Tough question to ask, but "Are my compositions ok?"

[winger]

My mom is not someone I'd consider an expert in art, but she has seen a fair amount and does know what she likes and dislikes. Her main photography has been taking family shots here and there and the very occasional vacation photo. But a couple of times, when looking at my photos, she's made comments that indicate she doesn't think I know how to compose a shot and that I don't think about that at all. Since I DO think about composition, it bugs me. The latest was while she was looking at the pieces I used to screen into the Pittsburgh Society of Artists (and I was accepted) - pic below. She said that what she sees when she looks at my photos is that they're technical and not about composition. She wouldn't really go further and didn't say straight out that she thinks they're bad, but it was definitely the impression I got. So, I'm putting on my toughest layer of skin and asking people I respect and trust - do I use good composition in my photos? Is it just that my mom doesn't know about composition? Or is she right and my shots are about the technical stuff and composition be danged?

[Kevin Caulfield]

Those three compositions look fine to me. I'd say keep doing it that way, as you know what you are doing.

[BrianShaw]

That is exactly what I was thinking.

[cliveh]

A good way to assess composition is to look at the image upside down and inverted side to side. Try it with any HCB picture and you will see what I mean. The images you have posted looks fine, but composition is a very complex subject which never ceases to amaze.

[Worker 11811]

... do I use good composition in my photos? Is it just that my mom doesn't know about composition? Or is she right and my shots are about the technical stuff and composition be danged?

She's your mother. Mothers shouldn't criticize their kid's art because they often can't see beyond the fact that we are their children, no matter how good or bad our art is.

Parents often have preconceived notions about the kind of art their children do but when we "grow up," artistically speaking, our art often doesn't meet their expectations.

If your mother was an artist, her ideas about art and how your art stacks up would probably be a lot different.

[jnanian]

hi bethe

your photographs are fine, i wouldn't worry too much about it.

a lot of people judge photographs by what they are used to seeing and making.
we all come with our own complex set of samsonite luggage so to speak.
i am sure your mom knows what she likes and knows what she doesn't like ...
and she is speaking from there .

there are all sorts of "rules" when it comes to composition. but the whole point of rules
is to break them. your work is very good, and the group you submitted to knows it too.
parents are parents, and sometimes they don't like things outside their " comfort zone ".

congratulations by the way !

john

[markbarendt]

Yes, the compositions are just fine.

[jovo]

Bethe, you should consider whether or not your mother really means 'composition' when she may have misconstrued that word for another or several that regard the subject of your 'graphs. I think what you posted is excellent, but it's a bit more abstract than what your mother may prefer in a botanical subject.

[Sirius Glass]

Your compositions are very good. Consider

trading in your mother <<wink, wink>>
taking an art or photography composition class with her

[Old-N-Feeble]

All of us will always want to be fully accepted and fully respected by mom and pop even after they're long gone. Few of us are fully accepted and fully respected by both. That's okay because it keeps us in a little continuous doubt... always on our toes... makes us try harder.

[tkamiya]

I feel a bit funny about putting in my opinion because I'm probably the most junior guy in here. So this isn't a criticism but it's more of "I would do it THIS way if that was mine" kind of thing. I may be wrong but I'd still do it a bit differently.

Personally, I have a bit of an issue when my subject touches the edge. Clear off the edge is fine. Well into the edge is fine. Barely touching or little bit cut off bothers me. So, for example, the middle one bothers me a bit. I also like to include some breathing room so I would crop a bit larger. I would also use a bit wider mat for presentation purpose.

I may not know what I'm talking about though. This is how I would do it.

Now, I'm going to run and hide in a corner so you can't find me.

[winger]

Thank you all for the input!
John V - I'm not completely sure she really meant composition except that she did use the word and has on another couple of occasions. She also said that she just sees that they're "technical" or about the technique. Could it be that she sees and recognizes that they're "correct" technically and can't get past that 'cause she's seen so many in life that aren't? She also used to complain about me taking pictures of the backs of people's heads when I wasn't photographing the people in the first place. The shots of mine that she's said she really liked were ones with a centered subject (such as Calla Cluster #1 on my website and probably in my gallery here) - I think that one's good, but sorta like something you'd buy at Bed, Bath, and Beyond. Another comment was, "I just don't get what you're trying to do."
And, yeah, if a stranger said the same things, I likely wouldn't feel the same - it's different when it's a mom and daughter thing.
John N - rules? ;)
Since I like my work (mostly), I'll keep doing it my way. I have been using my 4x5 more, so that helps with looking at things upside down (the ones in the attachment were all smaller formats).

