Campaign for Critique

[MWHCVT]

It's a simple idea really but this is a call to arms as it were, I'm an advocate of quality critique helping to improve photography and to be honest the quality/standard of critique seems to have gone down hill on the forum, I remember joining this forum to get advice on improving my photography and it really has helped me over the years...but and it's sad to say the great service this forum did me is not being given as often as it could to members posting for critique now...

My vision for critique is to loose the fear of negativity that is a cancer to critique, if your polite and reasoned with negative critique there should be no cause for complaint from those looking for critique...so please don't be afraid to be negative, but if you do have to be negative do try to also highlight any positives also and if you have to knowledge or even a suggestion to improve make sure to offer it..

If you genuinely like/love a photo add value to your nice/positive comment by saying why or what you believe is so good

Remember also that any photo posted in the feedback and critique section is posted there for just that so regardless of prefix don't be afraid to comment as it will be appreciated..if you feel that someone has reacted badly to critique then it's best to use the report button than to get into a heated discussion

Finally an appeal to people posting photos, people posting critique on your photos are doing it to help remember they're not trying to attack you or make you feel bad, so try and take any critique you receive well, even if negative and don't remove your photos from the thread as even if its received negative critique threads are a learning tool for everyone not just you and when photos vanish it also discourages people from offering critique in the future...

So from one member to everyone other member lets improve critique together for the good of us all if we all do a little bit of critique every time we log in things will turn around fast

Matt

Critique Commitment:

MWHCVT - General / Landscape / Creative - Post 5+ critique posts across my selected sections each day I log in
NJCNIC - Landscape - Post a minimium of 3 critque posts each day (when I have the time!)
pwhysall - Landscape - A couple a day
Trev4 - Birds - As time allows
pinkbikerbabe - 365/52's / nature (wild) / landscape / Motorsport - as possible
chriscross - all areas - 3/week
DG Phototraining - People and Portraits - as possible
ancient_mariner - Landscapes / architecture & urban - as possible
ChrisHeathcote - Landscapes / Animal Forums - Avg. 3/Day
sbowler579 - Landscapes / architecture & urban - Most Days

 

[PMN]

I have to admit I've seen quite a few comments along the lines of 'does nothing for me' or 'not my cup of tea' with absolutely no explanation, and it does bug me. If you're going to tell someone you don't like their photo then at least have the courtesy to explain why!

 

[MWHCVT]

I have to admit I've seen quite a few comments along the lines of 'does nothing for me' or 'not my cup of tea' with absolutely no explanation, and it does bug me. If you're going to tell someone you don't like their photo then at least have the courtesy to explain why!

Exactly Paul, if you don't like it at least say why it will help us all to improve, obviously if its the subject/content of the photograph it may not be photographic improvements needed as I'm sure we've all seen perfectly shot photos that we don't like for the content/subject but still qualify what you don't like

 

[BRASH]

I don't like this Thread.

 

[Martyn D]

Good call Matt, its a little difficult sometimes for me (and maybe others like me) who are fairly new to photography to offer advice so i have to resort to more simple things like "great image" etc but as Paul has said the comments like mentioned do nothing to aid in improving or encourage in posting.
The majority of what i've learnt has been from reading on here and picking up advice but of late the help from the knowledgable ones seems to be becoming less and less, (Yourself excluded as i've read some very helpful detailed advice on replies to threads) on the other hand if people are doing it day after day the last thing they probably want to do is spend the evening talking about photos!

 

[Trev4]

I have to agree wholeheartedly with you Matt, especially about the quality of critique a few years ago, I also learned a massive amount from the help and advice on here and will always be grateful to the members who offered that to me.
However, in many ways the forum is becoming rather Flickeresque, as in post a 'nice pics' comment on your mates photo's, no matter what the quality is, that's seems to be irrelevant in many cases. If anyone dares to be so insolent as to give the truth, they are rebuked by the OP and their mates.
There are many people who genuinely post for critique and help and its a pleasure to help them especially when you see an improvement in their work and they offer a simple 'thank you'.
I try to judge if the poster genuinely wants help and will try to offer as much as I can, but I tend to do it tongue on cheek and expect a rebuff, if I don't get it, its a bonus.
This subject has been discussed again and again over the last few years, but in truth, I have seen very little in the way of change and trust me when I say that that saddens me no end.

