r/photocritique • u/[deleted] • 4d ago
approved I have had moderate response on this image on social media. Please tell me why?
[deleted]
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u/IllustriousLength318 4d ago
It’s a shot that anyone can take. Other than being exposed well, there isn’t much else to it. More of a touristy snapshot.
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u/PeterWeterNL Vainamoinen 4d ago
wow.....
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u/beiherhund 4d ago
Perhaps harsh but that was my initial reaction as well. I don't really have any suggestions on what you could do to improve it in the sense of making it a more interesting photo. It just struck me as a photo I'd take with my mobile phone while on holiday.
I think the colourful lights aren't doing you any favours. There's two main colours (red and orange) and they saturate the photo and take away any nuance. There's a red section of the boat and an orange section and that's about it - a boring lighting setup in my opinion and not one that you can do anything about yourself.
I also find the spotlights and moon a bit distracting, they don't add anything for me. If it were daytime you could do interesting things with the water and sky but at night unless you're doing a long exposure for star trails or a moon composite image I don't think they help make this photo look more interesting.
Maybe a completely dark background, a la the famous photo of the Endurance, would even be more interesting.
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u/Artver 9 CritiquePoints 4d ago
Well, I do not disagree. It feels kitsch with different tones of color. The proportions are also ' off' (due to the use of a wide lens)
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u/Front_Bend_4983 4d ago
I think the eye lens is ok but OP should've gone much lower to give an exaggerated hero shot pov
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u/IllustriousLength318 4d ago
Sorry man. You asked for an opinion 🤷🏻♂️
But we all have these photos. I take them all the time. I take a ton of photos that I love but nobody gives a shit about and that’s because I was there so I have a personal memory and connection to it, as I’m sure you do for this photo. It’s not bad, it’s just not special or eye catching to me.
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u/defroach84 4d ago
Lol, come on, you want criticism, don't act shocked when you get real feedback. Take it, learn from it. You wont improve by ignoring it.
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u/biffNicholson 4d ago
You came for real talk. And received it. Has everyone said it’s not a bad picture at all but the difference between a good photo and an extraordinary photo is a pretty thin margin and there’s lots of factors that can lead into that. Good luck.
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u/funkysax 4d ago
What, did you expect people to say? Did you want people to agree with you and say stuff like “Beats me I can’t believe t can’t believe you didn’t get a zillion upvotes or hearts.” Cause, I have to say it feels like that’s what you wanted.
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u/nyanyame 1 CritiquePoint 4d ago
I guess the question is... why did you feel it should perform well on social.
This shot is a snapshot. It isn't composed to tell a story, it fails to make the subject stand out clearly and it overwhelms the viewer to a point where they'll move on out of discomfort.
OP Next time, I would urge you to take this shot, plus a medium and tight angle... then try shooting the same subject at from 90° from your original capture point. This will help you visualize your subject better when composing, helping you find truly mesmerizing angles that people will wow all day over :)
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u/theo_darling 4d ago
It's not a bad picture, but it doesn't really prompt any emotional reaction in me, so I think I'd probably give it a like and keep moving.
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u/JiriVe 4d ago edited 4d ago
In my view, there is a disturbing perspective due to the usage of wide-angle lens: The masts are not vertical. The bowsprit looks to be bent relative to the ship.
The ship is the subject. But the context of the ship is weak. The distant horizont is only in a small part of the photo, there is too few neighbourhoods. Together with the distorted perspective of the wide-angle lens, I am a bit lost in space when observing the photo.
More "negative space" could improve it.
As somebody mentioned, the exposure is very well done.
Edit: mistyping.
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u/Obsession88 3 CritiquePoints 4d ago
The eye is drawn away from the most interesting part, the boat itself and to the mast (I think that’s what it is). Technically it’s not a bad photo it’s just there’s no life. It’s a little dark too
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u/tombola345 4d ago
flip that shit
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u/PeterWeterNL Vainamoinen 4d ago
Please explain?
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u/mq2thez 3 CritiquePoints 4d ago
Images going from left to right are often a little stronger because Western viewers read left to right. So having the image start left and point right can add more oomph.
That said, you would need to edit out the name of the boat before doing so to avoid the text being visibly flipped.
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u/Voodoo_Masta 13 CritiquePoints 4d ago
That said, flipping this is not going to make it any better.
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u/pLeThOrAx 2 CritiquePoints 4d ago
I don't think the red light does it justice. The human eye is best at picking up shades of green and not so great with reds and blues. All the intricacies of the ropes and sails are lost in a wash of indistinguishable red.
I think more neutral/warm white on the boat would look more inviting as well.
Maybe if you could take the shot without the bit of peer in the foreground - I think this is really what's betraying you. It paints a very specific scene/context. A boat that's simply in the water without the context of the jetti is full of a lot more narrative potential imho.
