This is the place to ask any questions you may have about photography. No question is too small, nor too stupid.

Info for Newbies and FAQ!

First and foremost, check out our extensive FAQ. Chances are, you'll find your answer there, or at least a starting point in order to ask more informed questions.

• Want to start learning? Check out The Reddit Photography Class.

• Here's an informative video explaining the Exposure Triangle.

Need buying advice?

Many people come here for recommendations on what equipment to buy. Our FAQ has several extensive sections to help you determine what best fits your needs and your budget. Please see the following sections of the FAQ to get started:

• What type of camera should I look for?
• What's a "point and shoot" camera? What's a DSLR? What's a "mirrorless" camera? What's the difference?
• Do I need a good camera to take good photos?
• Is Canon or Nikon better? (or any other brands)
• What can I afford?

If after reviewing this information you have any specific questions, please feel free to post a comment below. (Remember, when asking for purchase advice please be specific about how much you can spend. See here for guidelines.)

Weekly Community Threads:

Monthly Community Threads:

Finally a friendly reminder to share your work with our community in r/photographs!

-Photography Mods (And Sentient Bot)

Preface: I’d like to start by saying that I feel the word ‘criticism’ is interpreted by some as inherently negative, but that doesn’t have to be the case. Throughout this write-up, and in part 1, I’ve used the words ‘critique’, ‘criticism', and ‘feedback’, interchangeably, because I consider them to be more or less the same in this particular context.

In my previous post, I discussed some of the discoveries I’ve made related to receiving critiques, and some things I’ve learned to better handle them. In part 2, I’d like to look at the opposite side. After all, feedback is only helpful when conveyed in an effective way. On top of that, you’re more likely to get a positive response, if the feedback is presented in a way that doesn’t come across as combative or demeaning. In fact, it can be a way to build connections within the photography community. Below, I’ll go over the ways I prevent even my most honest critiques from feeling like an attack.

The Dos:

1) Be Articulate:

This one might seem obvious, but I feel it’s one of the most important parts of giving effective feedback. Ensuring that the person you’ve given the feedback to understands what you’re trying to say and why you’re saying it can make the difference between useful constructive criticism and a negative comment. If you see something wrong with the image or you see something you want to give feedback on, make the extra effort to explain your reasoning. Instead of simply saying ‘the left side of the frame is too dark’ try phrasing it more like ‘I feel that the left side of the frame is a bit dark, so it’s pulling my eyes away from the subject’. While this might seem like the same comment, on the surface, they can be interpreted in different ways. The former might come across as you not liking darker images, whereas the latter explains that it’s a distraction. This level of clarity increases the chances of the photographer understanding your point of view thus reducing the risk of confrontation.

2) Offer Advice:

Some people believe that photography criticism is easy. You just point out everything the artist did wrong, and then carry on with your day. In reality, simply pointing out the issues you have with something is only the first step when it comes to giving an effective critique. As I mentioned in my previous write-up, a critique, when given well, is meant to lift people up, not knock them down. That’s why it’s incredibly important to offer solutions to the issues you have with the image. Instead of just saying an image looks flat, let the photographer know some ways to increase depth within an image. This could be advice they can use in the field or when editing their images at home. Either way, the goal of an effective critique is to have the photographer go into their next shoot or editing session with a new level of understanding or a new perspective that might help them improve their work.

3) Ask Questions:

It’s OK to admit when you need some help understanding something, before giving a critique. Making incorrect assumptions is not only unhelpful, but it has the potential to come across as rude or disingenuous. Worst of all, when you make a critique so confidently, only for it to show your lack of understanding, it ruins your credibility. When there is something you’re not certain about, don’t be afraid to ask questions to collect the details you need to make an informed critique. This could include asking questions about the settings, the location, or the intent behind the image. Ensuring you know as much as possible about the image before offering feedback benefits both the critic and the artist, and is a major key to giving a meaningful critique.

4) Acknowledge it’s Subjective:

This is another point that may appear to be common sense, but it’s one that I often see failing to be conveyed by the language choices. When it comes to making subjective critiques or giving subjective advice, it’s important to ensure that your language reflects that. Simply adding something like ‘personally’ or ‘I feel that’ can change the way the photographer interprets your comment. Also, if the photographer responds to tell you that your critique isn’t something they feel is helpful to their particular vision or style, it can be tempting to double down. This is often where I see the civil communication break down, which leads to objective statements and insults being hurled around. However, it’s important to remember that the photographer has their own vision and preferences. No matter how right you think you are, it’s important to know when to walk away. Furthermore, if it’s clear that the photographer seems uninterested in actually listening to criticism, despite claiming to seek it, it’s best to leave them be than to get into a prolonged argument about it.