I truly don't want to put a downer on your post Matt, and if you can encourage members to do as you suggest in regard to critique, that would be great, and there are many members on here who will applaud you. Good luck and I'll be following this thread with a lot of interest

 

[kendo1]

Meh.
It's not worth giving negative comments, people just get upset.

Maybe it's the way I tell them?

(I got flamed for supposedly being rude when that was not my intention)

So I'm just going to say when I like something and why.

 

[PMN]

It's not worth giving negative comments, people just get upset

And they have every right to if negative points are put forward in a manner that's borderline offensive. If you're decent about how you give negative crit and people still take it badly then it's their problem, not yours.

 

[kendo1]

Some people are too touchy.

 

[PMN]

Some people are too touchy.

Again, as long as you're decent in how you word your crit the problem is theirs, not yours.

 

[MWHCVT]

Good call Matt, its a little difficult sometimes for me (and maybe others like me) who are fairly new to photography to offer advice so i have to resort to more simple things like "great image" etc but as Paul has said the comments like mentioned do nothing to aid in improving or encourage in posting.
The majority of what i've learnt has been from reading on here and picking up advice but of late the help from the knowledgable ones seems to be becoming less and less, (Yourself excluded as i've read some very helpful detailed advice on replies to threads) on the other hand if people are doing it day after day the last thing they probably want to do is spend the evening talking about photos!

I can completely understand where your coming from Martyn it can be daunting to stick your head above the trenches and offer critique especially negative critique for fear of upsetting someone especially when you feel a newbie yourself, but remember we all picked a camera up for the first time once upon a time if you don't feel confident getting technical or even negative just yet then just focus on what you like, there is nothing wrong with that, you will I'm sure settle into offering negatives as well in due cause I suspect it could also be said you have to learn to critique/learn what it wrong, hell I know I did

I have to agree wholeheartedly with you Matt, especially about the quality of critique a few years ago, I also learned a massive amount from the help and advice on here and will always be grateful to the members who offered that to me.
However, in many ways the forum is becoming rather Flickeresque, as in post a 'nice pics' comment on your mates photo's, no matter what the quality is, that's seems to be irrelevant in many cases. If anyone dares to be so insolent as to give the truth, they are rebuked by the OP and their mates.
There are many people who genuinely post for critique and help and its a pleasure to help them especially when you see an improvement in their work and they offer a simple 'thank you'.
I try to judge if the poster genuinely wants help and will try to offer as much as I can, but I tend to do it tongue on cheek and expect a rebuff, if I don't get it, its a bonus.
This subject has been discussed again and again over the last few years, but in truth, I have seen very little in the way of change and trust me when I say that that saddens me no end.

I truly don't want to put a downer on your post Matt, and if you can encourage members to do as you suggest in regard to critique, that would be great, and there are many members on here who will applaud you. Good luck and I'll be following this thread with a lot of interest

It's not put a downer on it for me Trev, and I agree with all that you've said, lets make this the thread that changes it as to your style of critique there's as I see it nothing wrong with a bit of tongue in cheek so long as the content of the comment/post offers quality honest critique and of that with yourself I've got no doubt it would be there..

Meh.
It's not worth giving negative comments, people just get upset.

Maybe it's the way I tell them?

(I got flamed for supposedly being rude when that was not my intention)

So I'm just going to say when I like something and why.

Sorry that you feel that way Ken, if you find people reacting badly to critique that's a shame, not a personal thing but its always worth trying to avoid posting in a style that can be read overly negatively, not saying you have as truth be told with tens of thousands of members nobody is every going to be familiar with everyone

More importantly however if people are spitting the dummy or throwing their toys click report let the staff know and walk away

 

[Alastair]

Matt, the volume of images being posted increases proportionately to the size of the forum, as the intimacy of the forum decreases. I've seen this in Flickr groups as well. Up to about 250 members you can keep an active community going. Beyond this it gets tough - unless you can sub-divide the membership into sub-communities that sit around that population size.

