Help - my work is getting worse!

[extraball]

I reckon that beginners become too critical of their own work too early. Everyone of those shots are acceptable for a beginner, dare I say excellent. Backgrounds are important, and that is also something that I am only just starting to consider. Some of us beginners, maybe most of us compare our work to those of the intermediates, and advanced members, which just isn't fair upon ourselves. These guys have been learning/honing their skills our many years, maybe decades! I dont know what gear your using, but typically beginners start with entry level cameras. Have a look at the exifs of the better photographers photos, they are using far better gear than beginners generally do. Guess what I am saying is.........you cant rush it, and don't be too critical of your work

[NIKONMAN]

I have had a passion for photography my whole life, or for as long as I can remember anyway. In October last year I decided to follow my passion and enrolled into a Dip. Photoimaging with a Design College in Brisbane. After one term, I am sad to say that I feel my work has gotten worse! I was completely unhappy with a recent photo shoot I did for a friend and I have been trying to review my images to workout what it is I don't like about them, but I can't figure it out! I just don't like them. I am so determined to become a successful, and talented photographer - capturing the images I visualise, but I am really starting to doubt myself. Can anyone please recommend some valuable learning sites where I can work harder to improve my photography, or provide advice on how to become a better photographer - I am starting to lose faith in myself

Sometimes your outlook changes, the way you see things changes and even your mental accuity can change over time, kinda like how you may not like a flavour but then years later you really love the same flavour .I have found that as you grow in your photography your 'taste' in images can change, what stimulates your imagination can change over time also but this opens up new avenues to explore which is great.
Photography is a blend of disciplines but is foremost an artform and as with any artform it relies on emotive input and inspiration which comes from within yourself so that it often relies on how you feel at any given time in order to inspire or motivate you.I think trying to use your art to generate income or achieve a degree etc changes the whole dynamic of why you love photography in the first place and therefore it changes your motivation from personal pleasure & enjoyment into something competitive where you are trying to use the art to achieve a result ( passing an exam,making money etc) and once this dynamic has changed you begin putting pressure on yourself to 'perform' or 'achieve' regardless of whether you feel inspired & motivated to go out and image a particular subject.
Your comment about how determined you are to be successful & talented is very telling because it illustrates that your motivation is not photographic art but success.Talent is not something which can be learned either, it again comes from within and I believe you either have it or you don't depending on how you are 'wired' trying to learn talent would be very frustrating and I've seen people make up for lack of talent with hard work but it doesn't seem to be very fulfilling for those people and of course remember with any art form beauty is in the eye of the beholder-all art is subjective, so who is to say what is 'good' & what isn't.
My advice is have a good look at some of the world's great artists like Van Gogh or Rembrandt, look at their lives & see their motivation, see the innate obsession with realising their artistic vision regardless of any perceived success or material gain and then ask yourself what your artistic vision is with photography, what really stimulates & motivates you? The only way you'll get satisfaction from your chosen artform is if you are true to your own unique vision and pursue that vision for yourself, follow your passion and the rest will follow.
Finally, don't force yourself to try and perform photography it should be enjoyable & stimulating for you-good luck.

[Chollo]

I know how you feel. But never ever loose faith. I joined recently and am still to post a photo. But I will by weeks end.

[LisaNicholson]

Thanks Geoff, what is TOG?

[ricktas]

Thanks Geoff, what is TOG?

Tog is slang for PhoTOGgrapher

[MissionMan]

Irrespective of getting better or worse, it's important to realize that creativity is a also a process of getting things wrong. I'd almost be inclined to argue that you cannot be creative without making mistakes because if you're not making mistakes, you're not venturing outside of your comfort zone. Unfortunately, we always only see the good of professional photographers so we have a distorted view of their progression. Very few photographers will post the errors and what it took to get the final result of their experimentation.

