View Full Version : What you do when your pics don't come out as you hoped
Lilserenity
08-18-2009, 22:49
Hiya,
This is probably one for the film bunch but it might apply to digi folks as well.
I was just wondering what do you do if you develop a roll, and find out they're all naff as you half expected due to the dull light or whatever reason?
I have to admit if they are really rubbish (like my recent roll was, 24 frames of dullness personified) I tend to just chuck them away. There was no merit in any of them, compositionally 'ok' but as a whole, rubbish.
Do some of you keep them? How do you feel?
One side of me feels a bit crappy like how can I go from taking pictures that I like one day and the next, how the hell did I take all this crap!
I think this time was compounded by not having my dev tank quite full enough for the pre-soak so I ended up with a large mark around the roll about 2mm from the top of the frame, not fatal but it just compounded the whole 'meh'-ness about the shots!
Doesn't help as I'm entering a competition (Black and White Photograpjy Magazine's Photographer of the Year compo) and I still have 2 prints to make and potentially one more shot to get if I feel that my 'back-catalogue' doesn't have something that fits the whole series!
Gah!
VIcky
When it happens I feel an incredible sense of frustration initially and then reality sets in and I get over it! :p
I always scan them though and file them away with the rest of my efforts ... usually as pretty small jpegs amittedly. I've discovered the worst thing to do is mess around with a flat negative for too long convicing yourself that you can get something salvagable from it ... occasionlally you may but at the expense of doing something more produvtive! :D
Austerby
08-18-2009, 23:04
I keep everything, for reference and reminders if nothing else. I do also find that my initial reaction isn't always the best one - coming across photo's I'd discounted initially I find that sometimes they have more qualities than I first recognised.
Praxis Unitas
08-18-2009, 23:19
Hi. I've taken an approach that sort of resembles a quality control engineer. I analyze and document what went wrong, file them in a separate place and assess how I can improve the results.
When I say document, I mean that I write directly on the plastic sleeving, drawing arrows and circles for specific problems.
Sorry to hear about your dull roll. I just filed about 70 negatives in the 'crap' file today.
mfunnell
08-18-2009, 23:48
Personally, I foam at the mouth then chew on the carpet. I'm not sure this is normal.
...Mike
Personally, I foam at the mouth then chew on the carpet. I'm not sure this is normal.
...Mike
Normal? I always thought it was obligatory! :D
Shooting digital pretty much now. I usually keep them and let them mature :^)
Sometimes I find that if I leave it a while eventually the creative urge will kick in and I will find that I am able to make a silk purse out of the proverbial sows ear.
In fact some of the photos I have liked best are ones I thought were awful but when I eventually dug out my Photoshop I have been able to use its awfulness as a lever to get me moving and make something nice from it. Here is one like that. I kept it for ages after shooting it - the girls jumper was really really bright red as was her face - bright crimson and blotchy from the effort of playing. But I saw something in the image and with just a little help from me I now really like this and it consistently gets lots of hits on Flickr.
Moral of the story - do not be in a rush to erase the photos you do not like - one day you just may!
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3519/3800610530_238b593a9d_b.jpg
Normal? I always thought it was obligatory! :D
so are you saying bouncing tanks off the far wall is abnormal?
I get irritated with myself before figuring out how I can work some magic in the darkroom to improve upon them. If that is not going to happen I file them and think about throwing them over the next decade but never actually do. Looking back shows you how much you have learnt...
Roger Hicks
08-19-2009, 01:13
File 'em. You may think, one day, "Oh, yeah, that would work for..."
And if that doesn't happen, well, they don't eat much.
The important thing is to shoot some more pictures -- but not until you feel like it. Don't force yourself.
Cheers,
R.
hydroquinone
08-19-2009, 01:32
I try to understand what went wrong, exposure, too far from the subject, poor composition etc.. try too keep the main mistakes I have made in mind, load a roll in my camera, and go out for shoot.
Lilserenity
08-19-2009, 01:40
File 'em. You may think, one day, "Oh, yeah, that would work for..."
And if that doesn't happen, well, they don't eat much.
The important thing is to shoot some more pictures -- but not until you feel like it. Don't force yourself.
Cheers,
R.
I'm my own worst critic at times so I can be pretty rash and immediately toss things out, maybe I shouldn't. These ones I had to as they really were awful, that and the bloomin' pre-soak mark where I didn't have enough water in to start with...
The thing was with these ones is that I know the location very well and stand every chance of getting it right with the right light another time (maybe tonight even.)
Also touching on shooting when you don't feel it, that I think is my problem, I don't work well on demand or to a deadline imposed on me by someone else (photographically anyway) -- it becomes a bit forced and I don't feel it as much.
Case in point this weekend, Saturday morning, 5am on the beach with a group of other photographers and it was a dull, grey, boring start to the day, no fantastic sunrise at all. I took about 2 pictures all morning; it didn't work for me that morning and I felt disenfranchised.
Sunday, all day, good weather, felt good about what I was doing and it was almost as if the photos were falling into my lap, I didn't feel anything being forced and felt creatively alive.
The problem with last night's roll is it being for this competition; I don't expect to get anywhere but sending in crap won't help matters and having few days left now to get something in (Friday next week) I have probably at least 1 more shot to get, 2 to print.
I'd probably make the most awful professional photographer for a newspaper; as I need to have some kind of connection to the subject for it to work for me.
