Amateur Vs. Pro: How Differently The Same ‘Ugly’ Location Looks When Pro Photographer Shoots It
Award-winning art photographer Vijce is back with fresh inspiration, though it’s not exactly the colourful work you may be used to from him. This time, the German camera pro used a gloomy train station staircase as his main subject, but the beauty he brought to the’ugly’ location is something we can all learn from.
“To be honest, I’ve captured my favorite street photos in the ugliest of all places,” Vijce wrote in his recent PetaPixel feature. “Sure, it’s a bit more challenging to find the extraordinary in the ordinary… but isn’t that what street photography is all about?” Indeed, he somehow manages to capture the industrial grit of the station in a softer, more ‘human’ light, an effect he insists can be achieved in any place a photographer has available to them.
If you simply observe any length of scenery for a while, no matter how depressing it may seem at first, you’ll notice things that other passing by don’t see. You’ll notice people that you would otherwise ignore. Vijce writes that this is the key to finding unique shots in any situation, as well as experimenting with perspective by laying down, walking around, and looking up.
Check out the surprisingly powerful photos below, as well as a special video at the end.
(h/t: PetaPixel)
To the average photographer, this train station staircase would probably look gloomy or ‘ugly’
Image credits: Vijce
Image credits: Vicje
Award-winning photographer Vijce, however, saw a world of possibilities in the unusual location
Image credits: Vicje
Image credits: Vijce
Image credits: Vijce
All a photographer must do is spend time observing the location, then play with perspective
Image credits: Vijce
Image credits: Vijce
Image credits: Vijce
Image credits: Vijce
What was once a depressing industrial atmosphere now appears more ‘human’ and ‘alive’
Image credits: Vijce
Image credits: Vijce
Learn more about the compelling process below:
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Share on FacebookI think this is the most accurate photography article I've seen on panda so far. "All a photographer must do is spend time observing the location, then play with perspective"
Actually, you can probably sum it up as: if you are a good photographer, you put attention to detail. Which is not entirely surprising...
Load More Replies...There seems to be a lot of "you suck at taking photos, average person" posts on BP lately.
Mmmm the wording of the title is tricky isn't it? I don't like the 'ordinary person' vs XYZ profession article titles. Maybe a more accurate one on this would be 'those that have an eye for a good photo and those who don't', after all plenty of people who aren't professional photographers can take excellent photos because they have an eye for a good image / composition. But I suppose it needs to be a snappy article title so 'Mere mortal vs photography God' it is XD
Load More Replies...I found his 'professional' photos to be extremely underwhelming. There is nothing striking in the content or the composition of the images to me.
Im sorry but this amateur vs professional thing is rediculous. The "amateur" photo has no sense of trying to take a good or meaningful picture. They are just taking a picture as it is. The "professional" uses light, perspective, people, and effects. I honestly feel like some amateurs would feel offended seeing as some amateurs are into photography and would at least aspire to take "pro" like pictures (include people, meaning, photo editing, lighting, etc.) maybe the name should be changed to "how photographers can change views of the world".
To me it sounds a little bit unfair like: you, ordinary average little man, why do you still take photos? Instead let me tell the professional play! Wenn i take a picture most of the time I do because I want to keep a memory of the moment, I don't want to feel ashamed because I forgot to apply the rule of the thirds..
I was always told rather than try and get the whole subject in the frame and take the same picture that everyone else would take to focus on a smaller area and make the picture more interesting. SAM_0312-5...1215ea.jpg
This is my watercolour take on boring old subway stairs in Tokyo... iKi-59564c...8788f4.jpg
Wonder how many people culd tell the difference if the amateur guy would also use filters.
Most of them are not filters, but different light, perspective, even black and white for impact, and adjustments made in Lighroom. A good photographer can make these happen without lightroom, but many use it for impact.
Load More Replies...I think you mean, a s**t photo versus someone who knows how to use a camera... its not exactly pro
this is b******t. only difference between so called amateur and pro photos shown here is filtering/photoshop. you can get same cool/moody feel from all amateur photos with a bit of 'shopping or filter lens which is the trick of pro photos above.
well, the first pics are not processed in photoshop) Second, don't forget of the camera. Normally, the "pros" have very good lense etc. This is half of the difference, at least
The difference between boring and boring-with-fancy-postprocessing being? You got it, amateur's look at least infinitely less pretentious.
