# Signs that you may be good at photography?



## GTHill (Dec 19, 2008)

My first bit of recognition... The Wal-Mart photo lady was very uncooperative when my sis-in-law wanted to gets some photos I shot developed of her and her husband. She thought they were professional. Woo hoo! The Wal-Mart photo department thinks I'm a pro!

GT


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## kundalini (Dec 19, 2008)

When the boundaries of acolades extend beyond the immediate family and friends to folks that have an understanding beyond "Oh, that's lovely".

I've received one or two....... and damn happy for it too.


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## craig (Dec 20, 2008)

Photography is a long road. Any positive comments is a step in the right direction. Certainly goes way beyond that, but this is not the place. Keep shooting. 

Love & Bass


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## epp_b (Dec 20, 2008)

> The Wal-Mart photo lady was very uncooperative when my sis-in-law wanted to gets some photos I shot developed of her and her husband. She thought they were professional.


I'm a little confused.  What difference would it have made if they _were_ professional?


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## Tolyk (Dec 20, 2008)

epp_b said:


> I'm a little confused. What difference would it have made if they _were_ professional?


 Concerned about rights to reproduce the image perhaps.


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## Marco (Dec 20, 2008)

GTHill said:


> The Wal-Mart photo department thinks I'm a pro!
> 
> GT



Ohh

Bad luck


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## tirediron (Dec 20, 2008)

This sign?


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## Dubious Drewski (Dec 20, 2008)

Ok, what's the punchline to that sign.


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## ATXshots (Dec 20, 2008)

what a perfect photo for this thread


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## LaFoto (Dec 20, 2008)

Well, I'm happy for you that you had the chance to feel this swell of pride! 
Feels good, doesn't it?

Like when I was once asked by a lady from Andalucia which South American country I was born in (we spoke Spanish), when I was born in Germany, had been raised in Germany, had never spoken a word of Spanish until I was 22, and only started to learn it as a foreign language THEN.  Hmmmmmm, to be mistaken for a native speaker ... ahhh! Felt as good as being mistaken for a pro must have felt to you!


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## Overread (Dec 20, 2008)

When you make a new photo thread on TPF and you not only get a lot of good compliment - but also get this:
:hail:
appearing from people who's photos have made you use the smilie on too


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## mrodgers (Dec 20, 2008)

I feel now after a year of learning stuff here, I am good enough.  95% of the shooting I do is of the kids to give to Grandma and put into albums for Grandma to look at.  When I get Grandma to say, "OMFG", it's good enough for me .

I generally don't post photos of my kids, thus no one here sees them.  I stink at any other kind of photographing.  I don't travel so don't have any fantastic landscapes.  I don't do street photography because in my opinion, that is just down right rude.  I don't have the eye to photograph just a boring piece of something and make it go WOW like many of you here.  I don't have the equipment capable of shooting stuff like racing, biking, skating, and the like so don't have anything like that for you all to look at.  Thus, when the family goes from, "awe, that's cute" to "OMFG!" with my photos of the kids, I am happy with my photography.


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## epp_b (Dec 20, 2008)

> Concerned about rights to reproduce the image perhaps.


Somehow I don't think Walmart gives a rip.


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## Overread (Dec 20, 2008)

epp_b said:


> Somehow I don't think Walmart gives a rip.



they do if they get caught printing copyrighted photos without the holder of the copyrights permission. Professional printing companies have to honour copyright on images and without written or other forms stating that the customer has the right to reproduce the image there are problems.


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## Patm1313 (Dec 20, 2008)

Whenever someone asks me "Who took this?", it's a good day, because they think that a 14 year old wouldn't be able to take such nice shots.


