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Yo MM! My name is Darian Simon and I'm a Photography student at The Art Institute of Colorado. I've been shooting for about 4 years now and plan to allow my passion for photography take me to a career path best fitting to my creativity. My style is simple. I enjoy creating art & being outdoors. I live & shoot by natural light I would love & appreciate any critique or opportunity that you may have for me. Nov 11 12 08:26 pm Link what do you mean by above average? Nov 11 12 08:31 pm Link Above average ..... ..... Nov 11 12 08:32 pm Link Collages.... aarrrrgh... above average? Not with collages! Just my opinion. Nov 11 12 08:34 pm Link Hey Darian. I like this:  but the rest is boring or mediocre. I'm sure you can do much better! Nov 11 12 08:34 pm Link Nice work, but I think your portfolio would be a lot stronger if you just picked the single best image from each set instead of putting everything up as collages. Nov 11 12 08:35 pm Link the first row is indeed quite good but other than image 25 the rest is ho hum/ Nov 11 12 08:55 pm Link “”Yo MM! My name is Darian Simon and I'm a Photography student at The Art Institute of Colorado. I've been shooting for about 4 years now and plan to allow my passion for photography take me to a career path best fitting to my creativity. My style is simple. I enjoy creating art & being outdoors. I live & shoot by natural light I would love & appreciate any critique or opportunity that you may have for me.”” The first question that comes to mind is how long have you been in school at The Art Institute of Colorado, I was expecting higher quality images in your portfolio. The Effective Image wrote: This ^ is true Nov 12 12 05:14 am Link Since the advent of accessibly priced DSLRs, the term "above average" doesn't really inspire a lot of confidence. Sadly, a cursory examination of the OP's portfolio does nothing to dispel my initial scepticism. OP, more work, less self-congratulation. Rinse and repeat for a couple of years then ask again. And don't be satisfied with anything less than "outstanding" either. Just my $0.02 Ciao Stefano www.stefanobrunesci.com Nov 12 12 08:07 am Link Your portfolio absolutely screams, "Average!" The fact that you're enrolled in a school owned by EDMC only supports the screaming. Confidence is one thing... misplaced arrogance is another. Nov 12 12 08:13 am Link -B-R-U-N-E-S-C-I- wrote: ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Nov 12 12 08:28 am Link Compared to your 19 year old girlfriends who shoot with their iPhone in the bathroom mirror, you're above average. Compared to the other photographers here on MM. You're average. Compared to any photographer who is making a living from their work, you are below average. And I agree with the others dump your collages. Your portfolio features a lot of photos of ordinary locations, with ordinary looking models wearing ordinary clothes, posing in ordinary ways, and most feature boring lighting and composition. Hate to be harsh, but if you start off telling us you're 19 and you have an above average portfolio, you better have something to back it up with. Nov 12 12 02:59 pm Link Matt Knowles wrote: This is equally asinine. Nov 12 12 06:39 pm Link You do seem to have basic technical skill and a knowledge of composition. However overall I agree with comments above about being "average". Also I agree with dropping series. As a photography student I would think you would now understand that a single image must be strong enough to stand on it's own, tell a story or create an impact. Series just group poor images together to strive for an impact. Never works. Also, why would you limit yourself to working outdoors. There is a whole world in the studio where you can control all aspects of creating the image. Try it, you'll like it. Nov 12 12 11:27 pm Link :-) Nov 12 12 11:40 pm Link Darian, When it comes to declaring the quality of your portfolio, it's best to leave that for others to judge. When you call your work "above average," you leave the door open for others to say it's not. You might even be challenging people to do so. What you're doing is the boxing equivalent of leading with your chin. If your work is truly above average, people will see that for themselves. Nov 13 12 05:30 am Link Darian : Yes as many have said lose a few of those collages !!! as for 19 and a student......lesson one be humble, let others praise you ! Good luck, and best wishes, Paulie Nov 13 12 05:41 am Link As soon as I read the title of your post, I thought "uh oh".. Why do you call your work above average? Sure, your pictures look nice.. but what makes them above average? I did enjoy your 4 part picture in your portfolio, cool idea. Like others have said, the collages don't really work. They seem to give each picture in the collage less impact. Choose your best, and put that up. There's not much more critique I can give.. My work and skills fall in the "average" category, and