I'm so jealous of those with a photographic eye!

[suzanne]

I was just over in the gallery and saw JoeyM's Snow Day page and I'm so jealous of all the great photos I see on pages here. So many of you girls have such a great gift of a photographic eye. I see all these terrific photos and think "why didn't I think of doing that!". I'm not sure if that ability is something you are born with or if it is something that can be learned. Whichever it is I'm so green with envy! My photos just don't seem to tell the stories as well.

[Scrapbird]

Are you kidding??
I just went to your gallery, and I think the photos on your layouts tell wonderful stories . . . especially You at Five, Halloween, and the one about the blue belt. I think we always look at our own work with a more critical eye.

[anxela]

I won't say that I'm a very good photographer, but what I do know, is that I'm much better now than I was 1, 2 or 3 years ago. So it might be that some are born with the ability, but (for the rest of us) it's possible to develop some skills with time, practice and interest.

I also suggest you take a class. The most amazing class I've taken was Allison Tyler Jones' over at bigpicturescrapbooking.com. It's called "Art that Happens to be your Life". If it's coming again later, you should jump on it if you have the opportunity! I also like reading photography books. You learn to develop your eye for what is nice, get ideas...

And if you have a DSLR, and don't already have a prime lens, invest in a 50 mm f/1.8 or f/1.4 lens. It's great for portraits, and will be handy in love light situations. It will also develop your skills as you have to use your legs to zoom and think more about composition than with a zoom lens. It makes you more creative. The 50 mm f/1.8 is very affordable, both the Nikon and Canon versions.

And with that said, like Scrapbird said, don't be too hard on yourself. You take wonderful photos documenting your life and your family. I bet everybody seeing them (except yourself) thinks they are great!

And don't compare yourself to JoeyM. She's an AMAZING photographer. Anyone can come short to her photos. But I do recommend that you go through her gallery. You'll get so many ideas! Lifting is for photos too, not just layouts. And take a look at this layout (of many that I admire, by Joey). I love, love, love it.

[SharLamb]

I get my inspiration from this (& other) galleries, and literally write lists of photos I plan to take based on what others have done.

[cstaff]

Go to the dd flickr site daily and get GREAT inspiration. I'm hoping that by looking daily, I will absorb through virtual osmosis just a bit of the eye these talented people have and when I get back to my camera, I will have learned so much. DD has wonderful talent but we are all blessed with different perspectives and interests so just go with what works.

[esther_a]

I agree with scrapbird! Your photos are terrific - beautifully composed and so many great action shots. But Joey is an amazing photographer. I am so inspired by JoeyM's photos, so much so that I bought a snow jacket with a furry hood for my DD just so I could try to replicate one of her photos (OK, well DD did need a jacket and she did choose the furry one... but I was so glad she did!).

[Joey_M]

OMGosh, I am so overwhelmed by your kind comments! Seriously overwhelmed! Thanks so much for your kind words! This thread has taken me hours to respond to because I was so surprised and speechless!

Well, first of all, Suzanne, you take amazing photos! I was just looking through your gallery and I LOVE your Halloween LO! Your photos are amazing. The look on Matthew's face while digging in a pumpkin and the photo of him looking at his candy stash are both amazing! You captured a priceless moment perfectly and that is the whole reason we do this, right?

Second, I think we are all hard on ourselves. I usually only posts/scrap my best photos. I take 200 pictures to get a handful of ones that "pass!" I need to stop doing this! Pattie Knox once told us in a chat that it is important to get a shot of your surroundings while taking photos. Don't crop out the ugly couch because someday that couch is going to be something that your kids remember and cherish! Clearly, Pattie has never seen my couch because she would for sure make an exception for me! My point is that I tend to take shots that will make a cool shot instead of capturing the moment. I am trying to find balance in this area, but it's hard.

Thirdly, Anexla said it best when she mentioned that her photography improved each year. SO TRUE! I look back at my photos from even a year ago and I giggle at what I didn't know or understand. I still have so much to learn! I have taken classes (by Katrina and over at Jessica Sprague) and I recommend them both. I have read Scott Kelby's books too. The very best learning tool for me is to find a photographer that I like, print out thumbnails of his/her photos, and copy like crazy! Copy the pose, the light, the DOF. I have learned a ton by copying! In my opinion, the best form of flattery is copying!

Lastly, (are you tired of reading yet?!) we are all so hard on ourselves and we shouldn't be! I have people asking me to do photos for them, and I won't do it as I don't feel like I am good enough yet. I suffer from low self-esteem - always have. I need to work on finding the good in my photos/gift and not dwell on the "I cannot's!"

Thank you all again for your awesome comments! I need to print this and put it up on my screen so I can remind myself what is important in life!

[suzanne]

Thanks for the kind words everyone! Not what I was looking for I promise just needed to let go of some frustration. I'm really struggling with Cathy's Design Your Life class because when I open up folders to try and do a page the photos just don't seem to work to tell a story.

