Hmmmm .... what is left? These are popular for a reason. I also think it is a bit presumptuous to assume that everyone has seen this type of photography. Aren't there new upcoming photographers joining the ranks everyday? I wonder if he/she is saying these have been done over and over and let's get out and find something new and different or what. Personally, I think all photographers should do these things, if only to know how to do them. Now, ruling these out, what is left?
"We’ve all seen photography subjects or techniques get recycled, repurposed and endlessly reappear like an uninvited houseguest. We asked some of the photo industry’s greatest, a collection of famous shooters, photo editors and creative directors, what photography clichés, subjects, styles and techniques, they really don’t want to see anymore.
This is what they said in no particular order and very anonymously:
1. Faux Polaroid looking images. Bring back the real Polaroids!
2. Photographing little [uninteresting] towns that nobody’s ever heard of.
3. Mad Men influenced photos. Please find a new look to rip-off.
4. Tilt shift.
5. Smiling children from poor countries.
6. Fisheye lens.
7. Referencing old paintings, usually by a Dutch master.
8. People with dependency issues.
9. Anything shot with an iPhone.
10. Environmental portraits of family members looking sad.
11. Passing off nudes as progressive or edgy, when we all know that they’re easy crowd pleasers (Yes, I’m looking at you Ryan McGinley.)
12. Pictures of random objects in your daily life, you’re not William Eggleston.
13. Actresses or models as 20s flappers.
14. Lazy on-flash photos trying to pass themselves off as Terry Richardson or Juergen Teller style Katy Baggott.
15. Pictures of Cuba, until after there is a new regime (please!)
16. Pregnant partners – always photographed in black and white.
17. Coney Island.
18. Children’s beauty pageant contestants.
19. Surfers.
20. Cyan filters, it didn’t look great in the 1990s, so what’s changed?
21. Unmade beds.
This list is by no means exhaustive, so please – to use a cliché - feel free to put in your own two cents/"
@bradsworld --- If I had an iPhone I would be playing with it too. Oops, I just favorited one of yours done on an iPhone. I had better stop encouraging you. Ummm .... no, I love it!!! ;-)
Well, I'm blaming the author for this list but in rereading it, it appears to be a compiled list of what was given to the author. My mistake. Note to self: read twice and comment once. ;-)
For those of you who follow lots of people and are observant, do you see trends that are overused here?
I would have to agree wholeheartedly with #18, those things creep me out anyways.
Unless you're going to photograph the mothers freaking out backstage. That would be entertaining.
Dorrena - I follow *ALOT* of people, and not at all.
Every person has a different style.
The only thing that's cliche is sunsets, and sunrises, but, I take pictures of ALOTTTT of sunsets, and sunrises, so i can't complain ;)
re: #5 so only children from rich, priviledge countries deserve to be happy- well if that isn't the biggest piece of silver-spoon in mouth bull$h!t I've ever heard I don't know what is! And please yes to #18- and slap the crap out of those mothers while we are at it!! The rest who cares- I think I'm going to take a picture of my unmade bed right now with my iphone (oh wait- I don't have an iphone! Brad could I borrow yours?)
""some of the photo industry’s greatest, a collection of famous shooters, photo editors and creative directors,"" all of whom have never, never, ever taken any of the photos that they wish would go away. harumph!
#1 - when they go digital, maybe
#2 - better do it now, they may not be there is five years then they will be crying about lost history, or flocking there to photograph the ghost town.
#5 - how do you know they are not my relatives?? and define "poor", they maybe happier than you ever could be.
#9 - did you get caught doing something you shouldn't have been doing??
I'm not sure I agree! Some of them yes, but things like a fish eye lens? You can get SO many new perspectives on the world that you own eye could never hope to see!
I've seen MANY shots taken with an iphone. For an example I quickly goodgled this: http://photocritic.org/amazing-iphone-photos/ (not all the pics are great but there are some good ones!)
