YouTube

[Ralph]

Today while movement was limited I watched a few youtube things and I got quite angry with these people telling up to get a photo you have to do this and that and have this and that. This one in particular then went on to say you have to edit. Yer I do get that and understand it. But he then went on and spent over half an hour in lightroom and photoshop to say this is how you get a good photo.
The photo is nothing like the original shots as it has been doctored so much that it is its own image and not the one he started off with.
What gets me is they tell you all the mistakes you are making but they are just blatantly doing the masking job on the photo and us if you think about it.
Well after I was so angry I went through and unsubscribed to these liars as to me this is exactly what they are.
When you see one of my photo's it might have been lighten or darkened and maybe sharpened a little.
I am not technical by any stretch so really what you get isn't too far off what I get out of the camera.
Far removed from what these people making money by telling you how wrong you are in what you are doing. (only in birding)
But I feel as if these people have been very loose with the truth while making you feel bad for what you have been getting out of your outings.
So I am sure this doesn't go on hereand I really hope it doesn't as I know I am not one of them and never will by.

But I will still watch youtube for new products that are come out and not these but others do those road tests on them.
But will only now listen to the ones I hope are telling the truth by saying they have bought this or that out of their own money so it is an unbiased report on whatever.
Though in the same breath they could just be saying this too.
maybe I am getting old and therefore losing my faith with people telling the truth now.

But this did really get to me and I have not time for what I see as people who tell half truths.
Be honest and I will back you 100% d what you have and I will drop you like a bad habit.

 

[Uncle Kevriano]

My biggest hate, overly doctored shots or shots that just weren't there in the first place. I can do that, but don't. I've seen so many bad photoshop jobs too. The fact that these people are saying "this is how you make a good photo" says it all. Rubbish, it's as it's shot, with a bit of tweaking, that's the point of photography. Here's an example of what not to do

• ILCE-7RM4
• FE 200-600mm F5.6-6.3 G OSS
• 600.0 mm
• ƒ/8
• 1/1000 sec
• ISO 250

 

[Ralph]

But I don't mind what you have done to these. But then again I have not seen the original to make that comparison.
Whit what I watch I did see the before then the after and then again the after as he replaced the branch the birds were sitting on and added more height. to the shot so it didn't look like they were squashed into the image (his words not mine) and for me it was a fully false photo.

 

[Ralph]

This is a totally untouched shot that I took yesterday while playing with the camera's setting's as somehow some had moved and I put them back to where I like them and this was one shot.
What I have done is resized it to 1000 by 878 and at 40 kb in actual size as this is close to the standard size for a type of pages.
I could have worked it but I am posting this as at a 1st glance yes it needs work but going by what I like it won't be too much.
But these people getting paid for their ideas and opinions this will or would be over worked to the point it will look nothing like this in the end.
My honest opinion on this is it isn't too bad for straight out of the camera And needs only a little bit of worked .
This is my example of what I know would not look the same in their hands.

• ILCE-7M3
• 100-400mm F5-6.3 DG DN OS | Contemporary 020
• 400.0 mm
• ƒ/6.3
• 1/320 sec
• ISO 200

 

[FowlersFreeTime]

I watch gear reviews (which I take with more than a pinch of salt), and landscape photography channels. The latter really help me to get a better appreciation of what is good framing/composition, rather than how to edit my photos into surreal vistas.

As someone who tried the YouTube thing, I can confirm to you that the zero cost-of-entry and relative ease of setup for starting a channel means that there are thousands of idiots out there that pretend to be experts. Unsubscribe, move on, I'm sure you will find other YouTubers who match your ideals... but then again, perhaps don't bother? Nobody can tell you what to do with your photographs, unless maybe you're looking for tutorials on a new (or new-to-you) editing software. Edit your photos as you see fit.

Unless you're a professional photographer, this is a hobby and meant to relieve stress, not add to it.

 

[Ralph]

I watch gear reviews (which I take with more than a pinch of salt), and landscape photography channels. The latter really help me to get a better appreciation of what is good framing/composition, rather than how to edit my photos into surreal vistas.

As someone who tried the YouTube thing, I can confirm to you that the zero cost-of-entry and relative ease of setup for starting a channel means that there are thousands of idiots out there that pretend to be experts. Unsubscribe, move on, I'm sure you will find other YouTubers who match your ideals... but then again, perhaps don't bother? Nobody can tell you what to do with your photographs, unless maybe you're looking for tutorials on a new (or new-to-you) editing software. Edit your photos as you see fit.

Unless you're a professional photographer, this is a hobby and meant to relieve stress, not add to it.

I have unsubscribed to a lot of them apart for the ones who do road tests on new equipment. I still find these more than useful. One fella was dead set against Sony camera's and I had a go at him which I got the standard lie that he doesn't but list to the idiot long enough and it is there for all to here. Sadly the main 2 I am talking about here are from my country and I think they are making it look bad with their lies. So they plus others are gone and I only have the ones who test out things.
Its so funny when you actually sit down and listen and in hope learn as I did today so it wasn't a waste of time. And I never want to be like them as I still want to have fun and you can't have fun adjusting images for over 30 minute then have to do it all over for the next one.
So Chris you are correct in all you have said.

 

[FowlersFreeTime]

I still want to have fun and you can't have fun adjusting images for over 30 minute then have to do it all over for the next one.

OMG yes! This is why I'm not enjoying photography as much as I thought I would: the process of massaging RAW files, agonizing over my technical flaws, and exporting to share with the world (or just social media).

 

[Ralph]

OMG yes! This is why I'm not enjoying photography as much as I thought I would: the process of massaging RAW files, agonizing over my technical flaws, and exporting to share with the world (or just social media).

