Are You Guilty Of Photography's Worst Habit?

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[@sbai4319]

This is part of the reason why I don’t buy other photographers preset packs. I want my work to reflect my vision and style. So I have my own resources and my work looks like my own work.

[@boblangill6209]

Guilty on occasions, but as painter Bob Ross repeatedly said "There are no mistakes, only happy accidents"

[@AlanKlughammer]

I had a photo teacher who said you don't know if you have gone far enough until you have gone too far.

[@BritishRosie-es3zr]

I have often slapped nonsense on top of poor photos to try and drag something out of them. I need to just take better photos haha!

[@canturgan]

Lee Miller discovered pseudo solarization when she accidentally switched on the light while the print was developing. That's her in the picture you showed.

[@MohammedAli-xv6es]

I naturally chose to never save any of my edits, because they are more or less a feeling for me. If I’m sad I blast the hues and saturation, if I’m happy I try to show the beauty in nature, if I’m neutral I try not to adjust anything. I love this channel! ❤

[@ThePhotographicEye]

Thank you

[@Bbthomask]

LOL! Who hasn't cut their teeth on DeviantArt? Hehe! Good points made here. I try to keep my post processing down to Crop/Sharpen/Color Correction/Saturation, all as minimally as possible, unless I'm trying for an EFFECT. In that case, it's the effect I'm displaying, the subject is just the stage for it.

[@arniet1]

It seems very difficult to explain in simple terms, but to me, photography should not be about embellishing an image with filters and photoshop but being able to capture the natural effects of light, shadow and form

[@lizbecker1677]

I tend to get caught up in the technology, and I enjoy playing around with Photoshop. I've been guilty of not composing my shots well and maybe not being too careful about exposure and other settings, saying "I can just Photoshop it when I get home." After taking a lot of crappy photos and not getting the results I've wanted through Photoshop, I'm starting to catch on to this. I really enjoyed this video, and I think he's right when he says that you don't need to ask others what went wrong or what kind of filters to use. You should just ask whether the image is good to start with and if the effects are enhancing or taking over.

[@TheHeraldOfChange]

"You can put lipstick on a pig, if you like; but at the end of the day, it's still a pig." I don't know who said this originally, but I've paraphrased it for neigh on 30 years. It relates to all things aesthetic, functional, or social.

[@simonmeeds1886]

The best bit was "If somebody says to you... 'Alex, ... what a cool effect that you have here. Where did you get that from?...' Then they're not reacting to your photograph. They're reacting to the filter that you've put on it and if they're doing that then you have failed." The way I usually put it is that I don't want to look at someone's photograph (or have them look at mine) and be able to say "I know what effect you used". I'm absolutely in favour of photographers editing their images, sometimes in radical ways, but you do that successfully by blending different filters or by creating your own from first principles, not by selecting one filter, applying it, and saying "That's finished". It's not particularly that I think it ought to be difficult - the vast majority of my photographs only take a few seconds or at most a couple of minutes to edit - but that if it's as simple as clicking one option, whether that's one a simple effect applying brushstrokes to an image or a complex AI-based sky replacement, it's not making the photographer think. It becomes a habit and then becomes a cliché.

[@lisajoseph5817]

Wow, for once laziness is a virtue! For a very long time I resisted doing more than the occasional crop and contrast bump because it felt like cheating. This year I finally invested in a better editing program and am trying to learn to use it - but I still want my photos to look like they came out of my camera that way, so I keep my edits small and subtle - and if I have to spend more than five or ten minutes on a shot, I know I'm over-salting the dish. Which is bad for you anyway. ;) Thanks as always for the content!

[@ThePhotographicEye]

Thanks for watching.

[@Yousless1]

Right there with you. At some point it’s not really a photograph anymore. With so much work done it’s just bothersome to look at and I can’t tell what the photo really looked like from the beginning.

