# Aspiring Photographer



## Alkey

Hi, 

I am 16 years old and love photography. My goal is to eventually become a National Geographic photographer. My website is alexkleinphoto.com. Does anyone has suggestions for the site or suggestions and critiques for the photos on the site? Or ways I can improve my photography now?

Thanks so much!!


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## Razvan_Gavrila

Very nice pictures... bravo.  What gear do u have?


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## Designer

Hey, welcome, there, Alkey.

You're going to make me click offsite?  I would rather you post up one of your shots for which you have questions or for which you would like to receive criticism.  

I'm certainly not going to go through your entire portfolio and critique each one in turn.


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## The_Traveler

Nice even work, especially for a teenager.
They do lack good finishing, that last touch that makes them good - or even passable.
A lot of the scenic ones are near-far shots that are pretty standard, almost formulaic. I think you have to work harder at seeing something unique and capturing it.
IMO, the weakest category is the *cities*.  Nothing new, interesting or insightful there. 
IMO, the weakest genre are any picture with people in it.

But, for 16, great.


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## Alkey

Razvan_Gavrila said:


> Very nice pictures... bravo.  What gear do u have?



Thank you very much!! I have a Nikon D3200, Sigma 17-70, Nikon 55-300, and Tamron 90mm macro.


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## Alkey

Designer said:


> Hey, welcome, there, Alkey.
> 
> You're going to make me click offsite?  I would rather you post up one of your shots for which you have questions or for which you would like to receive criticism.
> 
> I'm certainly not going to go through your entire portfolio and critique each one in turn.



Sorry, Designer, I am new here. 
I was mainly asking for a general critique, not really specific to single images.


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## Alkey

The_Traveler said:


> Nice even work, especially for a teenager.
> They do lack good finishing, that last touch that makes them good - or even passable.
> A lot of the scenic ones are near-far shots that are pretty standard, almost formulaic. I think you have to work harder at seeing something unique and capturing it.
> IMO, the weakest category is the *cities*.  Nothing new, interesting or insightful there.
> IMO, the weakest genre are any picture with people in it.
> 
> But, for 16, great.



The Traveler, 
Thanks for all the feedback! I see what you mean when you say "near-far shots that are pretty standard", probably something I will start working on. When you say finishing, do you mean the editing, or something else such as making the composition a little better? I also agree with you about the cities category.

Thanks again!


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## Rgollar

I think your off to a good start.


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## Razvan_Gavrila

Very good start.


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## The_Traveler

The landscapes don't have that luminous, real-life quality that really good landscape images have. That may lie in the quality of the original image or the finishing, impossible to tell at this size.

In regards the people shots.

What is it you want us to see in these shots. Frame, expose and edit for that.

In this example
Can't see his face, his hands look big out-of proportion. Wide angle too cloe, underexposed and not fixed in post.
And not every non-US, old, non-white person is interesting. Maybe to your friends who weren't there but not to the viewers






This is the picture -with the face lightened to see- the interesting part, not all the rest.
Know what you want to show







IMO, every single one of these in this album *People are not good enough to be here. *
Post only your very best and unique.
Putting up ehhh pictures drives everything good down.

Sorry but that's what I think.
You have a good/great eye, are past the learning curve on skills, now you actually need to concentrate on making great pictures.


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## KmH

Have you seen this at National Geographic ?



> http://www.nationalgeographic.com/siteindex/careers-faqs/
> *How can I be a photographer for National Geographic?*
> We are often asked by aspiring photojournalists for advice about entering this highly competitive field.
> 
> National Geographic photographers have college degrees in a variety of disciplines. Most did not major in photography, but all took photo courses. The most common majors have been journalism, anthropology, sociology or psychology, fine arts, and sciences. Our editors and photographers agree that it is important to complete a degree in a discipline other than photography. Freelancers usually come to us with at least five years of photojournalism experience or with specializations such as wildlife, underwater, nature, or aerial photography. We seek balance and an eclectic blend of interests, abilities, and photographic styles in the freelancers we hire.
> 
> Our photography site has galleries, photographer bios, and tips. You can also join the talented members of ourYour Shot photo community.
> 
> For those interested in the craft, we have books and DVDs about photography.


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## vintagesnaps

The longer I've been sitting here looking at your site it occurred to me that I wouldn't know this was done by a teenager. I've been looking for awhile so obviously once I started, there's enough there of interest to keep me looking.

You have some real nice photos, but to me some are really processed. If that's what stands out, it's probably overdone because I shouldn't notice or be thinking about what did you do to that photo?? lol Lew mentioned exposure and that might be where you're off and needing to post process more to compensate.

