OT: Quality of photos

For example, I was advised by a couple of guys on here to increase the aperture number by a couple of stops to get better pics when i first started using my new camera. Simple, occasional, easy to take, encouraging, ‘hint hint’ type of advice that has worked wonders for me. The sort of advice that works wonders for others as well, I’m sure.

🙂

That’s exactly the sort of thing that I was meaning :p

The last thing we want to do is dis-courage people from taking shots and uploading them here, it would just be nice to try and help some of our fellow members!

Thanks again

You just have to tread carefully though, not everyone will take it well. Also, we’ve got to avoid being overly ‘Constructively Critical’ – too much of it for one person can be disheartening and off putting to them, and we’d end up turning this forum into a ‘photography technique’ and critique forum, and it’d get boring. Respect people’s different skills levels, opinions and access to equipment.

For example, I was advised by a couple of guys on here to increase the aperture number by a couple of stops to get better pics when i first started using my new camera. Simple, occasional, easy to take, encouraging, ‘hint hint’ type of advice that has worked wonders for me. The sort of advice that works wonders for others as well, I’m sure.

🙂

Here is one workflow thats well worth flowing, uses Photoshop but I’m sure the same tools exist in other programs.

http://www.jid.me.uk/workflow/

I use a very similar workflow however I shoot in RAW. I use Rawshooter to process the colours and brightness levels / curves then it opens up in CS2 where I carry out the crop, levelling, dust, sharpening. I also use a noise reduction program called Noise Ninja, works great for high ISO images, mainly use this for sports tho, not much on aviation shots.
Each photo takes 5-10mins to process.

If anyone need any help on editing or talking through the process email me and I can do it via MSN or skype. I’m no expert but I’ve got some experience.

Remember editing cannot “fix” a poor shot, try and get it right in the camera first.

Thanks everyone for the replies:D
I fully understand that not everyone has a DSLR, but even with a point and shoot camera you can still get great shots, take one of our regular posters for example, he took amazing shots with his mobile phone!
My original point was on the quality, surely a photographer can regognise if a shot is clearly out of focus/blurred/nose chopped off etc. I don’t think it matters if you are using a £50 point and shoot or a £1000 DSLR, surely if you submit a shot that’s clearly out of focus for example and then 5 people reply saying ‘great shots’ or ‘love the blah blah blah’….how is the photographer meant to learn?, he thinks he is doing great and will continue to upload similar shots.

The last thing we want to do is dis-courage people from taking shots and uploading them here, it would just be nice to try and help some of our fellow members!

Thanks again

This forum was created for people to post their photos, and whilst everyone will endeavor to post quality photos the points raised so far regarding the fact that people haven’t got the equipment to take good photos is valid, and they should not be put off posting, if an individual has taken the time and effort to go out for the day and take some photos and take time to upload them then we should receive them with open arms (which we do).
This is a hobby for most, and if the best someone can produce, be it for lack of skill or lack of equipment is not a good standard so what 🙂
I’d hate for someone to be discouraged due to those reasons.

D.

I agree, CC is a good way of helping us all improve, myself i havent posted in a while as i just dont think my photo’s cut it at the moment. so therefore would welcome some criticism , so will post some shots soon. i use a digital SLR (NIKON D50) and have excellent shots and poor shots.

I also look at some of the shots on here and think they are so bloody good, with me i have all the kit, (photoshop cs2 etc etc) but not the know how so i will welcome any comments in the future.

Jason

This has started off as a very gentlemany disscussion! Great! As has been said though the un forgiving nature of the printed word means that somebody will take the hump at CC at some point! I think that half the rows on the internet would not happen if the offeding coment was made in the pub over a pint!
Mind you some of the coments posted when C*******K and T********k say things can’t be misconstrued!!
My own worry is that somebody will not post or delete an image for fear that they will be criticised and that image will be of imense interest to the rest of us.
manc. I agree with your three points and I will add one of my own.
4).When shooting against the sky, over expose to compensate. (That cost me a whole roll of Kodachrome 64 at Greenham common!)

Rgds Cking

I tend to agree with some of the original points. However I think this forum is a good place
for everyone to show their pics no matter what the quality. I’m sure people recognise that their photos
maybe not be the best quality but why make this forum a no-go area.
I enjoy this forum, its friendly and welcoming and its a quick way of seeing new shots that you don’t tend to see in many places.
Having CC maybe good but I fear it might turn this forum into something not aimed to be. If your not expecting to get CC on your photos you might have take offence.
Personally I don’t reply to threads when I think the photos are poor as I don’t want to join in with the “good shots”, “brilliant” when really they are blurred, dark, its just seems false to me.