5) Know your Expertise:

Continuing with the idea of knowing when to walk away, it’s important to ensure you’re only giving feedback regarding things you actually know about. There’s a reason I don’t give feedback on product photography, car photography, or wedding photography, just to name a few. While it can be tempting to chime in on a variety of photographs, when you lack the experience and understanding in that area, it can do more harm than good, even when done with the best of intentions. This also applies to editing techniques. When giving editing advice, it’s best to comment on elements you’re familiar with. It’s OK to share videos of other photographers explaining these techniques, but be sure to actually watch them before making the recommendation. Furthermore, if the photographer asks you a specific question you don’t feel confident giving an answer to, it’s OK to admit as much. It’s better to admit you have no idea, than to give bad advice.

6) Be honest:

I imagine some people may have gotten this far and have reached the conclusion that I think all situations where you give feedback should be handled with kid-gloves. However, while I do try my best to be particularly careful with my language choices, I’m never one to shy away from giving someone direct feedback. One of the most important things when it comes to giving good a faith critique is honesty. When giving feedback, it’s important to identify what advice you can give for the photo as it is presented and what advice you can give for future shoots. Sometimes, the photo you’re looking at can’t be saved, regardless of editing skills. This is one of the most important times to be honest. There’s no point in giving advice on how to edit a particular photo if the photo itself is beyond saving. To me, giving editing advice for a photo that has underlying problems, such as composition, sharpness, or exposure is like putting lipstick on a pig. I often tell new photographers, it’s better to learn from their mistakes and use that knowledge for their next photography outing, than to attempt editing their mistakes away. That isn’t to say they can’t practice some editing techniques on that photo and it doesn’t mean you can’t give some editing advice for future images, but part of growing as a photographer is knowing which photos are worth spending your time on, and which ones serve as a lesson for your next shoot. Giving advice that helps a photographer increase the number of photos that are worth editing starts with honesty.

The Don’ts:

1) Try to be an Entertainer:

We’ve all seen viral videos of judges on TV shows lambasting contestants with a witty one-liner that has the entire audience holding their sides. I also get that it can be tempting to try the same thing, whether it’s to get internet points or gain a feeling of superiority. However, when you look at some of the ‘critiques’ these judges provide beyond their face value of making you laugh, they’re often hollow. That’s because these people are in the entertainment business, so producing an entertaining product trumps providing meaningful constructive criticism. Much like telling someone that they have the worst singing voice you’ve ever heard isn’t providing any meaningful advice for self-improvement, telling someone they suck at an element of photography in an over-the-top way isn’t helpful. What’s more, it’s rarely funny, which I actually think might be the most offensive part. Rather than trying to get a rise out of someone or trying to make people laugh, focus on trying to assist someone who has identified that they need help and is explicitly asking for it, so they can get better at the thing they enjoy.

2) Overwhelm the Photographer:

When giving a detailed critique we can sometimes get a little overzealous. Even when given with the best of intentions, giving feedback that the photographer is unable to understand or recommending techniques they are incapable of doing at their current level can leave them feeling more discouraged than motivated. This is why it’s important to consider the experience of the photographer, their ability, and their understanding of certain vocabulary and techniques. As we grow as photographers, we learn new techniques, rules, and pick up quite a bit of jargon along the way. However, it’s important to keep in mind that not everyone is at the same point of their journey as we are. While saying something like “oh, you should bracket some exposures, so you can blend them together in PS” might be sound advice, if the person is only one week into their photography journey, they might not even know what ‘aperture’ means, yet. While it’s a good idea to introduce these concepts, and provide resources, we need to make sure our advice isn’t coming across as what appears to be a fictional language.

3) Critique the Gear:

Everyone has limitations. For some it’s time, for others it’s money, for many it’s gear. While it’s OK to comment on the type of gear someone might need to achieve a particular photo they are trying to capture, it’s important to avoid criticizing the photographer for their gear. While this is nothing new, I’ve noticed an increase in these kinds of comments as the popularity of phone photography grows. While it can be tempting for many to thumb their nose at someone with entry level gear or a smartphone, it just comes across as elitist. This isn’t to say you can’t point out the limitations of one’s gear and explain what type of gear they might want to consider investing in down the line, but you should be more thoughtful about the way you say it. There’s a big difference between ‘this seems like a gear limitation to me’ and ‘get a real camera’. While both of them point out that the photographer may want to consider looking at new gear or try shooting in a way that fits their gear better, one of them is a little more demeaning. Either way, if you do find that the photographer’s gear is holding them back, there may still be other elements they can continue working on with their current gear. Rather than focusing too much on things they should spend money on, try to focus on the immediate aspects they can improve with their current gear. They may eventually reach a point where an upgrade in gear is needed, but until their gear is the main thing holding them back, it’s best not to make them feel like a new camera or lens is a wand that will magically improve their work.