In my opinion - if it's a good shot, it's a good shot. Regardless of camera, lense technique, or where/when it was taken :)
But yes, you have mentioned some ones that seem to have been over used! :)
The thing is, none of our photos are really original. Everything is "cliche". Just about every shot has been done before. If anyone thinks they are the first to take a shot of a sunset over a lake, some still life fruit shot, a beautiful woman, or a cute animal... they are sorely mistaken.
It's more about putting your own spin on things. The world through your eyes, you know?
Those who know me know I despise the comment of "nice bokeh!!!" I called it depth of fied for 30 years until the Flickr-heads came along and spoiled everything.
I agree with #16 and #18. The rest seem to be really broad categories with plenty of room for creativity.
The photos I wish would change are photos of say, a computer keyboard or mouse with no context or even an attempt at good lighting.
But really, you should photograph what gives you pleasure. If keyboards and mousepads give you pleasure, then photograph every one you can find. Who knows, a museum may want your images one day for a retrospective of early 21st century objects of the home office.
@moncooga --- I have to disagree with this because depth of field just blurs out the background while bokeh shows a distinct pattern, such as exploded lights, in the background which is not necessary blurred.
"From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
This article is about the photographic usage of the term "Bokeh". For other uses, see Bokeh (disambiguation).
Coarse bokeh on a photo shot with an 85mm lens and 70mm aperture, which corresponds to f/1.2In photography, bokeh[pronunciation?] is the blur,[1][2] or the aesthetic quality of the blur,[3][4][5] in out-of-focus areas of an image, or "the way the lens renders out-of-focus points of light."[6] Differences in lens aberrations and aperture shape cause some lens designs to blur the image in a way that is pleasing to the eye, while others produce blurring that is unpleasant or distracting— "good" or "bad" bokeh, respectively.[1] Bokeh occurs for parts of the scene that lie outside the depth of field. Photographers sometimes deliberately use a shallow focus technique to create images with prominent out-of-focus regions.
Bokeh is often most visible around small background highlights, such as specular reflections and light sources, which is why it is often associated with such areas.[1] However, bokeh is not limited to highlights, as blur occurs in all out-of-focus regions of the image."
Each to their own with photography; just like music. Some of them are cliché but not all. Its all down to individual taste.
The article sounds as if it was written by a pissed a photographer who never made it big as photographer and thus blaming all the good techniques that actually worked for everyone else and not themselves because they avoided these at all costs.
Hahahaha! i get sick of many of these from time to time, but I don't like the idea of anyone saying they shouldn't be done anymore. There is nothing really, truly new in photography, and these "overdone" methods will always find ways to be renewed by sharp and creative minds.
All that said, I'd like to add one to the list: selective colour! I hate it. Hate it passionately. That said, I've also done it.
These type of people really get up my nose!! Who do they think they are. We all have to start somewhere, and if these type of pictures are beneath them thats their problem. "Little unheard of towns" ... pah! Someone has to live there, and most towns were unheard of at one time .. visitors make them heard of. All holiday destinations were unheard of until people started going there and spending money. How many times do we need to see the same pictures of the same famous towns?
As far as this project is concerned, 365 is a record of your life and if you live in one of those towns, what are you supposed to do?
And as for the "smiling children from poor countries," - don't get me going. Perhaps they would rather see pics of spoilt brats having tantrums because they haven't got all the latest expensive gadgets or toys
@redkite --- Your rant has been duely noted. I couldn't agree more. Besides some of those things we all are just drawn to like the iPhone pictures. I want an iPhone so I can do what Brad is doing with his phone or what Peter VanAllen is doing with his. ;-)
The great thing about photography is you can make stuff your own. So if you are being "cliche" for taking a picture of a smiling poor child, then so be it. Photography is an art and its a reflection of what you make of life and the things around you.
Not everyone can afford a top of the line camera. That doesn't mean they shouldn't be allowed to enjoy photography. When I first started out (after photography class ended and I had to return the loaner camera), all I had was the camera off my cell phone. That didn't stop me from doing what I love. And it shouldn't stop any of you either. Continue to do what you do and don't listen to the list. Its just one person's opinion (sounds like an angry person at that!) Do what makes you happy and keep making art.
hahaha! I like @sfd084's idea of making it a project. "The Cliché Project". A cliché a day for 21 days. And yes, @rebcastillo77, you can borrow my iPhone to shoot your unmade bed. :)
This is a list from people who spend a lot of time looking at a lot of photography on a regular basis, and I'm sure they've seen it all and seen way too much of it. They may be a bit jaded...
