All Criticism Welcomed

[Tim Ring]

I have got myself up to just over 1,200 images having retired in 2017 and launched myself into this with great enthusiasm. I also attended two brilliant courses to get me on my way in stock.

I have had to take a break from it due to a house move from London to Lincolnshire and various other issues but I am about to get cracking again. So, the time seems right to get some 

valuable advice and criticism, none of which I will take to heart.  I have had around $1,000 (gross) worth of sales so far since 2017 and I know I need to get to ten times the number of

images to get anywhere near selling decent amounts. I am thinking of investing a large amount in a Fujinon zoom lens for my Fujifilm XT1 to give me more opportunities. Having left London

I am now on the Lincolnshire coast, 5 minutes walk from a beach, 5 mins drive to countryside, and very close to RAF bases, so my opportunities for very different images have increased. 

 

To anyone who replies......thank you for taking the time to do it, it is very much appreciated. My portfolio:  https://tinyurl.com/yb42ekzr    I hope everyone stays safe and well.

[John Mitchell]

I don't know anything about the UK photo market, so I can't comment on content. However, you do have quite a few similars (and some identicals) in some cases. It's probably a good idea to cut down on those in future submissions. Best of luck.

 

P.S. Spending a lot on equipment doesn't necessarily result in more sales. I try to keep expenditures as low as possible these days.

[Steve F]

Hey Tim,

You've got a very interesting collection there. You do a very different style of photography and of subject matter to me so it's hard to comment, but I don't see much to comment on tbh.

 

Some shadows look a bit dark occasionally.

 

Some of the London ones look a little underexposed. I know it's a sunny day, but the light looks like it's a grey day.

 

 

But I guess you're submitting these as live news so you're sending the JPEGs directly without editing anyway?

 

 

A lot of the photos are the same compositionally, no low angles, or much use of throwing the background or foreground out of focus. But maybe these compositional devices are not suitable for live news. I like this picture where the subject is framed and the foreground out of focus which helps draw the viewer's eye directly to the subject. But maybe it could have been cropped a bit.

 

Anyway, good luck. What lens are you thinking of getting? You look like you might be very suited to getting a long telephoto with your subject matter (although this will make you look more paparazzi-like!)

Stephen

 

 

[geogphotos]

I don't want to be a bore but you say that you collect antique images - some are not all that antique - do you have copyright? For example, publicity pictures of film stars.

Edited May 14, 2020 by geogphotos
changed movie stars to film stars

[Tim Ring]

1 hour ago, John Mitchell said:

I don't know anything about the UK photo market, so I can't comment on content. However, you do have quite a few similars (and some identicals) in some cases. It's probably a good idea to cut down on those in future submissions. Best of luck.

 

P.S. Spending a lot on equipment doesn't necessarily result in more sales. I try to keep expenditures as low as possible these days.

Hi John, that is very helpful, thank you. I looked through the collection again today and can see how many similar images there are.  Many thanks for taking the time.

[Tim Ring]

1 hour ago, Steve F said:

Hey Tim,

You've got a very interesting collection there. You do a very different style of photography and of subject matter to me so it's hard to comment, but I don't see much to comment on tbh.

 

Some shadows look a bit dark occasionally.

 

Some of the London ones look a little underexposed. I know it's a sunny day, but the light looks like it's a grey day.

 

 

But I guess you're submitting these as live news so you're sending the JPEGs directly without editing anyway?

 

 

A lot of the photos are the same compositionally, no low angles, or much use of throwing the background or foreground out of focus. But maybe these compositional devices are not suitable for live news. I like this picture where the subject is framed and the foreground out of focus which helps draw the viewer's eye directly to the subject. But maybe it could have been cropped a bit.

 

Anyway, good luck. What lens are you thinking of getting? You look like you might be very suited to getting a long telephoto with your subject matter (although this will make you look more paparazzi-like!)

Stephen

 

 

Hi Stephen, many thanks indeed and thank you for taking the time. These are very helpful suggestions.  I am thinking of the Fujinon XF 100 - 400mm, so very paparazzi lol. Living on the coast gives lots of opportunities but many are a distance away. 

[Steve F]

34 minutes ago, Tim Ring said:

Hi Stephen, many thanks indeed and thank you for taking the time. These are very helpful suggestions.  I am thinking of the Fujinon XF 100 - 400mm, so very paparazzi lol. Living on the coast gives lots of opportunities but many are a distance away. 

 

No worries, not sure how helpful that was. Having owned a long telephoto in the past and having watched a lot of Youtube videos, I've concluded I'm definitely missing a long telephoto. A wide angle is good for building interiors, but difficult to compose well with in landscape terms because it's shows so much of the scene  - and normally most of the scene is not so interesting. A telephoto lets you get rid of any distracting elements and, not being lazy, makes composition a lot easier often.

[John Morrison]

1 hour ago, geogphotos said:

I don't want to be a bore

 

We can all concur with that...

[geogphotos]

3 minutes ago, John Morrison said:

 

We can all concur with that...

 

F off John.

Edited May 14, 2020 by geogphotos

[Tim Ring]

2 hours ago, Steve F said:

 

No worries, not sure how helpful that was. Having owned a long telephoto in the past and having watched a lot of Youtube videos, I've concluded I'm definitely missing a long telephoto. A wide angle is good for building interiors, but difficult to compose well with in landscape terms because it's shows so much of the scene  - and normally most of the scene is not so interesting. A telephoto lets you get rid of any distracting elements and, not being lazy, makes composition a lot easier often.

Hi Steve, I completely agree with your point on the telephoto.  Too many times I have been too far away from a shot. I took a look at your collection.......it's really impressive and

such a variety.  K must get back into this very soon.  Thanks once again for taking the time to look at my stuff.  Take care.

[Steve F]

10 hours ago, Tim Ring said:

Hi Steve, I completely agree with your point on the telephoto.  Too many times I have been too far away from a shot. I took a look at your collection.......it's really impressive and

such a variety.  K must get back into this very soon.  Thanks once again for taking the time to look at my stuff.  Take care.

Thanks Tim. I'm aware I do a lot of the things I point out as criticisms in other's portfolios! Yeah, stay healthy.