Quite pissed at a 'pro'

[MAXXxxx]

Hi,

I have to write this down before I explode...

I got an invitation for the CMON2013 book, but the deadline is 10 days earlier, than I go home, and the minis are there. About 1000km from me.
So I called my parents if they could bring the minis to a professional photo studio to have better images if my entries.
I felt it's needed, because it's a running gag with friends that I make really bad photos. (according to them quite a few submissions by me could rate a point or more higher if I could photo them correctly.)

I got the images from the photographer in email, here are a few examples (they are resized, so I don't waste too much ressources and because there is a limit on another forum, where I use these pictures):

Blurriness to the maximum
View attachment 26604

Photographing against light, whites all burned in, blurry
View attachment 26605

Blurry, whites burned in, the stones on the base are not even visible
View attachment 26606

soo, having problems with the studio's lighting? take it to a bench outside? (I can't think of a better explanation) At least now the diorama is visible, but shown from a really bad angle.
View attachment 26607

usual problems (extra: the pillar's side is black from top to bottom, here it looks white), 'artistic' black and white... that wasn't the task.
View attachment 26608



Why I'm pissed?
first they give a new meaning to bad. I'd never send these to a client.
Second the shooting costed about 80$, which may seem low, but we're talking about a country, where the average wage is about 400-500$.

 

[ten ball]

Yes these photos are awful, not done by a pro at all.
I can see why your p*ssed

 

[Zab]

Oh god. That is awful. They may be great at other photos, but the skills just don't transfer to miniature photography. That said just because they have a business doesn't make them a trained pro. On the other hand I do know quite few pro photographers who got smacked pretty hard when they went to take pics of their minis for the first time - which made me laugh a little bit. You would think the technical stuff is universal, but exposure, focal length and lighting are pretty different at a smaller scale and the angle and composition of the shots even more so! Sorry this happened to you man.

 

[Dragonsreach]

Bloody hell, those are awful!
There's been no attempt balance any of the light or exposure to get an even coverage and the backdrop suggests to me that the Pro has looked at the minis and thought "Kiddie Krap" so anything will do.

I wish there was something I could do to help.

 

[Crackpot]

Oh my...
I think my first own attempts at shooting photos wasn't THIS bad!!!

 

[MAXXxxx]

They may be great at other photos, but the skills just don't transfer to miniature photography.

Could be true, but starting from myself. If I take a pic and see that it's not good, then I try to do it again and again until it's at least somewhat usable. Sending it to the client like that just shows that you didn't care at all and you do a bad-quality work.

And even if it's unfamiliar ground, some of those errors should be known by a photographer as they can come from normal photography too (like too much light, wrong depth). Hell even I know most of them and have a cca. idea on how to fix them. Someone who lives from it should know the solutions.

I wish there was something I could do to help.

No worries there, as a backup I used the original pictures I took (normally I save the HD versions, and from those I make a lower res one, that I upload to the web to my own gallery, cmon, forums, etc).

 

[dodgey]

That's such a disappointment, man...I'm so glad you had backups to send in instead.

 

[BloodFather of Kharnath]

You got your money back for this, right? Any photographer I know, if they care about their business would refund the money. Most operate from word of mouth, and if there is a Better Business Bureau equivalent in this country, then you should contact them.

There red is no excuse for this. All photographers should be trained at the macro level. The first picture with the mini blurred in the foreground, that was done intentionally I'm sure. Did you parents explain what the photos were for? Give me this guys email and I will send him a message explaining that I was going to use him but that your experiences with him persuaded me not to.

 

[SkelettetS]

woah! its even worse than my photographing! seriously!!

 

[Avelorn]

haha I can see what he/she was trying to do but it doesn't work at all with minis. Not a very seasoned photographer I must say.

Sorry I just had to laugh. I understand your frustration though.

 

[HDartist]

Sorry to necro an old thread, but just came across this one and as a professional photographer, I just wanted to throw in a few thoughts...

The problem I see here is one of expectations.

