No cats!

Cateye, 2012

Don’t EVER, EVER put any of these things in your portfolio if you are to be taken seriously as a photographic artist:

1) Cats

2) Dead trees and stumps

3) Homeless people

4) Railroad tracks

5) Flowers

Who said that?

That one is Scott Kelby, and he has a good point. All that stuff is just so…well, so “oh-he-ripped-the-shirt, how cliché!” (Cheech and Chong. You had to be there.) He says that if you are going to try shooting any of these subjects–and you really shouldn’t even waste your time–your image better be pretty darn unique if it is to rise above the mediocrity of a typical Facebook snapshot.

Yes, Scott Kelby, the Photoshop guru, has a great website that I peruse regularly for just such wads o’ wisdom. I especially enjoy his video program, The Grid, in which he and invited guests delve into all kinds of photography-related issues, techniques, tips, philosophy, current events, equipment, lighting, etc. It was there that I found the above list of the Big Five “prohibited” photographic subjects.

What attracted me to The Grid in the first place were the various episodes in which he and his cohort Matt Kloskowski (as well as guests) critique viewer-submitted portfolios. Awesome stuff. They are brutally, brutally, brutally honest–and that is exactly what you and I need if we are to get better. All of these critique episodes are well worth watching and you might very well find yourself saying this a lot: “Dang, Scott and Matt just said those images sucked..and mine look just like that!”

To date, the brutal critique episodes of The Grid you want to look for are: #43, #47, #50, #56, #57, #61, #65, #69, #74. Each are over an hour long and include other interesting topics as well, so maybe watch one or two a week when you have some quiet time to yourself.

Episode #48, titled “Reverse Critique”, was the program in which Scott begged his viewers not to photograph any more cats, trees, bums, railroad tracks, and flowers. Excellent advice. But, for me, this episode turned out to be even more interesting for what followed. Instead of critiquing their way through one viewer-submitted portfolio after another, Scott and Matt had taken the time to previously search out superb images that matched the subject matter of the more amateurish photos submitted by viewers. They then did sort of a side-by-side critique, pointing out why the one image was great and the other was lousy. It was a great way to see what pitfalls to avoid…and what higher goal one ought to be striving for.

Scott’s website and a link to The Grid are definite musts for your Favorites collection. If nothing else, check out that Episode #48. Oh, and if you are looking for Photoshop help books, his are recognized as among the best–he is definitely one of the top (arguably the top!) go-to Photoshop guys these days.

No go on out and photograph beautiful things–just leave the cat alone!