And I've always disliked the term "bokeh", though I can understand and appreciate its descriptive use in the world of photography and recognize the right of others to use and adore it.
With regards to camera phones, I get great comments on pictures I have taken on my Nokia N95 ROFL. It has been said on here and other photography sites many times, its not the equipment, it's the eye of the photographer that makes a good picture.
Everyone on this project has talent.Their style is their own. Long live individuality.
Brad, I agree.. definitely jaded! LOL Hope that never happens to ANY of us :)
Of course there are cliches, but for my project, it's about a picture a day to define my life. I'm not trying to be an artist all the time. :) I just don't see these rules as being meaningful to someone doing a 365 Project. What are we supposed to take pictures of, according to this? Cliche away I say!
I do not like that fake film/Holga/Polaroid app for Iphones. yay, you took a crappy camera phone picture, and made it even more crappier with app, to try to be "cool" like you really use film... sorry, I just don't get it. At least go buy a Holga and take your crappy photo on real film, so the film industry stays alive for us old dinosaurs :p Just my opinion, not out to offend.
I don't get a lot of those cliches, though, like photos of Cuba. That's not something a lot of people ever get to do, but if I did go to Cuba, I'd take tons of photos, cliched or not!
@hopeless You gotta do it BIG, and go photograph unmade beds with smiling children in them, while in Cuba, with a cyan filter and onboard flash. Put a nude pregnant lady in there as well. :P Get every cliche in one photo!
Just for a minute I'd like to have the kind of supersized ego it takes to post this kind of list. I think for this type of project this is just silly at best, though it does inspire me to want to go and photograph the daylights out of a sunset using only a fisheye lens. ;p
Somehow I don't believe "Tilt-Shift" or "Fisheye"are cliche terms; technical terms for camera/lens combination that can be very useful, but not cliche. JMHO.
I do not care what the photo elite are tired of seeing. Do you know what concerning photography I'd like to see go away?
The following: http://thephotoletariat.com/21-photography-cliches-that-should-just-go-away/
How about we take the next logical step and say that human beings on planet Earth recording light, or radiation, on a sensitive medium is cliche and over done to the point of losing it's meaning / effect?
This is unmotivating to the extreme. Hell, I live in the land of mad men influenced people with dependency issues with iPhone carrying pregnant partners in little uninteresting towns that know one has ever heard of passing themselves off as actresses, models, and surfers. Where sad looking family members ooze out of unmade beds in their Coney Island environments enroute to rediculous child beauty pageants where children without smiles are passed off as progressive and edgy. Where the amount of random everyday objects consumed in a 5 minute time period could not all be viewed at the same time with the most extreme fish-eye lens on the planet. Go on, ask me how I really feel. I say out with that list, out with the list makers, and out with telling me what to think. On a kinder note, I love this site and the people on it. Bring on those smiling children photos from all countries, those ages-old sunset photos, and everything else that is the expressive art of photography that we all love. ( Just my own opinion )
i find the time i just read reading this time wasted; it's all about what we as the person taking the image are passionate about, anything that is seen a cliche can be amazing if done right. who really cares, everyday we are all improving our skills by taking less than ideal pictures it's how we learn but making mistakes. i agree a lot with what Stephen above me has to say.
I think that cliches list is a stupid cliche itself. By the way when I want to make a photo to a child in a "poor" country usually I beat him, making him cry ...
After that list, there's not too much left to photograph. I bought my son a t-shirt called "music snob" (because he is a music snob). On it are titles of music genres like "Underground Yodeling", and "Children's Hardcore". The person who wrote this made me think that there needs to be a "photography snob" t-shirt.
#2. I like to see those small (what you call uninteresting) towns. Keep them coming. I like to see what's out there.
