The GetDPI Photography Forum

Great to see you here. Join our insightful photographic forum today and start tapping into a huge wealth of photographic knowledge. Completing our simple registration process will allow you to gain access to exclusive content, add your own topics and posts, share your work and connect with other members through your own private inbox! And don’t forget to say hi!

Why do you use MF? or: I am in the MF crisis...

Professional

Active member
I will tell you honest but don't take me wrong, in fact i enjoy photography very much and i love a lot of my works, i even won in few competitions and many people on some websites told me that i have amazing work, but i think i was lucky, but i really don't depend on luck as i really know what i do or want, on the other hand, some shots that i am so proud of when i posted in high level websites like LL or NPN, NS and so don't get more attention, even it is funny if a winner shot when i post on one of those website and i don't say anything about it as winner then i have some critiques and no much reply.

So my point is, if i am happy with my works and i always try to learn and improve [and sure you will say the same about yourself] then i don't need to post here and either get no replies or critiques that will disappoint me more than encouraging me, and it is really bothering me if someone critiquing my work or others while his work is not that top notch or not much better than us. I know my situations here is really bad for me to have many many photographs and improving myself, but so far within 4 years i have some nice work and happy so far, and i should enjoy myself and don't listen much to others or please others or show my work to all and get upset if not much review and positive comments.

Would you want me to keep posting on this forum even my work is not as the level of yours?
 

carstenw

Active member
Of course! But I know the problem of critique coming from people who cannot do better themselves, or just from people who are being more critical than helpful. When I post photos here, I post only my best, and then I listen to all who reply, but most to those who I respect, not only as photographers, but also as people. I ignore comments I cannot agree with on any level.
 

thomas

New member
some shots that i am so proud of when i posted in high level websites like LL or NPN, NS and so don't get more attention
(...)
get no replies or critiques that will disappoint me more than encouraging me, and it is really bothering me if someone critiquing my work or others while his work is not that top notch or not much better than us.
Simply forget comments in public photo forums. I mean: post images, comment images, but always pick only the really relevant critiques and comments. If there are any at all. What's the value of a comment like "nice", "awsome", "phantastic shot"? Does that lead you to anything other than a short smile on your face (which is nice and worth the effort but still doesn't tell you anything about your photography).
It is also working the other way around: if the "right" person is saying that she/he doesn't like an image of mine I think: well, than it can't be too bad. Know what I mean?
 

Don Libby

Well-known member
Would you want me to keep posting on this forum even my work is not as the level of yours?


You really only need to please two people; yourself first then your client. I sell landscape images and will not offer anything I'm proud of. It's different if you are shooting commission work as you can't choose the subject; however you still need to be pleased with the finished work.

So to answer your question - yes keep posting images so long as you are pleased and proud of them.

Don
 

Guy Mancuso

Administrator, Instructor
I post images all the time and most times not even a great shot comment. That is not to say i need to hear it either but like Don said you need to please yourself and still post what you like and that is what counts and when you get a comment take it as face value and who it is coming from. Obviously someone that you enjoy seeing there work and respect may mean a lot to you and some folks may make negative comments. You need to sift through things and learn from them. Honestly it is a great learning tool to post and gather feedback as well. Not everything you post will be perfect and learning what can make it better or what may work visually better is a great learning tool.

I teach workshops and not every image that crosses may path from students is a winner but they are also looking to me to help them make there next shot better and honest critique is what they are after and I certainly let them know when they hit it and when they don't because that is why they are there. I would be a failure as a instructor to say great, great ,great at every image. That is NOT what they are paying for, they want me to help them figure out the best composition best light and best image given the subject. Ask any workshop member here and I will move them , re crop on them , get them laying down on the ground or whatever it takes to get them a great shot even before they press that shutter. Look to posting images this way and that is too learn from the comments and grow from that but the end of the day bottom line if it does not please yourself than get yourself back out there and make it please yourself. You need to drive yourself to improve on all levels and this also takes time to learn on all levels. I learn something everyday when I have a camera in my hand and on every shoot. Trust me I am proud to say that and more than thrilled to learn something everyday. This forum is about learning and sharing. That is the premise why we started it and it will continue in that vein until Jack and I decide to turn the lights out. Our members want to learn and share that is why they are here and grow there photography and have some fun along the way. You shut yourself out you won't learn a thing. At least that is how I feel.
 

fotografz

Well-known member
There are a huge amount of variables that are often overlooked when evaluating the whole MFD verses something else smaller ... be it a DSLR or a M9 or what-ever.

