It shouldn't annoy me, but it does

14 min read

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TerraRhapsody's avatar
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Okay- I've held out long enough
I really feel the need to get this off my chest now, as it is driving me around the bend. It seems that a lot of people viewing my work are going a little too far with the critique.
Now, I'm not wanting to discourage critique on my horror photography, since it's still full of faults, but the following things are annoying me:
:bulletred: People telling me that the way my blood flows is too 'uniform' or 'not uniform enough'
:bulletred: People are telling me my blood is too light/too dark/too thick/too thin etc etc

Now, this is hopefully going to save me some time, since I won't have to repeat myself a million times. For the first point:
:bulletred: Blood is a liquid, and it is therefore subject to fluid dynamics and various forces which enable it to flow the way it does. Blood is also thicker than water, so has a slighty more viscous flow rate.
Now, the fact people have been telling me that my blood is too uniform or organised is deeply misinformed. When applying fake blood, it is either applied directly to the wound itself, or if there is something making the wound (for example a razor blade), blood can be put onto that so that it will flow to the wound and also wherever else it wants to go.
I do not wish to paint blood onto wounds or around wounds so that it appears to defy the laws of physics. And depending on where the fake wound is, different forces will be in action.

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The Gauntlet by TerraRhapsody

This image is an example of fluid dynamics. This blood was applied to the wounds and left to go where it wanted- not painted on. My hand was kept in this position during ht shoot for the blood to do this, yet people are telling me it 'wouldn't flow like that' or 'it's too uniform and looks like you painted it on'.
I am not appreciating people trying to be smart and telling me I'm doing it wrong, since that means physics and fluid dynamics are wrong.

For the second point:
:bulletred: Blood is red. There are no two ways about it, it's also different shades of red depending on what part of the body it has come from. Blood is also liquid and gooey, depending on how long it has been out of the body. Blood has a certain degree of opaqueness to it, but also a degree of translucency.
Now, I do not claim to be an expert on blood colour and consistency, but I believe that the colour of blood both varies in people's perception and is a very subjective thing.
Blood from veins is generally darker than blood from the arteries and capillaries, which are brighter due to increased oxygen levels in arterial blood.
For a lot of my shoots, I get a mixed bag of 'that is awesome' and 'that blood looks really fake'.

Mature Content

Heart of stone by TerraRhapsody

This is quite bright blood, I'll admit it, but it is being subjected to a bright light, and it is also meant to be capillary blood. Some people think this is my best blood, some people think it is awful. Contrast that to:
Midlife Crisis by TerraRhapsody
This has the EXACT same blood used in the previous image. Notice the change in lighting? This blood is the same, yet I was able to make it look different with a change of lighting to it looks a lot more like someone's head has indeed been smashed in.
Now, as I said, I don't claim to know everything about blood and how it should look, but in all honesty, neither do the great majority of people looking at these images. Blood does not come with a paint-style colour chart to tell you what blood goes where.
Telling me the blood is 'not the right colour' for a horrific injury I hope never to see for real, the comment kind of loses some ground to the fact that you've: not seen an injury like this for real, you've not witnessed it in the lighting conditions used, nor have you attempted this yourself. I tend to discount a lot of comments about blood colour, because as mentioned, blood is red, and so long as it is not opaque, pink or bright orange, I'm happy with it.
When I comment on the blood of other people's images, I tell them whether or not it looks like blood. I'm not going to pick holes in how it should be 2 shades darker or three shades lighter, as that could be down to the lighting, their camera, reflective surfaces- a whole world of other things.
I'm not professional, nor do I have any expensive camera equipment. I do my photography on the cheap, due to the the fact it is less than mediocre in its field. Until I can progress and buy ridiculously expensive fake blood and camera lighting, there's little I can do to make my photography more bright or more professional looking, and to be honest, none of you folks seem to agree on what 'the colour of blood' actually is.
In conclusion:
:bulletred: Blood is subjected to fluid dynamics and physics, which I am not willing to defy
:bulletred: Blood is red and thicker than water
:bulletred: Blood comes in different shades of red, as well as varying consistencies
:bulletred: Blood is evidently deeply SUBJECTIVE, just like all other forms of art
:bulletred: One man's blood colour is another man's tomato ketchup
:bulletred: Until you've injured yourself horrifically, please refrain from telling me my blood looks like shite and that it would look like X, Y and Z, because you're telling me how you THINK it would look. I accepted that I can't please everyone back when I was a kid, and I know now is no different


If you've said something along thee lines in the past, I'm not going to hold it against you, but please appreciate that none of us are experts in how blood looks in certain conditions- and that I'm done with feeling like all my work is shit because my blood isn't SOMETHING enough.

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felisconcolori's avatar
Very very good. Although blood that has dried over time and completely coagulated is black... not pertinent to your images, tho, because the pain is served fresh!

Do you use any specific formula for your blood, or is that a different journal? I think any coroner and most crime scene techs would agree... your blood looks perfect.