8 Of The Biggest Photographic Clichés

[ApolloLXII]

1: THE ARMS LENGTH SELF PORTRAIT (SELFIES) - Most commonly seen on Facebook where almost everbody present in the shot has to pull some kind of weird face or leer at the camera (usually a mobile phone camera) as a means of expressing just how much fun they are having. This is hardly photographic in the strictest sense and just achieves nothing more than a snapshot of people acting stupid.

2: THE HEADLESS NUDE - The idea behind this is so that the person posing for the photo won't be recognised. It's also the same sort of technique used to persuade girlfriends and wives to be the model in lieu of actually hiring someone professional to do the job. As most of these kinds of shots are done by amateurs, the results very rarely look any good.

3: A CHILD'S FACE SMEARED WITH FOOD OR DIRT - If the subject is the child, they will say that it is cute. In my opinion, I'd rather see a cute smile on a child's face instead of food or dirt which has a degree of repulsiveness to it. YUK!

4: SUNSET/SUNRISE - The sun rises and sets each day and as DSLR cameras begin to proliferate, so does the number of sunrise/sunset shots. There are two distinct types - one that has the sun rising/setting over a horizon and the other is compositionally formulaic involving foreground interest (eg: rocks), a rocky landscape extending away to the right into the middle ground with the setting/rising sun off set to the left. Most commonly seen in seascapes. Done to death and truly eye catching examples are a rarity.

5: COLOUR POPPING - An all Black and white shot with one prominent point of focus rendered in colour, for example, a red flower. Beginners should learn that Colour Popping doesn't suit a lot of images and those that continue using this technique should learn that it's a one trick pony who went lame a long time ago.

6: SHOTS OF HOMELESS PEOPLE - Unless you intend to shoot images for a photojournalism assignment, don't go bothering homeless people. It could be said that this is being exploitative and, as with any other human being, classed as being intrusive. Sit down and talk with them first and always ask permission to take their picture.

7: SOFT or MILKY WATER - A technique involving the slowing of the shutter speed that renders water into a softer type of texture or as a mist. It's been done to death, particularly in the U.K. where some magazines rehash articles about getting that "milky effect" from time to time.

8: OVERLY MANIPULATED PHOTOS - Photgraphs that look "weird" from having far too many effects and processes applied in Photoshop. Quite often, this kind of thing just kills a good photograph!

[ricktas]

Cliches yes, but I see nothing 'wrong' with any of them, and the person who wrote it (I assume you are quoting what is written above and it is not your words), seems to have written it in a manner that makes it seem derogatory.

The vast majority of people do not take photos to win awards, sell copies or market themselves. I would say well over 95% of all photos taken everyday are not done so by 'photographers', but rather by people just wanting to capture a moment in their lives.

I reckon whoever wrote this, needs to get a life!

[ApolloLXII]

Cliches yes, but I see nothing 'wrong' with any of them, and the person who wrote it (I assume you are quoting what is written above and it is not your words), seems to have written it in a manner that makes it seem derogatory.

The vast majority of people do not take photos to win awards, sell copies or market themselves. I would say well over 95% of all photos taken everyday are not done so by 'photographers', but rather by people just wanting to capture a moment in their lives.

I reckon whoever wrote this, needs to get a life!

I don't see anything "wrong" with any of them either. Photography, like any other art form, is subjective to personal preference and opinion. For every 10 people who don't like something, you can find 10 people who do. I actually collected these from various sources on the web and rewrote them because some of them were rather inflammatory but my aim was to generate discussion about percepted "cliché" type photos and garner the opinions of people who are actually into photography to see what they thought.

I agree with Kym about beginners doing "cliché" type shots as a means of learning because that's how I cut my teeth in photography and would recommend the same to anybody starting out.

This "grumpy old man" is now off to "get his life" but just wishes that it would stop interfering with his photography.

[ricktas]

I actually collected these from various sources on the web and rewrote them because some of them were rather inflammatory but my aim was to generate discussion about percepted "cliché" type photos and garner the opinions of people who are actually into photography to see what they thought.