At the commercial level Guy has touched on some ... mainly the ubiquitous habit of re-purposing any given shot. However, it isn't just printing images much larger than initially thought at the time of the shoot ... sometimes the client crops the heck out of a file to focus on some feature they didn't think of prior to the shoot. For example: shoot a whole canoe for a Johnston Outdoor Sports catalog and later, they zoom in on details for an in-store poster that wasn't part of the original catalog application. It happens all the freaking time.

Then there is retouching and stripping of 2 or more separate shots done at different times and different places. I get that with my GM shoots frequently .... a photo of a car done before the final decision as to what wheels go on it ... so I have to shoot the new wheels to match. You need super high resolution to do this kind of stuff because of the post work needed ... not to mention how difficult it is to frame and position such products through a squinty little viewfinder.

Then there is all the various bleed sizes that require that the actual subject matter be smaller and floating in an extended background to accommodate anything from a digest page to a double truck spread in tabloid sized media. Heck, I've been on shoots where the MFD was close to running out of resolution ... let alone a 35mm DSLR.

Subject matter can also be a big deciding factor ... shooting specular jewelry and chrome objects is a bear ... and every DSLR I've tried to use for this stuff has been a struggle, or failed to even come close to what a near 645 MFD does standing on its head.


I do NOT agree that other solutions are necessarily better for people shooting. I do most all of my paying portrait work with a MFD. First off, I can use flash sync at a much higher shutter speed for fill ... and it's true sync, not some HHS flash that's good out to 6 feet if you're lucky. The file size allows me to leave elbow room for cropping later ... and the MFD ratio is more efficient when matching actual print sizes. Clients often order 17 X 22 prints when they see the fidelity on screen which is even better when printed large. This is especially true when shooting groups either for a corporation or a family. Every person is crystal clear. I've shot every person at a wedding ... all the guests ... like 200 people .... and in a 17 X 22 print they are all perfectly clear ... resolution and dynamic range to the point that I could print a passable 5X7 of each person.

Just my 2¢ based on real world applications ... maybe boring perhaps, but it is all real stuff faced every day by thousands of shooters.

-Marc
 

fotografz

Well-known member
You know, you do not have to be a star Quarterback to be a great Coach. Two different things really.

So, it isn't always how good someone else is at photography, it's how insightful they are in commenting on your work. Did it ring true? Or did it make you think differently about what you are doing? Did it push you, Etc.?

I doubt the great Art Director for Harpers Bazaar, Alexey Brodovitch, could out-photograph Irving Penn ... but his influence on Penn's work was immeasurable.

Carefully pick who you listen to ... then listen to them carefully.

-Marc
 

Professional

Active member
OK, thats it, i will post something time to time here whether you really like my work or not, at the end what is working for me doesn't mean it work for you, and i try to apply the rules/basics/conditions about exposure/composition/WB/color/...etc as i can to have better overall photos, so after all that if it still doesn't work there are 2 things:
1. I can't do better even with many positive feedback
2. I know i can do better but need time/place to make it better next time, including my situations that may stop me to go back and do it again better.