As I said as well I am not technical so many of the things that go on in changing things is well over my head.
So I have to stick to the few little sliders and get what I want and not what others want.
As then all they are doing is their very best to make you a mini them.
When the fun is taken out I wonder if it can be got back again, or would you fall back to the old way you were doing it.
Call me simple and this will do me, as I have not even made the step to RAW as yet.
As for me I am not selling shots and it cost money to get a RAW program and I am not spending until I get a bigger lens.

 

[Uncle Kevriano]

But I don't mind what you have done to these. But then again I have not seen the original to make that comparison.
Whit what I watch I did see the before then the after and then again the after as he replaced the branch the birds were sitting on and added more height. to the shot so it didn't look like they were squashed into the image (his words not mine) and for me it was a fully false photo.

The originals are in my Stonechat post. I made a composite of 2.

 

[Tim Mayo]

I rarely let things bother me these days, if people want to spend hours editing their images or creating something that never was then that's up to them, if it makes them happy then that's great Although it's a shame if they are purposely trying to dupe people. Personally I prefer to keep it real and I'm extremely lazy when it comes to editing photos, I barely have time to get out and take them these days let alone spending hours tweaking them. I'll crop and occasionally adjust the exposure if I need to, and if it's a noisy image that I really like then I might throw it into DeNoise, but that's about the extent of the time I'm willing to spend editing images.

 

[Brownie]

I don't really watch You Tubers or influencers. Most of those people can't stammer their way through a sentence. There are few, very few exceptions. Gerald Undone is entertaining. He keeps his videos moving and has an interesting choppy kind of editing style. He leans way toward the tech side, however he does so without making your eyes glaze over. If I do watch a video it's usually because I have questions about a certain type of photography or camera function and did a search, but then I watch bits and pieces of several. I love the guys who segment and title each section, it allows me to watch the bits I want without having to sit through the rest of the video.

As for processing and editing (two different things in my book), It's totally up to the photographer. It's their photo, not mine. If they think it looks better the way they posted it, that's up to them. That doesn't mean I like or agree with it, but it's not my call unless asked.

Do I care if someone tries to sneak something through? No, not really, unless it's a direct lie, like cropping a bird shot and then telling everyone he landed so close you could touch him.

I have no issue with @Kevriano's composite above, but we all know it's a composite. "Hey guys, check out this composite I made of several birds in my garden." is perfectly fine. "Hey guys, look at this photo, these two birds landed in this tree and I got the shot.", isn't. Something like that would cause me to no longer look at their posts.

Processing RAW files doesn't have to be an extended experience. I have most of mine down to 4 or 5 clicks with no sliders. If I screwed it up in-camera I may need to do more, but it usually only adds a couple more modules. It really amounts to about 1 minute per photo.

And again I'll say that I find processing can be very therapeutic. You focus on the image instead of the troubles of the day. Of course you must first get past the learning curve of whatever program you're using, it's no fun at all if you have to sort out each module. Once you set up your favorites and presets it's a breeze.

 

[Uncle Kevriano]

I have no issue with @Kevriano's composite above, but we all know it's a composite. "Hey guys, check out this composite I made of several birds in my garden." is perfectly fine. "Hey guys, look at this photo, these two birds landed in this tree and I got the shot.", isn't. Something like that would cause me to no longer look at their posts.

Exactly that differential. admit it's a composite, don't say that it's as it was. It's like sky replacements. I've admitted when I've very rarely used it, and most times it looks crap anyway, but I've seen plenty of shots where it just looks stupid, because the scaling is wrong, but the photographer hasn't admitted it and several people have gone "wow, look at that great shot". Boggles the mind.

 

[gundamrx91]

I have unsubscribed to a lot of them apart for the ones who do road tests on new equipment. I still find these more than useful. One fella was dead set against Sony camera's and I had a go at him which I got the standard lie that he doesn't but list to the idiot long enough and it is there for all to here. Sadly the main 2 I am talking about here are from my country and I think they are making it look bad with their lies. So they plus others are gone and I only have the ones who test out things.
Its so funny when you actually sit down and listen and in hope learn as I did today so it wasn't a waste of time. And I never want to be like them as I still want to have fun and you can't have fun adjusting images for over 30 minute then have to do it all over for the next one.
So Chris you are correct in all you have said.

I hope not to be one of them
Anyway, I understand what you mean and actually there aren't "gold" rules in wildlife photography and post-production as well. Ok, there are someone, but more related to general photography, and I think it's normal to apply them in wildlife photography.
Speaking about youtube I think is a good way to share knowledge and to know other people with our same interests, and this is my aim. Moreover I always ask for some advice because I have a lot to learn, like many would have to.

Giuseppe

 

[Ralph]

I hope not to be one of them
Anyway, I understand what you mean and actually there aren't "gold" rules in wildlife photography and post-production as well. Ok, there are someone, but more related to general photography, and I think it's normal to apply them in wildlife photography.
Speaking about youtube I think is a good way to share knowledge and to know other people with our same interests, and this is my aim. Moreover I always ask for some advice because I have a lot to learn, like many would have to.

Giuseppe

In what I mean totally in this is that they have a photo at the beginning of their Youtube snippet and it is usually the photo they are going to tell you this is what to aim for. But in actual fact the photo is so far removed from the real shot taken due to their post work on it to bring in all right colours and details that gets to me, as it is not the photo taken.

But not when they tell me how to get a shot then fix it up so it is not like what it was in the beginning. That is just a straight up lie. They should post the original shot along side the worked shot and then maybe say this is the aim of this page.
I go out bush, walk and look for birds not one is a set up shot and this is what I thought I was getting. But I was not. And to discover how long they have been lying to me just made me angry over it. As I follow a few Australian fella's as this is where I am so I thought they are doing the same. But found out they are not. So I took my name off their list.