Jaime Ferreyros—Palm Secrets
Okay, everybody.
We have come SO far in such a short time this year. I frankly cannot believe how dramatically our iphonographic art form has evolved in such a short time. Every week, you raise the bar here at Pixels. As a member of the Pixels family, please consider yourself among the most passionate, hard-working, talented, and skilled practitioners of the art form, bar none. It is you who has made Pixels the site of record for this emergent art form of ours, iphonography.
It is my hope that over the next year, we can begin to inculcate a new approach to iphonography that I would call Life in the Slow Lane. Let us get away from the need or compulsion to post a picture every day here, or on Flickr, or wherever. We all have two hundred or two thousand pictures up somewhere, so there is nothing to prove there, anymore.
Ansel Adams once said that if a photographer gets twelve pictures a YEAR, that is a “good crop.” I’m not saying don’t shoot. I’m saying take your time to post. Get that shot. And then, App That Bitch ‘Til It Sings! That said, I KNOW there are some pictures that require little or no apping, so spare me the lectures! :)
I have seen a lot of pictures this year; you can’t imagine how many. I see a lot of the same kinds of shots over and over again and there are many that don’t make it in, as many of you know. As I said, you artists raise the bar every week: I just uphold the standards you set.
So I want to share a few things that I would like to encourage you to avoid, since many of these types of shots are simply cliches now and have been done thousands of times. Again … there is always an again … there are exceptions to every so-called rule in art and the only thing that really matters is whether or not your picture tells a compelling story and something about yourself. After the list, be sure to read Jaime Ferreyros’s suggestions for getting the great street shots.
Because so many people have gotten upset with me about this post, PLEASE note that I am still publishing pictures of people’s backs, feet, hipstamatic shots, so on and so on. I have looked at easily 8,000 pictures since starting Pixels. I have published, one at a time, by hand, over 4,500 this year. The suggestions below are guidelines and my opinion only. I judge every picture on its own merits.
So here we go with a list of the things that go through my head when I look through fifty or a hundred pictures every single day:
- I suggest you avoid apps like Hipstamatic. I want to know about you, not Hipstamatic. If you use Hipstamatic, just be sure it’s a very strong image that can stand up to the imprint. And watch the Pic Grunger, it’s getting really overdone, along with PictureShow. Explore other apps to develop your own style and vision.
- I personally do not like frames: I believe they detract from images. When all we did was post on Flickr, frames were okay. Since it is my goal to get your work on a gallery or museum wall, well, I guess we can remove the frame when we print the picture. But just so you know, having a frame around your picture is fine for publishing on the site. The “film sprocket” frames are tricky to use well: when in doubt, don’t!
- I get so many pictures of people shot from behind every day. People’s backs are just not that interesting. Learn how to get their faces in the shot (see Jaime’s how-to below). Be ready to shoot at all times. I know we live in a paranoid era. Cartier-Bresson was able to get his shots with a Leica in a different era, if not a different world. Be smart, clever, and, most of all, selective. It’s hard but we must push ourselves. (Now, realize that I just published two from-behind pictures, one from Ramona G. & one from Andrea M., so it is not a hard and fast rule! But let’s aim for faces!)
- Mirror shots are of little interest to me, unless you happen to be, for example, a beautiful naked woman. Even then, make sure the picture tells some kind of story. This applies as well to car mirrors and puddle-reflection shots.
- Shadow-shots, esp. your own shadows, hold no fascination for me or anyone else any longer.
- We’ve seen enough feet; legs of people standing nearby; mannequins in windows; coffee cups on cafe tables; lame dog, cat, kiddie pictures. (I LOVE good dog, cat, kiddie pictures! But I want a story.)
- Masks on people, alone, do not make a story. Make sure something is happening in the picture. Clowns and mimes, nooooooooo! … unless …. the people in the masks are attacking them.
- If you must shoot birds on a wire or jets coming in for a landing, you will really really really have to do something remarkable to make the picture stand out from the hundreds and thousands out there. Same for wing porn!
- Watch the lens flare. Large white areas are jolting and overwhelm the rest of the image, except in rare cases.
- Lastly, please no more “clever” pictures. No one cares about how clever we are!
Okay, that about does it for now. I’m sure I’ll remember something else the next time I am editing pictures. Does this sound mean? Sorry. These are just opinions. Feel free to ignore everything I’ve said! I would never tell an artist what to do, I assure you. But I want us all to keep pushing ahead, avoid apps that overpower images, and open our eyes to the moment-by-moment ephemeral nature of reality and, with luck, capture a beautiful instant of it from time to time.