4) Make Personal Attacks:

This is another one that, hopefully, most people will see as common sense. However, it is, again, something I see and have experienced in the past. Nothing is gained from a personal attack against a photographer, their preferred style, or their choice of subject. Back in my more self-conscious days, I was told that the only reason my work wasn’t getting a bigger social media following is because it sucked and the subjects I photographed were boring (namely flowers and fireworks, at the time). This is the kind of personal attack that provides no constructive feedback, and only serves as an attempt to set the photographer off. While I can easily shrug these kinds of comments off today, I’m a little embarrassed to report that I took the bait at the time. I learned nothing from this interaction, and it had nothing to do with my growth as a photographer, as personal attacks rarely do. However, that isn’t to say critiques can only be directed at the finished product. I have been incredibly critical of the methods used by a particular Japanese street photographer. An opinion, I might add, that I was personally attacked for. However, there’s a difference between criticizing someone’s method of obtaining a photo and insulting them as a person or photographer. While I’ll admit I could have worded some of my criticism better, I still hold the same beliefs. Many of us, myself included, have put ourselves in questionable situations to obtain photos, but there is a line photographers shouldn’t cross. When the photographer’s method becomes harmful the environment, breaks laws, or requires them to be a public nuisance, then it is acceptable to point those aspects out, as they contributed to the finished photo. However, if you feel the need to put someone down, or insult their work, then that’s something you should consider working on. Your goal should be to encourage other photographers to pick up their cameras, not put them away. Keeping this in mind will not only help you give better feedback, it will make you a better person.

5) Give Pseudo-criticism

When looking at the work of others, it’s impossible to do so without our own biases and experiences affecting how we look at it. Every image we look at, every picture we take, and every location we visit has the potential to change the way we look at photographs. However, when giving feedback in an effective way, it’s important to try seeing each image with a fresh set of eyes. This is one of the challenges I’ve seen many face, when giving feedback, and it’s what leads to what I call ‘pseudo-criticism’. While I’m pretty sure I didn’t invent this term, it’s not one that I see many people acknowledge. So, what do I mean by ‘pseudo-criticism’? In short, it’s basically what it sounds like, it’s something that is masquerading as a critique, but isn’t substantive. The best example I can think of goes back to my earlier days of getting into photography. I was watching a video of some professional photographers providing feedback on various photographs. At the time, I felt they often gave blunt, but useful feedback, which was helpful for someone who was still learning the ropes. In this particular video, they put up a photo on the screen, and I was blown away. It was one of the most amazing photos I’d seen to that point. I’d never seen any location like it before, and the conditions were spectacular. Needless to say, my jaw dropped when one of them gave the photo an incredibly low score. Their reasoning: They’d seen this location shot with a similar composition a few times before. This complete inability to look at an image with fresh eyes, is a perfect example of what I consider pseudo-criticism. It’s OK to use your experience to give advice for future shoots at that location, including: the best time of day to visit, seasonal recommendations, and composition. However, using your own online browsing history to completely write off someone’s photo isn’t helpful. This type of criticism implies that once a location becomes popular, there’s no point in even bothering to shoot there. Sorry Iceland, I guess you’re just closed forever, now. You too Tokyo, time to pack your bags and head to a farm up north. All of this is to say, that when you give feedback on a photo, try to imagine it without the biases you have. An inability to do so not only leads to unhelpful pseudo-criticism, but it damages your credibility.

The Wrap-up:

As with part one, this is not a holy text by which to live your life, as it is based solely on my experiences and opinions. My hope is that at least some of these will help someone out there give more effective critiques, which will lead to deeper discussions about photography, and help building stronger connections within the community.

Let me know if there’s anything you’ve learned through your experience of giving or receiving feedback that has helped you give feedback in a more effective way, or even let me know if you disagree with anything.

Thanks as always for reading.

AI is a “tool” that many photographers and artists aren’t too happy about. This is mainly because it’s unethical to produce artworks or photographs that aren’t generated by humans because art is mainly defined by the expression of the human mind. There are AI “tools” that can enhance quality of photographs or artworks without incorporating AI art elements - such as more than five fingers on each hand. Do you think that this is helpful or does it still count as unethical?

I am starting a website for my photography. I have done a few payed gigs like engagment shoots, surprise proposals, baptisms, bridal shower, corporate events. I planned on having a section for pricing. $200 for proposals $350 for engagements $250 for baptism and then contact for pricing on event work like a bridal shower.