#4. Tilt Shots - Sometimes they add character and are okay.
#5. Smiling Children from any country or economic level are okay. No economic discrimination here!
#12. Random objects - my 365 project is a visual diary of my year. I'll put what represents my day.
#19. Surfers are always welcome, personally, I prefer close-ups of pretty white boys in Southern California. But any surfers will do.
I have to say that #9. Anything shot with an iPhone irks me. I have an iPhone and use it regularly in my project. You know what? It takes great pictures and the camera quality is better than my first digital camera I bought a number of years ago. It may be a phone but it does some amazing stuff. I am sure you guys have seen Brad's photos!
As for the list, I just read it as one big challenge to see if we can pull them off (or at least a close approximation of)! Hmmmm....
I personally think that, once you pay for your living, lets say, iphone, food, rent mortgage, gas, whatever... You are entitle to do whatever you want to do, of course respecting what is also entitle to the others of your kind.
Every day, I look to photograph what interests me, some are good, others not so. Some might be cliche to others, others might find it interesting and nice to look at. I find it to be unhealthy in the world of art to depend on the opinions of others as to what constitutes in this case "cliche" art. It leads to considerable insecurity and anxiety. I believe the generator(s) of this list would not favor my work. I photograph flowers and plants. I find them endlessly fascinating. But that is me, others may find them boring and uninteresting. So be it. When I seek advice from others it is usually about technique and processing. The key here is that I seeked the advice. So what do you want from your photographs? Praise, adolation, respect, popularity, money, fame, a story to tell, insight? Each of us has our reasons for capturing images. Anybody that tells me that my work is cliche is itching for a fight.
What exactly is a "Mad Men influenced photo"? I don't quite understand, is it reference to the show? I've never seen the show and I don't know if I'm unintentionally doing something... Or is it some reference to photos of people of questionable mental stability? Can you link to examples?
Well that was a waste of everyones time while we were looking at the so called cliche we could have been making our beds taking another umpteen photo of a stunning sunset, or sunrise if you are the active people, or we could be sitting on our a armchairs thinking what sort of stupidity can I get published today. That is the biggest load of cods wallop I have read I wonder why we all bothered to read it. Anyway I'm off to send a photo of a shoot what in the world can I send you - ho hum maybe I better cancel my ace Membership that I just paid for. Keep laughing at this everyone and send in the photos that you want it's your projects ask the BOSS>
Most of the stuff in that list, I couldn't pull off, even if I wanted to... Ha, the "photo industry's greatest" would love me! :/
Although, I do have an iPhone, y'know, and quite a few of my 365 pictures - especially recently - have been taken with it... This isn't because I'm trying to do anything clever, or because I want to make a point, or be controversial - it's just because, sometimes, I can't be bothered to carry my big "proper" camera around with me...
Have to say, though, I laughed out loud when @weshook said that photography your pregnant partner would not be a cliché if your partner were male! haha
In the end, I think there will always be snobbery, wherever there's art... I get it in music a lot, and here we see the same kind of thing surfacing, in the field of photography... It's just part of what makes working in an "arts" field interesting!
@rubberbiscuit I think I worked with an "underground yodeler" once... ;)
I hate how everyone takes pictures in focus... and exposed... geez... and anything on film, or digital... and pictures with subjects.... and cave drawings... I hate colour only slightly less than I hate B&W or other mono-tones.... /rant
Wow! i am very new to photography and just joined this site today. i must say i am overwhelmed and a little intimidated. i was told on flickr my bokeh (DOF) was not good enough for a group. now i read all the things i shouldn't shoot..... hummmm.
Must say, the voices and humor and perspective of the photographers in this project amaze me.
Brad...get that cliche challenge going. So many of these I have never tried. My personality is similar to @hopeless (Rachel Callison), I now want to try all these cliche' photos so that I can be in the ranks of the cliche'd. An honorable place to be.
I just read all of your replies. Great discussion. I never heard of Bokeh until recently but I have worked on doing it for years. I like selective focus myself.