Is the current structure of the forum the best it could be for facilitating communities of members with similar interests? - just throwing this out as a suggestion..
- the Talk About and Images Of sections are currently isolated from each other. For example, Talk Landscapes is a semi-hidden sub-forum of Speciality Discussion over-the scroll from the Landscapes and Scenery photo sharing section. This is just awkward,it splits the discussion from the images.
- because the Speciality Discussion sections are semi-hidden the default section for all topics is Talk Photography. This dissociating most discussion of landscape relevant techniques from both the speciality discussion area and the image sharing area. There's tumbleweed blowing through Talk Landscapes section, meanwhile 80% of threads in Talk Photography could be stimulating discussion in the Speciality sub-forums if anyone could find them.
- there are more active discussions in some single manufacturer/model-specific threads than there are in some entire forum sections. This suggests a degree of tribalism, buy more likely it's just because these threads have a lower participating population so there's a chance to have long-running discussions with active members with at least one thing in common.
- critique, constructive criticism and ego massage are very different things. If you give critique when what's really wanted is an "attaboy", neither member is feels satisfied.
- for the speciality sections, if the Talk About and Share Images Of were brought together, then a keen moderating/facilitating team for that area could keep track of both and inject a bit of sensitive idea-sowing - for example picking out/highlighting images from those submitted that are particularly suitable for critique or constructive comment (not because they are good images, but because they are really suitable for people to talk about and discuss).

And the usual point. It takes 20-40 minutes to really be constructive or develop a good critique. If you don't get an acknowledgement, why would you do it?

 

[Crusader]

Sometimes I just like a photo and can't say why. Sometimes it is just a good photo. I can't always pick things out like, it has good leading lines, composition is nice etc.

 

[ChrisHeathcote]

It can also be frustrating when you post for critique and do not receive any.

Quite often I flick through the galleries and see people asking for critique and then you see it a couple of days later with little or no comments.

I agree with the points about people becoming defensive. The critique I have received has always been helpful and whilst at times it can feel brutal, its meant to help and not deter. It would also be helpful if people posted what they were trying to achieve and what their vision was at the time

 

[Trev4]

Sometimes I just like a photo and can't say why. Sometimes it is just a good photo. I can't always pick things out like, it has good leading lines, composition is nice etc.

While I understand your reply Chris, your comments are just as relevant as any others. While you cant pinpoint the technical issues that you like in a picture, there is usually something that appeals to you, the subject, the colours, the warm lighting, or whatever, there's many things that can appeal to you, and these things are relevant to the image. In time you will get more knowledge by offering your opinions and reading others opinions, its worth giving it a go

 

[minnnt]

I'm all for critique but being a newbie myself I don't particularly feel 'qualified' to give proper critique as things may appeal to me and I will probably miss something critically wrong with the shot... lol. But yeah, I am all for recieving critique on my shots as the reason for joining this forum was to improve and with guidance and pointers through critique I feel I can right my wrongs.

I do feel some members take comments too much to heart though and then get all grumpy because someone said they didn't like their photo... I am pretty easy going and take things with a pinch of salt so don't get upset over something like that but some people are very touchy.

 

[Tunbridge]

Fingers crossed that this helps. I try where I can to offer crit but as others have said it's not always easy and I'm far from expert.
That said I feel like I can offer better crit now than when I joined the forum.

I think it's been said before but it's worth pointing out to those posting photos to not post too many images at once as this can be detrimental. It also helps when they are numbered.

 

[MWHCVT]

Matt, the volume of images being posted increases proportionately to the size of the forum, as the intimacy of the forum decreases. I've seen this in Flickr groups as well. Up to about 250 members you can keep an active community going. Beyond this it gets tough - unless you can sub-divide the membership into sub-communities that sit around that population size.

