What do you do with your images?

RacingSnake

RacingSnake

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Name
Gavin
Edit My Images
Yes
I class myself as 'an enthusiastic amateur', mainly concentrating on wildlife.

Some of you will know I've been chasing the local barn owl for months now, always striving to get the good picture.... but why?
I was out last night at my owl site and met one regular dog walker who I stopped to chat to again, and he asked me "What do you do with your pictures?".
On the face of it, "nothing" was my response, I followed this by saying, I have a website, but it's just a hobby and it's a good excuse to get out and get some fresh air. I could never make a living from wildlife photography... I'm not good enough, and I'm not sure the market is present.

I continued walking and bumped into another dog walker, she saw me taking photo's of a GSW which I spotted on a branch, "what have you seen?", it's a woodpecker up there on the branch... "So, what do you do with your pictures then?" (Ironically, whilst talking to her the bloody Owl flew across the back of the field we were in, so I missed it! lol).

Gave pretty much the same response as to the other dog walker, but it did make me think... why do I do it?! and What can I do with my images?!
Some of them I'm really proud of, I've got some great rare photo's, but don't know what (if anything) I can do with them!

So, that was a long winded way of saying, (for all you non-pro's) what do you do with your images?
 
I suspect non photographers invariably have to ask that question. They are impressed by the efforts you are putting in. Your expertise and your equipment. Therefore you 'must' be doing something special with the pictures.

I stick my pictures on Flikr for friends, family and forums. So I want them to be good. And try to present them well. It gives me a reason to put the effort in to have something to be proud of.
 
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I have another two hobbies besides photography, fishing is one, mainly barbel and pike. The amount of people that ask 'do you eat them?' o_O is unbelievable, the look on their faces when I say I lovingly lay them on a padded unhooking mat, photograph them,then release them, is one of confusion and even can generate the question 'why?' :LOL:

So, getting back to the question, I don't do anything with mine apart from put a few on here and flickr. Its like the fishing, its just something I enjoy doing as a pastime :)
 
My people pictures:
Friends and family get prints, they get shared on FB etc.

Other things I shoot 'for fun', sometimes I never even see them on the computer. o_O
 
what I do is put some on flickr, and all others go on a TAB which acts as a photo album,

it is a hobby I enjoy, with many other hobbies I do, it's surprising to me that I have had people ask me to do stuff for them, just because you have a digital slr people seem to look at all the bells and whistles on camera and they think you are an expert, still that's another story,
 
Thanks for the replies guys - I guess, it seems that I'm much like everyone else!
Do it for fun with the occasional forum/fb/flickr/website posting :) (y)
 
Good ones get printed, better ones get printed to A4 and the best get printed to A3+.
 
I pick a select few, rename the file to something that pops to me and delete the rest. Then keep them in a folder on my laptop.
 
Actually, Phils post below mine reminded me that I've had a couple printed because mi daughter wanted them hung on her wall :banana: :D and I had a dozen of these https://flic.kr/p/oU6T97 & https://flic.kr/p/oU8JBr printed and framed for mi mates lad to give to his sponsors :cool: :D
 
a selection get put up for sale online, some get printed off mounted and put up for sale at boot fairs, craft fairs and the like.
think im on about 12 different sites that i sell, and have around 100 sales to date ranging from an 18 pence postcard to a £400+ canvas.
Also private sales via twitter, fb and other social media ( one for a 40x 30 canvas this past week of a specificly required london shot.
Biggest seller is oddly Battersea Power station of which ive had around 40-50 sales.
some have gone to USA , a couple as far as Australia.
I think it depends on the subject as well as i have what i call "family" shots that are on my comp and get the odd few printed off, personal shots for other people 9 portraits,parties and the like ) the cityscapes and landscapes for selling and wildlife for my own pleasure.
 
I run two different strands to my photography. There's the snapshot side; holiday photos and photos of the local park/events for a web site that I maintain, and the serious side. The snapshots sit on a hard disk or a web site (and a few get printed for promotional purposes); the serious ones are printed at A3, A3+ or A2. These then go into a portfolio or onto the wall.
 
A fair bit of my photography gets done when I'm out walking, mainly on Dartmoor. Few of the images are 'great' as I only take the 18-135 kit lems, no filters and no tripod and have to take the weather/lighting as it comes. Apart from the record of places and things I saw that day, it's interesting to have the collection to show how the place changes through the seasons and over time. I have photos of a bridge under a reservoir that I've only seen once in my life, and things which have since vanished, or been replaced. Apart from that, pretty much the same as most. Some make it to flickr/FB, some go into my annual calendar, some get printed and hung on the wall. The rest stay on the hard drives but I do look at them. Some remind me of how my photography has improved (or not...............?), some remind me of places and times and the rest........ I just like looking at them. At the end of the day, my photography is for me and no-one else.
 