Scrapbird those 3 you mentioned are some of the ok ones but let me tell you I have other events/activities that the photos are definitely not working together. Oh and hubby took the blue belt ones.

anxela I did take Candice Stringham's Oh Shoot class at Jessica's site and definitely had a couple of aha moments. And I signed up last night for Katrina's class Get it Scrapped. I know 2 weeks late but I did print out the first 4 lessons and hope to start working on them this next week. I do have the 50 1.8 that pretty much stays on my camera. The only other lens I own is the kit lens and since most of my photos are indoors I made sure to get the 50. I'll have to look into that BPS class too.

esther I love that story about your dd's jacket too funny.

Joey_M I maybe photo-lifting some of your stuff. Hope you don't mind too much! I'm going to look into Scott Kelby's books. There is also a photographer online that has a ton of information about photography that I really need to look into more.

I know I am overly self-critical. Hubby fusses at me all the time about that little issue. Right now I'm struggling with finding photos that work to tell a story to use for Cathy's classes and not finding many that work together.

[katrinak]

Practice. Lots of Practice You should see all of the shots you don't see

[cheska99]

I took Karen Russell's class at Photographer's Workshop and loved it. She generously critiques 10 of your photos in addition to everything else that goes on in the class. Unfortunately, though, the waiting list is HUGE. But it really is all about practice with photography and somehow I find it harder to practice photography itself than to study and practice Photoshop, perhaps because I can do the latter alone in the comfort of my little studio. It would definitely be better to be stronger in photography itself than in Photoshop, though. Best to get it right the first time.

[iUma]

Just been reading Scott Kelby and here is what he said to ME last night on the plane home from Maine...
The Digital Photography Book Volume 2
If you want to be taken seriously as a photographer and you want people to start to
view you as a pro-quality photographer, then take a tip from the working pros, which
is: only show your very best work. Period. One thing that makes a pro a pro is they?re
really good photo editors?they?re really good at picking, and only showing, their very
best stuf . You don?t see their so-so shots or the shots that would have been great, if
only?. You also don?t see them showing seven or eight similar shots of the same subject.
Only show your best of the best. That means if you went on a trip and you took
970 shots, you don?t come home and show a slide show of 226 images. If you want
people to think you?re good, show your best 30. If you want people to think you?re
great, show just your best 1 0. Think about it: If you took 970 shots, maybe 400 are
decent. Out of those decent shots, maybe 80 are pretty good. Out of those 80, maybe
30 are really good. Out of those 30, maybe 1 0 are outstanding. Now, just show those
10?and blow people away.

[digigrandma]

Oh, my gosh, Patricia, that is good advice! (especially about paring down the slide show we show others of a trip we took.......LOL)

[deanie]

Suzanne-
I agree with all the above information! The thing that has helped me the most is simply practice, practice, practice. The best thing I've ever done was join the DD group at flickr where you get the same supportive comments as on this forum and great advice as well.

[Julie DeGuia]

To what Partricia wrote I guess that is true of the pros! However here we may have to show some of the so-so ones because that is all we have of a certain event or it adds to the story even if the picture came out a little blurry or underexposed.

Sometimes I will get comments about my photos being clear and crisp... and I have to laugh. Sometimes it is true but other times on the full-size layout they are a bit fuzzy and not so great. Remember in the gallery we are seeing the images greatly reduced and (at least for me) I use the unsharp mask (once the layout is reduced in size for posting here) to "crisp up" my images.

[anxela]

What Scott Kelby said there has burnt itself to my mind. I've been thinking about that ever since I read his books. It's so true. But pay attention not only to "showcase only your best photos", but also to the other thing this means; that it takes 970 photos to get 10 amazing photos. That means 1% of your photos. In other words, take lots of pictures! It means more opportunities to get the perfect shot, and more practice on settings and so on.

And I second what Julie says too. Sometimes we just don't have a perfect photo to go with our story. So what, big deal! The story is the important part. If you need to tell a story, and the picture isn't that great, size it down. Tell the story. And have fun doing it. Or just let the photo be, and let it shine because it tells the story, and not necessarily because it's a piece of art.

[katrinak]

Shoot daily. Shoot lots. Shoot everything. Shoot in different light. Play with your settings. Know your camera.

And as Anxela said, have fun

[sal4gal]

Absolutely, we are so hard on ourselves!! I have a couple of coworkers who want me to take them on a photo shoot! Me . . . sheesh. I am a Kelby/Sammon fan and I follow the take tons of pics philosophy too. They don't see the hundreds that I trash.

I also subscribe to every Photoshop, Lightroom, and photoshop podcast in iTunes!!! I wish I could remember everything that I see and hear on those podcasts. Right now I am enjoying a beginner level podcast called The Photography Guild. They start with composition and go through the basics such as ISO, Speed, and Aperture. I really liked the most recent one on Minimalist photography. They post a new one monthly and then ask that the listeners practice and then upload to their flickr group.

I love the Pixelicious podcast, he covers EVERYTHING and has 90 podcasts.

There are many ideas out there. You already have great pics, but there are really a lot of ideas on podcasts, blogs, and flickr. We can all learn and I am a good copycat!! Just like scraplifting, it is fun to look at others photos and try to get the same angle, etc.

With my grandkids, I place my camera on burst mode to capture the "moving targets" and I fill up a card fast, but I get a "couple" of good ones, hahaha.

You have a lot of talent . . . we will just all keep learning together.

Sallie