Do you ever feel your photography isn't appreciated?

foodpoison

foodpoison

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Name
Sean
Edit My Images
Yes
I show friends and family my photos all the time, and you can tell they have no interest, or don't find them as beautiful as you thought they were.

Now, this could be one of several things:

1. I'm a rubbish photographer, but I just am proud of my own work
2. They don't appreciate my photos as much as other artists do

Does anyone else get this?

It's quite sad that the only positive feedback I get from my photos are from people I don't even know on a website!
 
Hi i try to do my best and if i like it then stuff the rest, but don't tell the wife people see things differently if we did not then life would be boring, but forums are the place to 1, get support 2, honest replies 3, actually show you picture to people who are genuinely interested. life is great


Regards Mark the poet:)
 
well to be fair as long as you like your own work thats what counts, all i can say is thank god for web sites like this, where people can be honest give tips advice.

i could go on about how you should take photos for your self not to impress others, but thats easyer said than done eh!
 
I've got the opposite problem :(

I've been a guest at several parties/weddings lately and taken candids. The subjects and their families love certain shots but they're the ones of no photograpic merit whatsoever :shrug:

All my favourites in terms of composition, technical accomplishment etc. aren't theirs. The nature of subjectivity I suppose.
 
Look on the bright side. If you've got guests who are boring you to death, and don't seem to want to go home, just get out your dvd's with all your photos on, figure what they really hate to see, and then give them a nice long slideshow. It works like magic, and then you can do the things you want to do like take photos and get back on the forum.:thumbs::wave:
 
the worst situation is when you get the 'x-factor' problem where friends and family tell you your really brilliant and then when you get exposure to the experts you find out you are crap.
But IMHO it doesnt matter what anyone thinks, if you like your photos then you've suceeded. (unless of course you are a professional, when it helps if you clients / boss like them too :) )
 
My mum is my biggest fan :lol:

I like my work, I dont love it. Mostly because I know its not up to decent standards yet, and I am my own worst critic.

Ill do a simple candid, and it will be met with praise and applause from family members, they might be trying to make me feel better :D
 
foodpoison said:
I show friends and family my photos all the time, and you can tell they have no interest, or don't find them as beautiful as you thought they were.

Now, this could be one of several things:

1. I'm a rubbish photographer, but I just am proud of my own work
2. They don't appreciate my photos as much as other artists do

Does anyone else get this?

It's quite sad that the only positive feedback I get from my photos are from people I don't even know on a website!
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All you have to do is show them less photos, and choose the ones that they will like, not the ones that you like

and yes we all get this - i can take 1000's of shots at an event - just show the really good ones and only to the people who will like them.
 
I've been very lucky, my family have been very supportive of me getting back into this after a few years away. They have encouraged me every step of the way, even when I have been doubtful myself. I have gone through phases though where even they tend to do the "Oh, yeah, right, very good" So I have tended not to share so many with them. Then I'll come up with one of my stepdaughter or one of the dogs and that's when they engage, when they know the subject.

For really good impartial advice, you really can't beat TP. :)
 
I have sort of this problem, My mum is very enthusiastic about seeing my work, but generally doesn't understand why I'm happy about effects like isolating subjects with DOF, creative use of bokeh, or unposed pictures. My dad on the other hand goes nuts about the technical stuff, but isn't all that interested in composition or meaning. My friends just like the good ones and dislike the ok and bad ones (apart from the two tog's I know).
 
My mum calls me the prince of darkness, as her monitor is so dark its insane. She also says I shouldnt have to edit the photo at all to make it nice...

I don't argue :) I have a few friends and family who all like my shots (it would appear), but I really want my wife to "get" what I enjoy, and she is completely indifferent to my photography. Would love to know what she really thinks of my shots, I suspect, not much :)

Gary.
 
I don't show mine about much unless I think they're OK, even then nobody seems that interested, I took what I thought was a good portrait of a german soldier at a 1940s day to work as I was really proud of it, one guy looked at it in total disbelief that I thought it was good and called me a sad **** for even taking it

Mind you I do work with a bunch of total morons that could barely string a sentence together
 
If it's not photos of either A) Animals (dogs & cats mostly), or B) flowers, my mum's not really 'interested', but she'll have a peep. My dad's interested, and is behind me, but in a father-son kinda way, but I know he's on my side, so that's good enough for me.

I'd say most my appreciation comes from, as FP said, unknown people on a website. But, I guess that's because we all share the same interest.

I like showing my photos to people, anyone whos willing to look, i'll show them. What I've come to learn is, allthough it sounds slightly horrible, people who arn't 'into' photography either like, or dislike your photos. Where as, on a forum such as this, you get constructive critisism, which obviously helps us improve.

So, when I show my photo to someone whos not into photography, I fully expect them to either A) really like it or B) really dislike it, because to them it's just a photo...if that makes any sense?
 
