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Archive 2014 · Apparently, I need to dust off my camera and go shooting again...

  
 
Prettym1k3
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p.5 #1 · Apparently, I need to dust off my camera and go shooting again...


By ignoring your biggest critics, you may be missing out on something that they have to say, Lisa. Some of my biggest critics are what have driven me to improve my photography, because at first I was so offended, I took it personally and just spent a day or two being angry that they had the audacity to critique my work. Then, after I settled down, I realized they were right, at least in part. Maybe you'll feel this way, too, or maybe you'll just realize you don't care what they think.

Some of the harsh critiques may be from jealousy. Or they may just be starting out in photography and think that offering harsh critiques without any sort of "constructive" portion to the criticism is warranted. Then again, some people may be right. That's for you to determine.

I never called your work boring. Just stated an opinion that it seems a few may share around here? I don't know. And in this industry, we photographers (like any artist, musician, etc.) tend to take C&C very personally. And it should be taken personally... and, yet, it shouldn't. We should analyze what was said, and then recognize if it's applicable or not. If not, wipe the offended slate clean and walk away. If it is applicable, and changes need to be made, then wipe the offended slate clean, and learn from it.

Your work has a unique style. But some people don't like it. To say "Just don't comment" is, in my opinion, you actually saying, "I don't like what you're saying or how you're saying it." And that, too, is fine. If you're going something that is subjective, some will like it and some won't. But, listening to those comments is, in my opinion, both healthy and a growing aspect of each of us in our craft. Ignoring them gives you only a single perspective from all of those "OMG I LOVE YOUR WORK!" people. And that gets you nowhere. In fact, that is what gets these people charging $100 for a portrait session for 20 straight years who are still doing selective color and over-saturation. Because they ignored the opportunities for both C&C and growth, and kept accepting the praises from their adoring fans.

To date, I can't recall anyone ever saying anything truly negative about your work, Lisa. 95% of the posts are simply praising you, offering zero critiques at all. And you seem to enjoy that. It may be time to consider taking the good with the bad, and learning from it, rather than just eating up the praise, and being hurt and offended by the critiques.

It is, also possible, that some people are jealous, like I said above.

Being confident in what you do is important. Being humble in accepting *polite* C&C is also important. Those who are rude? Ignore them. Those who aren't? Take it to heart.

There will always be people in both the rude and polite camps.



Oct 01, 2014 at 12:40 PM
dmacmillan
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p.5 #2 · Apparently, I need to dust off my camera and go shooting again...


haleym77 wrote:
... you've made a very successful business for yourself...

I'm sorry, what business?

Lisa has posted that she is no longer taking appointments for portrait work and she is no longer holding workshops or webinars.

IIRC, she says she wants to pursue her personal photography and also spend more time with her family, both of which are noble pursuits.



Oct 01, 2014 at 12:55 PM
airfrogusmc
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p.5 #3 · Apparently, I need to dust off my camera and go shooting again...


Prettym1k3 wrote:
By ignoring your biggest critics, you may be missing out on something that they have to say, Lisa. Some of my biggest critics are what have driven me to improve my photography, because at first I was so offended, I took it personally and just spent a day or two being angry that they had the audacity to critique my work. Then, after I settled down, I realized they were right, at least in part. Maybe you'll feel this way, too, or maybe you'll just realize you don't care what they think.

Some of the harsh critiques may be from jealousy.
...Show more

But then again who is posting the opinions and are those opinions actually valid crit of the work. In a formal situation like a college class you usually have people that are about on the same visual level as you are and those critiques especially with a professor as a moderator can be very helpful. I have seen people suggest cropping out some of the most important visual elements in images and then when the person defending his piece explains why he disagrees he is then told he doesn't want crit blah blah blah.



Oct 01, 2014 at 01:41 PM
airfrogusmc
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p.5 #4 · Apparently, I need to dust off my camera and go shooting again...


dmacmillan wrote:
"... not even wasting your precious time looking at it....
No, you don't get it . You're still being passive-aggressive.


Boring and pointless is one person suggestive opinion. Those serious about a crit should use more objective terms in describing what is or isn't working in the frame. We are all free to like and dislike whatever but you can still dislike a piece and see why it is a good image and vise versa.



Oct 01, 2014 at 01:49 PM
haleym77
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p.5 #5 · Apparently, I need to dust off my camera and go shooting again...


dmacmillan wrote:
I'm sorry, what business?

Lisa has posted that she is no longer taking appointments for portrait work and she is no longer holding workshops or webinars.

IIRC, she says she wants to pursue her personal photography and also spend more time with her family, both of which are noble pursuits.


Lisa has made a very successful business for herself. She could sell out of every workshop even if she held one every day of the week. Her choosing to focus on her own personal art at this point in time does not mean that she has not made a successful business.