Is the current structure of the forum the best it could be for facilitating communities of members with similar interests? - just throwing this out as a suggestion..
- the Talk About and Images Of sections are currently isolated from each other. For example, Talk Landscapes is a semi-hidden sub-forum of Speciality Discussion over-the scroll from the Landscapes and Scenery photo sharing section. This is just awkward,it splits the discussion from the images.
- because the Speciality Discussion sections are semi-hidden the default section for all topics is Talk Photography. This dissociating most discussion of landscape relevant techniques from both the speciality discussion area and the image sharing area. There's tumbleweed blowing through Talk Landscapes section, meanwhile 80% of threads in Talk Photography could be stimulating discussion in the Speciality sub-forums if anyone could find them.
- there are more active discussions in some single manufacturer/model-specific threads than there are in some entire forum sections. This suggests a degree of tribalism, buy more likely it's just because these threads have a lower participating population so there's a chance to have long-running discussions with active members with at least one thing in common.
- critique, constructive criticism and ego massage are very different things. If you give critique when what's really wanted is an "attaboy", neither member is feels satisfied.
- for the speciality sections, if the Talk About and Share Images Of were brought together, then a keen moderating/facilitating team for that area could keep track of both and inject a bit of sensitive idea-sowing - for example picking out/highlighting images from those submitted that are particularly suitable for critique or constructive comment (not because they are good images, but because they are really suitable for people to talk about and discuss).

And the usual point. It takes 20-40 minutes to really be constructive or develop a good critique. If you don't get an acknowledgement, why would you do it?

I can see where your coming from completely Alastair it is hard to maintain a small community feel once the community is no longer small, however equally with more people posting photos there are more people to post feedback and critique it's a case of encouraging those people into providing that critique, and yeah I'm all to away how utopian that sounds...

As to forum structure it's not really what this thread is about but I could certainly see a merit to moving the talk sections (eg talk nature, talk sports etc) so that they become sub sections of the respective photo sections

Sometimes I just like a photo and can't say why. Sometimes it is just a good photo. I can't always pick things out like, it has good leading lines, composition is nice etc.

Chris I understand where your coming but the fact that you've given examples of leading lines, composition etc means you are identifying things you like in the photo, detail those honestly it adds value to your positive feedback on the photo

It can also be frustrating when you post for critique and do not receive any.

Quite often I flick through the galleries and see people asking for critique and then you see it a couple of days later with little or no comments.

I agree with the points about people becoming defensive. The critique I have received has always been helpful and whilst at times it can feel brutal, its meant to help and not deter. It would also be helpful if people posted what they were trying to achieve and what their vision was at the time

It is truly disheartening when you post for critique and you don't get it, but part of this again should be improve if we can get more people offering critique then more posts should get more feedback, certainly empathise with that brutal bit to, receiving critique is certainly a important thing to be In the right mindset to get its not personal

I'm all for critique but being a newbie myself I don't particularly feel 'qualified' to give proper critique as things may appeal to me and I will probably miss something critically wrong with the shot... lol. But yeah, I am all for recieving critique on my shots as the reason for joining this forum was to improve and with guidance and pointers through critique I feel I can right my wrongs.

I do feel some members take comments too much to heart though and then get all grumpy because someone said they didn't like their photo... I am pretty easy going and take things with a pinch of salt so don't get upset over something like that but some people are very touchy.

David, I totally understand where your coming from, no one is going to suggest that to give critique on the technical aspects of the photograph or anything like that do as much as you feel comfortable with, even if that is simply saying what you do and don't like, you will also if others are giving quality critique be able to see the image, and see what others are saying about it and learn from that yourself even if it isn't your photo

Fingers crossed that this helps. I try where I can to offer crit but as others have said it's not always easy and I'm far from expert.
That said I feel like I can offer better crit now than when I joined the forum.

I think it's been said before but it's worth pointing out to those posting photos to not post too many images at once as this can be detrimental. It also helps when they are numbered.

All excellent points if someone posts a dozen photos it could easily taken 30 minutes plus to spend time looking at the photos, evaluating it then responding to as I've said above don't feel that your level of experience makes your critique any less valuable okay so you may not have all the knowledge of someone who's done it for decades but you still know what you like and don't

 

[huffy]

It can also be frustrating when you post for critique and do not receive any.