As someone who was professional (Navy photographer) & trained, BEFORE digital cameras, I say this right now. A good photographer can make any location look interesting. There are a lot of photographers being paid (you know that's the definition of 'professional' right?) that do NOT have a very good eye or sense of creativity. They have learned how to use the equipment, what constitutes good composition, enough to manage to make a living (even if it's mall photo studio work). But they are not artists. ARTISTS who use cameras in fact can take interesting photos anywhere - THAT should be the point of these articles.
I can see you have no idea what is the difference between amateur and pro photographer :)
Spending some time understanding what you are looking at, and picking the interesting views, then study the light and shadows, to understand the correct angle an time, setting the camera to capture it, in a mode that gives the sharpness or softness desired, with the right amount of light, from the right angle, using a composition that is visually pleasing. This is what differes a pro, from a point and shoot amateur.
It's perspective, look at it a different way. Try looking at things differently, and a whole new world pops up =D
The pictures came out nice but they still look gloomy, the second professional look likes the man is going to the pearly gates
I think this is the most accurate photography article I've seen on panda so far. "All a photographer must do is spend time observing the location, then play with perspective"
Actually, you can probably sum it up as: if you are a good photographer, you put attention to detail. Which is not entirely surprising...
Load More Replies...There seems to be a lot of "you suck at taking photos, average person" posts on BP lately.
Mmmm the wording of the title is tricky isn't it? I don't like the 'ordinary person' vs XYZ profession article titles. Maybe a more accurate one on this would be 'those that have an eye for a good photo and those who don't', after all plenty of people who aren't professional photographers can take excellent photos because they have an eye for a good image / composition. But I suppose it needs to be a snappy article title so 'Mere mortal vs photography God' it is XD
Load More Replies...I found his 'professional' photos to be extremely underwhelming. There is nothing striking in the content or the composition of the images to me.
Im sorry but this amateur vs professional thing is rediculous. The "amateur" photo has no sense of trying to take a good or meaningful picture. They are just taking a picture as it is. The "professional" uses light, perspective, people, and effects. I honestly feel like some amateurs would feel offended seeing as some amateurs are into photography and would at least aspire to take "pro" like pictures (include people, meaning, photo editing, lighting, etc.) maybe the name should be changed to "how photographers can change views of the world".
To me it sounds a little bit unfair like: you, ordinary average little man, why do you still take photos? Instead let me tell the professional play! Wenn i take a picture most of the time I do because I want to keep a memory of the moment, I don't want to feel ashamed because I forgot to apply the rule of the thirds..
I was always told rather than try and get the whole subject in the frame and take the same picture that everyone else would take to focus on a smaller area and make the picture more interesting. SAM_0312-5...1215ea.jpg
This is my watercolour take on boring old subway stairs in Tokyo... iKi-59564c...8788f4.jpg
Wonder how many people culd tell the difference if the amateur guy would also use filters.
Most of them are not filters, but different light, perspective, even black and white for impact, and adjustments made in Lighroom. A good photographer can make these happen without lightroom, but many use it for impact.
Load More Replies...I think you mean, a s**t photo versus someone who knows how to use a camera... its not exactly pro
this is b******t. only difference between so called amateur and pro photos shown here is filtering/photoshop. you can get same cool/moody feel from all amateur photos with a bit of 'shopping or filter lens which is the trick of pro photos above.
well, the first pics are not processed in photoshop) Second, don't forget of the camera. Normally, the "pros" have very good lense etc. This is half of the difference, at least
The difference between boring and boring-with-fancy-postprocessing being? You got it, amateur's look at least infinitely less pretentious.
As someone who was professional (Navy photographer) & trained, BEFORE digital cameras, I say this right now. A good photographer can make any location look interesting. There are a lot of photographers being paid (you know that's the definition of 'professional' right?) that do NOT have a very good eye or sense of creativity. They have learned how to use the equipment, what constitutes good composition, enough to manage to make a living (even if it's mall photo studio work). But they are not artists. ARTISTS who use cameras in fact can take interesting photos anywhere - THAT should be the point of these articles.
I can see you have no idea what is the difference between amateur and pro photographer :)
Spending some time understanding what you are looking at, and picking the interesting views, then study the light and shadows, to understand the correct angle an time, setting the camera to capture it, in a mode that gives the sharpness or softness desired, with the right amount of light, from the right angle, using a composition that is visually pleasing. This is what differes a pro, from a point and shoot amateur.
It's perspective, look at it a different way. Try looking at things differently, and a whole new world pops up =D
The pictures came out nice but they still look gloomy, the second professional look likes the man is going to the pearly gates
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