Of course I'm a longtime film photographer so I learned to frame photos the way I want them, but even shooting digitally I do very little post most of the time. I don't want to be fixing every photo, it should need minimal adjustment most of the time. Especially if you hope someday to get your photos in major publications, there will be a high standard and high expectations. Keep working on getting proper exposures.  

I agree you're seeing photos, keep thinking about what's interesting about what's in your viewfinder. Learn about composition (if you search 'elements of composition in art' it should bring up some websites that will give you resources on learning about composition).

What caught my eye was the one of the rainbow, and one of something B&W coming thru the water that made me think of Shamu - that to me is something different and a cool perspective of it. Some of your interior shots are interesting and might have been even better with a slight adjustment to your vantage point, like the one of a round sconce, it's at a bit of an odd angle, and the one of the rings - that's really cool, I like the reflection to the left but there might be a little more space than necessary and the light upper right is a distraction.

I agree with Lew about the people, there's one under Cities of a man seated out on the sidewalk that could be very poignant and make the viewer feel something, but the lines of the building are at odd angles (you maybe needed to scrunch down a little) and I would have waited and watched out of the corner of my eye til the guy in the jacket was out of your shot. It takes practice to get good at the timing and capturing a moment when there isn't much time, but waiting 1-2 seconds might have given you an even better picture. Notice your backgrounds and watch for distractions (like edges of things) that are sticking into the sides or corners of a photo and just cluttering up what's in the frame and what will be in the photo. Pets to me for the most part might be best as a personal collection more than a portfolio.


You seem to be seeing patterns a lot which is great, There's one under Film (Rivers?) in B&W and I don't even know for sure what it is (made me think of a coat rack sideways) but that's unusual and I really liked that one (went back and looked again). Also the triptych of the cactus, good use of light and shadow, maybe keep playing with that idea with other subjects.

Under Nights and Lights I like the B&W of the house and stars but the light of the house made me think of it being a movie where something's going to blast out of that house any second! lol maybe I have too much imagination, maybe keep playing with the long exposures and adjustments (the bright light of the house distracts some from the lovely sky). I like the one of the long shadows of the trees on the snow (the angle seems a bit odd which might be that it's on a slope) but that's a good one. I would say in that category 'everybody' is doing car taillights, light painting of squiggles, and the moon.

Editors and curators probably see a blue zillion photos of beautiful scenery, yours will need to stand out. It'll probably take time to develop your own recognizable style. Imitating other photographers' work may be useful in learning but you don't want to go that direction if you ever submit anything. (I'm thinking of one that's beautiful light in a desert canyon but right away I thought of another photographer.) You may need to start with local or regional magazines, look at their info. on submissions; it would take time to work up to getting anything into a major publication.

I don't know if I'd separate out work on film on your site, maybe a B&W category? I'm not sure on that. I've found doing submissions to juried exhibits that unless there's a specific criteria (like plastic cameras) they don't care if the image was shot on film or digital or a Polaroid, I've had all accepted, they want good. (I've also had plenty not accepted so it takes a good bit of trying and knowing that they will only accept so many for any given exhibit). Your pricing looks a little low, I don't know where you're located and this is geared more to the US I think but maybe try American Society of Media Photographers . Good luck and keep at it.


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## The_Traveler

vintagesnaps said:


> Of course *I'm a longtime film photographer so I learned to frame photos the way I want them, but even shooting digitally I do very little post most of the time. I don't want to be fixing every photo, it should need minimal adjustment most of the time. Especially if you hope someday to get your photos in major publications,* there will be a high standard and high expectations. Keep working on getting proper exposures.



Without wanting to start an arguement, I did want to make a statement about the bolded text above.
This above is essentially the SOOC arguement as in 'I get it right in the camera and so I can use it straight out of the camera - without editing.'
That has been discussed before and the counter-statements are:

There is no such thing as an unedited picture, whether film or digital.
Nature doesn't care what you want to be bright or dark or what is an acceptable dynamic range. Sometimes the photographer can wait until conditions are correct, sometimes the situation is too ephemeral to wait, sometimes the best conditions will never occur.
Photography is an art and saying that art and creation should stop at one specific step is an artificial condition.
Vintagesnaps may not like to edit (I've never seen any started threads by him/her) but that is a personal choice, like using a specific camera or lens, and is absolutely not _*the best wa*_*y for everyone *or even necessarily an end to strive for. 
As part of the creative process I try to go as far as I can with every step in the process, just to save work and give myself as much as possible to work with.