What do I like? Well, for the most part I like compelling images that tell a story, be it funny, sad, sexy, beautiful, scary, or weird. I like vision, your vision. I like artists who push themselves and try new things, I will often publish an image that might be of marginal quality to encourage the artist. I’ve seen everyone evolve and grow this year. It’s been wonderful. If you want to see what I like, just look on the site. :)
Jaime’s recipe for great street shots after the jump.
Street photography is just one segment of iphonography, but if it is what you are interested in, you should learn how to do it well, do it wisely, and not get yourself into trouble.
Some months ago, Jaime Ferreyros shared his secrets for taking street shots. I’ve tried it a couple of times, got one okay picture out of if (Kiss Kiss Bang Bang), but I still need a lot of practice. Here is what Jaime sent me to share with you.
- I put my iPhone on silence
- Usually I have my iphone default camera ready, unless I specifically want to get a Hipstamatic, Toy or other camera shot ans set that camera up.
- I walk around looking for my prey and once I find it, I’ll start acting like I’m getting a phone call or about to make one
- Once I get close enough, I’ll try to look as if I’m answering the call, dialing or both. At some point I always look at my iPhone as if I’m trying to figure who’s calling me or what number I just dialed…that’s when I’m really taking my picture.
- As soon as I get my shot, that’s when I’ll say “Hello” or “Hola”, and walk away pretending to be talking with someone on the other line as I leave.
- An example after such fine acting, is my attached picture taken on Crandon Beach, Key Biscayne called PALM SECRETS.
Muchas Gracias, Mr. Jaime Ferreyros!
As an added note, here is an article on Photographers’ Rights.
Good advice contained in this article……Keep raising the bar because personally I like a challenge.
This site*
Terrible,terrible typo.
great typo!
I named my recent shot
'Tree in the Slow Lane' after this article Knox.
If it wasn't for the article I probably would of sent in an earlier version of the photo,an absolute stinker.
So it did kind of make me take my time with it all,which is a good thing.
I used to just send in bundles of 5 hoping one would get accepted…now I work harder and longer on fewer,so good article.
I noticed you edited it about 2-3 times?
And I was getting sick of blatant pic grunger shots too.
I like Picture Show because you can use the more subtle options without it looking too….'Picture Show'
And people won't ever stop sending in pictures to shit site.
Viva La Hipstamtic ;)
I noticed, Benjamin. Yes, I've been editing the article. I should follow my own advice and wait before posting articles! But the first version was too heavy handed and I really don't want to come across like Ghengis Khan. Love the "Tree In The Slow Lane," by the way!
Well my question was NOT hypothetical at all. But if you have not seen any uploads by me, there must be something wrong with the iPhone App or the way I use the App. cause I actually uploaded a lot of stuff through that means an allways got a "Thanjyo for … we will review …"
There is a backlog. Since I announced the Apple events, submissions have doubled or tripled. My apologies.
Well now, let me just ask one of those dumb questions aliens from far away, like I am one, often tend to ask: Does the phrase "I am editing pictures" mean, if I uploaded a dozen or more and none of those was published, though I do NOT judge them worse than what you published, does that mean, you just do not like my style of iphonography? Does a dozen of uploaded but unpublished shots mean the same as "go somewehre but please go away from here"? I just want to understand what i read before not to offend.
As I said in the article, Pixels artists raise the bar every week. I curate the site to maintain the level of excellence they create. I receive a lot of bad pictures. They do not get published. That is why every picture on the site is a good picture and not five consecutive Hipstamatic shots of a chevrolet like I recently saw on another site.
I have seen no uploads from you, so I am assuming your question is hypothetical. This is not flickr. I am interested in quality, not quantity. But yes, if you submitted twelve pictures and not one got published, it would probably behoove you to study what's on the site to see what we are all about.
When I first started getting more picky about pictures, after the Giorgi show, I was scared people would stop submitting. But a funny thing happened. More pictures came in and they got better and better. It's still happening.
Of course, now I'm scared they will stop sending in pictures because of this article.
I have been trying to do different ideas but just noticed 3 of my shots here are picgrunger, i agree though i do see it a lot now.
