I hate my Photo..

milos

I am seriously considering giving up the hobby I love and selling all my cameras and equipment.
I AM SICK of listening to people say they hate having their picture taken especially my family.
They come up with sixty seconds of why they hate it, their hair, wrinkles, their clothes, their nose, their eyes they are fat, thin, heavy, old, young, wrong dress, wrong top, wrong shoes and if they stopped talking and allowed the picture to be taken it would be finished in ten seconds...
Below are some shots I have taken of people who think they do not look good in photos.
Yes these have been pmed
(sorry for shouting)


staff 2 by milos5, on Flickr


memo and Shade by milos5, on Flickr


sharon and clare june 09 by milos5, on Flickr

Sorry for the rant but how do I get around this problem

pixbyjohn

They are all very nice shots. Maybe you need to get out and shoot some landscapes or nature shots.

magicbastarder

milos wrote: »

Yes these have been pmed

and they still consented to having their photos posted?

there's more to photography than shooting your family, as john said.

GhostInTheRuins

They're okay snaps I suppose. Try some other types of photography for a while. Experiment a bit and forget about shooting your family, for a bit anyway.

StopNotWorking

They could just be sick of having a camera in their face. Try some candid street shots or buskers?

PCPhoto

the trick is to make the experience fun for them (and you) ... ensure they are comfortable in front of the lens by making them part of the picture making process.

most people that are uncomfortable in front of a lens usually only need a little bit of encouragement.... try using some props, ..... let them take pics of you to show them theres nothing bad going to happen (this is usually used for kids.. well...I have used it - dunno if others do the same)

why not create a fun picture and give it to them.

spooky donkey

try street photography.... who cares what the strangers think...

sineadw

Hmmmm... *I* HATE having my photograph taken. A lot of people do. It has nothing to do with how I look per se, and everything to do with just being nervous in front of a camera, and an implicit hatred of being the object of attention. I'd be willing to bet it's the same for your family.

The key to successful portraiture is to put the sitter at ease, and TBH it sounds like your attitude may be the problem. Maybe it's just how you posted here, but you don't sound like you have very much empathy for your potential sitters. You need to start seeing the camera through their eyes. Read, watch films of how the best do it. Don't expect people to be willing to just do what you want in front of the camera - that's not what portraiture is. And if that's what you really want, then hire a model.

dinneenp

I told mother in law well that's how you look when she said she doesn't like herself in photos. Now she laughs and there's no problem.
Why not let them
Take a photo or two of you/each other to relax them. And chat away to them, don't say 1,2,3 cheese. Ask them
Questions so they won't be concentrating on you taking their photo.

gbee

milos wrote: »

Sorry for the rant but how do I get around this problem

€25 please! Over here click, hand out for money!

You don't care either, just get paid.

AnCatDubh

I know a lot of individuals who *hate* having their photograph taken but love when they see the end results printed.

Rubecula

Personally I am not overly keen on having my photo taken. It has nothing to do with how I look on film though. I just feel there are a lot more interesting things to see than my mug.

I don't hate my picture being taken either. I have been photographed so many times by amateurs and professionals and even in movies and on TV. It is not a big deal.

But I am just another face, and there are so many other much better subjects to photograph out there.

Scruffles

there is so much visual input around oneself to photograph that people never need to bother with family.

if people are a specific interest,why not get out and look or advertise for volunteers.

a lot of people hate having their photos taken,they are most likely 'pack people' who are influenced by what others think,they over-think about how they appear to others...as opposed to 'lone wolves' whom are not led by social mentality.

fguihen

Hi OP.


To get anything better than a snap you need people to pose, and people generally dont like posing as they feel on show. That said, I think if youyou produce flattering results, then people will be happy with the results and may become more willing.

With all due respect to your shots, they are just snaps, and there is room for improvment.
Just take the 1st one for example:

-its not as pin sharp around the eyes as a portrait should be. Eyes in any good portrait should be absolutely, totally, without fail pin sharp. Thats one of the main differences between a good photo, and a simple snap.

-There are distracting elements in the background. In a portrait, almost 100% of the viewers focus should be drawn to the face.

-Its quite flat. by that i mean there is not a lot of dynamic range. The jumper is too similar to the background colors. The skin color does not look flattering as it could.

-The face should "pop" from the photo, really stand out. at the most basic level, increasing the contrast will help with that.

-There are harsh shadows under the chin, either from a bight light source or from a face on flash. This always flattens an image and is rarely flattering. Try bounce flash from the roof or even better, a reflector to the side.

-You could also help flatter the people in question by playing around with the images in photoshop. Softening the skin (not the eyes) can often produce very flattering, magazine airbrushed type skin. If you want to show someone as they are in life, wrinkles, grey hair etc, then accentuate those features, make them pop and make them show that the person is alive.

If you produce really flattering results, people may not be so withdrawn when you take out the camera.

One more thing, instead of taking 5 or ten photos and picking the best, try only taking one or two, ensuring they are as good as you can make them. this means a bit of planning needs to go into your shots. I rarely mind my photo being taken, what i do mind are the 5 extra photos "just to be sure we got a good one".
Lets face it, thats what digital photograpers do, as it costs as much to take 1 image as it does 1000!

And as others have said, there are so many cool and interesting things to photograph, if one subject area is not working, then focus on something else for a while!
I really mean no disrespect and my critique is all constructive.

good luck!

magicbastarder

fguihen wrote: »

To get anything better than a snap you need people to pose

off to a bad start! you're saying a candid portrait can never be anything more than a snap?

fguihen

magicbastarder wrote: »

off to a bad start! you're saying a candid portrait can never be anything more than a snap?

You have a point. you can get some great candid shots, but its extreemly difficult to make a "candid shot" instead of a snap.

my point thoug is that everyone has a camera nowdays in their phone or a pocket camera. most people just point and shoot, with no thought about the image they are about to take. I would say that 99% of these shots are just snaps.

to get a really good shot, some thought has to go into it.

And in this case, the images posted are not "candid" shots, as the people are clearly posing for the images, so there was time for some planning. Planning may be 10 seconds to tell someone to move 2 foot to the right to get a better background or light, or finding a stable surface to get more stability and a sharper image. Thats the difference between candid and a snap, IMO.

I know, i have thousands of snaps, and only very few truly good images, and any i class as good had some thought process behind them.

magicbastarder

i'll agree to disagree, i get lots of good candid snaps. of course, it depends on the look you're going for.

milos

Thank you Great advice