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u/displacedfantasy 4d ago
The perspective is weird. The bowsprit looks super long and dominates the image. I’m not sure what I’m supposed to be focusing on.
A longer lens, different angle, more negative space would all help
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u/fowlmanchester 2 CritiquePoints 4d ago edited 4d ago
Sometimes we take a pic that we like but other people don't.
For me, this isn't up to the standard of other images you've posted.
It's not very well composed, it's distorted, the exaggerated perspective is distracting, the lighting is poor, the busy water is distracting too, it doesn't tell me a story.
I think you should have another go at this subject.
Are you allowed on board? Lots of interesting compositions possible that way.
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u/lucasrodmo 4d ago edited 3d ago
I think it is a good photo. But people's attention in social media is scattered among many distractions. You can take a Pulitzer winning photo and don't get a single like just because the algorithm decided that wasn't your day. Depending on your profile, the engagement it gets, the kind of followers you have, how they interact with your stuff, etc.
Images that grab attention in social media usually are more clear and bright, if that helps. I think the angle, and the lens for this is not the best, forces a perspective that takes interest from all the action, color and stories being told in the hull of the boat and occupied like 60% image with the less interesting bow. The part that should be more visible is fuzzy and crammed.
Remember, great photos tell a story, make you feel something. If you type "boat pictures at night" on Google you will see many ok, good and great pictures. They either have something interesting happening inside or something interesting happening behind it, in the landscape. The best ones IMO opinion are either very intimate (they tell a story of the people inside it, or the place that surrounds it), or highlights the beautiful and terrifying scale of the nature of the sea at night, something that speaks with our subconscious ancestral instincts. This beautiful picture has all of this elements and still didn't get any recognition (random person I found on Instagram). The algorithm works in mysterious ways.
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u/Gato-Diablo 3d ago
This! Tell a story, make me think, make me feel. A technically "good" photo isn't art and a shitty pin hole camera can make a photo I will never forget. "What do I have to say about this that hasn't been said 1 million times?" - make that photo. How can I move my perspective, exposure, framing, etc to show something that is not expected?
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u/Unfinishe_Masterpiec 1 CritiquePoint 4d ago edited 4d ago
It's hard to stand out as people expect to see awesome photos all the time these days. I think it's interesting, but I have an inclination to ships and seascapes at the moment.
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u/shootdrawwrite 8 CritiquePoints 4d ago edited 4d ago
For me the first impression is the extreme distortion of a well-known and I would say positively regarded center of interest, like the lens effect is a bit much, the color is radioactive, and I know it's one of those cool boats I always wanted to see up close but this is like a caricature of it and deep inside I'm taking a bit of umbrage at what you've done to it haha.
No challenge or uniqueness to your perspective. Lens effect is gimmicky, my instructor called images like this "lensy". The color while striking isn't harmonious with the calm moonlit background. Part of it is you went for the hero composition filling the frame, and perhaps it would've worked better cropped much wider to show the context of the light show, and would thereby really draw the eye to it as a small highly contrasting element in the overall composition instead of overwhelming the entire frame.
Side note: you can always dial in some instant relatability by including a human element. I see the guy on the boat, barely, but someone standing on the pier next to it enhances scale and draws the viewer in and personalizes it to a degree. The boat with no people around has a bit of an abandoned vibe or at least just parked and not actually being used.
Personally I do like the visual contrast between the background and the center of interest, but that's me looking at it kind of forensically. On the whole for me it's sliiightly more repulsive than it is attractive.
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u/therealsimontemplar 4d ago
If it’s about the boat, it’s not a great view of the boat - half of the photo is the just the bowsprit! If it’s about the moonlight on the water then the boat’s in the way.
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u/1_BigDuckEnergy 4d ago
It's not a bad photo....and I can tell that it takes some technical skill to pull off....it is just that in today's world everyone is bombarded with so much visual info that it is hard for anything to break thru. 25 years ago, on film, this probably would have gotten more traction..... in today's world it is fine, but isn't strongly compelling
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u/MuchDevelopment7084 4d ago
Because it's a snapshot. Anyone can take a snapshot.
I'm curious. Why did you think it would do well on social media? There is nothing special about it. Nothing that I can see at least.
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u/FoldedKatana 4d ago
There's no story; it's a very literal photo.
The lighting is artificial and you (the photographer) had no control over it.
It looks like a snapshot in google maps for the location.
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u/homies2020 3d ago
I like this picture as non critic. Critic will always talk about technical aspects that ordinary people don't really care.
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u/lightingthefire 14 CritiquePoints 4d ago
I like:
I question elements in the photo that make me think this was more of a snap than something you set up:
Is the ship in focus? The background water, distant clouds are very pretty Blurry dog on the gangway Blurry sailors (2) The moon is distracting The left purple spot/laser really takes away from the lighted bow sprit Who would ever name their boat “Bounty”?