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## chrisburke (Dec 20, 2008)

it is great when you get comments from people who are in the biz, but i gotta be honest here, i dont consider the walmart photo department people to really know what they are doing...  they take pictures everyday, but the pictures they take, require one skill and one skill only... the ability to press a button...  if you put a DSLR in their hands, they wouldnt have a clue what to do... thus I have a hard time considering them to know what they are doing, BUT its still cool to have non-family members say "wow" to your photos, its such a great feeling!!!!

in regards to the copyright thing, YES walmart does honor professional copyrights... my friend went with some pictures that were done by me of their wedding, quite a while a go, and walmart would NOT print them... eventually they just called me to verify that it was ok to print them, and all went well.


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## ksmattfish (Dec 20, 2008)

epp_b said:


> Somehow I don't think Walmart gives a rip.



http://photos.walmart.com/copyrightpolicy#143791

Of course they do.  It's against the law, and they are a rich target for legal action.  US copyright law allows for fines in the millions.  On a local level it's not very difficult for local wedding and portrait pros to get thousands or even tens of thousands in settlements if Walmart violates copyright law.  Just like many stores have a policy to card for cigs if the buyer looks under 30 just in case, Walmart employees (and many other stores) are told to ask for copyright permission if there is any suspicion that the photo may be professional.

In my town the state professional photographers' organization successfully sued a grocery store chain that was encouraging customers with copyrighted photos to use the self serve photo kiosks.  It was a 6 figure settlement.


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## epp_b (Dec 20, 2008)

> Just like many stores have a policy to card for cigs if the buyer looks under 30 just in case, Walmart employees (and many other stores) are told to ask for copyright permission if there is any suspicion that the photo may be professional.


The difference is that minors and cigarettes is a valid health issue.  Copyright is statutory monopoly and it shouldn't be the employees' responsibility to watch for it.



> In my town the state professional photographers' organization successfully sued a grocery store chain that was encouraging customers with copyrighted photos to use the self serve photo kiosks. It was a 6 figure settlement.


OK, but there's a difference between "encouraging" and "ignoring".


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## stsinner (Dec 20, 2008)

What I'm starting to think more and more is that you don't have to be all that good at photography as long as you are good at Photoshop.


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## LaFoto (Dec 20, 2008)

stsinner, I hope you will agree with me disagreeing.
For I think that if you take a poor photo (poorly composed, exposed, planned out, previsualised), no pp is going to make that one a good photo. People who know a little bit about photography will see all the tweaks and treatments done, and still see where the photo was no good to begin with! You can quite (!) effectively use pp software to make a GOOD photo even BETTER (or more "yours", is how I see things). 
But even the very versed use of pp software - of whichever kind - is not going to make a masterpiece out of a mere snapshot. 

So, when someone's there who says: "Hey, I have never seen anyone else take photos like this!" and apparently means it (and be he a farmer whose potato harvest you asked to cover in photos, just so you learn some more), then it gives you a good feeling, and why should we not be given at least that?


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## RebelTasha (Dec 20, 2008)

I've had the very same experience at Walmart, she told me if I wanted to get the pictures reproduced I must bring the negatives, that she knew they were mine but they looked professional and Walmart would not reprint them without the negatives..
That was back when I used my Rebel 2000 35mm and my youngest was just a baby.


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## Jaszek (Dec 20, 2008)

When ever someone sees me with an SLR and standing in the same place for +5 minutes trying to take a picture they automatically think I'm a pro, even though I had my DSL for nearly three months and i'm 17 lol.


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## JerryPH (Dec 20, 2008)

stsinner said:


> What I'm starting to think more and more is that you don't have to be all that good at photography as long as you are good at Photoshop.



Uhhmm... no.  A crappy pic is a crappy pic and though you can save many pics via editing, it still doesn't change the fact that the PHOTOGRAPHER did not what was necessary to do it right in camera.

A good photoCHopper doesn't a good photographer make.

I am talking from the point of view of what is technically needed to get a proper picture, not artistic additions added via post processing.


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## tirediron (Dec 20, 2008)

Dubious Drewski said:


> Ok, what's the punchline to that sign.


 
Punchline Drew?  I have no idea what you're talking about...


