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Round Two of my pet peeves as a photographer
Why do some photographers think that they need to use "blood" in their photos? True...red is a great color and I am completely loving the high gloss color-type photos...but blood??? WHY??? Is it supposed to be a sign of "danger", "sex gone wrong", "fear"? Whaaaaa??????? I personally find it a bit cliche and a lot lame..... Oct 23 05 01:37 am Link Probably trying to add realism to their work... and it comes across far more convincing than green jell-o.  Oct 23 05 01:45 am Link Ahhh...I see..."realism"...well I guess it works for me then...it looks "really silly."  Oct 23 05 01:52 am Link Nothing worse than corny props. Er... please ignore all the fake roses in my port... thanks. Oct 23 05 02:00 am Link I tried a shot with "blood" once. It was supposed to be a closeup of a rose with a thorn pressing into a breast, drawing a trickle. You know how those amazingly artistic visions in your mind's eye sometimes (understatement) don't translate well? It was not easy to set up (understatement!), and when all was said and done, when the blood was Photoshopped out, it ended up being a kinda neat picture. Never again. Oct 23 05 07:39 am Link Oh yeah I definitely know how the ideas in our minds don't always translate well. I have about a dozen shots in my mind that, if executed well, could just be phenomenal...but until I get better, I can't even think of trying them. I thought about giving my ideas to some really fantastic photographers to execute, but I guess I'm just too greedy...lol Glad to see you didn't keep the blood photo...you are too good a photographer for that.. Toria Oct 23 05 08:58 am Link Mainly because if you use something else in, say, a vampire picture, or a picture of a madwoman chewing on somebody's heart, it doesn't look right. If you don't like horror pictures, that's fine. And if you just don't like cheesy props and f/x, that's fine, too. But I'm not sure it's entirely justified to imply that using blood in a photograph is always a Bad Thing. I have some pictures (can't show them, they're under option) in which, in my opinion, it looks pretty appropriate and adds to the artistic impact of the image. And to the poster who was trying to do the thorn-prick blood droplet thing, there are all types of stage blood. For that one you needed a gel-based sort. They're much more expensive (a 2oz bottle costs about what a quart of "regular" blood does) but they are like paints: you can put them where you want them and they will stay there. They do run, but very, very slowly, so with just a little practice you can make a very realistic trail with a droplet on the end that will stay put while you shoot. M Oct 23 05 09:17 am Link Nooo...noooo...noooo...I love horror photos, movies, etc. (Just watched Last House on the Left last night as a matter of fact) and if the photo actually HAS a purpose such as a vampire (very well done) it would be cool. However, 99 out of 100 of the photos I see with blood in them are just downright cheezy (in my opinion) and look staged and lame. And about the girl eating a heart...to me that would be very cheezy...but it's just one person's opinion... Oct 23 05 09:32 am Link Stage blood: One bottle of karo syrup Good ol red food coloring, Green food coloring And... Peanut butter. Add red to the karo until its generally the color you want then just the smallest dash of green (tiny drop). After that, add and stir in peanut butter until it's murky (blood isn't clear!) and presto... You've got blood! This stuff sticks to everything, drips slowly and smells like cookies. Also, if you get it into your mouth... you don't die. Okay! Let's get to those murder pics!! Actually, Is this a prominant practice?? Is this a genre of fetish or what?? I've never really seen any but notice in the pics posting info: "No blood." Was kind of dumb founded.... This has got to be more than just a rose poking a boob! Oct 23 05 10:24 am Link Blood if use well in context of a shot can look really cool what do you think  BBcode will not show image for some reason but it is clickable to go to the image Oct 23 05 10:25 am Link Blood if use well in the context of a shot can look really cool. Its all depending on the subject matter of the photograph.Yes some gore shots are just plain boring and stupid and other shots are just awesome and have a really cool look and feel that makes the shot work Now I know to some useing blood in a shot might not be there cup of tea. Just Remember art is subjective and not everone will agree on an Image Oct 23 05 10:26 am Link MB Photo 13 wrote: Found some shots with blood... not my cup of tea (stylistically) but, thought one or two of them were pretty cool looking; to each his own! Oct 23 05 11:00 am Link I'd think it depends on the context of what the picture is about. If you're shooting a photo of a vampire drawing away from his/her prey after feeding, then if there isn't any blood in shot, it wouldn't look right... Oct 23 05 11:32 am Link T H Taylor wrote: you can also add coffee grounds to make blood look crusty and dryed Oct 23 05 11:42 am Link MB Photo 13 wrote: I concur now on that same not look at all the "fashion" "glamor" "sexy" shots that where not pulled off well and look well just stupid Oct 23 05 11:43 am Link Greg Rice wrote: EEEWWWW!! That would work, wouldn't it!? Oct 23 05 12:17 pm Link Just for the sake of argument...please post some here that you think are "good". I would love to change my opinion and would like for someone to prove me wrong that 99 out of 100 shots with blood in them are stupid lookin...so let's see some good ones.. Oct 23 05 02:03 pm Link Most of my good ones are under option, but try these on:   Although neither of them really uses blood for a red accent. M Oct 23 05 05:37 pm Link StMarc wrote: OK...those aren't too bad but mostly because the first one is so dark that I can't really tell what it is. You can't tell what the model is holding either...so I'm not into that one too much. The second one, however, is pretty darned cool...very artsy and I like it. Plus, the model obviously is vamp-ire-ish....so it makes sense whereas the first one doesn't to me. So I guess I have seen one now that I think is ok...I'd love for people to show me more... Oct 23 05 06:10 pm Link Show me more... Oct 25 05 07:11 am Link I like this one, but dunno if a model could pull it off unless they already had the buzz which is the Angelina Jolie mystique.  