Living with your own work

[Margu]

I read somewhere that the measure of art is if one can live with it. What this basically means is if you live with a work of art, it could be anything, the more time passes the more it grows on you and the more you appreciate it. On the other hand if its not art, you get bored and move on.

This technique is also used by some photographers when editing their work. A rough edit is pinned or placed in view all around where the photographer lives or works, as days goes by some photos start getting even more interesting and others slowly lose their interest and removed, leaving the photographer with a final edit.

What are your thoughts on this matter; is this a good approach to editing?

 

[airfrogusmc]

I read somewhere that the measure of art is if one can live with it. What this basically means is if you live with a work of art, it could be anything, the more time passes the more it grows on you and the more you appreciate it. On the other hand if its not art, you get bored and move on.

This technique is also used by some photographers when editing their work. A rough edit is pinned or placed in view all around where the photographer lives or works, as days goes by some photos start getting even more interesting and others slowly lose their interest and removed, leaving the photographer with a final edit.

What are your thoughts on this matter; is this a good approach to editing?

Arbus would cover her walls in her living room with photos and see which ones she still liked after time. Winogrand would leave things unprocessed for a long time to see it again later through fresh less attached eyes. So to answer your question it can be for some.

 

[jsrockit]

Yes, I think it is a good approach when dealing with personal work that doesn't have a finite dead line. I find that time allows me to feel better about letting certain images go and really gives me an idea of what really works.

In lightroom, I have my folders broken down by project. Every so often I look at those folders to see if there is something worth finalizing while editing out some of the crap. If it isn't ready as a whole, I keep working on it. Editing over time helps a lot!

 

[oftheherd]

I've read of that, but never really tried it. I have noticed that some photos seem to grow on me more, while others become less interesting. That's also a good use of contact sheets imho.

 

[lynnb]

I usually blu-tack a print to the wall for a while to get a feel for whether I want to print it larger. Sometimes a print I'm initially enthusiastic about fails to grow on me over time. It's a useful technique for quiet reflection.

 

[jsrockit]

I usually blu-tack a print to the wall for a while to get a feel for whether I want to print it larger. Sometimes a print I'm initially enthusiastic about fails to grow on me over time. It's a useful technique for quiet reflection.

Another aspect of this is sometimes I print a large version of something I'm not sure about and it immediately becomes apparent if it works or not. Another trick I use is to put a bunch of random photos from my projects into book form and it generally becomes apparent that certain images are not up to par.

 

[Margu]

Any idea on how to implement this editing tactic on a computer screen?

Changing desktop background does not work, I have tried that. Maybe making a collage of images like a contact sheet and using that as desktop background?

 

[jsrockit]

Any idea on how to implement this editing tactic on a computer screen?

Changing desktop background does not work, I have tried that. Maybe making a collage of images like a contact sheet and using that as desktop background?

Create a tumblr. After creating it, post everything you're not sure of on it. Then don't look at it for a few months... after a few months, the ones that don't work will stand out more.

 

[Jamie123]

Another aspect of this is sometimes I print a large version of something I'm not sure about and it immediately becomes apparent if it works or not. Another trick I use is to put a bunch of random photos from my projects into book form and it generally becomes apparent that certain images are not up to par.

It might just turn out that that particular image doesn't work at that particular size. And a photo removed from the context of its original project might not work at all but that doesn't mean the image is inherently lacking. A mediocre image in the right spot can sometimes make perfect sense.

 

[jsrockit]

It might just turn out that that particular image doesn't work at that particular size. And a photo removed from the context of its original project might not work at all but that doesn't mean the image is inherently lacking. A mediocre image in the right spot can sometimes make perfect sense.

I agree, but I couldn't think of a catch all solution. Of course, one should use various methods of editing. Also, I was referring to tighter editing. In this type of editing, as I'm sure you know, even a good image might not be used for some reason.