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## JerryPH (Dec 20, 2008)

Jaszek said:


> When ever someone sees me with an SLR and standing in the same place for +5 minutes trying to take a picture they automatically think I'm a pro, even though I had my DSL for nearly three months and i'm 17 lol.



Try being 48 and walking through a mall with about $7000 in camera equipment in your hands, you get asked for cards about every 10 feet!

Still doesn't mean that I am a pro or even know how to do anything more than hold the darn camera.


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## mrodgers (Dec 20, 2008)

So, what do you do when Walmart refuses to print your photos?  When they tell you that you need a release signed, do you rip it from their hands then sign it right there?  LOL


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## stsinner (Dec 20, 2008)

LaFoto said:


> stsinner, I hope you will agree with me disagreeing.




I adore you, Corinna, so I would never take your comments as cross..  I wasn't saying what I think but more what I'm observing..  Even the very good or professional photographers I see on here seem to be addicted to PP.  When I joined, I was only posting pictures straight out of my camera-same with my portrait fiasco that many people helped me with.  I wasn't touching them up, but trying to get good pics right out of the camera..  Anyone can shoot with crappy or incorrect settings and adjust exposure in PP, but I thought being a good photographer meant being able to take a good picture and appreciate it right out of the camera, just like the days of dropping film off at the local pharmacy without the luxury of PP.  You had to have your camera set right then, but now it seems people just shoot devil-may-care and head to Lightroom to make it right.....  I want to take them right the first time... 

Photoshopped pictures are often magnificent and made exceptional with some adjustments, but they are um....  extraordinary...  Unnatural, if you will..  I like things that look like something you might see with your eyes, but many people in photography evidently don't think that way..  Take my most recent post in the COLD assignment thread-the original post is how I saw it, but the contrast-adjusted one looks better.  Better isn't correct though, becasue that's not how it looked.  People will like it more, though, even though it's not reality...  I'm confused....


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## Jaszek (Dec 20, 2008)

mrodgers said:


> So, what do you do when Walmart refuses to print your photos?  When they tell you that you need a release signed, do you rip it from their hands then sign it right there?  LOL


I would do that...or just go to a different store if thats possible. I have a coupon for 25 free prints at rite aid and if they dont accept it I just go to the other rite aid down the block. If you want the coupon PM me. You can use it until the end of the year for as much as you have ink in your printer at home.


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## tirediron (Dec 20, 2008)

JerryPH said:


> Try being 48 and walking through a mall with about $7000 in camera equipment in your hands, you get asked for cards about every 10 feet!
> 
> Still doesn't mean that I am a pro or even know how to do anything more than hold the darn camera.


 
Dam... I must go to the wrong malls.  That never happens to me!


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## LiveWave (Dec 23, 2008)

I think a good sign that you're good is find yourself a person who knows photography or has been doing it for a long time. Show them your portfolio or samples of work and have him critique it and rip you to shreds. Take his advice next time you go shooting apply it and show him the new stuff. Eventually if you are proactive and break down what you need to improve at take the steps to improve and work at it you will.


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## Neuner (Dec 23, 2008)

chrisburke said:


> in regards to the copyright thing, YES walmart does honor professional copyrights... my friend went with some pictures that were done by me of their wedding, quite a while a go, and walmart would NOT print them... eventually they just called me to verify that it was ok to print them, and all went well.



This has happened to me several times and it wasn't just for Walley-World.  I give my parents a CD copy of photos I take of the kids or special events and they usually have trouble getting them developed at places like this unless I include a signed letter.  It is very interesting and makes me wonder if illegal printing of copyrighted material happens a lot.

I definitely don't think Wal-mart or any of them care, they are just watching out for themselves.  My parents could fake an approval letter but Wal-mart just wants some kind of proof to cover their butts.


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## Neuner (Dec 23, 2008)

stsinner said:


> ...just like the days of dropping film off at the local pharmacy without the luxury of PP.  You had to have your camera set right then,.