My co worker says I should not have any pricing because that means less people will inquire. Which I agree with however at the same time I personally get frustrated when I don’t see pricing on peoples websites. My pricing also seems to be lower than many in my area which could be a plus for getting me more inquires.

What do you guys think???

This is the place to ask any questions you may have about photography. No question is too small, nor too stupid.

Info for Newbies and FAQ!

First and foremost, check out our extensive FAQ. Chances are, you'll find your answer there, or at least a starting point in order to ask more informed questions.

• Want to start learning? Check out The Reddit Photography Class.

• Here's an informative video explaining the Exposure Triangle.

Need buying advice?

Many people come here for recommendations on what equipment to buy. Our FAQ has several extensive sections to help you determine what best fits your needs and your budget. Please see the following sections of the FAQ to get started:

• What type of camera should I look for?
• What's a "point and shoot" camera? What's a DSLR? What's a "mirrorless" camera? What's the difference?
• Do I need a good camera to take good photos?
• Is Canon or Nikon better? (or any other brands)
• What can I afford?

If after reviewing this information you have any specific questions, please feel free to post a comment below. (Remember, when asking for purchase advice please be specific about how much you can spend. See here for guidelines.)

Weekly Community Threads:

Monthly Community Threads:

Finally a friendly reminder to share your work with our community in r/photographs!

-Photography Mods (And Sentient Bot)

Time for some positivity!

Have you had any recent photography wins? Share them here!

Weekly Community Threads:

• | - | - | - | Raw Share | -

Monthly Community Threads:

I love photography. It's a passion. However I don't get to do it very often. I can't find clients and the cost to rent a space for TFP is far too high. I'm on the verge of just listing everything on eBay and not looking back. This is too expensive to be a hobby, and no matter what I do I can't seem to get a foothold when it comes to my LLC taking off. I get a few clients occasionally, but nothing that could ever pay the bills or cover the cost of my equipment. Should I just pack it all in?

A regular client of mine is trying to book me for a full day of product photography but they've just revealed that they've just signed a one year agreement with a retouching agency and so only require the RAW images from me for them to edit.

Not sure what the standard is with this, should I do it? Should I charge extra for the RAW images? (If it makes any difference, this is product photography for a fairly big company).

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

I’m planning on taking some pictures to update my portfolio. Now i’m wondering if it really matters that much who I go with. I feel like a random friend with an iPhone wouldn’t be as good as an actual professional photographer obviously. Should I do some research on photographers in the area that could make me look as good as possible or is there really no reason to as long as they have good equipment?

Edit : A lot of people seem to be misunderstanding what i’m actually asking. What i actually meant was if any academically trained/professional photographer would be as good as the next to take some pictures for my modelling portfolio. Meaning can I just pick the first one that seems decent or should I spend considerable time figuring out who is the absolute best in the area because the difference would be that big if i didn’t. This doesn’t mean that i’m asking if some people can take better pictures than others and if you could just give an expensive camera to any layman and get amazing results whatever the skill level is.

Photography, like every art form, is subjective. As such, anything we create is open to criticism, whether we like it or not. When criticism is given with the best of intentions, it can lead to growth. While we can’t control the criticism we receive, we can control how we respond to it. In this write up, I’ll be sharing the things I’ve learned over the years that have helped use the valid criticism I’ve received to improve as a photographer, and how I handle less than helpful negative feedback.

The Dos:

1) Take it with an open mind:

When seeking criticism, it’s important to remember that you’ll likely be receiving two different kinds. The first is objective criticism. By this, I mean the viewer will point out objective improvements that could be made to the image. These sorts of things could include the subject being out of focus, unintentional blur due to a slow shutter speed, or blown highlights. The other is subjective. This type of criticism is opinion based and thus requires us to understand where the comment is coming from. When reading a critique of your photography, it’s important to keep a few things in mind. How much experience does the person have in this type of photography? Is it just a difference in stylistic preferences? Is it possible that this type of photo just isn’t their cup of tea? These are the questions I usually ask myself before chiming in with my own critique, so I try to do the same when taking criticism of my own work into consideration. This isn’t to say these are the only questions you should ask, nor are they disqualifying factors, but they do change how much weight I put on the criticism.

2) Start a discussion:

The way I see it, the entire point of art is to give rise to conversation. Whether it’s my photography or my write-ups, I welcome all forms of feedback, both praise and criticism alike. When I receive what appears to be a critique made in good faith, I always try my best to engage in a discussion. This can be done for a few purposes: to find out more information, to explain your artistic choices, or to have a conversation. Whether it’s to clear up some information or to have a chat, there’s nothing wrong with clicking the ‘reply’ button, so long as you do so with the best of intentions.

