The Gallery Of Fine PORTRAIT Photography [No frames/signatures]

ABOUT THE GALLERY

Welcome to the finest group of portraits on Flickr! The Gallery Of Fine Portrait Photography is a collection of handpicked portraits of the highest quality--formal and informal, street shots, studio, color, B&W, sepia. The purpose is to give you an opportunity to display your best work along side the best work of the best photographers on Flickr. Comments are not required, but encouraged.

PLEASE, O Please, o please, take a minute to read the six brief "Upload Guidelines" below--it sure would save both of us some time and effort!

For additional thoughts on the philosophy of this group and my feelings about Flickr groups see "Purpose" and "Final Thought" below.

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Companion Gallery: Please visit also The Gallery Of Fine Photography

Wondering why your pics have been rejected? See "WHY ARE MY PICS BEING REJECTED?" below:
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COMMENT CODE: Please use the comment code located between the lines.
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This <b>exceptional photo</b> was viewed in
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/groups/736548@N24/"><b>The Gallery of Fine Portrait Photography <b></a>

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It will look like this:

This exceptional photo was viewed in
The Gallery of Fine Portrait Photography

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UPLOAD GUIDELINES:

1. Self-initiated uploads are welcome. The administrator will decide whether the photo meets the general standards, requirements and purposes of the pool. You are asked not to take rejections personally. Please keep trying, but don’t submit the same photos repeatedly. Uploads are limited to 3 per day. The queue will be checked regularly, but please be patient.

2. Photos must be at least of the same general quality as those already in the
pool. We judge on a combination of beauty, technical merit and "interest".

3. Photos with a signature, watermark, or other self-identification will not be accepted.

4. Photos with borders or frames will not be accepted.

5. Nudity, porn or sleazy stuff will not be accepted.

6. Color and B&W are both welcome.

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WHY ARE MY PICS BEING REJECTED?

I love the advice I recently read from Jeff Clow: "How do you improve your photography? Stand in front of better things!"

Here are a few of the most frequent reasons pictures are not included in the pool:

1. Uploading pics which do not conform to pool guidelines. Borders, self-identifying marks and nudity are perhaps the most frequent cause of rejection. (Apparently many are not reading the group Title which says "No Frames, Signatures" or the rules!)

2. Poor composition. If you want some help with composition, check out the “Tips For Taking And Presenting Better Photos” in my profile found here: Bachspics Profile

3. Poor lighting and color. Very many portraits on Flickr are poorly lighted--over and underexposed. Many, many also have incorrect white balance. These problems are pandemic among amateurs. In many photos the light is so poor that it creates what I call a "muddy" look; that is there is little to distinguish the subject in either color or black and white from the dominant tone of the background. Portraits taken in the shadow are deadly in this respect; most look very bland. Also, shadows on the wall behind the subject suggest that it was taken with raw flash and generally places the photo in the realm of a "snap shot" rather that a "Fine Portrait." Check the pool and learn about lighting portraits. STAND IN FRONT OF BETTER THINGS!

What about black and white? I love it, but here composition, lighting and clarity of subject are even more important.

4. Lack of beauty and interest. Many photos we receive fall into the category of a "snap shot" rather than fine photography. Much goes into the creation of beauty–subject or theme, light, color, mood, and most importantly composition–simple composition. On the other hand we receive many photos which are quite well composed and lighted, but the subject just isn't very interesting or unique.

BTW, there is a difference between unique and weird. We are not interested in weird. I know that beauty is “in the eye of the beholder,” and that it is your photo and you wouldn't have uploaded it if you didn't think it was beautiful. But you would be surprised at how many comments I receive about the quality and beauty of the photos in this pool. That is the best defense of my choices.

For some reason many photographers on Flickr seem to have a thing for portraying the dark, dreary, colorless, moody, depressed, dirty, gritty, grungy, draconian, weird, hostile, angry, and evil side of life. I’m not one of them. If your photo is dark, in tone, mood or theme, it is really going to have to have other things going for it to be included in the pool. I understand the plight of people, the tragedies, inequities, brutalities and realities of the world. I often include it in the pool, but it will never be dominant here. STAND IN FRONT OF BETTER THINGS!

5. Poor focus. Believe it or not I click on every photo I invite, so I can see it in a larger format than the rather large thumbnails on my large viewing screen. If it looks good in the tumbnail, but isn’t pretty sharp when enlarged I will likely pass it by, unless there seems to be a discernible purpose for soft or out-of focus in a photo.