Sean,

I think it's worth noting that the majority of people aren't passionate about photography and the technical merits of the shot are of little interest to them....it's the subject that will appeal or not (to any individual).
I think people qualify images in the same way they choose what they watch on TV....the subject or story needs to appeal to them. Sadly, more folk watch Eastenders than Attenborough !

Bob
 
Not sure if that was aimed at me, or FP (might have the same name?), but either way, I agree Bob.
 
EdinburghGary said:
My mum calls me the prince of darkness, as her monitor is so dark its insane. She also says I shouldnt have to edit the photo at all to make it nice...

I don't argue :) I have a few friends and family who all like my shots (it would appear), but I really want my wife to "get" what I enjoy, and she is completely indifferent to my photography. Would love to know what she really thinks of my shots, I suspect, not much :)

Gary.
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i though it was just my wife,i am a passionate pike angler,wife not in the least interested,i also like photoghraphy,and would like to go on courses to learn how to do it right,,wife not interested,,like airshows and fast jet spotting, wife not interested,but if i win cash on the lottery or the horses she shows great interest:thumbsdown:
 
I sometimes feel like I'm the one with the least appreciation of my own work! Of course this could all just be the X-factor effect but my gf and mum like an awful lot of shots that I've marked for deletion. I think they're crap technically, but to their untrained eye the image is appealing.

As Betty said, I suffer from being my own worst critic sometimes... :shrug:
 
Betty said:
I like my work, I dont love it. Mostly because I know its not up to decent standards yet, and I am my own worst critic.
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I'm the same.

I'm quite lucky in that my friends are fairly honest with me, they tell me if they think its a crap pic, but my mum is completly indifferent:bang: Occaisionally I get a shot that I'm proud of, and will be so excited to show her, all I get is a "thats nice...fancy a brew...?" It completely deflates me!
 
Canon Bob said:
Sean,

I think it's worth noting that the majority of people aren't passionate about photography and the technical merits of the shot are of little interest to them....it's the subject that will appeal or not (to any individual).
I think people qualify images in the same way they choose what they watch on TV....the subject or story needs to appeal to them. Sadly, more folk watch Eastenders than Attenborough !

Bob
Click to expand...

That makes sense.
I shared my photos with someone who is taking a photography course at college (she is going to a photography ONLY course, no other courses will be taken) and even she was like "Oh, right, yeah they're cool!"

for example, I was really proud of this shot:
2682385663_67dd94ba74.jpg


I assumed it would appeal to people because its quite a pretty view, and a generic subject. But my mates thought it was rubbish!
My mum liked it though, and said she would have it framed on her wall :p
 
Spot on Canon Bob, we all see different things in our photos,what we thought might be good on the computer looks crap and vica versa. One mans meat is another mans poison!
 
I've got a friend who thinks most of my bestest shots are crap, the street type stuff, he thinks there just snaps which anyone could take ...which is true in a way. I say he doesn't know what hes talking about, he says I'm taking out of my bottom..
... which may or may not be true.

He however thinks my bird and wildlife shots are lovely and has asked me twice now to shoot his pets and supply prints. ...even funnier because I consider my wildlife shots to be at best, average.

Do what I do.... Work out which people to show which shots for best results. :D
 
Forbiddenbiker said:
Do what I do.... Work out which people to show which shots for best results. :D
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Pretty much hit the nail there m8 :thumbs:

You lot on here liked my 'Street' attempt, my family thought...

"You're in London, a fantastically photographic city, and you're snapping strangers !!!:cuckoo::cuckoo::cuckoo:"

:D

DD
 
I know the feeling. My wife is laughing at me while I'm taking photos and trying to be a real photographer. But hopefully this is will be a short phase...as I just got my dslr yesterday :)
 
i,m fortunate there. my mrs is a pro tog. so if anything, i get too much attention for my stuff.
shes always ready with criticism. mostly consructive fortunately.
i do get a pat on the back occasionaly, and a fair amount of my work now gets into our wedding albums.apparently i've improved an awful lot.:D
 
badgerbaiter said:
the worst situation is when you get the 'x-factor' problem where friends and family tell you your really brilliant..
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ditto that. i've found that feedback from friends and family is blindly positive to such an extent that it's actually worthless, other than for a bit of an ego boost.

on the flipside, the feedback on forums like this one is much more neutral and considered, which is really useful if you want to improve.
 
inaneredstripe said:
i,m fortunate there. my mrs is a pro tog.
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See, I wouldn't like that at all, if the other half was a pro, I doubt I would have progressed this far. It would seem I am trying to copy his work and his profession, and I wouldn't dare ask him for advice!

I am not saying thats how it is with you, its just how it would seem in my situation :D
 
The thing is with photos, life and art, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Most people when they look at photos are looking for something they like and if it's there they will like the pic.

Photographers look at photos differently so if you show one a photo they will most likely give you an honest opinion of not only the picture but loads of other stuff to do with it as well.

I put a landscape photo up on here that I thought at best was ok,someone took a little time and advised me how to make the shot better, which I tried and it did make a better photo.

When I showed the before and after to family they thought both were nice.
 
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