3) Reflect and Apply:

Whenever I receive helpful criticism given in good faith, I always try my best to reflect on what was said and how I can use it in the future. One of the best ways to grow as a photographer is to try new things. When you’re learning the art of photography, it’s good to take the feedback you’ve received with you when you’re out taking photographs. This isn’t to say you should let it dominate your workflow, but if someone pointed out that a particular location may work better as a vertical image rather than a horizontal one, try taking one of each next time, and find out if they saw something you didn’t. Best case scenario, you start to see locations in a different way, worst case scenario, you have to delete one extra file. While this was a rather specific example, it can be applied to any advice you receive.

4) Notice patterns:

Criticism doesn’t happen in a vacuum. As we continue sharing our work online and actively seeking feedback, we may start to notice patterns emerging. This will happen if you take the time to reflect on the feedback you’ve been getting over longer periods of time. Perhaps multiple people point out that your images could benefit from a different focal length. Maybe you get a lot of feedback regarding your editing choices or distractions around the edges of your frame. It’s important to take all of these things into consideration as they apply to your body of work, rather than a single image. Again, this isn’t to say you need to change your photography to please others or create work you think others will like, but if a bunch of people at your restaurant mention that the food is overcooked, it might be worth considering the possibility that you need to adjust your cooking method.

The Don’ts

1) Ignore critical feedback:

Apologies in advance for the bluntness of this next part, I’ve written and rewritten it multiple times, but I just can’t find a nice way to phrase it. When I see someone say something to the effect of ‘I don’t care what people think about my photography’, it usually shows in the quality of their work… Not that they care what I think. While I understand the sentiment behind these kinds of comments, ignoring constructive feedback is undoubtedly the best way to ensure you hinder your improvement as a photographer. For those who truly do shoot for themselves, this is fine, but for those who are looking to grow as a photographer, take on clients, run workshops, or sell prints, taking valid criticism into consideration is an absolute must. Trust me, I also used to be ‘Mr. Nobody-Understands-My-Genius’ while shooting in auto-mode — for EIGHT YEARS. When I look back at the pictures I took over those eight years, I do so with a feeling of regret. I was so caught up on how amazing I thought my work was, that I missed out on photographing some of the most incredible places I’ve ever visited with a more critical eye. I wasn’t equipped with the knowledge I’ve since gained from listening to others. Due to my blissful ignorance, I was incapable of taking a photograph that stood the test of time. Not a single image from those eight years is in my portfolio, not a single one is available for purchase, and not a single one has been printed. They all sit on an external hard-drive somewhere, collecting digital dust. That is the fate of every single photo I took while not caring what other people think. I don’t know about you, but my photographs deserve better. It’s OK to shoot for yourself, but it never hurts to get feedback if you’re looking to improve. There’s a difference between shooting to impress others and seeking self-improvement. Taking valid criticism into consideration, is the latter.

2) Take it personally:

I’d like to think that, these days, I can handle just about any critique that’s thrown my way, solicited or otherwise. However, that wasn’t always the case. When I look back at some of the interactions I had during the early days of receiving criticism, I feel embarrassed. My skin was so thin, I’m honestly surprised it didn’t blow off my body from the slightest gust of wind. In those days, there was no such thing as a critique of my photo, only an attack on me, the most brilliant photographer who had ever lived. While it can sometimes feel this way, it’s important to remember that someone giving a good faith critique of your work is trying to help you improve your photography, not make you give up. If someone points out a flaw with the image, such as it being out of focus, take it as something you should pay more attention to on your next shoot. If someone expresses an opinion you don’t agree with, just remember that it’s a reflection of how they feel about that particular image, not necessarily about you as a person. For any artist, it can be hard to separate themselves from their work, but it’s an ability one must to learn to take criticism as advice, rather than an attack.

3) Attack the critic:

Building off the previous point, back before my skin had hardened, I didn’t respond well to criticism of my work. I was quick to snap back at the person giving a critique, by either denigrating their work or telling them that they just didn’t understand my genius. I’ve since come to accept that there wasn’t much to understand about my work at the time, it was just bad. Now that I’m more aware of this, it’s something that stands out when I’m on the receiving end of an attack. A while back, I gave feedback regarding some distractions within the frame of an image someone was seeking criticism on. Upon reading this critique, the photographer responded with something to the effect of ‘you’re looking at the wrong part of the image’, which completely dismissed the feedback about the image, and instead insisted I was just looking at the image incorrectly. This dismissive tone continued as I tried to explain my perspective, until it reached a point where I accepted that this person was unwilling to be helped. I went through their previous posts, and it was more of the same. Every comment was them telling the viewers that their critiques simply showed their lack of ability to comprehend the genius of their work. This particular person was doing something many self-conscious artists do: posting work under the guise of asking for criticism, while actually seeking affirmation and admiration. Don’t be like this. If you hear opinions you disagree with, it’s OK to ask questions about their criticism, explain your decisions, or respectfully agree to disagree, but that doesn’t mean telling the viewer that they are wrong, and it should never lead to personal insults. When it comes to handling criticism poorly it’s often a combination of ignoring criticism and attacking the critic, and it usually ends with the photographer looking the same way: Like a fool wrapped in the delusion of being a misunderstood genius.