[@wiandryadiwasistio2062]

i first get into editing photos out of advices that if i don’t edit my photos, people will not bother to see it. so, i decided to edit my photos, tweaking with saturation and clarity/definition. as time passes by, i realize the more i edit, the more it felt like ‘unreal’ than real; i capture things that i see *in* reality, so editing it to make it pop out and stand out just defeats the purpose of photography, for me. for now, i keep my editing to a minimum: just some warmth/tone correction, lens distortion correction, and lessening noise. apart from that, i refuse to do so

[@lesath7883]

To me, that sounds like a good enough edit. Just bring out the details that the sensor might have diluted a bit.

[@lighthouse222222]

Thanks for keeping me on course, it’s so easy to get sidetracked by the shiny objects! 😂

[@AnthonyJGianotti]

I feel like the opposite is often true as well where I will discount an image instead of cropping and working on it even if it has some defect.

[@cliftonwhittaker260]

I call it "trying to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear". I've wasted a lot of time on that process, but I've learned a lot from it, too.

[@Kim_Miller]

The guy whose photo of the redhead woman is Christopher Campbell and he runs a studio in Australia called Studio Joel. From the website it looks like he's doing pretty well - lots of impressive portrait work, advertising and design projects for events. The photo used to be on Unsplash stock photo site and shows up in image searches. I imagine he used the stock photo industry to get his name out into the wild.

[@csc-photo]

What a great topic & vid! For me, I was taught / shot in black & white only for the first 2 years (my high school instructor insisted on it). The focus was always composition-first, learn the technicals along the way (technicals being the easier part) and of course the wet darkroom. Adding color came later. Then I continued in black & white when I moved on to news photography. With that foundation, I always keep in mind: a strong image is strong in mono, color, with or without effects - so I absolutely agree with everything here - filters & effects being the "seasoning", what a perfect way to deliver this message. We all see way too many over-seasoned images these days 🙂 Thanks Alex!

[@ThePhotographicEye]

Thank you for watching

[@DengekiGamer]

I've tried "masking" a Bad Picture quite often back when I have begun with Photography, but in retrospective it never really worked for me. Beside one time, maybe. It was a terrible and blurry picture, ready for the Bin, of a Friend of mine on a small Gig (he's a Musician). I had trouble to make good Photos at this Day, it was a rather dark Venue and because you're NEVER supposed to rise your ISO just a Bit (yes, I was one of these Persons), most Pictures were blurry. There was one Picture I really wanted to "rescue" and just out of desperation I made it Black and white with just one Part Colour (the Screen of an oversized Game Boy). The result is like a 80s Record Cover. Tried this many times after that, but was never able to repeat this look. I think I was just Lucky that Time.

[@mikskinner6431]

You could do a video expanding on this theme of doing things for the sake of fashion. Not just in the editing, but also of the actual subjects. Street photos of people walking in or out of shadows, silhouetted figures walking past vast areas of colour etc etc etc. There are so many clichés out there.

[@warrenswales5693]

It is the same for all image, drama or musical art, throughout history. Something new eventually becomes hip and ends up as a cliché. Just look at all the gritty grunge portrait imagery that is now very much a cliché and as horrible to view as those extreme HDR.

[@petermcginty3636]

Thank you for making this video. You are one of the very few KZbinrs that isn't trying to sell me a LUT or a preset. The ironic thing was, while you were bagging photoshop, an advert for AI photo software popped-up. Hilarious!

[@ThePhotographicEye]

Thanks for watching 😂

[@timauger]

Very good video. Effects gimmickry is the bane of digital photography.

[@daniadejonghe4980]

I worked for many years for Fox Entertainment publicity, retouching and compositing. Photoshop can help reveal what is best in an image but it cannot make a run of the mill portrait a great portrait. When you are lucky enough to work on a great portrait the best thing you can do is clean up the tiny stuff, bow and introduce the artist. And stay out of the way.

[@L.Spencer]

I'm always amazed how some people need lots of jewelry, and usually makeup. My photos sometimes need it, though.

[@peterjulianphotos4659]

Lipstip on Pigs - I first came across the phrase in 1996 in the IT Industry. We were putting 'cool Web" front ends on unix systems. Anyhoo your video resonates well with me - I dispair when I see so many cookie cutter images on Instagram. I still want to be wowed by something different, I don't care if it's outrageous or sublime, I just want to know that it's taken creative thought process to produce. I don't use presents EVER, I want my photos to speak to me individually and ask me how to accentuate them as unique objects, it comes back to the old adage do you take photos or create them....

