Leia posted this comment in another discussion, and it's worth exploring.
So when does an image become cliche? It seems like there are a lot of cliches in photography. A lot of us here photograph railroads, and the "3/4 wedgie" (a train approaching the photographer at a shallow angle) is about as cliche as it gets. It's also the most common railfan photography by far.
I'm sure other genres have similiar cliches. People take them because people like them. My most well liked photos are all cliches. Photos of the Space Needle from Kerry Park, how original! (You'll find photographers there day and night, it's "over-exposed"...) photos from West Seattle, pictures of the Cedar Creek Grist Mill... All shot by thousands of others photographers. But they're what people like best. So how do you handle cliches?
My college photo teacher made us go out and take photos for an assignment. Forgot which, but he stated very clearly how cliche tracks were and it would be an instant "F" on the project to any student in his class who turned an image in with tracks. He wasn't even a railfan. Just an editor for a New York magazine who was tired of track images. And oh yeah, pigeon photos too...
So when does an image become cliche? It seems like there are a lot of cliches in photography. A lot of us here photograph railroads, and the "3/4 wedgie" (a train approaching the photographer at a shallow angle) is about as cliche as it gets. It's also the most common railfan photography by far.
I'm sure other genres have similiar cliches. People take them because people like them. My most well liked photos are all cliches. Photos of the Space Needle from Kerry Park, how original! (You'll find photographers there day and night, it's "over-exposed"...) photos from West Seattle, pictures of the Cedar Creek Grist Mill... All shot by thousands of others photographers. But they're what people like best. So how do you handle cliches?