4) Let it dictate your work:

Now, I know that at least a few people are itching to hop into the comments and tell me that it sure sounds like I care too much about what other people think and how I should shoot for myself. Before you do, allow me to explain that it’s not so black and white. How you respond to criticism isn’t limited to simply ignoring it altogether or taking it as gospel — it’s a bit more nuanced than that. Criticism, and how you respond to it, is more of a spectrum. When you’re looking for criticism, it’s important to take what has been said with an open mind, then apply what you feel best suits you and your work at the time. You can pick and choose what does and doesn’t help you improve as a photographer. It can feel like a bit of a balancing act between letting it consume your work or brushing it off, but once you find that balance it can help you grow much more quickly.

5) Feed the trolls:

It’s an unfortunate reality that some people out there are just seeking to get a rise out of you. As you grow more accustomed to feedback, get more attention, and make yourself more visible, you’re bound to notice a few people who just want to see if they can push your buttons. Whether they’re bored or looking to take out their personal inadequacies on someone else, it’s important for your mental health to not let the trolls get to you. I’ve found that my ability to deal with or ignore trolls has improved as my self-confidence has gone up. It’s important to learn how to identify which comments are disingenuous or blatantly trying to provoke a negative response from you, so you can deprive them of it. I’ll be the first to admit, I’ve bitten that worm more than a few times, only to end up mounted on someone’s trophy wall (metaphorically, obviously), but it’s something I no longer allow myself to do. Some indicators can include an almost desperate level of bluntness (ex: This looks like a 7 year old’s first Photoshop attempt), a lack of detailed feedback (ex: this is the worst photo I’ve ever seen), or exaggeration (ex: This looks like it was taken with a potato)… only imagine those examples with more typos and worse grammar. Understanding how to identify the comments seeking to lift you up and the ones trying to knock you down is pivotal to seeing criticism of your work as a tool to help you improve, rather than a weapon to beat you down. Besides, once you know which comments are from trolls, you can have the last laugh by ensuring their attempts fall flat.

6) Lie:

I don’t really know if I have to go that in-depth on this one, because I feel like it’s pretty straight-forward, on a general level. When presenting your work or responding to criticism, lying about information related to your work is one of the worst things you can do. After all, people can’t give you appropriate advice, if you’re giving false information. If you used cloning tools, applied a sky-swap, added additional elements, or changed the hue/color of something, that’s fine, despite what the purists say. Just be honest about it. When seeking criticism, we can often feel exposed or vulnerable, but those feelings will subside as you continue to grow. If you misrepresent your work, people won’t be able to give an honest and effective critique, which renders it meaningless. Furthermore, if you become known as a liar, it can tarnish your reputation, which can have a negative impact on how people see your work and hinder your ability to build meaningful relationships within the community.

The Wrap-up:

While this is by no means a holy text by which you should live, they’re things I’ve noticed over the years as I’ve grown more accustomed to handling criticism. The easiest thing to do is to ignore criticism, but as is often the case, the easiest path doesn’t always lead to the most rewarding destination. If you’re happy with the path you’re on, by all means, carry on, but if you’re looking to grow, I hope these points will help you on the journey ahead.

For the sake of length, I’ve decided to split this write-up into two parts. Part two will be about giving criticism, and it will be posted in a few days… barring any unforeseen revisions. I’ve decided to lead with how to handle criticism, because I found that I personally felt more comfortable giving criticism after I’d grown enough as a photographer by receiving the advice of others.

As always, if you have any points you’d like to add, read something you disagree with, or just want to tell me that my father smelled of elderberries, let me know!

Every month, we join together and do our best to view and critique each others' websites. The main purpose of this post is to learn things from each other that can benefit our own portfolios or websites. Use this space to talk about all aspects of your online representation, from social media to SEO to personal branding and portfolios, the best and worst places to host your work, collective critiques, you name it.

Having an online presence can also be a beneficial utility for those showing their work in an effort to obtain potential clients, so it's highly advised that if you find something particular that could be improved in someone's online presence, use this opportunity to kindly tell them about it and let them know how they can improve.

Guidelines:

• If you post your website, please comment on at least two other websites

• Please reply to any comments that have no replies!

• Don't be hesitant to post a link to your website or portfolio, even if there's a plethora of comments.

