Why cant poster on here take and post decent photographes of their bikes.

[Philip Benstead]

I have viewed many posts on this forum, and replies have often asked the original poster to supply a photograph.

Time and time again the photography is poor, out of focus or at the wrong angle.

Question

With the availability of smartphones, why are so many people incapable of taking a decent photograph?

[Drummer]

Different people have different skills and weaknesses, for different reasons... much like when folks can't spell, or use proper punctuation...

[Carlton green]

Different people have different skills and weaknesses, for different reasons... much like when folks can't spell, or use proper punctuation...

And many of us who add a photo here find that both the orientation is wrong and we have no (apparent) way of putting it right.

[Philip Benstead]

Different people have different skills and weaknesses, for different reasons... much like when folks can't spell, or use proper punctuation...

And many of us who add a photo here find that both the orientation is wrong and we have no (apparent) way of putting it right.

Go to Paint on your PC/Laptop import the image, then select the image, right-click on the mouse and rotate.

[simonineaston]

With the availability of smartphones, why are so many people incapable of taking a decent photograph?

What a good question! Thinking back to my own experience, when I found that many of the photos I took on my phones were exactly that - poorly framed, unedited and often with the subject out of focus, I had to make an effort. I had to find out how to use the focus mode, then be bothered to go into the edit mode to crop and perhaps autofix the colours & exposure - all a step away from simply not bothering.
If you interviewed the guilty parties, most of them would say a) I've never thought about it or b) I can't be bothered.

[pjclinch]

Different people have different skills and weaknesses, for different reasons... much like when folks can't spell, or use proper punctuation...

And many of us who add a photo here find that both the orientation is wrong and we have no (apparent) way of putting it right.

Go to Paint on your PC/Laptop import the image, then select the image, right-click on the mouse and rotate.

My phone isn't a PC/Laptop..
And when I change the orientation in the phone's Photos app, and re-import it in to the forum, the forum "helpfully" changes the orientation back to "wrong".

But back to your original question, there's more to taking photos than having a camera.

Pete.

[Cugel]

Taking informative photographs is a skill like any other, needing the acquisition of a few understandings and abilities. These are simple things, these days, as a camera (including that of a smart prattler) is largely automatic; and various editing tools automate everything of a photo-fix down to a button press or three as well.

Composition is another matter. Some claim a good composition needs some sort of artistic sensibility. It doesn't. You can always make a pleasing composition by following half a dozen very simple rules. But it does involve an element of craft over and above the automated button pressing.

************
Why are so many bodies of text posted here inchoate, ambiguous, obscure, self-contradictory and otherwise badly composed? Personally I detest the tweet-style: one sentence remarks signifying nothing other than, "I just posted here for no apparent reason and without imparting anything other than a lookitme bird-noise".

[freiston]

I always take time to compose and make clear both my text and my illustrative photographs.

Then, two years or whatever down the line, when I come across the post again, I struggle to make sense of the text and wonder why I took such a bad photo.

[Carlton green]

Different people have different skills and weaknesses, for different reasons... much like when folks can't spell, or use proper punctuation...

And many of us who add a photo here find that both the orientation is wrong and we have no (apparent) way of putting it right.

Go to Paint on your PC/Laptop import the image, then select the image, right-click on the mouse and rotate.

Thank you for trying to make a helpful suggestion. In my particular case the device that I use doesn’t have that program on it, but maybe your suggestion might help someone else.

[cycle tramp]

I have viewed many posts on this forum, and replies have often asked the original poster to supply a photograph.

Time and time again the photography is poor, out of focus or at the wrong angle.

Question

With the availability of smartphones, why are so many people incapable of taking a decent photograph?

I don't think they are.... but equally many who seek our help aren't mechanically minded. So they won't really know what they're trying to photograph, or the purpose for asking. And without these two guiding principles, then the quality of information is always going to be variable. If they were mechanically minded they would have worked out the issue by themselves....

[PH]

Most of the times I see a reply asking for photo, it's because that poster asking hasn't understood the question. Either they haven't a clue, in which case a photo isn't likely to help, or the original poster has done a poor job of asking and explaining the issue, in which case a clearer explanation might be better than the best photo. There are some instances where a photo does better than words "Help with my riding position", "What's this unusual part", but those tend to the be the exception rather than the rule and in those cases clarity is helpful but they don't need to be particularly good photos. If anything photos tend to be more use in answers <like this photo> even in those cases they're best supplementing adequate descriptions and don't have to be exceptional phots to do so.
I think a bigger issue is some people's compulsion to post even when the clearly have no knowledge or understanding of what's being asked. That;s OK in the Tea Shop, but I wish it was curbed in the technical sections. BTW - Why is this post in the tech section, when it's clearly about using the forum?

[Biospace]

Perhaps there's some sort of link between not understanding the basic mechanical action of bicycle components and not being able to frame and focus a picture well?

Or perhaps few people know how to digitally crop and enhance images on their phone or computer, or think it's not necessary?

[simonineaston]

I agree about good snaps is a skill and in some ways, a knack. But Phil's original Q is key - ie using a recent phone... the built in cameras and tools are so good, so easy to use, that its very easy these days to take a good snap and indeed turn a mediocre piccie into a better one.
The old snapper's maxim still makes me chuckle, "f8 - and be there!".

[Grldtnr]

I wanted to post a picture on one of the boards but don't see how to do it, apparently I have to use a hosting site, .
It's beyond bmy technical skills, but I do take time to compose a photo , and click of a few shots, then discard the rubbish ,after editing. I use a simple android device.

[Paulatic]

I wanted to post a picture on one of the boards but don't see how to do it, apparently I have to use a hosting site, .
It's beyond bmy technical skills, but I do take time to compose a photo , and click of a few shots, then discard the rubbish ,after editing. I use a simple android device.

Simply add an attachment viewtopic.php?t=160383