You guys see terrible photos because in terms of miniature photography, they are. In terms of what the photographer was probably trying to do, they are not terrible. Not great, but not terrible.

Unfortunately, it appears that this photographer simply did not understand what is important in miniature photography or what was required of this job. He/she set up the photos as might be done for a more artistic interpretation, with shallow depth of field and more dramatic lighting. Some of the lighting even suggests that the photographer was applying lighting techniques currently in style for portrait photographer to the minis -- such as the intense rim lighting (mentioned here as the "burned in whites"). The intense edge lighting is perfectly acceptable in portrait photography. Totally inappropriate for most miniature work.

Without knowing the full depth of the details, my guess is that the photographer wasn't really told or given samples of what to shoot for, and then didn't think to ASK what was needed / required. I'm guessing a little bit of failed communication between all parties.

Ideally, anyone who needs to work with someone else for photographing their minis can find someone with definite sample to prove they "get" it. But barring that, these photos show why it's vitally important to not only provide some samples, but also explain why an "artistic" approach isn't necessarily the best for showing off the work. In other words, it needs to be communicated that emphasis needs to be on the minis, not the photos.

 

[MAXXxxx]

You guys see terrible photos because in terms of miniature photography, they are. In terms of what the photographer was probably trying to do, they are not terrible. Not great, but not terrible.

I don't agree , I make better photos (see my gallery) and I'm 'famous' for making shitty ones.

my guess is that the photographer wasn't really told or given samples of what to shoot for, and then didn't think to ASK what was needed / required.

actually he even got prints of my photos that showed what I want (angle, distance for example) but in better quality (more crisp, better colors, etc).

 

[HDartist]

I would say your photos are better for their intended purpose -- showing off the quality of the miniatures.

Dramatic lighting, shallow depth of field, these things have a place in photography. I don't think that all of the photos you posted from this photographer are bad in a general sense. That last one is actually quite cool with the dramatic lighting, and for *THAT* style, it's technically well executed.

But I would agree that they are bad with respect to the goal of showing off YOUR work, rather than the work the photographer did to set up dramatic lighting.

If he got samples of what you were going for, then he either still misunderstood what was expected from him, or simply doesn't know how to create even, flat light for showing off the PAINTING... so he went with what he knows how to do.

 

[MrJim]

Sorry to see how your pics turned out. Looks like the photographer should have turned down the job. Product photography (which is what photographing minis really is) is a specialty and something that most professional portrait and wedding photographers are not qualified to do. Jewelry photography is an even more specialized niche.

 

[HDartist]

Photography is something that most professional portrait and wedding photographers are not qualified to do...

Well, that's an incredibly offensive blanket statement to make.

The fact is, most PROFESSIONAL wedding and portrait photographers tend to be pretty well qualified. The demands of wedding photography alone, for example, require quite a lot of photographic knowledge as well as a wide range of photographic disciplines. To be successful requires skill and talent.

The problem is that quite a lot of people calling themselves wedding or portrait photographers aren't professional (or professionals). Their entry fee is the mid- to low-end DSLR they received for Christmas, and they treat it like a point and shoot, wondering why when they put it in automatic "push a button" mode it won't magically give them great composition or won't produce perfect lighting in a dim church. But they, they have a Facebook page, so they must be a pro, right?

They're the ones giving the industry a bad name. And they are the ones for whom photography is something they are not qualified to do.

But back to the topic, miniature photography is a pretty specialized niche to do well. I wouldn't expect any professional photographer, no matter how long they've been around or how great their shots are, to be able to intuitively crack what makes for a good photo of a mini.

 

[ChunniePark]

i don't like these photo very much. Can you show me these other beautiful photos?

 

[Big_Bunny]

Oh god. That is awful. They may be great at other photos

Hit the nail on the head.

It's a bit much to be annoyed at the photographer ... unless of course you explained that you wanted super-macro, highly-lit, ambient light photographs to display the actual piece, not his photography skills.

The poor bastard probably thought you wanted "artistic photographs of your toys" and did his best to comply.