Looking at the photos posted here, the majority are very good. Not even can afford to own a DSLR or even the editing software required to make “the standard” (whatever that is).

I’m happy to offer help on taking and editing photos to anyone who requires it. Just PM / email me.

Everyone has their own agenda for taking aviation photos, some are spotters with a camera, some are photographers who like planes..there maybe a difference there in the way people look at the photos.

I started out as a spotter but now I just goto the airport to photograph the aircraft and no longer “spot the numbers”

3 key points to remember to make your photos better 😉

1) Shoot with the sun at your back
2) Shoot with the sun at your back
3) Stay at home / Pub when its cold and grey 😉

Hope this is constructive!

maybe if someone wishes to recieve constructive criticism to make their photos better, they can either wait for it or actually encourage it by asking when they post. i think people naturally get better anyway, because the longer they take photos for the more their understanding of photography grows (esp. if they regularly photograph with a certain group of people; you know who you are!:D) and they start to see the bad points of their past work and take better photos because of it. this, coupled with the improvements in technology, can help to produce better photos. i think it would be very hard to produce photos for any period of time that are consistently very bad.

Sam

I’ve been posting photos on this forum for god knows how long now, and since getting my new Canon, many members of this forum have givem me loads of tips and help with my photos, and it really does help, as one might not see something wrong with a photo, when someone with more experience can. Of course, something that does annoy me, is when a member simply says something like ‘Bah, they’re pretty bad’ – without giving any tips on how to make them better. But I’m all up for constructive criticism. 🙂 Thanks for bringing up the topic, Damian.

Hmm…

I think I agree with Mr Dowleys post on this one.

However, I’ve just ordered my first DSLR today, funnily enough. I am planning to post photos on here for the main reason to get back some CC. It can be sometimes though imtimidating to post pictures against some excellent photographers.

Personally, I think it would be great if there was a lot more CC. I have sometimes looked at a photo and seen somethings that wrong, been only an amatuer, but not said anything because I don’t want to upset anyone, not knowing how someone would react.

Basically, CC is for the best and I’m glad this thread has been brought up.

Damian
I have to agree with a lot that you say, but its a very sticky subject, most guys on the forum will welcome constructive-criticsim,( like my self ) but others will take the hump, then you start down a very slippery road that could lead to more trouble than its worth
I have been lucky that the people who got me into photography, also have help me to get the best out of my equipment ,and I really do appreicate it, I also have done the old trial and error methods to suit my own preferrances
But at the end of the Day Some People just dont want to listen,or accept criticsim

Kevin

I’ve been thinking about what you’ve said, its a hard one.

This forum is a place for photographers to share their images, whether they are good or bad.

Yes, CC is great if it allows someone to improve but I think CC is only neccessary on the dire photos, and I dont think we’ve seen many of those. Should we really worry if a horizon or two is unlevel or the aircraft is too small in the frame or its backlit – many are limited as to what they can do becuase they may not have cameras totally suited to aviation photography. Also, quite a few people dont have access to the software packages that allow them to edit the photos properly. Photoshop etc costs three arms and 9 legs to buy – many will be stuck with just MS Paint. So many are unable to improve their images.

I think we have got to cater for people who can’t get their photos onto the blue or grey sites of this world and have got to have an outlet somewhere for showing off their work – many forums similar to this are like that. Its the a’s and jp’s that need to worry about whether the horizon is unlevel. Here, we are simply sharing a hobby. We aren’t screening the photos for upload to the said sites.

I know when I see a crap aviation photo – we all do – and our opinions on which photos are good or bad will differ – everyone’s ‘par’ is going to be at a different height.

What I’m trying to say is that not every photo is going to be perfect on here. The photos that are totally useless (and I think there are very, very few of those IMO) do receive CC, but for those photos which are slightly unlevel or backlit, or a little undersharpened for example, I don’t think we should worry. The photographers will learn over time and get inspiration from the best.

EDIT – i’m not saying CC is bad. I think its great when its well meant and when it provides guidance for the future. I get it sometimes, I like it, I use it.

This is something that has been mentioned at least a few times before, and you’ll stumble across a few threads where not every reply is a praise.

One thing that should be noted is that a lot of forum members (myself included) do not have access to digital SLRs, so the quality is sometimes down to the equipment being used and not necessarily the user. For this reason, the ‘offenders’ (for want of a better word) may not be able to improve the quality of their shots, and it would not be fair to ask them not to post.