Reasons why I "like" a photograph.
- Thread starter Blacktop
- Start date
BackdoorArts
Senior Member
Depends on the photo and it depends on the photographer. I expect more from some photographers than others, just from history. So I may "Like" something from someone I know is struggling to figure something out and almost has it, even though I may view it as a bit pedestrian from another person here. For me the Like is more of an acknowledgement of what that photographer captured than it is any form of judgement.
Similarly, the lack of a like may simply be that I either have not looked at it, or even if it's a great shot of a duck I really wasn't into seeing shots of ducks.
Similarly, the lack of a like may simply be that I either have not looked at it, or even if it's a great shot of a duck I really wasn't into seeing shots of ducks.
Ok that is all well and good. So what it is that you like about a photo? What I mean is, when you look at a photo whether be it here or 1X or anywhere else, what it is that grabs your attention?
Also if you wouldn't mind list them in matter of importance.
I understand that my original question might be confusing, as I was probably out in the back smoking Jane in High School with my buddies when composition and articulation was being taught in English class. Sorry about that!:indecisiveness:
Don Kuykendall_RIP
RIP :(
I think @BackdoorHippie hit the nail on the head about the "like" button. That is the way I look at clicking on it. I have a local friend that I respect as a photographer and he has been a great friend and mentor to me. Early on we were sitting around at his house talking photography and I had noticed that on Facebook he always clicked on the Like button. I told him at that time not to ever click on Like again unless he really did like the photo. That is what I try to do here. I look at the level of the photographer and I expect a lot more from certain photographers and I expect them to expect more from me. That is the way we grow. I have seen to many brand spanking new, wet behind the ears photographers think that since the have their new $300 bridge camera think they are pros just because all their friends click "like" on their photos on Facebook. Not really fair to the to do that. Be supportive but they need proper critique to really grow.
Now to @Blacktop and his question. Again, it depends on the level of the photographer. I expect a lot from you and from @BackdoorHippie because you work hard at your craft and art. What i want to see is a photo that tells a story in one photo. A great landscape photo should make me want to be there. A street scene should make me want to know the people in that shot. I want to know their story. Some of the photos from foreign lands make me want to go there. I am constantly telling @Michael Jaeger "Now you have to tell me about this photo. I am going to mention two other people people in the group but there are many more. @Michael Jaeger and @Lawrence. These two have been here for a while and I have watched both of them grow so much in their photography. I will "like" their photos more because of the growth I have seen in these two. Now I want to go to Thailand and New Zealand.
Make me become invested in what I see. I guess that really sums up why I like a photo.
"What do you like in a photo?"
This is a very interesting question and can vary on much of what has already been mentioned by way of composition, focus, intrigue etc. Lately I have found myslf really liking (that is to say liking - not hitting any "like" button) photos that I wouldn't even be interesed in taking! And that's kinda weird but true.
I guess if there is something that brings your eye back to take a second and maybe a third look then the photo has achieved its purpose - for me anyway.
(Thanks for the compliment [MENTION=6277]Don Kuykendall[/MENTION] - be sure to let me know what dates you're coming
)
This is a very interesting question and can vary on much of what has already been mentioned by way of composition, focus, intrigue etc. Lately I have found myslf really liking (that is to say liking - not hitting any "like" button) photos that I wouldn't even be interesed in taking! And that's kinda weird but true.
I guess if there is something that brings your eye back to take a second and maybe a third look then the photo has achieved its purpose - for me anyway.
(Thanks for the compliment [MENTION=6277]Don Kuykendall[/MENTION] - be sure to let me know what dates you're coming
)
Whiskeyman
Senior Member
It's a "like", not a critique or grade, so if the fancy strikes me, I "like it. It doesn't cost me anything to like it, once I've taken the time to look at it. Some times, I don't like something when I first see it, only to see it again and like it that time.
As far as basing my likes on whether some gives them or not usually isn't a factor, since I've likely already got them in my "Ignore Posts From This User" settings.
WM
As far as basing my likes on whether some gives them or not usually isn't a factor, since I've likely already got them in my "Ignore Posts From This User" settings.
WM
BackdoorArts
Senior Member
I didn't think there was an original question, just a statement of your criteria for liking a photograph.
I'll restate what I said above a little more clearly. There are reasons I may like a photograph, and there are reasons I will press Like on a post for a photograph here, and they are often very different. I think I've already articulated why I'll press "Like" here in my original post.
As for why I might personally "like" a photo, I don't think that I can put criteria on it. I see so many photos/pictures/snapshots every day between Facebook, Instagram and other social media that I'm almost numb to really looking at any of them with enough attention to even care any more - at least at a glance. So, if I really think about it there's one and only one overriding criteria that's at the top and bottom of my list - the photo must capture my attention and hold it for more than 1 second.
There's so much of what I refer to as "Wallpaper Shots" out there - amazing landscapes with just slightly oversaturated color, long exposure water and clouds, etc. - that while I can appreciate the technical brilliance, I will move on very quickly because I've seen it before. It can be a great photograph, and I can call it that, but I may not "like" that great photograph. There was an article on shooting in Antelope Canyon, and it seems there's only one way to shoot there (on a tour) and those tours all get you there at specific times and take you to specific places where you set up so the guide can toss a handful of sand in a spot that lets that shaft of light pop in the way it does. So every amazing shot of an utterly gorgeous place looks almost exactly the same. Would I love to go there and shoot? Absolutely - and I'd proudly display my own shot on my wall and on the internet. But I've seen so many of them now that it's like, "Oh, Antelope Canyon. Well done. Moving on..."
For me to like a photo it has to say something, either about the place, the subject or the photographer. It needs for me to be able to want to look at it again, either to see what I saw before or to find something different. It doesn't need technical brilliance. It doesn't need to be sharp. That used to be part of it, but not so much any more. I'll go down those roads when asked to comment or critique a photo, but it matters not when I look at it for myself.
Thanks. This is what I was really trying to accomplish with my original post/question. Maybe next time I'll just keep questions short and straight to the point.
Well said -- I do this too.
Thanks. This is what I was really trying to accomplish with my original post/question. Maybe next time I'll just keep questions short and straight to the point.
Why? This has really turned into a great discussion. Even if it wasn't exactly what you were going for.
It is fun to see what makes other photographers tick. And to see how other may or may not view your personal work.
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Horoscope Fish
Senior Member
A spontaneous "Wow!" will get a "Like" from me every time, but those don't come easy. If I "Like" a shot, I really like it... a lot. I don't like getting, giving out, false praise so I'll admit to being stingy with "Likes" on posts that contain shots.
What I like, personally, is good composition, good technical delivery and either subject matter that is interesting all by itself, or mundane subject matter presented in a unique, or interesting way that gives me pause. A shot that makes me stop and look, really explore it visually, for whatever reason, will almost always get a "Like" from me.
As a newbie, if I post a picture and nobody likes it, I can live with that, but, I want feedback, and not equipment feedback. I mean I have the equipment I have, I want criticism on my focus, aperture, composition, post processing.. basically how to get better. That is the bottom line why I am here, to learn to be a better photographer. I don't want a million likes, I want to learn (but please be easy on us newbie's).