Bad Pictures

5
Credits: emperornorton

I think a lot of lomographers like to bend the rules — until they snap. Mea culpa. But what makes a bad photo?

This site about digital cameras features a page of bad pictures and the — sometimes snarky — reasons why they are bad:

escrito por emperornorton en 2015-01-02

5 Comentarios

  1. iamtheju
    iamtheju ·

    I find not knowing your camera is the biggest cause of bad photos. Even a novice can take a great photo if they set the camera up properly.

  2. emperornorton
    emperornorton ·

    @iamtheju I think that is a major factor. Some people try to wrestle a photo out of a subject that their camera is not really suited for. Or they aren't paying attention to the light or expecting too much from their subject (see my photo).

  3. asharnanae
    asharnanae ·

    Well, first I would ask what your definition of 'Bad Photo' is. As even a 'technically' perfect photo could be rubbish if it does not fit the intended use.

  4. emperornorton
    emperornorton ·

    @ashamanae While I think that "technical perfection" has been used by many a photography teacher to beat students over the head (often masking personal animosity toward a student) I don't think one can salvage poor quality photos by an appeal to "freedom" or "art". Their failures do not break the rules in any pleasurable way that I can see. Sometimes when we have a photo accident the results are good, but let's not make the mistake of saying that photo accidents are always for the good: bad fits them. What has happened in these shots is that the photographer did not respect her/his equipment and pushed it to do things that it could not do. They reached for something that was not possible. When I have used bad techniques to arrive at good results, I have usually been deliberate about doing so. This is one reason why I don't like the lomography maxim of "Don't think". I contend that you should think. Don't just blindly point your camera in any direction at any setting and expect a miracle. That's fine for the learning stage, but eventually I feel it is foolish to photograph without any regard for an appreciation of what your camera doesn't do so well and just as importantly, what it does well. Sometimes we discover interesting effects by accident -- witness the black sun phenomenon of the Instax photos when you try to take a sunset or a sunrise. But if you know that someone will yield a wretched picture, don't keep doing it. The maxim should be "think fast". Give your mind and experience a little credit for the creative process.

  5. asharnanae
    asharnanae ·

    well said, I agree :D