Oct 01, 2014 at 02:07 PM
dmacmillan
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p.5 #6 · Apparently, I need to dust off my camera and go shooting again...


airfrogusmc wrote:
Boring and pointless is one person suggestive opinion. Those serious about a crit should use more objective terms in describing what is or isn't working in the frame. We are all free to like and dislike whatever but you can still dislike a piece and see why it is a good image and vise versa.

Again, I'll reiterate the issue is not the comments or crits made, the issue is Lisa's response to them.

I've been careful to not confuse the issue by agreeing or disagreeing with the comments that were made. Also, for the record, the first use of the term "boring" was made by Lisa herself. That's her interpretation of what Paul said and it was used in a dismissive, passive-aggressive manner. Paul's comments were respectful and he acknowledged that folks have different tastes and some may find her work "complete", to use his term.

We've seen this pattern over and over. This is not the first time Lisa has been hyper-sensitive and left in a huff, nor do I suspect it will be the last.



Oct 01, 2014 at 02:20 PM
airfrogusmc
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p.5 #7 · Apparently, I need to dust off my camera and go shooting again...


Yeah and she fixed it. Which one of us has not made a mistake in the past. Sometimes we get very close to our work. Sometimes the crit is not valid. Sometimes we react to that.




Oct 01, 2014 at 02:33 PM
dmacmillan
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p.5 #8 · Apparently, I need to dust off my camera and go shooting again...


airfrogusmc wrote:
Yeah and she fixed it. Which one of us has not made a mistake in the past. Sometimes we get very close to our work. Sometimes the crit is not valid. Sometimes we react to that.


Reread her post. She didn't come anywhere close to "fixing it". I see no contrition.



Oct 01, 2014 at 02:39 PM
airfrogusmc
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p.5 #9 · Apparently, I need to dust off my camera and go shooting again...


I'd say pg 4 #10 she fixed it and now this is getting even sillier. Even if she didn't fix it so what. What are we going to do. Shave her head and send her overseas (Sorry that was what they did to me LoL) cast her out? There are an awful lot of petty jealous people on the forums and again I put it all back to the wise words of Ansel Adams I posted a while back.


Oct 01, 2014 at 02:45 PM
popinvasion
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p.5 #10 · Apparently, I need to dust off my camera and go shooting again...


Those pictures bore the hell out of me. I feel like I've seen the same thing time and time again....



Just kidding. Lovely stuff Lisa. Look forward to seeing more of your work. You truly have a style, don't deviate unless you need/want to.



Oct 01, 2014 at 03:06 PM
charlesk
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p.5 #11 · Apparently, I need to dust off my camera and go shooting again...


I see that Lisa restored her images.... except for the one showing the originals from which the Radio Flyer shot was constructed.

See? You *did* learn something from someone you got mad at.



Oct 01, 2014 at 04:00 PM
amrot
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p.5 #12 · Apparently, I need to dust off my camera and go shooting again...


This is my first post. I'm not a pro but an enthusiast, and I am bothering to post now b/c I suspect a lot of people on the forum share my perspective.

I come here to learn. I come to see a variety of pictures (both in style and levels of quality) and judge what worked for me, what didn't, and, importantly, what other more experienced photographers liked and didn't like about a picture. I don't take anything as gospel. It's also fairly obvious to me, a lurker, when a critique isn't helpful. I just dismiss those posts since it doesn't help me produce better pictures. I don't know why any OP would care about those types of posts. To me (and really, it's all about me, isn't it ) a post isn't just for the OPs benefit, it's for the community's benefit. From that perspective, OPs shouldn't be precious about their work and commentators shouldn't care if OPs agree, disagree, or are sensitive. For all the lurkers out there, positive, neutral, and negative comments alike are all just data points to help us improve our own photography. We're usually not emotionally invested in a particular picture so we're able to dismiss much of the "noise" that's included in posts.

My bottom line is that I hope Lisa keeps posting in the same way. I'm not commenting on her personal style or her response to C&C. I just freaking love Lisa's willingness to provide pullback shots and before and after pictures, and it would be a shame if she stopped posting them b/c of thin skin or b/c people are jerks (depending on your perspective). Also, even if you're not a fan of her style, her posing and composition can still be inspiring and often demonstrate something new (didn't she just post pics from another state, or am I thinking of someone else?). Hopefully all the Lisas of the world keep posting (especially the behind the scenes shots), because it really does help others. The week after seeing the pullback shot of the girl on her back in the grass I kept looking for giant natural softboxes and open shade when I was driving around and then I tried to convince my kids to go lay in the grass for some pictures!



Oct 01, 2014 at 04:09 PM
glennh56
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p.5 #13 · Apparently, I need to dust off my camera and go shooting again...


Then by the same logic, a lot of "music" created today isn't music. Manipulated, created at different points in time.

charlesk wrote:
That is a beautiful scene of a baby sitting in a Radio Flyer in the middle of a road staring at a fantastic sunset.

