Posted by Barbara Graham on January 23, 2011 at 11:09 AM
If you have two images of equal quality and one is a classic pose of a type of bird and one is a behavioral image, is one considered preferable to the other? And please forgive me if the words I'm using aren't correct. I realize that behavior is also classic, but hopefully you will know what I mean, and if not maybe you can straighten me out, which I always appreciate.
Posted by Max Waugh on January 23, 2011 at 12:15 PM
Portraits or behavior... I can go either way. As I mentioned with one of the shots I posted a little while ago, when it comes to subject matter I've photographed a lot, I feel more rewarded coming away with behavioral captures than portraits these days. Not surprising, since in many cases interesting behavior is rarer to see and thus harder to photograph (IMO).
I think it ultimately comes down to a) your preference and b) what you think your target audience likes.
Max
Posted by Dennis Plank on January 23, 2011 at 12:44 PM
I wouldn't consider it an either-or situation, Barbara. My viewpoint on a lot of things in photography is that it all depends on the intended purpose of the photograph and who's looking at it.
Posted by David Graham on January 23, 2011 at 1:01 PM
This question puts me in mind of the family album. Those "record" birthday portraits are nice, but the imges of the kids doing things....common things....in their own ways...interacting with siblings, parents, grandparents, friends, nature, their changing domestic environment...these are the most treasured and emotionally gripping of images.
And, in my opinion, so it is with images of birds and other wildlife.
Barbara, I'm with David - I've just been editing family pix from Christmas, and the "formal" portraits are nice, but the best ones are of the grandkids, playing unposed and uninhibited, in their "habitat".
So, BOTH have value - just as in bird photography. "Clean" shots of a bird with clear BG have their place, just as a bird in it's usual habitat do.
When you go thru images, get rid of only the really terrible, truly unsalvageable ones. As your PS skills develop, and as new software becomes available, you'll be going back into older files to retrieve images that you now can process well.
Sandy
Posted by John Cubit on February 2, 2011 at 12:27 PM
I'm bored with mundane "bird-on-a-stick" photos. However, there are "still lifes" of birds with artful compositions. Overall, behavioral photos tell me much more about the bird. The dynamics of behavior give many more possibilites on the art side. And the behavioral photos are a greater test of the photographer's skill--more to aspire to, more challenges, more dimensions to explore. Both kinds of photos have their place, but in my appreciation of photography, there are more places for the action images.
By the way, regarding the tangent of family photography in this thread, I find photograhically tracking the antics of my two-year old niece at Christmas was great practice for behavioral photography of wildlife in the field as well as doing a better job of capturing her developing personality.
Discussion
5 repliesI think it ultimately comes down to a) your preference and b) what you think your target audience likes.
Max
And, in my opinion, so it is with images of birds and other wildlife.
Dave Graham
Estelline, SD
So, BOTH have value - just as in bird photography. "Clean" shots of a bird with clear BG have their place, just as a bird in it's usual habitat do.
When you go thru images, get rid of only the really terrible, truly unsalvageable ones. As your PS skills develop, and as new software becomes available, you'll be going back into older files to retrieve images that you now can process well.
Sandy
By the way, regarding the tangent of family photography in this thread, I find photograhically tracking the antics of my two-year old niece at Christmas was great practice for behavioral photography of wildlife in the field as well as doing a better job of capturing her developing personality.