One thing that the new forum lacks is the unanswered post button on the top bar that was on the old forum. I did try to look in that list and add a comment to those threads which bumped them up and sometimes started them off again.

I believe there is a way to work round it but if there could be a one click way to access these unanswered threads that may help.

 

[ChrisHeathcote]

I'd just like to add that I have never been offended by anyone's critique, I have always taken it in the spirit that it was given and been grateful for the comments.

I think the spell of people having a tantrum over criticism we have experienced has in turn meant that in some cases people are nervous to post negative critique. Let's have a sticky saying "If you are easily offended move on" or something more eloquently put

 

[MWHCVT]

One thing that the new forum lacks is the unanswered post button on the top bar that was on the old forum. I did try to look in that list and add a comment to those threads which bumped them up and sometimes started them off again.

I believe there is a way to work round it but if there could be a one click way to access these unanswered threads that may help.

I'm currently accessing UAPs via switching the order of display to least reply's first, but Marcel is currently coding a new search for UAPs that should actually be a lot better than the old forums version and just as easy to use

I'd just like to add that I have never been offended by anyone's critique, I have always taken it in the spirit that it was given and been grateful for the comments.

I think the spell of people having a tantrum over criticism we have experienced has in turn meant that in some cases people are nervous to post negative critique. Let's have a sticky saying "If you are easily offended move on" or something more eloquently put

People have certainly been put offering critique by people loosing it after receiving critique and that really is where the report button should be pressed no one should be intimidated from offering their thoughts and critique

 

[ChrisHeathcote]

People have certainly been put offering critique by people loosing it after receiving critique and that really is where the report button should be pressed no one should be intimidated from offering their thoughts and critique

But we're all too nice to press it :halo: Also I don't think it's a case of being intimidated about offering thoughts, I think more about not wanting to upset the OP. So rather than say "I don't like it because of x and y" they don't post, or if they do like it but there is a fault they just respond with "nice pic"

Edit: great thread btw

 

[dinners]

It's a simple idea really but this is a call to arms as it were, I'm an advocate of quality critique helping to improve photography and to be honest the quality/standard of critique seems to have gone down hill on the forum, I remember joining this forum to get advice on improving my photography and it really has helped me over the years...but and it's sad to say the great service this forum did me is not being given as often as it could to members posting for critique now...

My vision for critique is to loose the fear of negativity that is a cancer to critique, if your polite and reasoned with negative critique there should be no cause for complaint from those looking for critique...so please don't be afraid to be negative, but if you do have to be negative do try to also highlight any positives also and if you have to knowledge or even a suggestion to improve make sure to offer it..

If you genuinely like/love a photo add value to your nice/positive comment by saying why or what you believe is so good

Remember also that any photo posted in the feedback and critique section is posted there for just that so regardless of prefix don't be afraid to comment as it will be appreciated..if you feel that someone has reacted badly to critique then it's best to use the report button than to get into a heated discussion

Finally an appeal to people posting photos, people posting critique on your photos are doing it to help remember they're not trying to attack you or make you feel bad, so try and take any critique you receive well, even if negative and don't remove your photos from the thread as even if its received negative critique threads are a learning tool for everyone not just you and when photos vanish it also discourages people from offering critique in the future...

So from one member to everyone other member lets improve critique together for the good of us all if we all do a little bit of critique every time we log in things will turn around fast

Matt

Nice post

 

[droj]

I'm in accord with this part -

It's a simple idea really but this is a call to arms as it were, I'm an advocate of quality critique helping to improve photography and to be honest the quality/standard of critique seems to have gone down hill on the forum, I remember joining this forum to get advice on improving my photography and it really has helped me over the years...but and it's sad to say the great service this forum did me is not being given as often as it could to members posting for critique now...

My vision for critique is to loose the fear of negativity that is a cancer to critique, if your polite and reasoned with negative critique there should be no cause for complaint from those looking for critique...so please don't be afraid to be negative, but if you do have to be negative do try to also highlight any positives also and if you have to knowledge or even a suggestion to improve make sure to offer it..

If you genuinely like/love a photo add value to your nice/positive comment by saying why or what you believe is so good.