So every piece of music written comes mostly from the same basic notes. Every book that is written uses a few words of vocabulary. Painters use the same pigment. I am a mixed media artist and try to use materials in a unique way, but mostly it's common every day stuff.
It is your own unique ability and point of view that make it not a cliche. What makes the photos on this site amazing is the way the elements are put together. Most of us put ourselves into the photo in one way or another. That is what makes it unique. We make photos of the same things every day unless we are on vacation but this project helps me to see things with a fresh attitude and I want to learn more. I tend not to photograph people, not my specialty.
There are those who thinks dogs and kids are boring subjects, but when everything else fails, many of us have that to fall back on. How can I not photograph my grandkids and my 3 geriatric dogs now and then ?
I find that when I see photos in museum exhibits, I usually am bored. Just my personal preference. I guess I just don't find them as exciting as the art world does. Just like I think traditional quilts are beautiful, I much prefer wild colorful art quilts.
What I see here every day is unique expressions of each personality. It is so inspiring. For many of us especially retired people sometimes you need a reason to get out of bed every day, something to look forward to. This site fits that criteria for me. I can't wait to see what is going on around the world and how we picture it. No cliches on 365!
I kind of agree with No. 5 - smiling kids in poor countries. The trouble is, it is very much part of some particular places. It wasn't just the kids in Burkina Faso. Laughing and smiling together was part of what gelled a team or a community sometimes. It's good to capture the partcular mood of your subject, but not demand they smile as a matter of course. Smiling didn't come so naturally, say, Guatemala. The issue is when the smile is forced. I will post one where I couldn't stop them if I tried. Mind you they were looking at me!
Eh, to each their own :D If someone feels bothered when looking through someone's gallery, finding it boring or whatever, there's thousands of other galleries to look at instead! :)
this topic is so interesting! i was laughing so hard on some of the comments. i agree with some of the items on the list being "cliche" but then again, what is "cliche" anyway and who gets to decide whether or not it's "cliche"! The photos people consider "cliche" might have been an awesome photo 10 years ago. and the photo people love right now might become "cliche" after a few years. it's all too personal. for most of us, taking photos are just something we like to do, other than actually stealing from other people's photos, i say take whatever photo you want. besides, if you avoid all these 21 "cliches", there is not much left to photograph. LOL. take it easy people, nobody is judging you except yourself.
Oooops I guess I photograph a few too many of these horrible "cliche's" that would mean all the nice comments I got for the below pic last week should be taken back hey..
;-)
Whatever inspires you,whatever equipment you have, whatever challenges you want to try and achieve, whatever processing you wish to apply, heck whatever you like......we are all individuals with the right to express ourselves the way we want too on any given day ...
Have loved and laughed at so many of the above comments and agree it should be made into a theme or a try and fit as many as you can into one photo to shove it back at his opinion. That would be a fun challenge...finally all I have to say to the list is :-P
I feel bad for whoever wrote that article.
What it must take for them to find beauty, captivation or inspiration must be so far from the realistic or moral compass that its scary.
5. Smiling children from poor countries.
I almost agree with number five. It's not that poor kids can't or shouldn't smile but I think it's more that those pictures fail to see the issues. they almost give you the impression that those kids and people like living that way, (even though we know it's not true) It's like they're sugar coating it..
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#12...they probably used to say that to William Eggleston, too.
Interesting opinions...
But.. who cares? ;)
Shoot whatever the hell you want! ;D
For those of you who follow lots of people and are observant, do you see trends that are overused here?
Unless you're going to photograph the mothers freaking out backstage. That would be entertaining.
Every person has a different style.
The only thing that's cliche is sunsets, and sunrises, but, I take pictures of ALOTTTT of sunsets, and sunrises, so i can't complain ;)
#1 - when they go digital, maybe
#2 - better do it now, they may not be there is five years then they will be crying about lost history, or flocking there to photograph the ghost town.
#5 - how do you know they are not my relatives?? and define "poor", they maybe happier than you ever could be.
#9 - did you get caught doing something you shouldn't have been doing??
