Show that you are a good photographer

Sunday 27 March 2022, 16:16 by Nando Harmsen | 4,394 views | 2 comments

This article was translated from Dutch with the help of AI. Read the original.

How many photos do you take when you go out? Ten, twenty, a hundred? It is easy to keep taking photos and come home with hundreds of them.

That is not a problem either, because you have the opportunity to try everything out. Which photos you show to the world determines how good you are as a photographer.

Photography used to be very different. You had a roll of film or slide film with a maximum of 36 photos. You could not see what you had photographed until you had the film developed. That meant you had to think carefully before taking a photo.

These days, we immediately see what is in the frame. The advantage is that you can make an instant correction if the result is not quite what you wanted.

That does not mean you no longer have to think before taking a photo, but you can afford to try things out without wasting valuable film.

First of all, do not show everything

Try to avoid showing everything you photograph. With all those photos, there will always be images that are less worthwhile. So select the best images and forget about the weaker ones.

You probably take many more photos than that one good one. Do not show all those variations, choose the best one.
Also remember that you only need one photo of a particular subject. Unless the other images are completely different or were taken for a specific purpose. In short, only use the best photo from the series.

From the series of similar photos, I chose the photo I like best. Opinions can of course differ. It is a personal choice.

Make sure you do not present bad photos alongside good ones

It is tempting to show lots of photos. But make sure you show consistent quality. That can be difficult, because you are often emotionally attached to the photos. In other words, you have memories and feelings connected to them.

If you show several photos, make sure the quality is consistent. Any emotional value a photo series has only applies to you. The series is therefore only as good as its weakest photo.
The person looking at the photo series does not have those feelings. They do not see the memories and judge the photos solely on quality. It does not matter how fantastic it was, how special or how valuable.

When you present a series, only show the best, and do not let yourself be tempted to include weaker photos in the series. A series is only as strong as its weakest photo. In fact, the best images do not even stand out any more in a series containing weaker images.

Do you have a series of photos but only one of them really stands out? Then show that one. That is when the photo really comes into its own.

Show only the best, that determines how good you are

Everyone judges you by the work you present. If you present photos that are, in a sense, your second choice, that will determine the quality of the work you deliver.

You are only as good as your weakest photos. Choose to show only your best work, and you will be judged by that quality.

By being very selective and choosing only photos of equal quality, you determine how good you are as a photographer. Include just one photo of lesser quality and the level will be judged by that one weaker photo.

Not quantity but quality

Before presenting your photos, think about how you want to be judged as a photographer. It does not matter whether it is for your online portfolio, an exhibition, a photobook or social media.

It is therefore not about the number of photos you show, but about the quality. You are only as good as the weakest photo you show.

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About the author

Nando Harmsen has been photographing for more than 40 years. He specialises in wedding photography and landscape photography. Nando also gives talks, workshops, masterclasses and photo trips, and regularly reviews new and interesting equipment.

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2 comments

Huub Keulers wrote on Tuesday 29 March 2022 at 09:55 | reply
Nice article Nando and a good eye-opener. I think many people recognize this. On social media too, it is wise not to present 120 images in a post. It serves little purpose too. Most people drop out after 5 photos, especially if they are of the same subject.
Translated from Dutch.

Bernard wrote on Tuesday 29 March 2022 at 14:34 | reply
Yes, I agree. Far too often you come across a collection in which the photographer doesn't dare to make a selection. The result is that your interest is almost immediately gone.
The "roll of 36" (nice title for a subject) has more to it than you might think. Because you didn't have almost unlimited storage at your disposal, you had to be trained to choose a good viewpoint, composition and setting. If you didn't, it was a costly affair. It forced you, as it were, to choose first and then press the shutter. Possibly a second or third shot, but that was about it. The strange thing is that this way of working has become so ingrained that I still work this way. Regularly I let myself be tempted to take more than one photo (there's enough storage, so why not?) and then I get home, download the shots to the PC and... then it's usually still the first photo that does the job.
Translated from Dutch.

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