6. Candids with cluttered or distracting backgrounds. This is a constant, if not growing problem. The subject, color, and lighting are beautiful, but they are often accompanied by busy and/or distracting backgrounds. Other people in the background are particularly distracting, unless they are intentionally included for context and effect. This kind of background quickly labels the shot as one of an amateur or as a "snap shot" but not fine portrait photos. I continue to reject photos which have a pole coming out of the top of someone's head, or garbage at the feet of a subject. Generally, in the case of foreground and background, the simpler the better. STAND IN FRONT OF BETTER THINGS!

Well, there are some things which I hope will help you. I’ll add others as I continue to watch and learn.

BTW, a million thanks to all of you who are brave enough to upload and take the chance of rejection. The pool has benefitted greatly from your wonderful uploads, and as the membership continues to increase, it will require less and less of my time out searching for great photos. But that is part of the fun for me, so I suspect the pool won’t ever be totally dependent upon self-initiated uploads.

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Purpose I have thought a lot about Flickr pools and their purpose. In our imaginations, we would like to think that people search through and admire our work, perhaps even study it. I think that is rare. I think there are two problems: 1) Most of us are in this thing for ourselves. We want others to see our work, but beyond the cursory and/or obligatory comment to friends and contacts, few seem to really care about the photography of others. That probably led to the "Award and Comment" pools that are so popular--to force people to at least look at three to five other photos before they dash off and upload their pic to the next pool. This casts doubt about the sincerity and meaning of the comments left in these pools since it is obligatory. I have virtually stopped placing my photos in those groups. 2) Also, the bulk of most pools is "average" to "below average" fare, so there is little merit in spending the time to find photos of high quality. In fact, such pools may actually discourage it because one has to look through so much mediocrity to find something worthy of study or contemplation, let alone emulation. That is where this pool comes in. I've set it up with high standards. I do most of the searching and inviting, and I screen every self-initiated upload, in order to keep the pool at a high and classy level. So, I hope you will spend some time looking through the excellent photos here, to learn, be inspired, and get an idea or two. I also hope you will, without selfish motives, leave some genuine comments in recognition of the good work of others.

Final thought: As I reread the above material it is too negative, and not completely representative of the way I feel about Flickr. Today a young Flickrite reminded me that he likes this place because people are friendly and communicative. I say "Amen" to that. And they are positive as well. Negative comments are very rare, and almost always couched in very careful language. I like that too. So, this pool is really about these things--and encouraging all types of photographers to keep doing their best work and displaying it here, of course! One of the things that happens to me as the "Admin" of this pool that I like the most, is when someone who isn't even a very serious amateur photog gets an invitation and can't believe it, or some housewife who loves the hobby, but doesn't get much recognition. They always seem so thrilled to be invited to this pool. I like encouraging people about their photography. Lastly, I appreciate all the positive feedback about the quality of this pool. A heartfelt thanks to all!

Regards,
Dan

Welcome to the group!

CONTEST WINNERS
Winner of : "Masterpiece Of The Gallery, Headshot Men, B&W"
Khurshid Alam, by Fayyaz Ahmed


Winner: "People In Hats" conte
Untitled by Vasilikos


Winner: Fashion Portraits Of Women
Sara X, by Benji Ashley


Pool created late May 2008
2 July 2008 800 members
7 July 2008 900 members, 1,154 photos
14 July 2008 1,001 members, 1,294 photos
26 Aug 2008 2,000 photos, 1,300 members
15 Sep 2008 1,500 members; 2,475 photos
15 Oct 2008 3,000 photos; 1,700 members
16 Nov 2008 2,000 members; 3,700 photos
27 Nov 2008 4,000 photos; 2,155 members
30 Jan 2009 5,000 photos, 2,375 members.
08 Mar 2009 2,500 members, 5,546 photos
1 Apr 2009 6,000 photos, 2,622 members
7 May 2009 6,500 photos, 2,694 members
8 May 2009 6,507 photos, 2,700 members
21 May 09 6,700 photos, 2,776 members
08 Jun 09 7,000 photos, 2,880 members
January 2010 10,000 photos, 3,360 members
23 May 2010 12,000 photos, 3,609 members
27 Jul 2010 13,000 photos, 3,670 members
31 Aug 2010 14,000 photos, 3,765 members
28 Nov 2010 16,000 photos, 3,881 members
17 Jan 2011 17,000 photos, 3,944 members
19 Feb 2011 17,866 photos, 4,000 members
31 May 2011 20,000 photos, 4,158 members
10 July 2011 21,000 photos 4,236 members
22 Dec 2011 25,000 photos, 4,533 members
12 Apr 2012 27,468 photos, 4,700 members