I don't understand where you are coming from with this statement.  With film processing you are able to tweak the properties of the final photo.  Professional labs may have done this better or more extensively but even the typical pharmacy lab does this to some extent.  If I had a picture turn out too dark or over blown that I really liked, I would have it resent and the developer was able to correct it most of the time.  It would be the same if the color balance was off.  In fact there were times that you didn't know if you had incorrect settings or the lab didn't do a very good job.


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## stsinner (Dec 23, 2008)

Neuner said:


> I don't understand where you are coming from with this statement.  With film processing you are able to tweak the properties of the final photo.  Professional labs may have done this better or more extensively but even the typical pharmacy lab does this to some extent.  If I had a picture turn out too dark or over blown that I really liked, I would have it resent and the developer was able to correct it most of the time.  It would be the same if the color balance was off.  In fact there were times that you didn't know if you had incorrect settings or the lab didn't do a very good job.



Duly noted..  I, like most people, I would imagine, didn't know you could send your pictures back for reprocessing.  When I would open up the envelope of prints and get black ones or overexposed one, I'd just say, "Oh well-messed that one up.."


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## Neuner (Dec 23, 2008)

stsinner said:


> didn't know you could send your pictures back for reprocessing.



Saw your images of MA and it makes me miss the area.  I only lived there a year but your photos brought back wonderful memories.

Now that I strickly shoot with digital and tweak in PS it rarely happens especially since I use one of the local professional photo labs.  They have been really nice to work with to get what I want.

When I first began sending in my electronic images to the lab I was getting frustrated trying to figure out why the images were off from what I was seeing on my monitor.  I know that the monitor can't even come close to replicating a printed image but there was something wrong in general with the darkness and an over-saturation of color.  I tried calibrating my monitor and worked with the lab only to finally start learning the difference about using AdobeRGB versus RGB workspace and how I saved the file.  I've no longer had any of those issues.

I then see the photos that my parents had printed at their local Wal-mart and I laugh because they are all out of whack.  They still enjoy them none-the-less.


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## AlexColeman (Dec 23, 2008)

Patm1313 said:


> Whenever someone asks me "Who took this?", it's a good day, because they think that a 14 year old wouldn't be able to take such nice shots.



Agreed, I was recently asked that when presenting some photos, in a restaurant to family friends.


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## reg (Dec 23, 2008)

First sign:

You don't have to ask the signs that you may be good.


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## ddm1975 (Dec 24, 2008)

Jaszek said:


> I would do that...or just go to a different store if thats possible. I have a coupon for 25 free prints at rite aid and if they dont accept it I just go to the other rite aid down the block. If you want the coupon PM me. You can use it until the end of the year for as much as you have ink in your printer at home.


 
If you are the photographer, just sign a release stating you agree to the printing, ect.  I've learned to have one in advance, you can actually get theirs off of their website (it was posted earlier).  Take it as a compliment!


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## dxqcanada (Dec 24, 2008)

JerryPH said:


> Try being 48 and walking through a mall with about $7000 in camera equipment in your hands, you get asked for cards about every 10 feet!
> 
> Still doesn't mean that I am a pro or even know how to do anything more than hold the darn camera.



The bigger your lens, the more "professional" you will appear to the public.


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## pm63 (Dec 25, 2008)

When ever I hear:

"Wow, you must have a really great camera!"

or

"Your CAMERA can take shots like THAT!?"

...is when I know I've taken a good one


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## skieur (Dec 25, 2008)

LaFoto said:


> Well, I'm happy for you that you had the chance to feel this swell of pride!
> Feels good, doesn't it?
> 
> Like when I was once asked by a lady from Andalucia which South American country I was born in (we spoke Spanish), when I was born in Germany, had been raised in Germany, had never spoken a word of Spanish until I was 22, and only started to learn it as a foreign language THEN.  Hmmmmmm, to be mistaken for a native speaker ... ahhh! Felt as good as being mistaken for a pro must have felt to you!