Family snaps go on Facebook and the best go into a yearbook we make on Blurb every errrr year. Plus some odd prints for those family members without computers.

My more serious photography goes on my websites, and the best is printed out 15x10 to take for discussion / presentation at a monochrome group I'm a member of. The best of the best is printed out for my exhibition portfolio.

I'm also putting together a self published book so that will include a good few as well.
 
I put all mine on my hard drive, and print some. I have just been looking on my hard drive now, and looking at some of my old photos. Older ones I took a good few years back, give me a nice memory of the day.
 
At the moment I use them just to look at and say "I did that". Whether they're good or not is a different story. I enjoy it because around 4ish years ago when I didn't do photography I just walked down a street and didn't really look at anything. Now as I walk around, even without the camera, I still look around and see things that others don't because they don't make the effort to. I think it opens the imagination and allows you to see the world for the true beauty it is rather than looking at things which seem almost 'normal'.
 
With a selection of rare photographs - why not publish your own book. (y) Nature spotters book or something. Also, get them up in some galleries if they're that good.
 
I started photography as a hobby not to be in possession of images, but to create them. I enjoy the act of spotting something, framing it and - briefly - reviewing the result to see if I captured what I was intending.
I do copy the images onto a harddrive (backed up on a NAS) at home, with photos grouped into folders of location & date and sometimes even go through and delete the really bad ones I didn't delete in camera, but that's about it.
ONE DAY, I intend to go through them a bit more critically and catalogue what survives the cull, but that's a job for when I've got a lot more time. Should be good for a nostalgia overload!

Since having kids, I now also take family photos - these do get used - shared on FB or printed out and given to relatives. By accident I have become the "family photographer" and am expected to document family get togethers!
 
The larger collections - holidays, local events, etc. - I use JAlbum to make into albums which are uploaded to my web site. Smaller groups of shots are likely just to stay on the PC (and backups).
 
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I take pictures for myself, friends and family.

We tend to show each other anything we think the others will be interested in and regularly send each other pictures. Occasionally someone will want a full sized image and very occasionally a print. Prints are rare these days though and most pictures I provide are 2000 pixels wide which seems to be more than enough for how people seem to look at pictures these days... on a tablet.
 
I mainly produce vector images but lately have been mixing photo/vectors. Have been uploading to various stock sites for 6 years now and only having a Canon G10 I have to be careful getting the image right to be accepted.
 
Mine are split 4 ways. Those that are for work, for Web clients, stock sites, family/holiday etc and landscape which go to print if they make the grade.
 
I've asked myself this on several long drives across the UK to photograph wildlife, 'why do I spend some much time and money (equipment, travel, accomdation etc) to photograph the various UK species?'. The answer is not only the photography but seeing the wildlife too. It's nice to spend time watching animals and learn about them, but also time in the countryside quietly watching the world go by and unwinding. There is also the thrill of the chase, trying to improve the images each time. The photography side works for my liking of technical things too. The resulting images are good memories, I have images on my walls that remind me of good days spent out with the camera. Photography is also so social thing too, I regularly go out with a few other photographers.

With the images I put them up on flickr and facebook, I also have my own website too but don't sell images. I also have some prints around the house too. Some of my friends and family ask me by the images I take and also become interested in the animals, which can only be a good thing.

I too have met people who asked similar questions or what we were looking at. As there is usually three of us with cameras we can sometimes draw quite a crowd!
 
I stick a few of what I think are the better ones on an online site: 500px.com and thats just about it!

For me the process and the artistic aspects of creating a photo is the enjoyment. Corny as it may sound, photography is my art, cant paint or draw, and my sculpture and ceramic days are past.
 
Unless you are a professional taking photos usually by commission we each take pictures for a variety of reasons but mostly to capture, share, and enjoy the moment. Consequently we keep what we like and delete the rest, especially if we shoot large RAW files!

In doing this, most if not all of us here take our photography seriously and so strive to constantly improve (and to somehow justify the often large sums of money we have spent on being gear sluts!).

Personally, I restrict myself to photographing wildlife and exclusively shoot RAW and spend time post-processing my keepers in Capture One Pro 8. The results are either posted/hosted on Flickr, Photobucket, or published online on Facebook where I admin a group 'UK Dragonflies & Damselflies' of fast-approaching 2,500 members and also my own 'Robin's Wildlife Photography' Facebook page. I don't print my images - If someone wants an image I email it and they can have the hassle of printing and framing etc.

Specialising in wildlife gets me out there in places which I find spiritually uplifting. I prefer walkabout to sitting for hours in a hide. As a very keen driver I love the road trips to sites too.
 