Oct 25 05 08:28 am Link Cool shots Oct 25 05 08:30 am Link Hm. You guys have given me an awesome idea.... And it won't involve blood. Oct 25 05 08:33 am Link T H Taylor wrote: If you want to make a wound look like a broken/fragmented bone, use chunky peanut butter - it looks absolutely real. Tim Oct 26 05 10:21 pm Link dissolvegirl wrote: Yeah, this shot is bad ass. Plus the blood is well done and looks realistic. Oct 26 05 10:48 pm Link Nello Ryan wrote: Well said. Very. Oct 27 05 12:29 am Link I like the second one of St Marc way better than the Angelina Jolie one...I don't see the point in it... And, I guess my point must be made since I only ended up being shown 4 photos with blood. Apparently I was right huh? *wink* Oct 30 05 01:11 am Link The excellent ultra-violent movie "Sin City" was done mostly in B&W. They dropped in single colors later for emphasis, though I thought that part was badly done. The style was intended to be similar to pen and ink comic strips. That concept was done well. But as an ultra-violent movie there were gonna be buckets of blood all over. In black and white, what color is blood? They chose white for blood, to contrast it with everything else. It wasn't obvious, but once accepted as the protocol, it was effective. Got me to thinking about the huge change panchromatic film made to photography, too. Seems to me as a B&W shooter I could drop some India ink on the negatives and get about the same effect. If I shot ultra-violence. But I don't. -Don Oct 30 05 09:45 am Link I think blood can work, but in small quantities for more impact. I don't like the "completely covered in blood and gore" kinda shots. Seems a bit lame and cliche to me. Oct 30 05 10:16 am Link MM Jen wrote: exactly. I'm not sure what is to be gained from a "pet peeve" thread. A pet peeve is just something that annoys you, but the part of this thread that entails how things that we don't like are bad seems inappropriate. There are lots of things that I don't like, that technically would be a pet peeve, that I don't think are bad or badly done. Why are blood shots "bad"? Just whining or complaining about it doesn't enlighten us. Just labeling something cliched isn't an explanation either. Cliched means becoming stale by overuse. If we agree that there were some interesting blood shots posted on this thread, then blood shots per se are not cliched. Only certain ones. So what is the difference? I've been playing around with some blood work just because it is a challenge to make it artistic, appealing, and not commonplace. I don't have any particular use for the blood stuff, but I appreciate the creative challenge. That's one big thing that makes photography compelling to me. Oct 30 05 11:19 am Link I find cliches interesting subjects to shoot. Its fun to take something that is overshot, and attempt to make it yours. It's also challenging (show me a good covered in rose petals shot, please!). I don't think you should summarily dismiss anything until you have tried it. Here is submission to the cliche, this one utilizes body paint and lots of fake blood.  Oct 30 05 11:49 am Link I had a girl once ask me if I would shoot her with fake blood and guaze. I asked what was the purpose behind it, her response was "idunno, blood is cool". Well there you have it, that's the answer, blood is COOL. I passed on the shoot Oct 30 05 12:36 pm Link My new pet peeve are the models and photographers who have everything in their online port marked 18+.....and none of it's nude or even close to nude..... Oct 30 05 12:37 pm Link DawnElizabeth Moderator wrote: Mine would be the reverse, like this guy https://www.modelmayhem.com/member.php?id=1696 Oct 30 05 12:44 pm Link See I have an idea for a bloody shoot but it has to be done right.... And I'm not telling what the idea is hrm I need to get to work and get the shot done.... Oct 30 05 01:01 pm Link Zao Photo wrote: Yep...thats exactly what I'm talkin about.. Oct 30 05 02:06 pm Link Well , I can only speak to my reaons on doing it for a particular shoot. The model in her profile mentions that she is interested in , among other things , horror and fetish. While pondering I recalled a bit of trivia regarding what Hitchcock used for blood in 'Psycho"(google it ). Also , it was Halloween weekend. Given the combination of the models interests , timing , homage , camp fun , etc. it seemed appropriate for this particular situation. However , like bondage and the 'inner glow ' effect in Photoshop , I believe it should be used sparingly :-) Oct 30 05 06:33 pm Link Photographers that post things like "---- Not a Member of that other Model Site ----", it just shows your immaturity Oct 31 05 09:06 pm Link Nothing makes me puke more then pictures of girls wearing a US flag bikini. Oct 31 05 09:11 pm Link MarkMarek wrote: Ohhhh now I DEFINITELY agree with you on that one! The American flag must be shown deep respect at all times and should never be worn or displayed in a disrespectful manner.... Oct 31 05 09:40 pm Link |