 
Yes, I remember once being told that I spoke Spanish like a German from South America.  My heritage is neither Spanish, nor German but I studied and speak both languages.

skieur


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## GeorgeUK (Dec 26, 2008)

pm63 said:


> When ever I hear:
> 
> "Wow, you must have a really great camera!"


 
:lmao: Totally agreed, classic line.

The boyfriend of one of my colleagues at work apparently owns a DSLR of some sort. According to my work colleague, "you just can't take a bad photo with it". :er: I've yet to see either of their photos.

The nicest compliment (sort of), is when you show someone exampls of your photos and they don't believe you've taken them, 'must have been a professional'.


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## JerryPH (Dec 26, 2008)

tirediron said:


> Dam... I must go to the wrong malls.  That never happens to me!



It's all in the technique.  You see, you must cradle the camera in one arm as if it was a baby and gently as you walk, swing it back and forth and coo to it now and then.

Why even last week, I had 3 men in white jackets want to almost help me out of the mall to my studio wanting pictures!


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## Saddlebreds4me (Dec 26, 2008)

dxqcanada said:


> The bigger your lens, the more "professional" you will appear to the public.



How true that is!  I was sitting in a restaurant reviewing some photos I had just shot, keeping quietly to myself when the two girls at the table next to me asked me if I was a member of the paparazzi!  I said no, and she asked, what do you take photos of?  I said, well for the most part, horses, dogs and their owners.

God that gave me a good laugh that day...


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## dxqcanada (Dec 26, 2008)

> *Signs that you may be good at photography?*


When you post an image here, ask for C&C ... and nobody has anything to correct.


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## skieur (Dec 28, 2008)

dxqcanada said:


> When you post an image here, ask for C&C ... and nobody has anything to correct.


 
On the other hand, if only a few newbies have seen your image...............


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## LaFoto (Dec 28, 2008)

Pssst. Skieur. Don't be so sarcastic... :roll:


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## skieur (Dec 29, 2008)

LaFoto said:


> Pssst. Skieur. Don't be so sarcastic... :roll:


 
Oops, probably pouring too much cold water on enthusiasm. 

skieur


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## [JR] (Dec 30, 2008)

I went to the mall on boxing day with my girlfriend, snapped some pictures in the snow and overall had a good photo day. At Tim Hortons, some guy started talking to me after he saw the Nikon strap in my neck and asked to see my camera, then he asked me to take a picture of him, so I did. He was awe struck, not that the picture was exceptional, he was just taken by the portrait's depth of field and clarity.

And I also get the odd comment "Wow, you took that?" or "You didn't take this picture, it's too good." But really, I just take it as a compliment.


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## JerryPH (Dec 31, 2008)

[JR];1487277 said:
			
		

> I went to the mall on boxing day with my girlfriend, snapped some pictures in the snow...



Caution... stay away from yellow snow... lol


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## Jaszek (Dec 31, 2008)

Yestarday at the aquarium when I was taking pics some guy asked me "Is that the Canon EOS XSI?" I'm like yea. Than he saw my battery grip and asked "Is that a film winder?" I just gave him a weird stare and said...the camera is digital. Later on he saw me looking through the viewfinder and asked me why don't I look on the screen since it's digital. I just said because Im use dto the viewfinder and left lol


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## TUX424 (Dec 31, 2008)

When you take small amounts of great photos instead of large amounts of one that arn't worth the space they are taking up. Trying to work on this one myself atleast i get a few good ones out of all the throw aways


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## basic jammer (Dec 31, 2008)

another photographer bragging about how clients fall over each for him asked who sent me to develop the pics in my hand. he could't believe it when i held his camera and new my way around the manual buttons. said thing is it's film.

take that as a step in the right direction.


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## roadkill (Jan 1, 2009)

My mom said I took a good picture.


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