CalevPhoto

On Photography Etiquette

Recently I found myself in a situation that many of us I am sure have experienced.  I took some photos I was rather proud of and posted them on a forum.  Now I knew that I am a beginner in this area of photography and I still have a ways to go, but I still wanted to show off my work.  I do have rather thick skin and wouldn’t have minded some constructive criticism.

Water Smorgasborg by Joseph Calev

The response though was certainly not what I expected.  A different poster basically said “yeah, that’s not bad for two months with this equipment.  Now take a look at my awesome shots! You should try taking something like this!”.

To be honest, I did not appreciate this at all.  Yes, his shots were clearly better than mine.  However he provided no constructive criticism on my own shots.  I was just a beginner hoping to shine a bit and he threw a giant gobo on top of me.

This brings back an earlier story where I was on the other side.  A photographer posted several recent shots and asked for criticism.  I wasn’t crazy about either shot and posted constructive criticism.  I offered opinions on cropping, post processing, and angles.  I did not post any of my own shots.

Another photographer also responded and included several of his own shots in the discussion.  He offered much of the same feedback that I did.  Shortly after this, the individual left the forum never to return.

I believe it is worth having a discussion about photographer etiquette.  In general I find photographers are decent in terms of etiquette when actually shooting.  When I am photographing a patch of flowers, another photographer has never sat right next to me.  Similarly, I have not yet had an issue with another photographer interrupting wildlife I was photographing.  I do often have issues with non-photographers, who thrust their point and shoots on top of me when I am photographing macros, stand in front of me when I am photographing landscapes, and scare away wildlife I am photographing.

However I am discussing photographers here.  When it comes time to online discussions though, it seems we photographers are far less knowledgeable.  Therefore I would like to present my list of dos and don’ts.  Feel free to add your own.

Never post your own photo to a thread someone started to show off his/her own photos unless it is requested.

Photographers post their photos for different reasons.  They may want to show off or they may want criticism.  The general rule is never post your own photo on the same thread.  It simply is not polite.  You are taking the opportunity from another photographer and disregarding their work.

There are exceptions of course.  Sometimes a photographer will say “show me your best x shots”.  Other times the photographer may have a question on technique.  He may show an example photo where a problem occurred and ask for remedies.  In these situations it is perfectly acceptable to post your own shots.

If you comment on someone’s photo, add a “like” if the feature exists on the site.

This is a small courtesy.  Even if you’re not crazy about the shot, if you take the time to comment then click the ‘like’ button if the site has it.  This provides a good feeling for the other photographer.  If you want to provide constructive criticism, do it in the comments and still like the photo anyways.  Few photographers want to hear “this sucks”.  Many do want constructive criticism, but would like positive comments mixed with the negative.

The way I look at it, if the photo caused me to write a comment, then it must have been a decent photo for me to notice it in the first place.

Understand what the photographer is aiming for before commenting

Different photographers have different goals.  The goals of a stock photographer and a fine art photographer are quite different.  Make sure you understand these goals before commenting.  An awesome photo for stock photography will likely suck for fine art and vice versa.  If you strongly criticize a photo using the wrong goals, your comments will not be useful to the original poster.

Be careful about posting your own photos as example shots

Say someone has a question about lighting.  You response with a photo showing the discussed lighting technique.  This is perfectly OK.  Where the line becomes grayer is when someone mentions he/she is having a difficult time taking a type of photo and you reply saying “look at these awesome photos I took using this technique.  If you were nearly as awesome as I you would do the same”.

You are trumpeting your own horn here rather than providing any constructive proof.  Try to be more modest when posting.  It is OK to post awesome (in your eyes) example shots, but simply mention them as an example of the technique.  If the shots are truly awesome, others will call them out as such.

Try to understand what the photographer is looking for in critique

I am admittedly quite difficult in my critique.  If I do not like a shot I will plainly say so.  I will also give very specific reasons why I do not like it.  Some people greatly appreciate this feedback.  Others do not like it at all.