[@Dilemma1962]

I just discovered your channel. Without going into gobs of detail, just let me say - I needed it. 😇

[@ThePhotographicEye]

Welcome!

[@lewisjones4158]

Great video. When I first got Instagram around 2011, I’d open the app, find a random shot in my gallery, apply filters and borders to it and see what could vaguely work. Now I do zero additional editing in Instagram. If I’m not happy with the shot in the first place it’s unlikely I’ll even edit it at all

[@eric.ross.art1]

When it comes to an overall look for an image or a series of images, whether it be natural light or color gelled studio stobes, or even just in color grading, my main focus is FEEL of the image. What FEELING I am making an image of. After that I color coordinate and grade. I think good editing walks the fine line of going too far, but never crossing it. Cheers.

[@alexanderpons9246]

Fantastic advice Alex Kilbee! Yes lets start with a good picture and like you mentioned then let the filters/Presets complement the already good image. Funny you mentioned Cross Processed, in the 90's I played with that a lot. When you shot Film(C41) and developed it as Chrome(E-6), I remember getting a Cyan/Green over cast with it, it was a lot of fun.

[@SivertAlmvik]

I remember back in the day (early 00s), people converted photos to black and white, except for one element which had a strong colour. A red ballon, red lips etc, and it was all the rage. Shit photos istantly made good! Good times :)

[@canadian-gardening-Zone6A]

Awesome videos. I take mostly pictures of flowers. So much to learn. Thank you!

[@ThePhotographicEye]

Thanks for watching

[@dan666dan]

The "cut out" effect is such a thing from that first 3 months photographing haha I just didnt get it why all these Peter Turner pics, they are not nice photos, one or two "ok" photos, that orange sky with a tree is awesome tbh, the rest looks like a new photographer learning how the things work. We all were a begginer someday, nothing wrong with that, but i think we all grewup out of it eventually in our own ways and directions. I kinda fell the same about black and white phptography, sometimes its a good call, but some photographers are addicted to the B&W and let so much pass by cuz they cant not shoot on b&w.

[@Rob.1340]

Thank you. All the best. 👍📷😎

[@iaincphotography6051]

For sure there was plenty of lipstick on many of the shots tonight Alex. Enhanced then entranced is better.

[@Clipper024]

Fully understand what you're saying. Being in the depth of winter here (Winnipeg), I spend my time working on decades old photos that are digitized. Most are just cleaned up and brought back to life, every now and then, I come across one that I see something else, then spend hours going back and forth trying the 'Effects' to bring it out...sigh

[@pcs9518]

Thankfully I started my photography journey with film and experimentation with lens filters. I’ve found these same lens filters transition to digital extremely well so all my filters are used at the time I take them and not in photoshop. I even enjoy using color filters on my flash they can add interesting effects.

[@peterlieberzeit3138]

Have always tried to edit for "natural", so just learning bringing a "feel" to an image through editing ....

[@tedbrown7908]

I do, I have and I will, but it depends on the photo. If I have a great B&W then I won't change it except to reduce noise.

[@thethirdman225]

Yeah, like wide angle and black and white ‘street photography’ is instant art… So yeah, definitely ’putting lipstick on a pig’. If someone starts talking about the ‘bokeh’ I know I’ve failed. Miserably.

[@nickolasmazzara127]

Everyone has a different perspective on “digital art” vs “photography,” and I don’t think there is a single photographer in the world that has a right to tell someone what is what. However, with that said, my personal MO is to replicate an analog experience as much as I can. What I mean by that: if the method used to achieve a desired effect isn’t able to be replicated with film (capturing and/or developing), then I won’t employ said method. Also, as more of a challenge to myself, I try my hardest to, in-camera, capture images that closely replicate my “artistic vision.” I guess, to summarize, my goal when taking a photo is to minimize post processing.

[@johng5819]

Enhance? - Ok. Composing an alternate reality? - No. But that is just my opinion.

