Photographic success ... what path does/should it take?

[Keith]

I wasn't really sure how to title this thread but I am interested in some discussion and opinions here.

I bumped into some friends recently that I hadn't seen for a few years and over a coffee the conversation progressed to their asking me what I was actually doing with myself these days. Last time I'd seen them I wasn't into photography at all and they were surprised to find out how much it was consuming my life of late.

They have two daughters who are now both in their early twenties ... I was asking how the girls were and because we'd been discussing photography the subject of one of the close male friends (ex boyfriend I think) of the youngest girl came up. I remember David from the occasional visit to their place when he was there and he always struck me as the rather quiet arty type.

Anyway cutting to the chase they asked me if I enterered into many photography competitions (shudder) because apparently David does and has won more than his fair share from what they told me. They emailed me a link to his hosting site and no doubt will ask me what I think next time we meet. I have my own opinions on the style of photography that seems to win competitions but I'll be curious to hear what you think of this young guy's work! LINK

 

[pakeha]

Don`t think my opinion counts for much from a pro veiw point, but i`ve been in the link for ten minutes and some are the best holiday snaps i have seen. Some , ah, unusal cropping, and i quess a lot of it is just not what i am drawn to- heavily posed. There are photos posted on RFF that i look at and these give a wow factor, in fact a couple are yours i think, but from the link selection nothing in it for me. Good luck with this one.

 

[Pickett Wilson]

His photos have a very clean, commercial look. Nothing particularly original, but competent. I don't see much creativity or originality, though. I'm not excited by this kind of photography. Many folks seem to be, though.

 

[Schlapp]

Yes, I think the images are quite nice. However, they don't have something that would make me want to look a second time

 

[larmarv916]

I would agree with Pakeha that the "link" photos are not anything other than an attempt to copy another photo seen by the photographer in ad or photo magazine. They lack any creative originality, posed to the point of being clearly staged. Nothing that was other than advertising or postcards. just trying to offer an honest critical review.

 

[pakeha]

AND, you better hope this guy is not here with an obscure username😱

 

[Keith]

AND, you better hope this guy is not here with an obscure username😱

LOL ... I just though of that!

Seriously though this is the type of photography that made me exit p.net and come to RFF fairly shortly after I joined.

Plus a little agro in their discussion forums! 😱

 

[Turtle]

A personal 2 cents:

Not my thing either. Very 'digital stock'; clean, often heavily Photoshopped, neat looking images. They are generally very 'nice', but don't help me relate to what I see as a less than neat world or at least a world where squeaky clean images can be tantamount to a form of manipulation or even perceived dishonesty. He'll likely do well in child portraiture, stock, weddings etc as his style appeals to many, but he does not appear to have a distinctive style or soul to his images. That could be a handicap if he wished to reach the top, but he's young, so who knows what he will be producing in 20 years...

 

[Richard G]

Some beautiful shots. He seems to have gone for a sort of uniform signature with the post-processing - vignetting, a certain oily dreaminess to the colour cast in the landscapes. I liked the crop of the Statue of Liberty, but have probably seen it before by someone else. Architects sometimes try to develop a style as do writers, to establish their brand. The absence of a discernible style - at least not discernible by the originator - is an achievement at a higher level. Here the amateur has such freedom. Apropos of the wonderful photos we are regularly seeing here on RFF, a friend of mine, married to a poet, declared at lunch one day that there are some stunningly good poets that we will never hear of. I think that's right. Clearly your feedback will be positive and slightly self deprecating, unless or until, your friends want to discuss it further and show obvious insight. Even then no doubt you'll be gentle.