• It doesn't matter if you're a "Beginner" or "Professional Photographer", just have fun and learn from each other - that's what this post is for, so take advantage of this opportunity.

Weekly Community Threads:

• | - | - | - | Raw Share | -

Monthly Community Threads:

Let’s see your work! Use this thread to share an album, get feedback from, and give feedback to your peers.

Before posting, be sure to give feedback on other people’s albums. Feedback can be as little as “I like this photo best!”

If you are more confident in your critiquing abilities, give reasons why x photo was good, and/or what can be done to improve y photo.

Please post curated albums!

Do not post your entire Flickr/instagram feeds or website, nor albums of hundreds of photos. You will get more meaningful feedback on albums of fewer images.

Weekly Community Threads:

• | - | - | - | Raw Share | -

Monthly Community Threads:

Hi! I recently made this online app to show my students how each setting on the camera affects the final image output.

You can view my online camera simulator here (32mb download warning!): https://leocb.github.io/CameraSimulator/

If you disable the automatic ISO compensation, you can under or over expose the image.

The images are CG, but I made sure that all settings are physically accurate and also that I followed the proper exposure compensations for each setting change.

It's all open source! Feel free to learn from it and to use it in your classroom if you wish.

Enjoy!

I'm a film photographer and I have a lot of projects coming up this year so I'd like to have a hardcover book for my photography at the end of year. Id want to also be able to have body text so I don't want to use just any photography printing service . I was wondering if anyone knew of a service I could use to give me the best results to really show my work

I should also mention this book would be for myself as a sort of an art project and wouldn't be printed on a large scale.

Asking for a friend of mine who will be out shooting spring minis this weekend. We have a sudden cold snap coming in that she wasn't expecting. Any tips or advice on how to keep everyone from getting too cold in their spring clothes? The wind will probably be ~10mph.

If this has been asked before please direct me to where. I searched but the advice I saw was geared more towards the mechanics of protecting the camera and not necessarily how to keep everyone comfortable enough. I know sometimes people just have to deal with it but we are looking for tips to alleviate it a bit. Kids are hard enough to get pictures of when they're comfortable, much less when they're cold.

TIA for help.

This is the place to ask any questions you may have about photography. No question is too small, nor too stupid.

Info for Newbies and FAQ!

First and foremost, check out our extensive FAQ. Chances are, you'll find your answer there, or at least a starting point in order to ask more informed questions.

• Want to start learning? Check out The Reddit Photography Class.

• Here's an informative video explaining the Exposure Triangle.

Need buying advice?

Many people come here for recommendations on what equipment to buy. Our FAQ has several extensive sections to help you determine what best fits your needs and your budget. Please see the following sections of the FAQ to get started:

• What type of camera should I look for?
• What's a "point and shoot" camera? What's a DSLR? What's a "mirrorless" camera? What's the difference?
• Do I need a good camera to take good photos?
• Is Canon or Nikon better? (or any other brands)
• What can I afford?

If after reviewing this information you have any specific questions, please feel free to post a comment below. (Remember, when asking for purchase advice please be specific about how much you can spend. See here for guidelines.)

Weekly Community Threads:

Monthly Community Threads:

Finally a friendly reminder to share your work with our community in r/photographs!

-Photography Mods (And Sentient Bot)

What are you up to? Share with your e-friends! What's that shiny new piece of equipment?

Show off cool photography-related stuff you've created or experienced here in the comments of this post! We want to see and discuss your pictures, videos, website... anything, really!

If you've got interesting links to stuff created by someone else, we'd love to discuss that too!

Weekly Community Threads:

• | - | - | - | Raw Share | -

Monthly Community Threads:

I'm not a photographer, but have a pretty good drone that takes incredible photos and video. I was at a wedding recently, which was outdoors, beautiful winery and the pictures I could have taken with a drone would have been amazing. The photographer was running around taking hundreds of photos with the last pictures being of the entire group. I was really surprised he didn't use a drone. The last group shot would have looked great from 20-30m off the ground. Is this some kind of snobbery thing going on?? No idea why they wouldn't use them.

I have another wedding coming up, I'm assuming if the bride/groom wanted me to take some drone footage the photographer would not be happy??

I usually join my mom and her photography group she's in. I've never really worked with photographing models since I usually photograph wildlife alone, so I'm not sure how everything works.

I usually don't talk, because I'm usually scared to, so I can't speak up at times. There's usually 3-7 photographers at once. By the looks of it, I never even get approached or talked to with, so when we take turns or something like that, when I speak up I'm not heard most of the time from what I noticed while joining them.

This group has alright connections and that's the only way I get to practice photographing models.

I'm unsure how to communicate in groups within the circle. Has anyone encountered this? Any tips how to beat it?