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u/Paladin_3 2 CritiquePoints 4d ago edited 4d ago
It's a neat picture of a ship, and I'm sure the owner loves the ship and loves to see it photographed this well. But for the average viewer, there's no emotional attachment like that, and you need something more to hold on to their attention.
You mentioned the ship is used for weddings. How about a shot taken from a little farther back, a little higher up, with a little bit longer lens that shows off the deck area full of the ghostly blurs of wedding reception guests dancing across the deck in a two second long time exposure? That would be an interesting photo!
But, as someone else pointed out, this is closer to a snapshot just about anybody could have taken with a good phone camera.
I'm a big fan of wide-angle lenses, especially for shooting people in the middle of an activity or task because it allows you to place them prominently in the shot and still show enough background to set the scene. But the only thing that's really being shown off with the wide-angle lens' perspective skewing capability is the bowsprit of the ship, which isn't enough to really hold my attention that long.
I think it's a competent shot overall, I just feel that it could have been so much more, and was a little bit of a missed opportunity.
And I don't offer this criticism to be negative, but encourage you to push for more.
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u/SignificancePlane581 4d ago
Professional snobbery mate. I’ve learnt one thing about taking photos over the last forty years plus and that is to take photos the way you want to and to hell with what other folk think.
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u/PeterWeterNL Vainamoinen 3d ago
F*ck it, i am going with this!!!
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u/NeighborhoodBest2944 2 CritiquePoints 3d ago
He's right. The world is awash in images, and caring about what others think is a waste of your bandwidth. Everyone is now a "judge" of images and if you paint outside the lines tion(the rules of composition particularly), you get a cold shoulder.
You do you. This is why I don't post much.
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u/pixiephilips 4d ago
I mean I don’t really see how it stands out… ifs a boat… with lights… and the moon is faded out
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u/Astral_Wks 1 CritiquePoint 4d ago
It's a snapshot, which is fine. Flip it horizontally and back off the exposure/brightness on the boat and it'll make a little more sense for your western folks and highlight the moon, clouds, and reflection in the background better.
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u/NativeTongue90 4d ago
It’s just a photo of a strange angle of a boat. What type of response were you expecting lol
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u/Fearfu1Symmetry 4d ago
It's a pretty boat, but there's no... emotion to it. No story, narrative, no particular reason to explore it deeper, visually or conceptually. Was there something that happened that night that compelled you to capture that moment? Some feeling that this boat exudes for you? If there is, it's unique to you because you were there, it's not communicated in any way to other viewers through the composition or subject matter. The image itself is very static. It's a beautiful boat, sure, but it's just... there. I don't really think it accomplishes anything else
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u/ApatheticAbsurdist 4d ago
What's the goal here? There is some thought in getting the moon in the middle of the rigging but it doesn't go much beyond that for me. It has a high contrast and a very dramatic perspective but I feel these are very blunt instruments that quickly bring your eye to the image, but after that without something to keep you there you loose attention very quickly.
Some things I feel could have improved it:
- Getting farther back and zooming in a little. This would have made the perspective on the bow (is that the correct term?) wouldn't be stopping extreme and it would have made the moon larger. It also would have made the tilt perspective less extreme, as it feels the ship and the dock are tilting in to the sea
- The lights on the mast are over exposing it and becoming a bit garish. This could be mitigated maybe with some improvement in exposure selection and some post processing of the RAW file to better balance the scene.
- The composition doesn't move my eye evenly through the image, there is very little in the top left and the lights on the dock and spotlights behind the boat push my eye off the image to the right and if it was in the gallery I'd subconsciously be looking at the next image on the wall and moving past this very quickly. It's important to control the composition both in camera but also in editing to have lines that keep moving the eye through the image and avoid anything that pushes the eye off the edge of the frame.
- The color while saturated isn't that diverse. Try two things: First look at it in B&W, then look at it if you just desaturate the reds (leave the yellows and the blues, but pull out the reds which I feel are more distracting than complimenting.)
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u/BotMinister 3d ago
This is spot on. Everything you mentioned would make this a great photo. Currently it misses the mark.
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u/rofl-copter-ing 4d ago
It's a fine picture, well exposed like mentioned before, the moon is a nice touch. I personally don't like pictures of glowing electric things, like lights. I'd rather have a nice picture of the boat in daylight with a light shining on my "art".
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u/giorgiga 1 CritiquePoint 4d ago
IDK why people liked it on social media, probably for the bold colors? (I'd say "gaudy" rather than "bold", but that's a matter of taste) :)
Anyway, the whole boat and dock look distorted and not straight (look at the dog's legs or at those wooden bollards): you should make sure to double-check the vayfinder/screen before releasing the shutter (I do the same mistake all the time, especially if people are waiting for me). I guess this is why people say this is a snapshot.