I've seen MANY shots taken with an iphone. For an example I quickly goodgled this: http://photocritic.org/amazing-iphone-photos/ (not all the pics are great but there are some good ones!)
In my opinion - if it's a good shot, it's a good shot. Regardless of camera, lense technique, or where/when it was taken :)
But yes, you have mentioned some ones that seem to have been over used! :)
It's more about putting your own spin on things. The world through your eyes, you know?
The photos I wish would change are photos of say, a computer keyboard or mouse with no context or even an attempt at good lighting.
But really, you should photograph what gives you pleasure. If keyboards and mousepads give you pleasure, then photograph every one you can find. Who knows, a museum may want your images one day for a retrospective of early 21st century objects of the home office.
Help phototgraphers .... what do you say?
Jump to: navigation, search
This article is about the photographic usage of the term "Bokeh". For other uses, see Bokeh (disambiguation).
Coarse bokeh on a photo shot with an 85mm lens and 70mm aperture, which corresponds to f/1.2In photography, bokeh[pronunciation?] is the blur,[1][2] or the aesthetic quality of the blur,[3][4][5] in out-of-focus areas of an image, or "the way the lens renders out-of-focus points of light."[6] Differences in lens aberrations and aperture shape cause some lens designs to blur the image in a way that is pleasing to the eye, while others produce blurring that is unpleasant or distracting— "good" or "bad" bokeh, respectively.[1] Bokeh occurs for parts of the scene that lie outside the depth of field. Photographers sometimes deliberately use a shallow focus technique to create images with prominent out-of-focus regions.
Bokeh is often most visible around small background highlights, such as specular reflections and light sources, which is why it is often associated with such areas.[1] However, bokeh is not limited to highlights, as blur occurs in all out-of-focus regions of the image."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bokeh
Bokeh in Pictures --- Kim Kirkpatrick
The article sounds as if it was written by a pissed a photographer who never made it big as photographer and thus blaming all the good techniques that actually worked for everyone else and not themselves because they avoided these at all costs.
All that said, I'd like to add one to the list: selective colour! I hate it. Hate it passionately. That said, I've also done it.
As far as this project is concerned, 365 is a record of your life and if you live in one of those towns, what are you supposed to do?
And as for the "smiling children from poor countries," - don't get me going. Perhaps they would rather see pics of spoilt brats having tantrums because they haven't got all the latest expensive gadgets or toys
Some people need to live in the real world
Rant over.
Not everyone can afford a top of the line camera. That doesn't mean they shouldn't be allowed to enjoy photography. When I first started out (after photography class ended and I had to return the loaner camera), all I had was the camera off my cell phone. That didn't stop me from doing what I love. And it shouldn't stop any of you either. Continue to do what you do and don't listen to the list. Its just one person's opinion (sounds like an angry person at that!) Do what makes you happy and keep making art.
This is a list from people who spend a lot of time looking at a lot of photography on a regular basis, and I'm sure they've seen it all and seen way too much of it. They may be a bit jaded...
Everyone on this project has talent.Their style is their own. Long live individuality.
Brad, I agree.. definitely jaded! LOL Hope that never happens to ANY of us :)
and #16 would not be cliche if your partner is male.
I don't get a lot of those cliches, though, like photos of Cuba. That's not something a lot of people ever get to do, but if I did go to Cuba, I'd take tons of photos, cliched or not!
btw, does a small town in Appalachia count as a foreign country? if so, i can photograph the smiling children on my next trip home. using my iphone.
The following: http://thephotoletariat.com/21-photography-cliches-that-should-just-go-away/
How about we take the next logical step and say that human beings on planet Earth recording light, or radiation, on a sensitive medium is cliche and over done to the point of losing it's meaning / effect?