[@luxdosul]

6:36 looks like Pete Turner us using Hipstamatic. Nothing wrong with it. I like Hipstamatic too and I shoot analog and digital. Don’t use PS though.😁 takes too much time to me😊

[@alunrees3056]

Guilty as charged. Quality of the base image aside, I have now learnt to let my eyes ‘recover’ after pushing the sliders about and reassess the mess, then readjust as required, before I consider an image is finished.

[@mamertobernal4460]

Yes.. I am playing with the Hoya R72 infra red filter and I am just not getting it. I need better images or different images. Watching tutorials to point me in the right direction. Putting too much lipstick on the pig at the moment.. Work in progress lol

[@ashleytoltonart]

This was a very humbling and amazing video. Thank you!! 🙏

[@ThePhotographicEye]

Thanks for watching

[@1967davidsrebrnik]

In the days of AI and dall-e and chatGPT and even photoshop, a new generation of "artists" is born and we'll become like the 19th century painters!

[@thomastuorto9929]

As one you tube photography channel associate said, POLISHING TERDS! The less you alter pixels in a photo, the cleaner it looks. If that matters at all in the photo. It might not matter in some photos. AI, AP = Artificial Photography.

[@carlosenriquez2092]

I used a marksalot to put a mustache on Thor wel a life size cutout anyway. the cinema manager was not impressed I now have to go to a different cinema. Having said all that the image was much improved.

[@RichardOldroyd]

I would think most people ask such questions to encourage engagement on social media.

[@davidmiley1286]

Let’s hear it for those old phrases that still spark interesting conversations! So, you can’t make a silk purse out of a pigs ear. Shan’t bore you all here and modesty prevents me, but do check out Thomas Hardy in his novel Jude the Obscure and the way he elevates (adding Alex’s filters so to speak) those bits of pig that we would just discard. “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder” springs to mind. I find some of Pete and Harry’s work astounding but that does not mean they are immune to the lipstick argument. Anyway, I say, just have a go and see what happens. To paraphrase another Harry Alex mentioned, you may get lucky. Are you feeling lucky?

[@photografiq_presents]

Ive always thought photographers that ask those questions on social media are just attempting to drive interaction. Not really concerned with opinions while theyre building an audience.

[@mrca2004]

When I teach, I alway start by asking when photographing what is the first thing you should do. Old farts will say take off the lens cap. But the correct answer is know why you are taking the photo, what you are trying to say or communicate. If you don't, it's like sitting at the computer to send an email and closing your eyes and hitting random key. No, you determine what you want to say and chose the words, sentences, paragraphs, alliteration, repetition, etc that maximizes your message. If you don't know why you are taking the image when you get to post, you are picking a meaning. If you know why you took the image, you will have that to guide your edit. Sorry, over saturation, weird colors, tilting, blurring doesn't make it art. It may have impact but as Ansel said, there is nothing worse than a sharp image of a fuzzy (or no) idea. If you know why you are taking the shot, you will know which lens, aperture, shutter speed, camera position, lighting, posing, expression and props. The will be chosen to support the idea. Having no idea, mindlessly shooting the trying to concoct an idea in post is what is the difference between a pro and an amateur. The amateur can be that blind squirrel who finds an acorn every few shoots. A pro must hit a home run during the scheduled shoot. Let the subject of the image speak to you and then use all your tools including post to maximize it.

[@deanfordcreative]

Back in the Day. Photoshop users had KPT, Kai's Power Tools. Effects were being used everywhere. It was really bad!!

[@borderlands6606]

If one word shout be erased from the photographer's lexicon, it's "punchy". Another crime against eyeballs is the insistence that every image has to exhaust detail in highlights and shadows. Why? We're not in the data retrieval business, we're creatives.

[@coloraddiction]

The early 00's deviantart border T_T It took you about three seconds to call me all the way tf out with that deviantart statement XD XD XD T_T T_T T_T In all of our defense, play is how we learn, and toying with filters and all the various effects photoshop has to offer provides a level of comfort with the program where even if you don't use 99% of those effects, now you have a literacy with the interface that you might not have otherwise.

[@comfortablyblind6853]

I could never afford photoshop, so I never used it. I shoot film and crop and manipulate with a free Android app. People have told me, I'm really good at photography. One even suggested I get an agent. I have no idea where to find one.

