Top 10 Biggest Cliches in Photography

[Stevenmarc]

Number 5 is a particular pet peeve of mine and the sleeping homeless shot is not only cliche but totally exploitive and the epitome of photographic cowardice.

http://www.australianphotography.com/news/top-10-biggest-cliches-in-photography

[rdking647]

1. honestly I dont care what someone calls a cliche

if I like the photo thats all that matters. I dont shoot to please other I shoot to please me.

[Stevenmarc]

5. The point of the article

Is to recognize the cliche and make an attempt to bring it to another level, or how I look at it, good enough isn't good enough, you have to always push your work further otherwise why bother.

[Mira]

2. Thought provoking

I'm guilty of all of those, and more, almost all anyway.
In all cases though, exceptions apply. Expecially if the exception is an exceptionally engaging photograph

[Stevenmarc]

6. We're all guilty

And when I catch myself I usually take a trip to the Met or MOMA and find a painting that hits me and in a non-literal way shoot for the subjects, shapes, colors, textures, basically the DNA of the picture.

[Mira]

7. I know what you mean, I must start saving

to get back there immediately.
It's been a long while.

I'm just kidding with you.
I think I know what you mean, I have, after all seen your work.

[alfredo]

28. I use old movies as inspiration. An example was the movie "A Touch of Evil." His use of

light and composition inspires me to see that way. The look isn't always what I am going after. Sometimes it is the feeling.

Some things I do might be cliche, but they become cliche because respond to them. Not every photo needs to be cutting edge or art. Sometimes I like a pretty picture.

[Blue_In_AK]

3. I'm certainly guilty of sunset shots

but it's about all the color there is around here in the wintertime, so I think it's justified. And I do try to add some points of interest in the foreground. Sunsets in the summer are a moot point.

As for homeless people, I also have an issue with photographing them, out of respect for their privacy. The one exception I've seen is a local photographer here who took a whole series of absolutely beautiful shots of homeless people at our local shelter. His point was to accentuate their dignity, and he did a wonderful job of it.

http://clarkjamesmishler.com/category/photo-stories/ Please do check out Clark Mishler's photos. They're beautiful.

[Stevenmarc]

4. I'm actually familiar with his work

He's one of the few that get it right. I can only see shooting the homeless as part of a long term project that gives back to community in some way.

[Blue_In_AK]

10. His portraits are just flawless,

not just the ones of the homeless people. Have you looked at the "portrait a day" at that link? Incredible. The shots are so simple and yet perfect.

[Speck Tater]

8. When it MY grandkids faces smeared with gunk it's PRICELESS ART!!!

So there.

Any picture that includes my grandchildren is priceless art!

[Blue_In_AK]

9. I hear ya there.

[Mira]

13. I have a bad cold and your reply

caused a coughing and laughing fit.

[Stevenmarc]

11. LOL, unfortunately Anne Geddes reset the bar

When she started shoving kids in pumpkins.

[Mira]

14. I cannot warm to her work. Just can't n/t

[Mz Pip]

20. I've never put my grand daughter in a pumpkin

or any other large vegetable.

I agree with the article, at least on the surface of it. But in order to transcend the mundane and cliche'd it take s a lot of time and effort and practice and just learning to look. It takes work to master the contentm regardless of what your medium is.

"The importance of an artist is to be determined by the number of new signs he introduces into the language of art." - Henri Matisse.

So if you are working with cliches you have to make them new again.

[MichaelSoE]

12. How come the author used a photo of Willy Nelson for his rant against shots of the homeless??

[Blue_In_AK]

23. It sure does look like him, doesn't it?

[rDigital]

26. ROFL nt

[RC]

15. #8 is my biggie. I absolutely loth those kind of cotton candy water shots.

Photos are supposed to be a slice of time. Save the cotton water for your child's school project.


04 The Decay Cliche is as Americana as apple pie. There is some good art photos with rusting Detroit iron in them. The older the better.

05 Homeless Guy I hope the photographer slipped him a 10 or better yet, a 20.

06 Headless Nude Show the photographer how to use the focus and lighting.

07 Toddler With Face Smeared With Dirt or Food My kid, priceless. Yours? clean'em up already, before he touches something.

09 Selective Colour All this proves is that you figured out something in Photoshop. Good for an ad to make the product stand out a bit.

10 Sunset and Sunrise Hey, I have some good ones I am proud of. Taken Hawaii yet.

03 and 01 shows you are not a real photographer.