This is unmotivating to the extreme. Hell, I live in the land of mad men influenced people with dependency issues with iPhone carrying pregnant partners in little uninteresting towns that know one has ever heard of passing themselves off as actresses, models, and surfers. Where sad looking family members ooze out of unmade beds in their Coney Island environments enroute to rediculous child beauty pageants where children without smiles are passed off as progressive and edgy. Where the amount of random everyday objects consumed in a 5 minute time period could not all be viewed at the same time with the most extreme fish-eye lens on the planet. Go on, ask me how I really feel. I say out with that list, out with the list makers, and out with telling me what to think. On a kinder note, I love this site and the people on it. Bring on those smiling children photos from all countries, those ages-old sunset photos, and everything else that is the expressive art of photography that we all love. ( Just my own opinion )
#4. Tilt Shots - Sometimes they add character and are okay.
#5. Smiling Children from any country or economic level are okay. No economic discrimination here!
#12. Random objects - my 365 project is a visual diary of my year. I'll put what represents my day.
#19. Surfers are always welcome, personally, I prefer close-ups of pretty white boys in Southern California. But any surfers will do.
I like your idea of doing all these as a project.
As for the list, I just read it as one big challenge to see if we can pull them off (or at least a close approximation of)! Hmmmm....
Here I am blow- and shakedrying my faux pas polaroid.
I photograph ANYTHING that interests me, period. And I so agree with John Patrick.
@dmortega - I must get the polaroids out this long weekend!!!! I must ... if i remember and see something worthy to take.
Although, I do have an iPhone, y'know, and quite a few of my 365 pictures - especially recently - have been taken with it... This isn't because I'm trying to do anything clever, or because I want to make a point, or be controversial - it's just because, sometimes, I can't be bothered to carry my big "proper" camera around with me...
Have to say, though, I laughed out loud when @weshook said that photography your pregnant partner would not be a cliché if your partner were male! haha
In the end, I think there will always be snobbery, wherever there's art... I get it in music a lot, and here we see the same kind of thing surfacing, in the field of photography... It's just part of what makes working in an "arts" field interesting!
@rubberbiscuit I think I worked with an "underground yodeler" once... ;)
hahahahah
that covers everything i've ever shot. :P
And just because its been done, doesn't mean someone else can't do it better (the automoblie for example.)
Brad...get that cliche challenge going. So many of these I have never tried. My personality is similar to @hopeless (Rachel Callison), I now want to try all these cliche' photos so that I can be in the ranks of the cliche'd. An honorable place to be.
So every piece of music written comes mostly from the same basic notes. Every book that is written uses a few words of vocabulary. Painters use the same pigment. I am a mixed media artist and try to use materials in a unique way, but mostly it's common every day stuff.
It is your own unique ability and point of view that make it not a cliche. What makes the photos on this site amazing is the way the elements are put together. Most of us put ourselves into the photo in one way or another. That is what makes it unique. We make photos of the same things every day unless we are on vacation but this project helps me to see things with a fresh attitude and I want to learn more. I tend not to photograph people, not my specialty.
There are those who thinks dogs and kids are boring subjects, but when everything else fails, many of us have that to fall back on. How can I not photograph my grandkids and my 3 geriatric dogs now and then ?
I find that when I see photos in museum exhibits, I usually am bored. Just my personal preference. I guess I just don't find them as exciting as the art world does. Just like I think traditional quilts are beautiful, I much prefer wild colorful art quilts.
What I see here every day is unique expressions of each personality. It is so inspiring. For many of us especially retired people sometimes you need a reason to get out of bed every day, something to look forward to. This site fits that criteria for me. I can't wait to see what is going on around the world and how we picture it. No cliches on 365!
;-)
Whatever inspires you,whatever equipment you have, whatever challenges you want to try and achieve, whatever processing you wish to apply, heck whatever you like......we are all individuals with the right to express ourselves the way we want too on any given day ...
Have loved and laughed at so many of the above comments and agree it should be made into a theme or a try and fit as many as you can into one photo to shove it back at his opinion. That would be a fun challenge...finally all I have to say to the list is :-P
What it must take for them to find beauty, captivation or inspiration must be so far from the realistic or moral compass that its scary.
I almost agree with number five. It's not that poor kids can't or shouldn't smile but I think it's more that those pictures fail to see the issues. they almost give you the impression that those kids and people like living that way, (even though we know it's not true) It's like they're sugar coating it..