Any photographer who wants their work to stand out has to offer something unique to the viewer. The following list contains ideas, poses and editing techniques that probably aren't too original and should be avoided. If I had known this when I started photography, I probably would have found a signature look sooner.
Before you read please take note that photographers knocking other photographers is not ok and not the intended purpose of this article. This is why I dug through my own photos that I took within the first 6 months I owned a camera. With that being said, everyone has to start somewhere and I am thankful for the way my photography journey panned out.
1. White vignette. This was meant to fix lens vignette issues, not some cool effect.
2. Selective coloring and that dizzy angle is SO cool... said no one ever.
3. Photographers with profile pictures taken in a mirror using a DSLR is probably the least professional thing you can do.
4. HDR is cool... until you go overboard.
5. Forming heart with hands. It's cheesy. Just stop.
6. Baby froggy pose. (No example for this sorry. If you have one feel free to share yours in the comments)
7. Railroad tracks may provide nice leading lines, but it's cliché.
8. Smooth skin using blur tools. Far too many people never see the light when it comes to this point. Skin texture has to be retained. If the creators of photoshop knew people would do this they probably would never have invented the blur options under the filter menu.
9. Watermarks. A photograph needs a watermark like a toilet seat needs spikes.
10. The jumping wedding party shot! (No example for this sorry. If you have one feel free to share yours in the comments)
11. Jumping pictures period.
12. Holding a frame. (No example for this sorry. If you have one feel free to share yours in the comments)
13. Adding a frame.
14. Here's a 3 in 1. People on their phone, one foot up on wall pose and boring bricks.
15. Doing a photo shoot of your lens caps.
In case you were wondering, I have since kind of changed my style. Feel free to follow me on 500px, Facebook or Instagram!
What else is missing in the article? Feel free to share down below.
I agree that some/all of these are cliché but if its what the client asks for then all you can do is make another suggestion and hope they agree.
Has to throw this shot away because they weren't holding lens caps and jumping! :)
My personal favorite was cross processing, check passings, grip and grins, ribbon cuttings and bell peppers (I saw way to manny of these shots in college). I almost forgot photoshop paint filters for those photo triage moments
Of course, I am guilty of the Railroad tracks too. ;)
https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3144/2567233010_f8411013bd.jpg
https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8133/8700879896_bfa07a1115.jpg
Is this post a thin veil attack on Jews? almost all the photos are on dudes with skulls caps on... :P
Dani is Jewish; many of his friends and family are too. Makes sense that his early photos would be of them.
I think I've done all of these at one time or another and perhaps all in the same photo. Thanks for posting!
I've done some of these (mirror selfie, lens cap). Others I thought were dumb from day one and never did them (hold/adding frames, heart with hands, white vignette). Other are 'meh' to me (train tracks, jumping). And still others I've never even heard of (motion blur to smooth skin? Really? WTF?).
That yellow tinted cross process look. Questions on how to do it were asked several times a week on the flickr Photoshop Support group. Not only is it a cliche, it is a horrible look and ruins good pictures.
We've all done it! I like that you used your own work as a reference. :)
Armchair quarterbacks. What about that silly rule of thirds nonsense? And don't start on that high key look. Wankers. Easy to sit here and criticize when you have a pile of shit in your own ports.
I've done jumping, brick wall, train tracks, and the hand love sign when I started. Look back on these and laugh at myself. Funny list.
Women with gas masks, crime scene tape wrapped around their bodies, flower petals sprinkled over bodies a al American Beauty, on knees with electric guitar between legs or Native American headdress...did any members of this site ever find these over-used images really interesting?
I don;t think I saw it mentioned here....
ANYTHING with guns, guitars and direct flash on camera.. I just can't seem to force myself to look at images with any of those anymore. And -- feel the need to rip up, comment and torment the perpetrator at any cost.
I agree with all EXCEPT for the watermarks... with sites like Facebook stripping metadata and images being shared everywhere, a watermark may be the only thing left to identify who the photographer is. That said, watermarks need to be clean and unobtrusive.
Sorry but I disagree somewhat on the selective colour technique. I started my love of photography in highschool, where I was fortunate enough to have a functional dark room and an inspirational teacher to pass his interest along. He taught me how to do this on my BW photos with oil paints, Q tips and cottonballs for erasers. It was painstaking but would make some photos look pretty cool. I use it every now and then, however it is only on a small object or flower, etc. Not like half of the photo as you showed, and not with the ridiculous angles. I feel that it can be done right if you actually use a detailed brush for either history painting, or adding alternative colours to the shot.