I'd also consider what is happening at the moment. You are going through changes in your technique which is likely to impact the way you work. I'd argue in a similar way that if you rebuild anything (like a professional golfer rebuilding their golf swing) you will always get worse before you get better because part of the process is correcting basic errors as a foundation to improving your photography as a whole. It's only once these changes become natural that you can start to apply them. In short, when you start applying learned technique, you tend to over think the process from a technical perspective and your natural creative process takes a bit of a back seat.

I'd also suggestion you look at a video from Ted talks from Ken Robinson which covers similar aspects about how we are often taught out of creativity at school by being taught that being wrong or making mistakes is bad. It does put a good perspective on how arts in the school system is lacking.

http://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinso...reativity.html

[Fedgrub]

Your photos aren't bad, but they could do with some of the advice that people have shared in this thread. You might also want to be careful not to choose to keep photos where the subject's eyes are closed. It's not the best look!

[arthurking83]

Also don't over do the saturation slider either.

Be sure that your screen corresponds to prints that you produce as well, or get it calibrated, but I find the three images on the right are all too saturated.

The woman, sitting with the man and then again with the three guys looks like she's sunburned to a crisp!.... way too red in complexion.
Of course she may well have an extremely red complexion, but it looks more like saturation boost, rather than a natural colour.

[stacewyllie]

I understand completely how you feel! Am feeling a little nervous myself being that I'm starting a Dip. PhotoImaging in a few weeks (also with a Design School in Brisbane ).

"Just keep swimming" is something I tell myself a lot!

[surfie1]

Also, have a look at this PDF for some posing ideas!

Thanks for sharing the posing ideas are great

[fadiya]

Thanks GOD for this post.... I understand how you feel. Lately I start to really (I mean really really really) hate all of my recent pictures. I stop taking picture and had to take out the battery out of my camera (I read somewhere that the battery should not been in the camera if the camera has not been used for quite awhile). Take a look at my camera bag and well.... it covered with dust... no i'm not proud of this...

Guess I just need to take a lot of steps back and start from the beginning again.

[William]

Hi Fadiya, My tip is to charge up the battries, I've been like this and it's amazing what you can shoot in your backyard , Bugs , Flowers , Wet leaves , Butterflies etc, It's all there in your own home , Trey some portraits with the family , They are usually willing to help , I'm out every week day morning , All year and I also get in the doldrums (Especially after losing a camera) But I persevere and come out the other end most times with good shots Pick up the camera and start clicking - Bill

[Mark L]

I just posted this somewhere else, but think it may be of some use to you also Fadiya.

If you're looking for a reason to take a photo of something different each week, feel free to join in this years weekly challenge ........ http://www.ausphotography.net.au/for...lenges-52-2013
Pretty friendly feedback happens there and it can get you thinking about your photography.
The list of themes for the year is here .... http://www.ausphotography.net.au/for...-Weekly-themes
If you get time, have a look at some of the past themes and see the different perspective some of the stranger members have!

[Sdison]

One quick, practical tip I can give after looking at your photos is that all of those shots angle down towards the subjects. Perhaps you could try dropping to your knee or crouching to get some of these shots - the one on the top right could benefit particularly from this. With the child's face looking down at the front, it doesn't leave much room for his expression or features to be revealed.

During the photos I take in my day job, I found that by dropping down I was able to capture more (I'm quite tall at nearly 190cm) and not look like I was bearing down on people, which gave me much nicer results. I guess the key is to be at the level of your subject as much as possible, and shooting form above or below when you want a creative effect.

I also disagree with the comments made by others about saturation - I think they look great. And the photo on the top left is brilliant. I love her facial expression and I like how it is softly focused with the light adding a glow from behind. It's great.

[Steve Axford]

I like the top middle photo, though it could perhaps do with a lower fstop. It tells a story and all of the background adds to it. It just needs the subject (the front boy) to stand out a bit more and the background figures become more blurred. The others are normal photos which rely on catching good expressions. That takes practice and luck.