I'm cool with that. I'll always be working towards "above average" though  Nov 13 12 05:56 am Link It's important to have an ego about what one is doing. So that is the good part you have. Above average maybe at your school. I taught at Parsons Paris. There you wouldn't make the entry with your current MM port. You have too much pop color, too much sloppy technique, and you have no voice in your pictures. All they say to me is you press the button when it feels good. Today, there was a thread on Keep Cool or something. That is young photography, where one starts. MM is dangerous if you want to emulate others it gives you a twisted idea of up and coming photographers. There was a young person here , Grant Thomas who was taken on by Jed Root when he was 18. Seek out others like him and see what they do. Compare yourself to those, then you have a scale to place yourself in. Nov 13 12 06:01 am Link that judgement is best announced by third party sources. almost anyone can ring a bell or blow a horn that is in their own hand. best wishes. Nov 13 12 06:08 am Link Check the ego a bit (never looked at your portfolio) and keep working at it. When you think you're good; you're not. When you think your shots suck and are never happy with them? You're headed in the right direction Nov 13 12 06:11 am Link Why is your age relevant? Nov 13 12 06:29 am Link I think your better stuff is on your front page down below whee no one looks for it--not in your portfolio. Nov 13 12 06:43 am Link SPierce Photography wrote: Disagree. If you're never satisfied with anything you do, you're probably working in the wrong field. Nov 13 12 06:52 am Link -B-R-U-N-E-S-C-I- wrote: QFT Nov 13 12 06:54 am Link Where's the OP? Sorry to mention this, but all you need to get into the Art Institute is a heartbeat. And, lots of loans and grants. Or, rich parents. It's one of the worst offenders of money grubbing "for profit" colleges. Not saying you won't get a decent education there, because teachers are the variable. Nov 13 12 11:54 am Link Carlos Occidental wrote: This. If you want a really great education in photography, go to an actual school like RIT or MICA. The Art Institutes, for the most part, are a joke. Nov 13 12 01:29 pm Link Wait a Second here , I thought You had said it was a "modern Portfolio" now it is a 'Above average portfolio" ? Nov 13 12 01:36 pm Link *Yawnz* Sorry I find your portfolio boring and uninspired. Who ever has been feeding your ego needs to stop. You are lacking depth, creativity, passion....I could go on but all of a sudden I feel the need for a nap. Nov 13 12 01:46 pm Link Trialsinner wrote: I hate everything I've ever done photographically, including what I have in my portfolio right now. With a passion. I look at it, and go "ew". I push myself to do better, because I know I CAN do better. Nov 13 12 02:43 pm Link SPierce Photography wrote: I always want to get better and better. I'm hungry for growth and new ideas. I do not hate my work, though. If I hated everything in my portfolio, I would delete it. Why even bother showing it to people. If you disgust yourself, then you aren't pushing yourself to do better, you're going back to the drawing board every time. Nov 13 12 10:35 pm Link OP, bend your knees and lock the elbow once in a while. Nov 13 12 10:45 pm Link Your not above average. Humble your self and practice your craft. Nov 13 12 10:47 pm Link If you want to see an above average 19 year old whos also been doing photography for 4 years. www.bastian-jung.com Thats above average. You need to work harder, your arrogance is just going to hinder your development. Nov 14 12 03:18 am Link Trialsinner wrote: One look at a portfolio reveals a photographer that truly believes they're hot stuff ; ) Nov 14 12 05:32 am Link David Kyung-min wrote: Dear lord, that's guy's only 19 his stuff is amazing. Nov 14 12 05:37 am Link ouch Nov 14 12 05:37 am Link David Kyung-min wrote: Changes name to "Rampart Gestalt." Nov 14 12 05:42 am Link _ Robyn Elizabeth _ wrote: Knowing your shortcomings is completely different from despising everything that comes out of your camera. Seeing where you need to improve and tackling it with verve and confidence leads to faster improvement in the people I've come across. Being hungry only means something when you don't have enough food, not when you dislike what's in front of you. Nov 14 12 07:16 am Link I'm a lot older but have been shooting for about 4 years. My work is, "okay". However, I spend most of my shooting time learning to hone my skills behind the camera, and my post shoot work. I read the articles in the "Edu" section of MM, and I contact Retouchers and other photographer when their work catches my eye. Eventually, I'll be more than just, "okay". It's not false modesty, and I am not some tortured artist. I am just some guy who has learned to separate my ego from my work, look at it objectively, and know to seek guidance to correct my shooting bad habits. Nov 14 12 07:40 am Link |