Creo said:
For me the process and the artistic aspects of creating a photo is the enjoyment ...
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As above, plus a wish to share them, so: online; prints for home and exhibition; book.
 
i normally look at them .... then umm and arrrr then leave them have couple of beers then completly over edit them ruin them end up starting again then spend hours going erm oooo aaaaa no! delete most find a beauty then over edit that more ummming and aarrriinng eventually decide yes thats a keeper then black and white it no longer like it delete it then start form the beggining again its a hard life..........
 
Mine lay around in computers or in boxes (negatives). A very few go on Instagram or Tumblr. If I had better ones, I would print more - they take on a different life when printed. But I don't photograph that much and have a lot of failures.

I do it because I can't not do it.
 
Print the okay ones, and print big! It's amazing how an okay shot on screen just comes to life when printed.
 
For my Own Stuff... mostly, I look at them on the screen, shake my head at how far the captured image is from what I was in my mind when I pre-visualised it, then usually wipe the card and put the camera away for another month or two until the waves of depression subside enough to try again...
 
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I don't really do anything with my pics. Some are good, some are bad, others down right ugly. I have been a photojournalist most of my life. One would think after such a time taking
pictures it would have worn a little thin but I still feel compelled to record the best I can the things I see. Some go on Flickr, most stay on the hard drives and I have gathered thousands
and thousands of images over the years. I think the point is to get a little artistic fulfilment to satisfy that nagging in the brain that will not let you walk past an interesting scene, some wildlife
or even an interesting person without at least trying to copy or put your own interpretation on the things you see. What happens to them afterwards does not really matter. It's all in the
moment.
 
...Similar to what Treff said. I have taken so many photos that excited me at that moment, and sometimes they still look good later - then they get uploaded onto the computer and often forgotten about. Some go onto Flickr or FB but when I have just taken a lot of photos, my input overwhelms my will to do anything other than back them up to sort later - then I forget about that too.
 
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I'm lucky to live in a tourist area with quite a few galleries/craft centres so some of mine get printed and go on sale/display in a few places around North Wales.. I'm even luckier to have just finished my first book too so some have made it into there too... this accounts for a relatively small % of the ones I take though so most get a brief outing on Facebook, possibly on here, and then live happily ever after on the computer hard-drive. Most of the fun is in the taking for me, being out in the amazing outdoors we have here in the UK so whether I use them for anything or not I can't ever see me stopping taking photos

Simon
 
I take photos to raise money for charity...I also like the fact that I am continually learning how to get the best out of my camera from other photographers. Many of my photos sit in files on my NAS drive, some have been printed into photobooks for the shelf. I have printed some for the wall. But again, why did I get up at 03:30 and travel over to Yorkshire to take photos? (one off thing I might add) Why am I paying to use a kingfisher hide for photography? I really want to see how these wildlife situations can be captured in pictures created by me. A hobby that is varied and interesting and challenging and never easy. :)
 
I'm currently undertaking a cave photography project; toughest thing I've ever done.
I've asked myself 'why' quite a few times.
Simple answer is that I'm really enjoying taking the images and seeing the reactions of cavers.
I'll be entering a few of them in a cave photography salon next month; just a spin-off from the project, not a goal. I'm not expecting to get placed but it will be great to meet like minded people.
The more complicated answer is that it seems like my project is achieving something, but I haven't worked out what yet. I'm hoping at some I'll realise what the purpose is. Meanwhile, I'll crack on and keep taking more images :)
For amusement, here's a link to my project gallery.
 
I take them to the zoo and buy them ice creams and other treats.

Since their mother left, I only get to see them every other weekend.
 
Most of you print them, as I would like to do.

I've tried printing a couple with A4 Gloss 180GSM photo paper.

However, my Canon MP495 printer makes a crappy job of it, nothing I'd like to put on the wall!

Been trying to look for decent rated printers for photo printing online but can't get much information.

Which printers do you all use? And, would you recommend it?
 
wezza13 said:
Which printers do you all use? And, would you recommend it?
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Just for example, let's say that you buy a decent printer for £500. Then pretty soon it's going to want some more ink - and you need paper. And how long is that printer going to last - 5 years (not untypical)? So that's something else to clog up the nearest landfill site along with all the other defunct printers, scanners and w-h-y.

It'd seem sensible to send files to a lab for printing - a fair range of media types is on offer, and you have no capital cost - it's all pay as you go. Prepare your images for print after setting up your display properly, and send to lab with the instruction to print without intervention - what you get back should be what you saw on your monitor, thus you are in control of your images, and you have more space on your desk.
 
When I upload pictures to a printing service, they add up the price to pay on the web page. But at the same time, they cheekily show the equivalent price in home printing materials. Ink and paper. Which is always a lot more.
 
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