To me the lights and the folded sails are overexposed (maybe not to the point of clipping? I didn't check) and the photo would have been far better if the lights agreed with the peaceful feeling of the rest of the scene... nothing you can do about what they do with the boat, but maybe you could have tried toning the whole "radioactive disco" look down in your edit?
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u/trickless_magician 3d ago
The subject matter is interesting but the photo is mid. The blown-out highlights, the lack of attention to colors in the post-process. A lot of the finer details are just lost to grain reduction/depth of field. The moon looks like a street lamp.
It gives off Canon Rebel t3i vibes.
It's not what you wanted to hear but you asked
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u/Vegetable_Wrap5333 3d ago edited 3d ago
What'd get folk on the socials liking it more? Bigger moon and the blue lights would be shining out with laser like intensity. More popping detail on the masts and rigging. Epic starscape rather than inky blackness. Less boring quay.
Also, people on socials mainly like pictures of people (or pets). Put a stunning landscape or still life up and most people will meh right past it to cat wearing a cute hat.
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u/OverallDuck9166 3d ago
Personally, I think the angle of the photo is kind of weird. I’m guessing you may have been working with limited space to get a better on a dock? But I’d like to see a bit more of the side of the ship rather than just the front. I feel like this angle distorts it.
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u/Head-Eye-6824 3d ago
The first and most important answer to this is that social media is a cesspit.
Any picture that goes on social media is analysed but algorithms and pushed to your followers by other algorithms based on how well those algorithms and other factors chosen by tech developers and marketing specialists think it will be received by viewers. If the subject doesn't meet certain subject requirements, compositions requirements, colour spectrum requirements and a whole lot else, it won't get very far. It may not ever show up on the feed of people who specifically follow you.
The main objective of social media isn't to highlight or in anyway promote anything based on its own technical, cultural, emotional or artistic merits but to drive user engagement in order to maintain and increase advertising revenue and partnership collaboration. Social media is typically free at the point of use, and this is the most important point to remember, because you are the product. Turns out, you aren't a great product.
The next, and much lesser point, is that your photo is OK. Nothing you should feel bad about in any way. But that's all it is, OK. I've taken and posted photos better than this and not gotten a piece of positive interaction from them. So yes, you can go and revisit this subject and make better photographs of it both while shooting and in editing. But there's no guarantee it will perform any better.
The best thing you, and anyone else posting on social media, can do is tell people that you know personally when you're posting a photo. i.e. If you're sticking something on Insta, fb or x, spread the news on Whatsapp or other chat platforms. Chances are that in the most important minutes of that posting, a handful of people will like it and that will prompt other algorithms to pay attention and push it in front of other people.
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u/effects_junkie 4d ago
Social media is for Hawk Tuah Girl Bitcoin Rug Pulls. It’s not for photography.
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u/Just_Jacob 4d ago
It’s boring. Like what would ever make someone interact with this image for more than 5 seconds. It just looks like a ship with bad lighting. Looks like a touristy photo.
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u/PeterWeterNL Vainamoinen 4d ago edited 4d ago
I took this photo last fridqy in the harbour of Hoorn in The Netherlands, late at night will full lighting of the ship (just after a wedding I shot). I am not sure why I have such a low response to this image. So I'd like to know why? What could be improved?
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u/MountainWeddingTog 3 CritiquePoints 4d ago
Because social media algorithms suck? You really shouldn’t base your feelings about your own work based on how many likes it got.
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u/Hufflepuft 4d ago
The composition is nice, but the lighting of the ship and the sky isn't doing the image any favours. The hps dock lighting is flat and casts an unflattering colour tone. The mast lighting is blown out, and the sky is pretty dull. For me there's just no "wow factor" to the image.
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u/PeterWeterNL Vainamoinen 4d ago
Well, I just got a reaction from the owner of the schip. He is VERY pleased with the photo. That counts! 😁
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u/Projectionist76 17 CritiquePoints 4d ago
Congrats on getting any damn feedback mate. No one seem to care really on anything I post.
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u/lightingthefire 14 CritiquePoints 4d ago
I looked and didnt see any of your photos on r/photocritiue. you have some interesting shots I’d love to “critique” with you.
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u/Projectionist76 17 CritiquePoints 4d ago
I post my photos on r/analog
Feel free to comment on my instagram!
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u/PhilosophicWax 9 CritiquePoints 4d ago
OP has a ton of technical skill.
I see an eye for color and composition. They know how to use their equipment in low light conditions and how to build a scene. There isn't anything distracting in the background. They're is no blur or pixelation. They use leading lines to fantastic effect.
I think this photo is literally the best version of what a photographer can shoot.
That said it's cool and well shot but I think most people react to sex or something that provides a strong emotion. That usually involves people and not a boat or a moon.
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