Lew


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## imagemaker46

As a young teenager you seem to have the luxury of being able to travel to a lot of different locations. I have to agree with what has been said, there are some very nice images, many based on location, but even with that they are for the most part ordinary. That's not a hit against what you have done, you have a young talent that will only get better.   Birds, flowers, bugs, animals and scenics have to be exceptional just to stand above the millions that are being shot everyday.  You are working with the light pretty well, many photographers, fight the light and struggle to use it. The light is there, but many don't look at it from all the angles, you seem to look past the obvious which is going in the right direction.  Keep doing what you're doing, you are off to a great start.


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## Derrel

Pretty good job so far, and you are off to a good start. There is one thing I see overall that is very consistent: your images look FLAT, and low in contrast, even in high contrast lighting, which makes me suspect that you are editing on a laptop, and also that you do NOT set your images to a proper black point using the levels tool. Your images are simply too low in contrast, and also a bit dark, by about .5 to .7 EV on almost every image.

Keep working on your craft. You WILL get better and better if you stick with it and work hard on the craft. Study painting and composition, from ART BOOKS, not from idiots on YouTube who make videos with dumb stuff like, "use the rule of thirds to make better pictures."

Look up and study the elements and principles of design. Google that. Spend the next week really,really, really looking into what the elements and principles of design are. The kinds of images that NG has made its reputation on have been made by people who can create good compositions.


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## vintagesnaps

Good advice Derrel, don't pay attention to idiots on YouTube! lol I'd say listen to Scott (imagemaker) instead. Or go read his dad's book (Ted Grant), really, it's worth it.

That's true Lew, you can't just take the film or the media card out of the camera and look at it. Well, I guess you can if you want to stare at a square piece of plastic or a strip of plastic with emulsion slapped on one side of it! lol But you won't get your photos that way.

You're a good editor Lew, and I've sometimes had a photo I spent more time adjusting or processing than usual. I think a good photographer should be able to frame a shot well, get a proper exposure, and then as desired or needed edit the image. But if someone has to correct exposure or crop every picture etc. I think that would indicate a need to develop skills with the camera. Seems like editing or post processing should be to enhance the photo not just to fix it most of the time.

I guess I compare it to writing - sometimes I may rewrite a paragraph more than once because I just can't get it the way I want it, it just didn't flow well when I wrote it. But if I have to do that with every paragraph I'll never get done and better go learn how to write better.

I could give a couple of examples (if anyone really wants to know) but basically I usually have a reason for what I'm doing as far as editing goes (which sometimes might be to fix what I screwed up but I don't expect that from myself often or there will be a certain amount of mumbling that may not be for public message boards! lol).


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## daisyish

Wow by these photos I never would have guessed you were 16. Like many have said, I think these pictures look really professional. In terms of your website, I think your homepage could use some work. It is a bit boring. I wish there was a way I could click through the pictures. Maybe you could try adding a preview of the pictures below the slider. 

Also when you click on film photography the button says "button text" and not "rivers" 

Please keep posting!


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## Alkey

KmH said:


> Have you seen this at National Geographic ?
> 
> 
> 
> 
> http://www.nationalgeographic.com/siteindex/careers-faqs/
> *How can I be a photographer for National Geographic?*
> We are often asked by aspiring photojournalists for advice about entering this highly competitive field.
> 
> National Geographic photographers have college degrees in a variety of disciplines. Most did not major in photography, but all took photo courses. The most common majors have been journalism, anthropology, sociology or psychology, fine arts, and sciences. Our editors and photographers agree that it is important to complete a degree in a discipline other than photography. Freelancers usually come to us with at least five years of photojournalism experience or with specializations such as wildlife, underwater, nature, or aerial photography. We seek balance and an eclectic blend of interests, abilities, and photographic styles in the freelancers we hire.
> 
> Our photography site has galleries, photographer bios, and tips. You can also join the talented members of ourYour Shot photo community.
> 
> For those interested in the craft, we have books and DVDs about photography.
Click to expand...


I have seen the link, but thanks for the other info!


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## Alkey

The_Traveler said:


> The landscapes don't have that luminous, real-life quality that really good landscape images have. That may lie in the quality of the original image or the finishing, impossible to tell at this size.
> 
> In regards the people shots.
> 
> What is it you want us to see in these shots. Frame, expose and edit for that.
> 
> In this example
> Can't see his face, his hands look big out-of proportion. Wide angle too cloe, underexposed and not fixed in post.
> And not every non-US, old, non-white person is interesting. Maybe to your friends who weren't there but not to the viewers
> 
> View attachment 109847
> 
> This is the picture -with the face lightened to see- the interesting part, not all the rest.
> Know what you want to show
> 
> 
> View attachment 109848
> 
> 
> IMO, every single one of these in this album *People are not good enough to be here. *
> Post only your very best and unique.
> Putting up ehhh pictures drives everything good down.
> 
> Sorry but that's what I think.
> You have a good/great eye, are past the learning curve on skills, now you actually need to concentrate on making great pictures.