I like PicGrunger, but it is really being over-used these days. I really want to encourage people to focus first on getting a good picture … then app it appropriately. PicGrunger might be appropriate, or it might not. There are other ways to grunge up a picture. Have you looked at Iris or PhotoFX? And I love LoMob, although that does something else. And LoFi … although it's kind of weird! I love it.
Well, just before I read your comment, I republished the article with a lot of editing in the "rules" section. Someone thought I was really laying down hard and fast rules, which was not the case.
I like your idea for the diptic shot with the cat, the meal, the road, the shadow … please submit it! :)
For many people this is just a fun hobby, but I know a number of artists who put as much effort into their images as any painter, or sculptor, or composer I have ever known.
I want my artists on Pixels to take themselves and their art seriously. They don't have to, of course. But I do know that this is a new and emergent art form and I love watching it evolve.
Yes, maybe I will publish it, but I'm afraid it won't be understood, sometimes it's like you should never criticize any personal work on internet… and, I forgot, there was also a hipstamized flower, a 'red tulip' flared backlighting street silhouette and a picgrunged wreck…
Oh my, I'd love to debate about the iphoneography subject, (the app's philosophy, the 'instant' fact of it,… Just to say it, my painting's teacher – long time ago… – used to say Art is made of tricks. Not to take it in a negative way, but I think we have to admit it, it's just we have to find OUR tricks, not to lean on some threadbare or overused ones, and this is probably the problem with the apps, you have to control them in a personal way of look, not to be controlled by them), but I don't have time right now. I hope we continue on this, I'm so frustrated to know some of you are beginning to meet each other, this will be great to do something in Paris, guys!
I hope see u later in some place, thanks! And forgive my cow's english…
"Of course, now I’m scared they will stop sending in pictures because of this article."
No, that won't happen. If anything, it will signal to the people who think carefully about their photography that THIS is the place to submit their work, precisely because it isn't just another Flickr stream where anything goes.
I believe that having a curator is a very good thing. If someone is offended by having their work judged in this manner, then there are plenty of other places they can post their work. Those who appreciate what it means to have a curator say to them "I'd like you to go back and rethink that image and refine the message/technique so that it meets the criteria of this project" will thrive in this environment. Being pushed to do better work is an opportunity to grow.
Thanks, Paul. It is kind of you to write such encouragement. I really appreciate it.
" is a very good thing. If someone is offended by having their work judged in this manner, then there are plenty of other places they can post their work."
Yes IT deffinetly is worth having your work beeng judged. But as Long As there is a backlog of pictures, where you do Not Know if your Pictures has even judged out or just has not even been looked at its frutrating – at least to me. So in Somerset Way a feedback process should Be established. This coul Even Be binar to me. E.g. a html table On your very accounts page listig your Vota titles and a Status As published, Not published, On backlog.
The logistics of that would be a bit of a nightmare I imagine.
Hi Benjamin,
I'm not too aware of how logistics at pixels are organized today. Whereas businees-Process-reegineering is one of my hobbyhorses on the other hand.
Actually me or someone else could volunteer a weekend or so, to write a wordpress module, that makes it possible for each uploaded photo to just have a two buttons click choice: "publish/don't publish". Where the ones with the publish button would be automatically postet to the site, whereas the mentioned "statistics"-table for the "users"-Pages would be a fall-out-product.
But as long as I'm the only one wishing such an overview I think you're right, that it makes no sense to do anythink the like.
I moderate every image. I am working with a developer to create a system whereby people will upload and manage, title, tag, categorize, their own images and I will simply moderate what appears in the main galleries. But I do not want this site to turn into Flickr, so I may have to stratify permissions. Haven't figured it out yet. For now, though, there will be no tally system.
Yep. This had to be done, I was just waiting for this moment. Some time ago, I wanted to publish a diptic photo with a cat, a shadow, clouds, a meal and an empty road with the title: ok, now it's done! But I never had the courage to do it…
I totally agree with you, I did probably all the exemples photos you mention, especially for the frames, it became a compulsive manner for me, because, you know, on internet the frame fills the lack of presentation you would have in a gallery, and it adds probably an analog touch I miss secretly… And for Hipstamatic, I totally agre, but I know this will be an never ending debate, as pc vs mac…
And thank you for speaking of the subject in iphoneography, I think we probably have to really 'think' about what it is and where it goes, even if iphoneography is mainly a 'fun' hobby, but some reflection cannot hurt…
I could talk boring for hours, but I have a job and, oh, my boss approaching…
Anyway, THANK YOU!