I openly do not like FlickR.  The reason I do not is due to what I call “the FlickR syndrome”.  This syndrome is very easy to catch if you are active on FlickR, as it is extremely easy to receive a ton of very positive feedback on an otherwise awful shot.  This leads some photographers to believe that every shot that leaves their hard drive is blessed and all other photographers will be blinded by the sheer awesomeness of their photos.

These photographers then post their photo someone where someone like I sees it and they simply cannot believe that something can be wrong with one of their photos.  I must clearly be an idiot for not recognizing the genius of this photo that hundreds of mindless FlickRites have proven.

The lesson of this is to try to understand what the photographer wants.  Sometimes it is OK to specifically ask what type of feedback the photographer desires.  Other times this is obvious from the original message.  If the photographer states that he took some shots he is very proud of, maybe it’s best not to comment.  If on the other hand the photographer states “give me your worst”, then absolutely do so.

If someone follows you or friends you, consider following them back

You are not above any other photographer out there and they should not be thought of as your flock.  When someone friends you they are truly interested in your work.  It does not mean they think you are better than they – just that your work interests them.  Do the right thing and take a look at their work.  Many times I have been greatly surprised that immensely talented photographers – way above me in talent – have chosen to follow me.  I use that as an opportunity to follow them as well so that I may learn more from their photography.

Be careful when commenting on photos about people

We have all seen a lot of photos of ugly people.  We have also seen photos of nice looking people in truly awful poses.  I remember one photo a photographer posted to a forum that he was quite proud of.  It was of a rather pretty girl stooped down in a way that looked like she was about to go to the bathroom.  In another I saw a very young girl posed in a way that in my opinion was completely inappropriate for the age.

You have to remember before commenting on these photos that the subject may be the daughter, spouse, or close relative of the photographer.  Also, the subject himself/herself may read the post.  If you want to provide constructive criticism, provide it on what the photographer did – not the model.  Be careful when stating what you don’t like about a shot though as many models are quite self conscious.  Remember, most of these people are not professional models at all but are simply someone who volunteered for the shoot.  If you say something about them that makes them uncomfortable, they may never volunteer for that photographer again.

Always assume your photo sucks when posting it

Few people like posts that say “see my awesome shots”.  As I said before, post your shots with humility.  Let others call out the quality of your shots.

Zerene Stacker – A Must for any Insect Photographer

This typically is not a review website, but in some cases I feel that I need to share something.  In this case it is Zerene Stacker.  Zerene Stack is an application that allows one to create a single image out of multiple photos taken with different parts of the image in focus.  In my opinion, this is an essential piece of software for every insect photographer to own.

There are a number of stacking applications out there, but what sets Zerene Stacker apart is its ability to align photos.  This is critical for insect photography as most photos are hand held.  This means that the chances that they will perfectly align are practically nil.

Zerene Stacker is extremely easy to use, though it does contain an impressive list of options.  It also contains a very powerful retouching feature that allows one to explain from which image to take different parts of the final image.  This is extremely useful in a number of cases, though with care I have found that it is often not necessary.  Typically I use the retouching feature when I specifically do not want a particular part of the final image to be in focus.  Often this is for artistic reasons.  I want the insect to be in focus but not this part of a leaf, etc.

There’s a common expression that a picture is worth a thousand words, so without further ado I’ll show you what it can do.

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Make Your Obstacles Your Strengths

I am sure we have all had frustrations when photographing various things.  Perhaps the light isn’t what you hoped it to be.  Perhaps you were expecting to be alone only in a church only to find three hundred other photographers armed with strong flashes also camped out there at the same time.

For me, this happens in particular when I am travelling.  Typically when I travel I have one chance to get the shot.  After that, we will visit a different place or leave the area.  On some occasions when I have a good hotel location, I do receive multiple chances – but the reality is I usually have to take what I get.