Lew,
I will continue to work on my landscape shots to improve their quality as you described. 

About the first photo: 
This was taken at a crowded market in Ecuador, so in fact the man was very interesting. Now I see that it may been better to include parts of the scene around him in order to make it interesting and to tell more of a story for the viewers.

About the second photo: 
This was taken at the same market. It was tough to get very good composition there because if someone saw you take a picture of them they would keep harassing you for money. And also, being 15 at the time, I didn't want to get in a fight with anyone!

I am currently trying more portraiture, which will soon replace some of the photos in the people section.

Thanks again for all the thoughts!


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## The_Traveler

Good for you.


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## Alkey

vintagesnaps said:


> The longer I've been sitting here looking at your site it occurred to me that I wouldn't know this was done by a teenager. I've been looking for awhile so obviously once I started, there's enough there of interest to keep me looking.
> 
> You have some real nice photos, but to me some are really processed. If that's what stands out, it's probably overdone because I shouldn't notice or be thinking about what did you do to that photo?? lol Lew mentioned exposure and that might be where you're off and needing to post process more to compensate.
> 
> Of course I'm a longtime film photographer so I learned to frame photos the way I want them, but even shooting digitally I do very little post most of the time. I don't want to be fixing every photo, it should need minimal adjustment most of the time. Especially if you hope someday to get your photos in major publications, there will be a high standard and high expectations. Keep working on getting proper exposures.
> 
> I agree you're seeing photos, keep thinking about what's interesting about what's in your viewfinder. Learn about composition (if you search 'elements of composition in art' it should bring up some websites that will give you resources on learning about composition).
> 
> What caught my eye was the one of the rainbow, and one of something B&W coming thru the water that made me think of Shamu - that to me is something different and a cool perspective of it. Some of your interior shots are interesting and might have been even better with a slight adjustment to your vantage point, like the one of a round sconce, it's at a bit of an odd angle, and the one of the rings - that's really cool, I like the reflection to the left but there might be a little more space than necessary and the light upper right is a distraction.
> 
> I agree with Lew about the people, there's one under Cities of a man seated out on the sidewalk that could be very poignant and make the viewer feel something, but the lines of the building are at odd angles (you maybe needed to scrunch down a little) and I would have waited and watched out of the corner of my eye til the guy in the jacket was out of your shot. It takes practice to get good at the timing and capturing a moment when there isn't much time, but waiting 1-2 seconds might have given you an even better picture. Notice your backgrounds and watch for distractions (like edges of things) that are sticking into the sides or corners of a photo and just cluttering up what's in the frame and what will be in the photo. Pets to me for the most part might be best as a personal collection more than a portfolio.
> 
> 
> You seem to be seeing patterns a lot which is great, There's one under Film (Rivers?) in B&W and I don't even know for sure what it is (made me think of a coat rack sideways) but that's unusual and I really liked that one (went back and looked again). Also the triptych of the cactus, good use of light and shadow, maybe keep playing with that idea with other subjects.
> 
> Under Nights and Lights I like the B&W of the house and stars but the light of the house made me think of it being a movie where something's going to blast out of that house any second! lol maybe I have too much imagination, maybe keep playing with the long exposures and adjustments (the bright light of the house distracts some from the lovely sky). I like the one of the long shadows of the trees on the snow (the angle seems a bit odd which might be that it's on a slope) but that's a good one. I would say in that category 'everybody' is doing car taillights, light painting of squiggles, and the moon.
> 
> Editors and curators probably see a blue zillion photos of beautiful scenery, yours will need to stand out. It'll probably take time to develop your own recognizable style. Imitating other photographers' work may be useful in learning but you don't want to go that direction if you ever submit anything. (I'm thinking of one that's beautiful light in a desert canyon but right away I thought of another photographer.) You may need to start with local or regional magazines, look at their info. on submissions; it would take time to work up to getting anything into a major publication.
> 
> I don't know if I'd separate out work on film on your site, maybe a B&W category? I'm not sure on that. I've found doing submissions to juried exhibits that unless there's a specific criteria (like plastic cameras) they don't care if the image was shot on film or digital or a Polaroid, I've had all accepted, they want good. (I've also had plenty not accepted so it takes a good bit of trying and knowing that they will only accept so many for any given exhibit). Your pricing looks a little low, I don't know where you're located and this is geared more to the US I think but maybe try American Society of Media Photographers . Good luck and keep at it.