So based on Longshots' post above, seems the various sources, were just one source, albeit re-worded, and dropped a couple off the list.

[ApolloLXII]

So based on Longshots' post above, seems the various sources, were just one source, albeit re-worded, and dropped a couple off the list.

Nope, because I left out maternity shots, Dragan effect (a technique used by Andrzej Dragan) and tilt shift where the resultant photo makes it appear that the subjects look like they are miniature. Anybody else feel like sticking the boots into me?

[hide][top]

[Longshots]

Nope, because I left out maternity shots, Dragan effect (a technique used by Andrzej Dragan) and tilt shift where the resultant photo makes it appear that the subjects look like they are miniature. Anybody else feel like sticking the boots into me?

[top]

OK I'll take up the challenge.
Why not move on and give photography a miss if you think that every aspect of photography is a cliche? For goodness sake, do something productive instead of knocking everything in photography. All I read here is a host of resentment.

[Xenedis]

Anybody else feel like sticking the boots into me?

You could ditch the large Times New Roman in your posts...

[old dog]

I really feel that you are not a follower of any/most of these and agree totally with Rick here. I think the person who put forward these thought provoking points of disinterest is one of those Grumpy Old Men/Women I have seen on the tele..

[Kym]

While any of the Clichés are valid for some 'togs sometimes, it's also good to try and do something different!

All beginners should do some Clichéd shots just as a learning exercise.

Eg. Everyone should do a milky water at some point for no other reason but to learn slow shutter speed and controlling the light.
Ditto HDR, PP manipulation, family photos of kids with dirty faces.

Then, once these have been learned, try something different, get creative!

Clichés are very useful, just don't limit yourself.

[terry.langham]

I spent a lot of last year not taking photos because I felt I was only taking cliche photos. I really wanted to do something other sunrise seascapes, but could never find the time to branch and consequently barely shot anything. Won't be happening again this year, if I have time for a sunrise I will be shooting it, and as I live near the sea there will be plenty of seascapes. Hopefully I will also have time to branch out as well, but I won't be banking on it again. Considering we all lead busy work lives, I would think there is a lot of people in the same situation as me.

[arthurking83]

I...... I really wanted to do something other sunrise seascapes, but could never find the time to branch and consequently barely shot anything. Won't be happening again this year, if I have time for a sunrise I will be shooting it, .....

+1

[Xenedis]

I spent a lot of last year not taking photos because I felt I was only taking cliche photos. I really wanted to do something other sunrise seascapes, but could never find the time to branch and consequently barely shot anything. Won't be happening again this year, if I have time for a sunrise I will be shooting it, and as I live near the sea there will be plenty of seascapes. Hopefully I will also have time to branch out as well, but I won't be banking on it again. Considering we all lead busy work lives, I would think there is a lot of people in the same situation as me.

The first thing you need to learn after you understand light, composition, exposure, etc., is not to give a damn what other people think.

If seascapes is what you do, do it, do it well and enjoy it.

It's what I do, too, and while some might arbitrarily label our images as cliché images, there are many more who will enjoy them.

[Xenedis]

4: SUNSET/SUNRISE - The sun rises and sets each day and as DSLR cameras begin to proliferate, so does the number of sunrise/sunset shots. There are two distinct types - one that has the sun rising/setting over a horizon and the other is compositionally formulaic involving foreground interest (eg: rocks), a rocky landscape extending away to the right into the middle ground with the setting/rising sun off set to the left. Most commonly seen in seascapes. Done to death and truly eye catching examples are a rarity.

[...]

7: SOFT or MILKY WATER - A technique involving the slowing of the shutter speed that renders water into a softer type of texture or as a mist. It's been done to death, particularly in the U.K. where some magazines rehash articles about getting that "milky effect" from time to time.

I shoot a lot of seascapes, and naturally many such images contain those elements.

It's just as well that I don't need to justify myself to anyone.

When you think about it, there are very few photographers who are doing something truly unique.

