Photographic Malpractice

[Gary Creely]

Looks like the USA olympic team was fielding the photography "b" team for portrait day.

http://solsticevisuals.com/post/2622...-united-states

[Diane Likens]

Incredibly. Bad. Shots.

[Bill Morrison]

My observations:
PHOTO #1: If they had cropped that photo one inch lower....
PHOTO #2: Didn't your mommy tell you NOT to do things like this girl is doing? You could get stuck in that position.
PHOTO #3: Better six-pack than I have, but the guy is obviously not as mentally stable as I am
PHOTO #4: Don't want to be sac, but looks like a crucifixion involving Old Glory

I'm sure not a certified art critic, but I have judged a science fair before.

BILL

[Gary Creely]

The two big issues I see are mainly lighting, and and the facial expressions.

[Dana Grant]

I've been listening to Jonathan for so long that I pretty much know what he would say!!! ha ha ha

[Jonathan Long]

Everyone needs to keep in mind that this is one photographers work, they were not shooting the "official" portraits for the US Olympic team (thank goodness).

I don't know the context that these were taken (other than media day), and the photographer was recognized enough to be allowed time with the athletes... that being said... I was very unimpressed by what I saw. Technically there are major issues with the pictures, and I won't even bother with the posing.

I've had 1st year, 1st quarter photo students show me better work.

Jon

[Dan Henderson]

Photography is an art. One of the first thing one learns about art is that "breaking the rules" is perfectly acceptable in the context of artistic license.

[Gary Creely]

One of the first thing one learns about art is that "breaking the rules" is perfectly acceptable in the context of artistic license.

No, that is not the first thing "one learns" about art. The first thing one learns in formal art training is the rules, then goes from there to breaking them.

I don't think the problem here is "rule breaking", but rather just terrible portrats.

Obviously art is subjective, and photography is a form of art. In this instance I do not believe this is a matter of trying to be overly artistic, but just totally missing shots. This was a formal portrait session for some pretty high profile subjects. This was not the place to get overly artistic.

The reality here is that most experience photographers would look at this and see mistakes, the problems do not appear to be an intentional attempt at breaking the rules.

[Dan Henderson]

No, that is not the first thing "one learns" about art. The first thing one learns in formal art training is the rules, then goes from there to breaking them.

I don't think the problem here is "rule breaking", but rather just terrible portrats.

Obviously art is subjective, and photography is a form of art. In this instance I do not believe this is a matter of trying to be overly artistic, but just totally missing shots. This was a formal portrait session for some pretty high profile subjects. This was not the place to get overly artistic.

The reality here is that most experience photographers would look at this and see mistakes, the problems do not appear to be an intentional attempt at breaking the rules.

Your statement is more correct then mine. I mainly view the contexts of "terrible" and "awful" as artistic opinion and not really fact. I don't like the portraits either buth then again I don't like Picasso or Rembrandt. My opinion, even if an expert opinion, does not make either artist bad, it merely means I don't like it.

[Gary Creely]

Your statement is more correct then mine. I mainly view the contexts of "terrible" and "awful" as artistic opinion and not really fact. I don't like the portraits either buth then again I don't like Picasso or Rembrandt. My opinion, even if an expert opinion, does not make either artist bad, it merely means I don't like it.

Here is an artist I am not a fan of:

[Dana Grant]

Here is an artist I am not a fan of:

Hey that looks like the granite countertop we almost purchased.........I ended up not liking it, as well....... LOL

[Jim Chabot]

Here is an artist I am not a fan of:

What! Your not a Jackson Pollock fan?

Autumn Rhythm was masterful in that it exemplified the extraordinary balance between accident and control that Pollock maintained over his technique. All we need now is scientific analysis to decode the algorithms exhibited in this piece in order to be sure of what song he was dancing to while holding an open bucket of paint.

Alright, it's just an educated guess deduced from "view image info."

[Jim Chabot]

Photography is an art. One of the first thing one learns about art is that "breaking the rules" is perfectly acceptable in the context of artistic license.

Tell that to Gordon Ramsay!

[Susan Unger]

Tell that to Gordon Ramsay!

Ugh!