The problem is that this scene never happened. It was fabricated from several different shots taken at different times.

I never said you weren't a photographer. But that image is, IMO, not a photograph. Because in my view a photograph needs to at least approximately resemble what the photographer saw when the scene was taken. We all make adjustments to varying degrees, and naturally some manipulate images more than others. Arguments can be made in many different
...Show more



Oct 01, 2014 at 04:41 PM
charlesk
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p.5 #14 · Apparently, I need to dust off my camera and go shooting again...


glennh56 wrote:
Then by the same logic, a lot of "music" created today isn't music. Manipulated, created at different points in time.


No, not by the same logic.

Some images get attention because they capture what appear to be "magical moments". But in some cases, those moments never happen, and so they aren't magical -- they're created with a computer.

In my opinion, presenting an image as if it is a capture of something unique and special and difficult when it never existed and could have been assembled by pretty much anyone with decent PS skills, is inherently fraudulent. Composites that are passed off as single images deceive the viewer by creating the impression of a false, rare accomplishment. I find that distasteful regardless of the merits of the final product. You are entitled to a differing opinion, but you will not change mine on this particular score.



Oct 01, 2014 at 08:56 PM
Lisa_Holloway
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p.5 #15 · Apparently, I need to dust off my camera and go shooting again...


You really think that we, as artists, owe it to ANYONE to share behind the scenes info as to how we came to a finished product? Honestly, that is just ridiculous. I have learned my lesson though about sharing before and afters here. I did it because I get asked often and thought it would be a nice thing to do by sharing. But if it just makes me a fraud, well, why bother? How is using all of the different tools at your disposal akin to fraud? If that was the case, where do you draw the line? Will you continue to Photoshop a mom's muffin top? Fix color casts? Change any number of things possible of being changed with editing software? Is it all fraud? People have been manipulating images as long as photography has existed. Unless you are an FPJ type of photographer (which I am NOT and never claimed to be) or a crazy purist, I don't see how any of this is fraud. It is all about having a vision for a finished image and using the tools at your disposal to see that vision to fruition. Nothing more, nothing less. But rest assured, the before and afters will be a thing of the past from me here. I will leave people wondering from now on.


Oct 01, 2014 at 09:23 PM
Jason C
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p.5 #16 · Apparently, I need to dust off my camera and go shooting again...


airfrogusmc wrote:
"No man has the right to dictate what other men should perceive, create or produce, but all should be encouraged to reveal themselves, their perceptions and emotions, and build confidence in the creative spirit"-Ansel Adams



Amen brother, amen!

Jason




Oct 01, 2014 at 10:19 PM
jeraldcook
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p.5 #17 · Apparently, I need to dust off my camera and go shooting again...


Lisa, your work is incredible so keep posting and ignore the critics.


Oct 01, 2014 at 10:56 PM
Paul Mo
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p.5 #18 · Apparently, I need to dust off my camera and go shooting again...


Lisa_Holloway wrote:
...because I've been editing (or in some cases, re-editing) old images.


So you state you haven’t shot much lately and are digging up images. I state I have seen it before and am vilified for it. That makes sense.

Paul Mo wrote:
See, this is nice - a little more natural (than a kid about to be run over).



The radio flyer shot left me with a feeling of dread – truly. That a semi was coming from behind to flatten him. We read images differently depending on our current mood or state of mind.




Oct 01, 2014 at 11:41 PM
hdm1990
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p.5 #19 · Apparently, I need to dust off my camera and go shooting again...


I personally love Lisa's work. Keep posting Lisa!


Oct 01, 2014 at 11:43 PM
Paul Mo
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p.5 #20 · Apparently, I need to dust off my camera and go shooting again...


Paul Mo wrote:
However, like so many of your shots I can't help but feel I've seen it before. That you've found a formula that wins praise but may quickly become empty - the vignettes, long FL, soft bokeh, rimlit hair and autumn tones. Yours is technically solid work, but it's often missing a hook.


Missing a hook. Floating on a sea of technical and logistical proficiency – you have a supportive group around you, you employ your environment, you can take a photograph, you know how to run a camera and you understand what you want in post - I see many banal faces. Almost as if gormless expressions are manufactured to force the viewer to zero in on….

The eyes. The eyes seem to be it with your imagery – windows to the soul. But as a hook, is it enough? Perhaps faces with more character? Different poses? More venom? Changing environments? Having viewed a lot of it, I know your work contains some of these elements. But…

What can elevate your work? What can make your images come closer to truly being powerful? Truly being timeless? Truly being classic?

As they are they are pleasant, thematic portraits that contain beauty without potency. You are seeking to make visual fairytales. What is it that makes fairytales so potent?



Oct 01, 2014 at 11:44 PM
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