Anyway, as others have said, maybe I should keep a few more, I tend to only toss out the duffers a few weeks after, but these this morning were so awful I won't even sully my name by posting one :)
Either way, I'm certainly not the type that I sometimes read about who throw away all their slides and negatives now they have scanned them and that to me is like burning your house down because you don't like the colour you painted it. Foolish :)
Vicky
kossi008
08-19-2009, 01:47
I keep everything, for reference and reminders if nothing else. I do also find that my initial reaction isn't always the best one - coming across photo's I'd discounted initially I find that sometimes they have more qualities than I first recognised.
I have almost nothing to add, exactly my approach. Except that it works the other way round for me as well: Sometimes, I sit down and wonder what I ever thought was SO great about this or that picture in the first place...
I use to tell myself they (images) could be fixed, these day's I pretty much just ask myself what I should of or could of done differently and move on to the next shoot.
I look at it this way if you want to be 100% sure you get good shots everytime out then shoot the same thing the same way every time BORING!!!!!. To use a baseball term I prefer to swing for the fence. Of course that does mean striking out more often then not.
Roger Hicks
08-19-2009, 04:21
Either way, I'm certainly not the type that I sometimes read about who throw away all their slides and negatives now they have scanned them and that to me is like burning your house down because you don't like the colour you painted it.
Dear Vicky,
Brilliant analogy!
And as you get older you may find you can let time go by without shooting easier when you don't feel like it -- and shoot easier and better when you do feel like it!
Cheers,
R.
bang head on the table, slowly compose myself again, think what might've caused it and store the film for future reference..
Double Negative
08-19-2009, 04:50
Wait... They're not supposed to come out like that normally?
:D
I might try tweakin' the hell out of 'em in Photoshop to see what I come up with. If it's a total loss, eh, put the negs in sleeves and put them at the bottom of the pile... Then go shoot again.
Lilserenity
08-19-2009, 23:07
After the disappointment yesterday, developed another roll last night and this time I got a couple of usable pictures, one that I am very happy with.
And I didn't throw any negatives away :)
I'm hoping for some good light tonight! *fingers crossed*
And with any luck I'll be able to file those ones away nicely too!
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2470/3838552441_03703733a3.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/lilserenity/3838552441/)
The one that came out alright - Steyning Bowl, W. Sussex
This is one I regarded as a throw away but a few weeks on, after giving it a bit of thought and with a bit of cropping and other work on the tone and saturation, now I like it.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2655/3836162665_a4e8603fd6_b.jpg
And this one too
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3519/3800610530_238b593a9d_b.jpg
And this one too - here the cropping made all the difference although I also had to do a lot of work to take the attention off the people in the background and focus on the main subject. I did that through tonal adjustment and blurring.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2215/3535124701_00a13c54be_o.jpg
Juan Valdenebro
08-30-2009, 04:26
Maybe learn?
robklurfield
08-30-2009, 07:07
shoot more
This is one I regarded as a throw away but a few weeks on, after giving it a bit of thought and with a bit of cropping and other work on the tone and saturation, now I like it.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2655/3836162665_a4e8603fd6_b.jpg
And this one too
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3519/3800610530_238b593a9d_b.jpg
And this one too - here the cropping made all the difference although I also had to do a lot of work to take the attention off the people in the background and focus on the main subject. I did that through tonal adjustment and blurring.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2215/3535124701_00a13c54be_o.jpg
That's the "problem" with digital. Too easy to just throwaway photos that on second inspection are really good.
When you fall off the horse, you should immediately (once the triage person has reset your bones, of course) get back on.
And if you give yourself impossible deadlines such as two more exhibition prints by Sunday, you set yourself up to fail.
So get back on your horse and look for competitions that are 3 months away.
allen_a_george
08-30-2009, 07:42
I try to articulate what went wrong, figure out a specific way to address it, and then try again.
I used to try and save photos that were almost there, but I don't bother now - unless it's really, really, worth it. It might help to create a top 3 list of problems and figure out specific ways to tackle them. Mine are:
Boring
Bad exposure
Composition was weirdly off
If you know what the problem(s) are, it's much easier to tackle them.
antiquark
08-30-2009, 07:53
document what went wrong, then look for patterns to fix it...
Try to articulate the mistakes, and try again
What those guys said!
You mentioned that some of your pics were bad because of dull light. That's an example of something that you remember for your future photography. Next time you're going to take a pic, ask yourself "is this dull light?" If it is, then don't take the pic. Or better yet, compose the picture in such a way that the dull light doesn't have a negative impact.
I find that NOT taking pictures is a good way to improve quality. (Percentage-wise, that is.) Taking dozens and dozens of pictures of a subject (or in the case of digital, thousands and thousands) doesn't do much to improve quality. My thinking is, if the picture works, it works. If it doesn't, you won't make it work by taking 100 shots.
It also improves the morale. Instead of wading through 1000 crappy pictures,you only have to look at, say, ten.
back alley
08-30-2009, 12:12
for film - blame the lab or the scanner
for digital - blame the software
Put it back (on the drive or into the sleeves) and go out take more pictures. What I don't do is sit around trying to polish a turd. I used to, but going out and shooting is just so much more fun.
Actually, I start out with dull negatives quite often but I'm scanning my film, I have a lot of opportunity to increase contrast, crop, saturate, de-saturate, etc.
While I'm still striving to increase my the quality of my negatives, I can at least use shots that are well composed and in focus 90 percent of the time. Only when heavily under-exposed or with blown-out highlights, I have to thrash the shot.
So, you might consider buying a film scanner and improving your shots the digital way.
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