Wow, thanks for all the feedback!
I will definitely work on cutting down on the post processing and improving my compositions. 
For the first cities photo you mentioned: I tried to intensionally have the lines not straight, but maybe this effect wasn't so successful.
For the second cities photo you mentioned: I was actually trying to get the person in the frame in order to show people just walking by without noticing the homeless man, but I was a half second late on that.
And yes, you are right about the B&W photo, it is a coat rack!
I have gotten that feedback before that some of my work has been done before (like the headlights, light painting, and especially the moon), but I feel like I need to do these things first before moving onto more unique photos, does this make sense or is it just a bad idea?

Thanks again for all the information!


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## Alkey

Derrel said:


> Pretty good job so far, and you are off to a good start. There is one thing I see overall that is very consistent: your images look FLAT, and low in contrast, even in high contrast lighting, which makes me suspect that you are editing on a laptop, and also that you do NOT set your images to a proper black point using the levels tool. Your images are simply too low in contrast, and also a bit dark, by about .5 to .7 EV on almost every image.
> 
> Keep working on your craft. You WILL get better and better if you stick with it and work hard on the craft. Study painting and composition, from ART BOOKS, not from idiots on YouTube who make videos with dumb stuff like, "use the rule of thirds to make better pictures."
> 
> Look up and study the elements and principles of design. Google that. Spend the next week really,really, really looking into what the elements and principles of design are. The kinds of images that NG has made its reputation on have been made by people who can create good compositions.



Thanks for the good exposure advice, I have noticed that recently and have started to fix the exposure problem in that past few weeks (nothing on my website yet though). 

However, (about the YouTube) most of what is on my website is before I have taken any photo courses. Just starting out, I learned everything I knew about photography from YouTube. You do mention videos such as "use the rule of thirds to make better pictures", which I agree are not very helpful, but YouTube is great for just starting out to learn the basics and get into full manual.


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## Alkey

daisyish said:


> Wow by these photos I never would have guessed you were 16. Like many have said, I think these pictures look really professional. In terms of your website, I think your homepage could use some work. It is a bit boring. I wish there was a way I could click through the pictures. Maybe you could try adding a preview of the pictures below the slider.
> 
> Also when you click on film photography the button says "button text" and not "rivers"
> 
> Please keep posting!



Thanks!
I will spruce up the homepage a bit and fix that button.


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## jl1975

Welcome to the forum.  I've got to say that while there are some issues that others have mentioned, you've got some great stuff.  If you're looking for a career in photography, practice, practice, practice.  And study more than just photography.  As noted in the link to NG's site, they suggest other degrees besides just photography.  I would suggest perhaps some business courses as well.  If you end up working for yourself, the business education will be at least as important as your talent behind the camera.  There's more to being a photographer than just taking the pictures.


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## gsgary

You have the right surname one of the greatest photographers still alive is a Klein, William Klein


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## vintagesnaps

You might have to unlearn stuff you learned on YouTube! lol not really, I hope, but there's plenty out there that seems to be more about marketing to get followers since they get money from ads, but it might be fine for some basics.

I don't think there's anything wrong with trying out what others have done to learn from that. I'd just think about what you're showing, depends probably on how you intend to use your website.

I think with tilt or other unusual techniques it probably needs to be obvious you meant to do it, not that it was just framing that was off, sometimes it can be hard to tell. For me a little goes a long way with that kind of thing.

It seems like some of us see potential and ability in what you're doing even if we have different ways of going about it. It helps I think to get a variety of ideas and suggestions and use what works best for you.


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## k5MOW

Wow your work looks awesome. Keep up the good work. 

Roger


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## Mr. Innuendo

Wow.

Frankly, for being 16, I don't think your work is very good at all. 

I think it's exceptional.

Granted, and as someone else has mentioned, you've been able to travel, and travel often presents immense opportunity. But that's only one part of the puzzle. You also need to know how to exploit that opportunity, and it would appear as thought you're learning to do just that.

Is there room for improvement? Certainly. But, as I said, for being only 16 years old, I think you're _way _ahead of the power curve.

Oh, and I _really _enjoyed the Alaska video...


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## Designer

Alkey said:


> .. most of what is on my website ..


You've almost made me want to click on your link to see your photos.  

I wish you had posted one here.  

Still could, you know.  

Pick your best one or the one for which you have questions.


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