Got told my mall photos were too clean, so I changed my whole approach

Someone in the group said my shots looked like stock photos because they were too bright and polished. They said I needed to show the real decay, not hide it. So last month at the old Granite Run Mall near Philly, I shot everything in lower light and focused on the cracked tiles and peeling paint instead of the empty hallways. Do you guys prefer the gritty shots or should I go back to cleaning things up?

2 comments

2 Comments

angela_park27d ago

Wouldn't that just make it another version of clean, though?

umab8627d ago

Ugh, @angela_park, I feel this so much. It's like people think labeling something makes it totally different when really it's just a slight tweak. The whole "clean" thing has gotten so messy with everyone having their own definition anyway. I get what you're saying - it can feel like we're just coming up with new words for the same basic idea. But I also think the heart of it is people just wanting to feel good about what they're buying, you know?