Phew . . .not one
Long exposures to create that dreadful misty, cotton-candy water effect.
Very few waterfalls/lakes/oceans/little streams will look better if you keep the shutter open for 20 seconds. It's the safest way to make the coasts of Tasmania and Norway look identical.
What if I told you that I have a vingette, selective colro, rail road, jumping with bad post processing all in one image? lol..........but seriously, a lot of people dont like selective coloring, but I have seen a lot of it in current magazines. so, someone likes it.
I agree with all of these, but there are exceptions to jumping pictures. As part of the dance/cheer/gymnastics community (and as someone who shoots it), I've seen and been in some awesome jumping pictures. They look good if the person is confident in the jump. I've even seen wedding pictures where the bride and the bridesmaids are all former cheerleaders and they have cool group jumping pictures that they can time perfectly. But jumping isn't for everybody--some people feel dumb doing it or they don't think of what jump to do on the spot, and that'll weigh a picture down. Timing and shutter speed are another thing--it's exciting from both sides of the camera when the perfect jump is captured, but not everyone can time it like that.
I also think adding captions to photos should be on this list. It's one thing if the picture is in a magazine, but if it's just going on Facebook, it just takes away from the picture.
People with wings ... as common, if not more, than railway tracks ... & twice as cheesy!
Bugger. And I've just spent all weekend adding frames to my California Sunset collection.
I am definitely on-board with all of these other than watermarking. I am note sure what the issue is with having a tactful watermark.
New goal....do all 15 of these in one photo
Dani, as you know I'm a huge fan of you and your work overall. I know the need of not having watermarks on the actual works, but how about branding/marketing purposes to make it easier to search for the creator of the image, wouldn't a logo/name make it easier than downloading the image, right-click (for PC) properties on the image and going to details to just get the creator's name? I was thinking of slapping my work on a white canvas and simply put my logo under or somewhere around the photo within the white canvas, but then you mention "no frames" which its not really a frame but it is in a certain way... your opinion I'd love to hear in this scenario.
On #11, I'm not too sure, yea the sample image is beyond perfect to make your point, but I have to disagree, if done right and with the right look/wardrobe and everything else in a production. I've seen Coco Rocha, one of the most creative models in the world with posing herself so perfectly well shown in a video somewhere on the net literally just jumping around in a million different ways (not literally a million), and those images seen in the video are beyond fantastic that got her on a magazine cover on a serious magazine publication. I don't know maybe there's exception to the rule to these mentions on the list?
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HpocKl5ncGk
um, I feel... Sooo guilty. This article made me laugh. :D
oh man i remember the days of the DSLR mirror selfie, and a lens cap shoot whenever i got a new lens. made me giggle.
15, i was all about 15. What a waste of shutter life..thing is, it helps you grow somehow.
Strange...no railroad track on the list?
The original:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtxzJlpvqQM
Wait a minute! You missed two Diamonds (pun intended) in your list: construction tape and angel wings :)
I always take a photo of me with a new lens and camera body/accessory gear to keep on file in case of theft or damage. Include a newspaper of the day I purchased it as well as the lens/body box & serial # written on a white board. Have had to use it twice in the past 10 years and it was a lifesaver with the insurance company once and the police once.
Haha, Oh man these are great! I have to admit I use blur for skin, ah!!!! I hate it, btw, where can I find a tutorial to properly retouch skin?!
As saying in my birth place about that kind of pictures "Адово!"
I have a lens cap photo lol!
You are too rude :D I'm sure you get a good pictures from few of this clichés, you choose the worst you can. Please don't throw me stones when looking my jumping profile picture
8b. Smooth skin using blur tools AND "creating" texture...
Should also be on the list, far to many people here are "Blur first and texture later kings".
"Railroad tracks may provide nice leading lines, but it's cliché" and Illegal!!!
http://theonlinephotographer.typepad.com/the_online_photographer/2013/10...
With the amount of photo theft going on, yes, a photo needs a watermark. What the hell kind of complaint is that?
You forgot extreme camera tilt and sepia tone, both of which are shown in the above photos.