[@wilsel1394]

I've found that people who spend endless hours analysing what makes a good photograph rarely make good photographs. The people who make really good photographs tend to just get on it with it without endlessly pontificating.

[@artsilva]

Ah yes, the Cringe period of the mid to late 2000's. I didn't realize what I was doing until I joined this new photo share app called Instagram and all the instant filters of the early days and discovering that I am not the only one with this "filter" and effects look. It then became apparent that there is no alternative to spending time on an image rather than a lazy one click effect of a smartphone app or PS preset which like you said it is no longer about the photograph but the filter in itself.

[@freemanchrisx]

6:36 "Tastes change." Almost like they're subjective. Curious, don't ya think? If you think about it, it's not curious at all.

[@Mark.A.Waller]

Well said.

[@warrend8362]

Tools are tools until you use them as weapons of mass destruction 😂

[@donaldhanson2908]

I keep telling people, the presets they are buying are somebody else's solution to the photographs those people made. The presets may not now, or probably never suit their images. It can be an exercise in frustration and a waste of money. They are certainly no substitute for the seat time the originators put in to gaining the knowledge and experience to build those "gorgeous" presets.

[@chromagraphphotoart]

Yes... Now can I watch the video...

[@VinceSPonki]

Thank you!

[@ThePhotographicEye]

Thanks for watching

[@rogershore3128]

Not much a bad photograph but maybe I find an old photograph with an issue that has potential to become something else and I abandoned it at the time. Certainly I have done some shots with photographs 40 years after the event with very little work that have that "wow" factor that it just didn't have then. It suddenly has that dynamics that was lacking then...... It's simply down to how you use the tools of the modern digital medium. Used right they are great but it's like the old days when everyone and their cat stuck every filter of the day on their camera... They can be overused or badly used... It's knowing what to do and not what to do.

[@klartext2225]

Ooops! First I thought: I haven't seen this pic by Pete Turner yet... ;-))). but you just forgot to delete his name down left. But most pics say: copyright by A.K. Besides: interesting topic!

[@lauriealexander9700]

You can stick Lipstick on a Pig, you have to use composites .. not filters or effects. Respect ... You do normally need a reasonably good photo to do it with.

[@AK-hk2pd]

Aussie words "you can't polish a turd"

[@jeremyfielding2333]

Why are we constantly searching for recognition? Pointless. I post a photo on Facebook but never look at comments and likes except maybe weeks later.

[@milkyISO]

Ahhhh the good ole deviantArt days... I should have never deleted my profile.

[@bradleyrieger1517]

Heck, I'm using an outdated version of Picasa 3.

[@thethirdman225]

Who took the egg photo?

[@DennisF252]

Went down the Deviant Art route, shared it (picture of son) and got seriously berarated by his mother

[@eleluku29]

I think the best effect is the one you can't see. That's why I don't use it.

[@TimberGeek]

I'm still on deviant art, how did you spell "schitzo 011"?

[@ThePhotographicEye]

Schitz011 It’s a really old account- don’t think I’ve posted anything on there in at least 10’years!

[@TimberGeek]

@@ThePhotographicEye I'll bear that in mind, I do like the last three (aka most recent) images there. I don't post there very often either, I've got a few abandoned galleries floating out in the wilds of the internet.

[@foxdenham]

...and to elaborate, "You can't polish a turd!"

[@oneeyedphotographer]

4:00 Ukraine!

[@AlanKlughammer]

If you can't make it good, add an effect.

[@oneeyedphotographer]

10:18 Please explain to me why this is so funny?

[@camcappe353]

You mean the rise of Instagram? And all of social media these days

[@terrymcgovern6846]

No! I am not going to turn my camera 45 degrees! NO!! I am not going to put an ugly vignette on my image to "draw attention to the subject!!

[@borderlands6606]

The Dutch Tilt is an interesting one. Many of Garry Winogrand's photographs were shot on the skew, though he claimed the subject always lined up with something in the scene even it it wasn't the horizon.

[@leet7489]

omg those images by Pete Turner are so ugly. why would he do that?