 

[squareshooter]

I have large photographs of images I took in the 1960s and 1970 -- including the Beatles, Sonny and Cher and Frank Sinatra -- hanging in my front room. I only recently began to blow them up to a large size. Going through my old negatives I have found some previously undiscovered gems. I have a photo of an old fashioned steam engine that I took with a box camera in 1947 and it's a beaut. I'll get that enlarged next. It is probably the only neg I took in the 1947, when I was a kid, that is good enough for the gallery-size treatment.

 

[daveleo]

My opinion of my pictures generally degrades over time.

Out of the (about) 60 8X10's I have mounted and sitting
in the crates behind me, maybe 6 of them
have endured in my heart. The others remain pleasant,
but you know "pleasant" gets boring after a while.

Still I rotate them up to the wall here to change the scenery
now and then.

 

[Jamie123]

I agree, but I couldn't think of a catch all solution. Of course, one should use various methods of editing. Also, I was referring to tighter editing. In this type of editing, as I'm sure you know, even a good image might not be used for some reason.

Yes, I agree, there's no one solution that fits all. I'm also not too convinced that living with one's work is a good test for whether or not the work holds up. Maybe it's just a test for whether or not you're the kind of person who likes to look at the same thing for a long time.

I'm pretty sure that, even if I owned my favourite photograph from my favourite photographer and had it up on the wall, I would eventually get bored of it. I would probably also get bored sooner depending on the image content. An abstract image, for example, seems easier to live with than a portrait, even though I prefer portraits to abstracts.
But that's just me. I'm more of a book person anyways and I think the primary reason that I prefer books to prints is that I like variety.

One thing that I do think does always help in the editing process is some (temporal) distance. However, sometimes time will change the kind of edit you do, not because you have more distance but because your tastes and preferences have changed. And it doesn't necessarily always change for the better.

 

[jsrockit]

I'm pretty sure that, even if I owned my favourite photograph from my favourite photographer and had it up on the wall, I would eventually get bored of it.

Yes, I agree. I only have one photo on my wall and I ignore it usually.

But that's just me. I'm more of a book person anyways and I think the primary reason that I prefer books to prints is that I like variety.

Right on. Over time, some images that were initially your favorites become boring and others become interesting.

 

[ferider]

I like the wall technique, use it in my room, and replace every few months with new pictures. Stuff that I really like goes in albums or on the wall somewhere else in the house or at my work place.

BTW, I often ask my better half to assist in editing, and the above helps.

But then - I'm not an artist 🙂

 

[Margu]

Create a tumblr. After creating it, post everything you're not sure of on it. Then don't look at it for a few months... after a few months, the ones that don't work will stand out more.

Thanks. Even flicker might also work with its display of thumbnails on the homepage.

 

[tunalegs]

In illustration I generally hate everything I draw right after finishing. I think too much "If I didn't have this deadline I could make this better" type of thoughts. Then when I see it again a month or two later I find it looks a lot better than I thought it did. I find myself happier with a lot of work long after I've made it than when it is still fresh.

With photography as a purely personal pursuit I don't think I have that sort of reaction very often. Sometimes I look through old photos and see a couple I like, but on the other hand as I create more images, a lot of old ones just don't seem as interesting anymore.

Obviously one's attitude about making work will affect how they see their work.

 

[Jamie123]

In illustration I generally hate everything I draw right after finishing. I think too much "If I didn't have this deadline I could make this better" type of thoughts. Then when I see it again a month or two later I find it looks a lot better than I thought it did. I find myself happier with a lot of work long after I've made it than when it is still fresh.

I have the same feeling when I get my negs back from the lab. The problem is that I'm then comparing my expectations of what I thought the image would look like with that the image actually turned out like. Obviously it's never 100% identical. I find that, if enough time has passed for me to forget the mental image I had, I can appreciate the image more objectively. I can then appreciate it as the image it is instead of seeing it as a failure of some sort.

 

[Jamie123]

I have a 16 foot bulletin board in my studio. I highly recommend it.

The bullentin board or a studio it fits in? 🙂

 

[helen.HH]

A Blessing & a Curse....
And ALL the Hi and Lows One Suffers in 'Viewing'