Until recently, I found I would get annoyed quickly.  I would get impatient at the person with a camera cell phone attempting to photograph something that just isn’t possible with it but refusing to believe that this is the case while standing right in front of my camera.  Even more annoying was on a recent trip to China a guy sat right in front of what I was photographing and then motioned for me to get away so his wife could take his picture.  OK, I still get frustrated at these people – but I now have a new strategy.

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On Photographing in China

As many of you know, one of my strongest passions is for travel photography.  Every year a great deal of time is spent determining where we will go on our next trip.  Once the next trip is decided upon, I spend a great deal of time debating which lenses and equipment to take on the trip and what types of things I want pictures of.

After spending seventeen days travelling through Beijing and Xi’an in mainland China, then Hong Kong, the following is a post mortem of what wound up working well for me and what did not.

What went well

Having two cameras

This is the first vacation where I took both my 5D2 and my 7D.  This provided quite a few advantages over a single camera – primarily that I did not need to change lenses often and could rapidly switch between closeups and wide angle shots.

The configuration I most often used was a TS-E 24 II on my 5D2 and a 70-200/4 IS on my 7D.  I would often zoom in on details of a building with my 7D, then take the entire building with the 5D2.

I did not always have both cameras around my neck at the same time, and on some short trips I took only one camera (typically the 5D2) so as to not overly annoy my wife, but overall the combo was extremely useful.

Using tilt shifts

As I use my tilt shift lenses more and more, I really am starting to feel that autofocus is truly overrated.  Sure, it is extremely useful for action, sports, and wildlife shots – but for most travel photos it is just a convenience – not a necessity.

On this trip I brought my TS-E 17, TS-E 24 II, and TS-E 90.  By far the TS-E 24 II was the most used.  I also used my TS-E 17 for a number of situations – though for the majority of situations it was too wide.  The TS-E 90 was used sparingly – primarily from our hotel room.

I used shift far more than tilt for most shots.  I did take a few shots playing around with tilt – such as above, but the majority of shots used shift for architecture.

Arranging for private tours in Xi’an and Beijing

Mainland China can be difficult to figure out.  I chose to not bother trying and pay a local to do this for me.  This enabled us to very quickly move from site to site – whereas in other trips we would often spend a tremendous amount of time finding places.

What went OK

China Tours

We used China Tours (ChinaTours.net) to book the private tours.  The guides were cordial and we saw for the most part the places we wanted to see, but what we really did not like was that each day we had to stop at one or more shops and spend a specific amount of time there.  We paid for a tour – not to stop in shops.

For others travelling to China, I would not recommend this agency and I would instead specifically enquire whether any time would be spent in shops.  Once already there, it is generally much better to just hire a taxi – as they were OK with us not wanting to go to shop (they didn’t even ask).

What didn’t work well

Monopod

I did not use this a single time and for our next trip I will not bother to take it.  A monopod works extremely well when shooting with longer lenses such as my 300/4 or 100-400, but for the shorter lenses it is fine to just shoot hand held or when not a tripod is required.

Playing around with dandelion seeds

Dandelions have always been one of my favorite subjects – in particular the seeds as they fall.  Sure, they’re weeds – but they’re graceful weeds.

This particular image is a focus stack from two images.  I have been working a bit more with focus stacking using Zerene stacker and find it very useful – in particular for someone like me who does not have a lot of time.

Dandelion seeds can actually be rather tricky to photograph.  I usually find that more than 1:1 magnification is required so I use my MP-E 65 anywhere from 1:1 to 2:1.  Generally the seeds do not stay still so a flash is required.  It can be quite tricky though getting the seed in your viewfinder and in focus as they tend to sway quite a bit in the wind – causing the seed to come in and out of my viewfinder.

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The wonderful sand dollar

I think almost everyone in the world is familiar with the sand dollar so often found on the beach.  Until recently, I always believed that all sand dollars were white.  I must admit that I thought that the actual animal lived inside of the white shell and that birds would open it up to eat it.