[winger]

Personally, I have a bit of an issue when my subject touches the edge. Clear off the edge is fine. Well into the edge is fine. Barely touching or little bit cut off bothers me. So, for example, the middle one bothers me a bit. I also like to include some breathing room so I would crop a bit larger. I would also use a bit wider mat for presentation purpose.

No worries at all on this one! I agree. I grabbed an old print to Mordançage and it didn't have much room between the edge of the emulsion and the edge of the paper. So when the emulsion stretched, it went pretty close to the edge. It's not the best one I could have used, except that it was because I ran out of time to have things ready (and they all had to be created within the last two years). I really liked how the veils ended up on it so used it for the screening despite how close it is to the edge.

I gather that she sees ALL my photos this way, though, not just the funky ones. Maybe I should try channeling John N and see what she says. ;) jk!

[jnanian]

No worries at all on this one! I agree. I grabbed an old print to Mordançage and it didn't have much room between the edge of the emulsion and the edge of the paper. So when the emulsion stretched, it went pretty close to the edge. It's not the best one I could have used, except that it was because I ran out of time to have things ready (and they all had to be created within the last two years). I really liked how the veils ended up on it so used it for the screening despite how close it is to the edge.

I gather that she sees ALL my photos this way, though, not just the funky ones. Maybe I should try channeling John N and see what she says. ;) jk!



channel me as much as you want .. :)
i just want to warn ... you might get a lot of static and need an asprin:
i have 2 kids and a "tween" who thinks she's like ... 25.

[winger]

channel me as much as you want .. :)
i just want to warn ... you might get a lot of static and need an asprin:
i have 2 kids and a "tween" who thinks she's like ... 25.

If we did a body switch, don't forget I have a two and a half year old. Do you want to go through THAT again?! LOL

[artonpaper]

I had the great honor of studying with Lizette Model. After crit sessions we take her out to a fancy restaurant (where she sent most of the food back) and we'd talk about life, art, and photography. I one time asked her how she would go about teaching composition. She looked at me almost in disgust, and said that it is impossible to teach composition, you can only feel it. She also said she didn't even use the word.

I think she was being extreme, but I got what she meant. Following rules about composition can only inevitably lead to cliches. I teach photography and I do talk about composition. I mention that there are rules, but I never say what they are. "Well balanced" and "well composed" pictures are only one type of picture. Look at Diane Arbus's work, it clumsy and awkward at times, but always arresting. And of course Henri Cartier Bresson's work is graceful and poetic and equally arresting.

I think these are examples of two artists who felt very different things when they photographed. I would also say that Moms aren't always the best critics, but if you feel there may be something that can be done better, let that thought percolate, and see what happens, Do not, however, let it inhibit you. Your work looks very good, and who knows, it might even get better.

[tkamiya]

Is it safe for me to come out of my corner now? :confused:

[winger]

Is it safe for me to come out of my corner now? :confused:

Of course! :)

[winger]

artonpaper - Her idea of composition is sorta what I was taught, too. I do think that some careful thought can improve it. When I look at my work from about 10-15 years ago, I'm fairly sure I've improved. Finding APUG is a big part of that. Thanks for the encouragement, too.

[desertratt]

Getting my mom to like anything I did was like pulling teeth. I wouldn't worry too much about it. I suspect as somebody else noted there may be something she thinks isn't quite right but does not know what, or quite how to express it to you. I like your photos they are fine. I remember when I was a young whippersnapper I saw a photo of a legendary painter with a bunch of birds in flight and thought the photog should have chopped off the birds at the far left. A few years later I realized under the rules of composition that photo was great. But I still really don't like it. Hang in there. I am currently making gallery-sized prints from photos I took in the 1960s and 1970s. I have the Beatles, Lucille Ball, Elvis, and so on. And guess what -- the composition in some of the photos is darn good. They were photojournalism when I took them but now they are "art."