I was wondering if any of you sell your photos (online), and if yes: what kind of photos do you sell and how/where do you sell them (as prints)? I find it really hard to find out how I can start this (even if it's really small as a business, I would just love to this to share my photos with people) to sell my photos.

Would Etsy be a good place for it, or are there other places which suits better for (animal/wildlife) photographers? As I'm not sure if people see this as "art" to hang on their wall at home. And I don't like to sell my photos (digitally) for stock sites (no offence) to be honest. Please share your ideas and experience as a photographer with me, if you want to. Would really appreciate to read more about anyone who has some (good or bad) experience and advice about this.

I'm an animal/pet photographer and most of the time I photograph dogs. In my spare time I love to photographs wild animals, such as lions, tigers, sheep, squirrels, owls and birds of prey for example. Here is the White Faced Owl, which is one of my favourites to decorate this Reddit post a bit :-)

​

​

https://preview.redd.it/rr6pxr9lyana1.jpg?width=1365&format=pjpg&auto=webp&v=enabled&s=cd95c5c43b97723e51011c48687e55e0053f5ab7

Have something you’ve worked on and want to share with the community? Here’s the place to do so!

Add a comment here to promote your stuff. Feel free to drop links to your recent YouTube videos, podcasts, photobooks, or whatever else it is you’ve created.

Weekly Community Threads:

• | - | - | - | Raw Share | -

Monthly Community Threads:

I’m a portrait photographer.

I’ve been approached by a nice lady for a session. In the upcoming weeks, she will have to shave her head and have her breast removed. She wants a souvenir of these parts of her before they are gone and before she starts the hardest fight of her life.

From the get go, this is a bittersweet scenario. It’s celebratory, but at the same time, it’s part of a grieving process.

Usually on my set, I’m bubbly, I ask a lot of questions to the client while they get their makeup done to ease the mood and bring good vibes.

But for this shoot, just the idea to greet her at the door with a « hello! How is it going? » mortifies me. Or course the answer is «  its going bad » and I can’t really discuss future projects...because her only project is probably chemio. I don’t want to ignore the matters at end, but at the same time, maybe she wants to talk about something else than cancer ??

I’m usually socially anxious and being bubbly and fun was the easy way to go for me. It’s just not appropriate for this time and I don’t know how to make sure my client has a great time :/

Any advice welcomed :/

My friend's ridicule and pick at me because I simply just shoot with my Fujifilm X-T10 with the JPEG option and film simulation and a profile I prefer to shoot in (options for color/sharpness/highlight tone/shadow tone/noise reduction). A lot of my friends call me lazy due to this.

I'm not particularly good at using Lightroom or other programs. I really struggle with utilizing those types of tools and have a hard time making sense of it all. I want to be considered a photographer too, but I just don't have the technical capability to really use tools on the computer.

I feel like less of a photographer and maybe to "convince" myself am trying to justify to myself purchasing like a Leica Q2 to be less ridiculed and maybe "up" my photography.

Title says it all. Cold contact sucks. I’ve easily done 100+ cold calls (email follow ups included and 50+ cold emails in the last week. Maybe two have gained me traction. Most of my agency’s work has been from business owners I know, but running out of those local connections.

Any feedback as to what your agency does would be extremely helpful. Thanks!

Side note: 150 contacts might not be a lot, but I also do IT management 9-5 and have a family. Exhausted but pushing through.

i'm a 17yo highschool student from italy. photography has always been my hobby, but since last year i've started working mainly as an event photographer at clubs, concerts and the like. since this year a lot of people I know are turning 18 and lots of them throw parties and need a photographer, i've been trying to fit them in my work schedule as possible. the main issue is the pay. for a normal club/party night i would charge something like 200-250€, considering it's usually around 5 hours of photos + 3-4 of post production or even more depending on the event. obviously, i try to lower my prices for friends, but recently it's happened that a couple of people weren't happy even with the discounted price and even asked me to work for free. since i'm definitely too good of a person, and I didn't wanna ruin a relationship just because of some money, i've ended up lowering my price even more for these people until they were ok with it. i just kinda thought of it as my "gift" for them.

now, I don't know if this is because they think that just because i'm still in hs I don't deserve to get paid more (when the investment in the gear and the experience is there to justify my price) or if they just undervalue a photographer's work that much. i'm just thinking about what i can do. considering i still have a whole year of parties for people turning 18, i need to find a solution. what would you guys do? should i just keep doing what i've been doing and lowering my price to a decent degree until they're ok with it? a solution could just be not working at parties, but to be completely fair i need the money for a new camera (planning to upgrade before the end of the year) and I can't just skip their birthday to go work at the club as that'd be an asshole move imo.