02 Got a new photo manipulation program do ya?

[Stevenmarc]

17. Selective Color

If I see another it would be one more too many, it was ok on a Hallmark card in the 80's and that's where it should have stayed.

Some of my other favorites:

Over cooked HDR
The pregnant belly/heart hands shot

And in Instagram world:
Latte designs
Food shots that aren't in a food publication.
And this strange new obsession with shooting down at the floor at your feet

[Solly Mack]

16. good read

[Richard D]

18. I think . . .

. . . That there have been so many billions of photos taken that almost any topic you choose can be called a cliche by the cynical.

[Stevenmarc]

19. Photography is

A journey, not a destination, there just happens to be a lot of rest stops.

[rDigital]

21. Over-done HDR is the worst. If done right, no one should suspect that you even used HDR.

At the end of the day though, who's the boss? The viewing public, and if they want granulated oversharpened color vomit, then that is what they get.

I'm going to try and find my happy place now.

[Mz Pip]

22. I've seen some HDR

that is kind of interesting from a sort of Surrealist point of view but mostly it just looks garrish and oversaturated.

But like you said, the viewing public pushes this kind of thing. Just look at the popularity of Thomas Kincaid.

[rDigital]

25. Here's what I think of Thomas Kincaid...

[IMG][/IMG]

[Stevenmarc]

27. LOL

I despise that mall artist.

[Mz Pip]

29. Maybe it will eventually disappear

now that he's dead.

Still I suspect there will be someone similar who will fill the vacuum of saccharin sweet nostalgic bad art.

[Blue_In_AK]

24. I'm sure there are uses for it,

but I don't even own an HDR program. It just doesn't look real to me.

[alfredo]

30. The best HDR is having a camera with good DR.

[rDigital]

31. ^^This. I thank Nikon for the D800. : ) nt

[alfredo]

35. I'm shooting with a m 4/3 and they aren't the best for dynamic range until you get into

the top shelf picks like the OM-D or GH-2 or GH-3.

[Mz Pip]

32. My IPhone takes HDR

Doesn't look much different from the regular photo though maybe I'm supposed to do something to it when I download it.

I've tried to do HDR with my Canon but I have not been pleased with the results. Photoshop has a HDR program but I think I need to practice more to get results that I'm satisfied with.

[alfredo]

34. All you want to do is capture highlight and shadow detail. If the app allows fiddling with settings,

experiment to see what looks good.

[Stevenmarc]

36. HDR in the native camera app

Really only gives a nudge to the dynamic range and offers no way to make adjustments.

I use a couple of apps to do HDR on an iPhone.

First I shoot with the app Bracket Mode which takes the 2 shots for the third party HDR app. Yes you can shoot from within the HDR app but you have to process the image right after you shoot and with Bracket Mode I can just keep shooting and go back later to process.

When I do go back to process I use TrueHDR but Pro HDR is also a good choice.

As far as HDR in Photoshop, the HDR from CS5 on is good, in the older versions it was rubbish and the very best is Nik's HDR plugin

[Stevenmarc]

33. Over Cooked..... Bad

But it's a very valid tool when used correctly and preferably sparingly.

[Alameda]

37. I've done most of them, so what?

I don't take photographs for anyone but myself and friends...and who ever may like to look at them. I look at photography as a way to increase my vision and as a record of what I've seen and been. I have taken photos of homeless as a record. I hardly ever photo people's faces, just a personal thing as it feels intrusive to me. In fact, most my photos are not particularly identifiable.

So what if things are cliches, if artists paid attention to that, little would be done. How many times have the same themes been done?

[Stevenmarc]

39. And if

Artists continually embraced the cliche we would still be painting in caves. Artists pay a great deal of attention to the concept of cliche, well at least the ones I know and work with, that's how things actually progress in the art world, when artists push the boundaries. And yes themes do get repeated but its how those themes are reinterpreted is what pushes beyond the cliche.

[Adsos Letter]

38. I can't seem to avoid the cliches to save my life.

I make no claim to competence, I just like taking photos and experimenting with post-processing.

[ChisolmTrailDem]

40. A few of my cliches with Kodak EasyShare P&S

Decay:





Sunset:



These were taken with a 12mp Kodak EasyShare, which does ok I guess. However, Christmas is coming and I happen to know I'm getting a step up with a Nikon L810 16mp 26x P&S. I'm looking forward to seeing what I can do with it.