There is something i want to talk about, is it really important that i have good shots overall by my post processing is bad? which is better, normal nice shot [natural look with no much pp mostly] or with another shot could be bad original out of camera but with PP it turns amazing?
 

carstenw

Active member
I think it is relatively rare for a bad shot to get good with PP, and you really need to be an expert to see in the right way to pull this off. Start with getting good shots in the camera, and maybe later on you can make them worse :)
 

Professional

Active member
I think it is relatively rare for a bad shot to get good with PP, and you really need to be an expert to see in the right way to pull this off. Start with getting good shots in the camera, and maybe later on you can make them worse :)
I like this, well said :thumbup:
 

Don Libby

Well-known member
I agree well said. You need a good image to begin with before you begin the processing process. A good image will result in an image that turns out well in pp just as a mediocre image will remain just that no matter how it’s processed; believe me been there done that.


Don
 

Wayne Fox

Workshop Member
for me the keyword in the quote is "my" ("my prints" ...)

Not sure I get your point. Of course they are his prints. In the case of the OP, I believe he is sole judge of what he wants from his prints ... it doesn't sound like he is shooting for hire and has a client need.

The fact that he said "almost" all of his prints indicates he believes that at least some of the time the use of MF will offer something more that he actually would like to have in his prints.

Hence my question to him ... are you will to give that up for those times where almost isn't good enough. In no way does that statement apply to everybody .. each person sets their own standards and expectations.
 

Paratom

Well-known member
Not sure I get your point. Of course they are his prints. In the case of the OP, I believe he is sole judge of what he wants from his prints ... it doesn't sound like he is shooting for hire and has a client need.

The fact that he said "almost" all of his prints indicates he believes that at least some of the time the use of MF will offer something more that he actually would like to have in his prints.

Hence my question to him ... are you will to give that up for those times where almost isn't good enough. In no way does that statement apply to everybody .. each person sets their own standards and expectations.
Wayne, good question and frankly if I think about it ...I have not printed enough big prints from the M9 to judge how much of a compromise it is.

Reading all those great comments here I now feel that I do not want to give up MF. MP and room for big prints being one of the reasons.

I am really motivated now to make my MF gear work.
 

gogopix

Subscriber
This thread points out the difference between picking gear, and getting what you can, and picking the right tool for what you want to shoot.
I do mostly travel shooting;that means I need to select a system and live with it.

At various times I have used:
R9/DMR and 15mm to 280/4 lenses (corsica Mt trek!)
Contax and Kodak Back
M8 Central Europe countries
M8 Austrian Alps
Contax and Alpa w Phase 65+ (35mm to 140mm +1.4x)

In each case I found I was compromising, but also optomizing. If the MF misses some neat city street shots, and if the 35mm is not quite up to landscapes from Mt Blanc, so be it.

That said, I think you are ALWAYS stuck with one camera for opportunistic shots; just luck (e.g. having P65+ and a 140mm for a Mt rescue sequence.) or an M8 for a shot from the drivers seat (don't tell! :)

I enjoy all in different ways. The question here is; do you like photography as a sport (and play several) or are you into ONE and want to play ONE position (say 2nd base for Yankees :ROTFL:) ?
In former, you need variety, if latter (say Portrait), 3 med-long lenses for a Phase with anything and great light setup.)

If I think "I'm a photographer on this trek" then I just naturally gravitate to what I think the equipment wilkl be best at, But NEVER ignore a neat shot (like a great sunrise in Bonifacio with a 10MP DMR!)

Regards
Victor
 

Paratom

Well-known member
Just to let you know...decided to reduce my DSLR-equipment and sold my D3x.
My plan is to use the MF gear when I have the time and the passion and for more static subjects (but also for portraits) and the M9 when I want a smaller kit, low light photography, more dynamic, intuitive images.
That leaves the DSLR for sports/action/sometimes for the kids (they do move quickly)/tele work. Here a good AF, good high ISO are what I want plus I want it in a body which is not too big&scary.
I will replace the d3x with a smaller body soon.
If I want the high resolution I will use MF.

I am loading off some other stuff I still own - if anybody is interested I will be open to give a "discount" for forum members. I put it on ebay since this forum here is mostly american and I believe most would prefer to buy in America.
http://shop.ebay.de/t_streng/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_from=&_ipg=&_trksid=p4340
 
Last edited:
Top