In truth, sand dollars look quite a bit different when they are still alive.

These two sand dollars were found at Kopachuk State Park, where it’s literally impossible to not find a sand dollar.  They can be found in the thousands there and in places it is difficult to walk without stepping on one.

This one appears to be Echinarachnius parma, or the Common Sand Dollar.  Interestingly, sand dollars are either female or male – just like other animals and insects.  Even more interestingly, sand dollars are one of the first creatures found to use cloning as a means for self defense.  The sand dollar will deliberately break of parts of itself that are small enough for predators to not bother them.

Taking a look at the sand dollars on the beach, it was very clear upon looking at them that they are truly living – as it appeared something was moving on them.  Of course I had to take a closer look.

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Harvestman Study

Here in the Pacific Northwest, the harvestman is one of the coolest and easiest critters to find.  At the ponds by my office, they are very common and I see one almost every time I photograph there.  I have a number of pictures of them, but I decided to play around a bit more this time to see if I could be a bit more original.

My goal with this shot was to emphasize the legs coming right out at you – as if they harvestman were about to grab you.  I created several versions of this shot, but this one I like the best – with the body of the harvestman just visible behind. 

For those not familiar with our friend the harvestman, they are not spiders.  They are arachnids, but are in the order Opiliones while spiders are in the order Araneae.  Of course, for the squeamish that isn’t very important.  Most people know the harvestman by the common name “daddy long legs".

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The Northern Flicker – aka my first success in birding

After last weekend’s disastrous effort in birding, I decided to get back to my good old macro shots when I went for a stroll by several ponds near my office.  The day’s efforts were OK – as I found several flies mating that I will need to later identify.  After getting some decent shots, I packed up my camera and started to head back.

Not far from being back in my office I suddenly heard several loud knocks as a I passed a tree.  I’m not a birder, but neither am I an idiot.  I immediately knew what that could be.  After several moments, I located the culprit.

I must admit that I had to look up what type of woodpecker this is, and it is a Northern Flicker.  It is actually quite common everywhere in the US and I’m sure for many birders this is a rather ordinary bird – but for me at least this is the best look I have had of a woodpecker.

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Sometimes you just need to realize equipment will not help

As some of you may know, I have been eyeing a large telephoto for quite some time.  I have long agonized when I will finally purchase my large telephoto and which one will I buy.  Will I buy the more portable 500mm F4 or the longer but heavier 600mm F4?  Perhaps I will go all out and spring for the 800mm 5.6, or perhaps I will go the sports route and get the 400mm 2.8?  I have spent a great deal of time debating this and bugging others about it.

This weekend, though, I decided to do something a bit different.  Given a home I had to photograph in Monroe, I decided to take a trip to Ben Hierland’s Wildlife Park.  I took along my 100-400 and my 7D and used my monopod for stabilization.  I’ve had my 7D for a good month now, but this was the first time I had actually used it for wildlife.  The idea was that the crop factor should give me a good idea what magnification I truly needed and which lens would work the best for me.

I must say I was completely shocked at what the answer turned out to be.

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Are Modern Economics Killing Professional Photography?

There has recently been a growing chatter about the rise of the amateur photographer and the threat this poses to professional photographers making a living today.  The claim goes that, since these photographers offer their photos for free or for pennies on the dollar, true professional photographers can no longer make a living.

This argument has grown quite heated at times.  One the one side, you have professional photographers trying to convince good amateur photographers to sell their photos for a good rate.  On the other side you have amateur photographers complaining that professional photographers are trying to control the market.

There is no denying that the market has changed.  Places like Shutterstock and IStockphoto have certainly changed the equation and people on FlickR giving their photos away for free are also changing it.  Journalism has also significantly changed, meaning many once employed photographers are now looking for jobs as newspapers fold and news organizations look for amateur photographers on the ground.

However, just because the market changed does not mean professional photography is going the way of the dodo – far from it.

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