Most of the images you see have all been done before, and could just as easily by labelled as cliché shots by someone who has seen too many of them.

[ApolloLXII]

When you think about it, there are very few photographers who are doing something truly unique.

I knew that, eventually, this would get mentioned and it is so very true. There are very few photographers whose work stands out because of it's fresh perspective and/or style.

Now, seeing how some of us would like to sell our photos and be recognised for our efforts on some sort of regular basis, which type is going to sell more or garner the most attention? A cliché type of photo that proliferates practically everywhere because it's been done to to death or a photo that stands apart from the rest because of some aspect related to it's content, subject matter or level of skill? It's a no brainer.

The one thing that ALL photographers should do from time to time is to stop taking the same type or genre of picture and try something else entirely different. Experiment, push the boundaries rather than just going over the same old ground. If you are happy shooting landscapes (or whatever takes your fancy), try a different approach such as leaving the disc of the sun out of the shot and try and capture the colours being reflected off the landscape. Perhaps a new shooting angle, it's entirely up to the individual. This applies to any other "genre" as well. The bottom line is that the real innovators and experimenters will be the ones that get the work and the recognition while the rest will wonder where the market has gone or why people are asking to use their pics without paying. Taking the same sort of pic over and over again is ok but I'm sure you will find that, if you experiment and explore with your photography, you will learn something that you may not have known of before as well as adding to your skills. The more you extend yourself, the better your photos and camera skills will become.

[Xenedis]

Now, seeing how some of us would like to sell our photos and be recognised for our efforts on some sort of regular basis, which type is going to sell more or garner the most attention? A cliché type of photo that proliferates practically everywhere because it's been done to to death or a photo that stands apart from the rest because of some aspect related to it's content, subject matter or level of skill? It's a no brainer.

If we're talking about the majority of people who buy photographic images, then my money's on the cliché image being the one that will sell.

Why? Because the people who make the stuff (ie, photographers) aren't the ones buying the stuff.

The people who generally want to buy a photographic image are not necessarily photographers or artists, and might simply like an image of a familiar subject or location -- y'know, 'postcard material', because it makes something familiar to them look good.

The exception would probably be art collectors who want something different rather than an image they can find on any postcard.

[ricktas]

Now, seeing how some of us would like to sell our photos and be recognised for our efforts on some sort of regular basis, which type is going to sell more or garner the most attention? A cliché type of photo that proliferates practically everywhere because it's been done to to death or a photo that stands apart from the rest because of some aspect related to it's content, subject matter or level of skill? It's a no brainer.

Yeah it is a no brainer. Go to any market, and look at the photos being sold there by photographers, or look at postcards etc. Product shots, glamour shots being sold to magazines.

They are more often than not, based on the clichues.

* The landscaper at the markets sells photos of smoothed water from waterfalls, or sunsets over the beach, why, cause they sell well.
* Postcards are generally land and sea scapes of iconic local areas, for the very reason these iconic places are nice to look at. You never see a postcard of the local rubbish tip.
* Product shots, done in a light tent, with a nice white background, no shadows. Again cause this presents the product in the best way to sell.
* Glamour shots, an airbrushed model in a bikini sells..simple!

Experimentation is good, but that is not going to sell your photos. Sticking to tried and true, in what the market wants, is how to sell photos. Experimenting is what most professional photographers do in their spare time, for personal satisfaction and learning. It is not what a client wants, in most cases

Clichued Rules when it comes to selling photos.

[malcolm]

I have a good picture of a rubbish tip - from Botswana, not local - because it was covered in vultures!
malcolm

[dbax]

I reckon the challenge is to try and get all the Cliches into the one shot

[mudman]

I reckon the challenge is to try and get all the Cliches into the one shot

i had the same thought David.
you get your chance to do just that in the next weekly comp.

[ricktas]

i had the same thought David.
you get your chance to do just that in the next weekly comp.

Yep, We thought it would be interesting to see how everyone interprets these, so the POTW is about these very clichés

More info: HERE