Camera Lucida. Loved this perspective too, because the is highly subjective and personal.
Thanks for the recommondation, I will have to pick it up. I am not familiar with Loengard, but to be the picture edior at LIFE lends all the credibility one could need.
Excellent article. We truly are not able to be objective about our own photos and it's difficult to accept criticism, but objective assessment is what we need to improve. Thanks for passing along your experience.
Thanks Greg! I couldn’t agree more. And on the flip side, sometimes we don’t accurately assess the strength that does in fact reside in a photograph without the help of others to recognize it.
Thanks a tone for reading sharing your thoughts my friend
Found this article fascinating and it’s exactly right with regards to emotion. Some of my photos which I’ve loved are because of the moment, more than a perfect picture. I’ve felt quite offended with a judge’s comment but they were right. It meant did more to me. However one image which I loved, I knew wasn’t perfect but it was a grab shot that I loved. And so did the judge!
Thanks a ton for reading Tracey, and for sharing your experiences of having to confront your own work in a critique/competition setting.
Sometimes we should, however, exercise our own right to say this image stays! even if it is not deemed the “strongest” by others.
Hot chocolate photos: Love it. I've made plenty of them. They're frustrating because they're 80%-90% of the way to working. John Loengard, former picture editor at LIFE magazine, suggested that the solution to these was a dash of peculiarity.
“Unless there is something a little incomplete and a little strange, it will simply look like a copy of something pretty,” Loengard said. “If there is nothing peculiar, don’t take your cameras out. You don’t need to see a two-headed cow; the peculiarity may be something small, only part of a picture… However, you have to be able to say it is peculiar, not dramatic, or beautiful or interesting or historic, although it might bar those things too. A photograph, I realized, needs a dash of peculiarity the way a Bloody Mary needs a bit of Tabasco.” That's from his book, Pictures Under Discussion - I recommend it;
Ah that is a great point and reference. Reminds me of Barthes’ punctum in Camera Lucida. Loved this perspective too, because the is highly subjective and personal.
Thanks for the recommondation, I will have to pick it up. I am not familiar with Loengard, but to be the picture edior at LIFE lends all the credibility one could need.
Thanks for reading and sharing Shannon!
Excellent article. We truly are not able to be objective about our own photos and it's difficult to accept criticism, but objective assessment is what we need to improve. Thanks for passing along your experience.
Thanks Greg! I couldn’t agree more. And on the flip side, sometimes we don’t accurately assess the strength that does in fact reside in a photograph without the help of others to recognize it.
Thanks a tone for reading sharing your thoughts my friend