But I'm less in accord with the other part - people post from all sorts of motivations and we're all capable of being errantly egotistical to some degree or limited in our perceptions. There are various genres of attack. Dialogue can be an agent of growth, but that doesn't mean it's always productive!

 

[MWHCVT]

But we're all too nice to press it :halo: Also I don't think it's a case of being intimidated about offering thoughts, I think more about not wanting to upset the OP. So rather than say "I don't like it because of x and y" they don't post, or if they do like it but there is a fault they just respond with "nice pic"

Edit: great thread btw

See that is in itself a little sad isn't it, I hope that if we can all work towards improving the standard of critique we can by the positive effect make it the norm that people are able to openly convey their opinions again it probably comes down to how that opinion is presented, ironically it sort of puts me in mind of when I went through training as a CSR for a national firm and part of the training was about avoiding negatives such as "no" I guess on TP it could be that we need to avoid "confrontational negatives" god that's some proper rubbish there I feel like I'm in a marketing meeting

Nice post

Oi Phil, this ain't no critique thread

 

[MWHCVT]

I'm in accord with this part -

But I'm less in accord with the other part - people post from all sorts of motivations and we're all capable of being errantly egotistical to some degree or limited in our perceptions. There are various genres of attack. Dialogue can be an agent of growth, but that doesn't mean it's always productive!

I'll be honest Rog, I'm a little lost in the point you were making or what parts of my post you were referring to? Sorry

 

[Pinkbikerbabe]

I know this is something that i struggle with and i stick my hands up and i am working on learning how to give better critique on other peoples photos. It's one off the main reasons i decided on the 52 and 365 challenge in the hope that i would receive more critique, that i can read and look at how other people structure there views and opinions.

 

[ChrisHeathcote]

One thing I learnt about giving critique (something I do in my day to day job as a trainer) is to always try and out a positive spin and end on a well done. Rather then "nice pic but...." There's a phrase I heard a while ago which has stuck and that is "everything before the but is bulldroppings" (cleaned up for the filter, but you get my drift)

 

[MWHCVT]

I know this is something that i struggle with and i stick my hands up and i am working on learning how to give better critique on other peoples photos. It's one off the main reasons i decided on the 52 and 365 challenge in the hope that i would receive more critique, that i can read and look at how other people structure there views and opinions.

I think, all though of course it works differently for different people it can be hard to start looking at photos critically so it can help at first just to look at the positives...I tell you what though I sometimes wish I could look a photos and not critique them

But if there is anything I can do to help just let me know and I'll try

 

[Pinkbikerbabe]

I think, all though of course it works differently for different people it can be hard to start looking at photos critically so it can help at first just to look at the positives...I tell you what though I sometimes wish I could look a photos and not critique them

But if there is anything I can do to help just let me know and I'll try

I do find it very daunting to properly crit a persons photo as 1 i don't want to upset them and i know that, my view will differ from every one else's point of view. The other thing that bothers me is i am still taking rubbish pics ( well not so much since i started my challenges ) because i had very little proper crit from people better than my self so i felt i have been learning the hard way.

 

[KIPAX]

Well as this is an old subject covered many times on TP i will give the same answer i always do..

You can give critique and do your best to explain and people will take it the wrong way and get upset..

You can give one liners and poeple say not enough and get upset..

You can give an alomost perfect critique and someone else will dissagree and get upset...

By starting this thread your looking for perfection with critique but you wont find it.. because we are all different and we all see things differently...thats always going to cause problems one way or another ..

 

[MWHCVT]

I do find it very daunting to properly crit a persons photo as 1 i don't want to upset them and i know that, my view will differ from every one else's point of view. The other thing that bothers me is i am still taking rubbish pics ( well not so much since i started my challenges ) because i had very little proper crit from people better than my self so i felt i have been learning the hard way.

I'll tell you something Mandy, take a look at some of the utter rubbish I produced at the start of my 365 which for me was all about learning and trying new techniques shooting every single day really did help me a lot, but so did the critique I received, I don't think you'll have a issue with the polite/courteous factor so as I said keep it simple to start with concentrate on what you like and why even asking questions on how someone did something too? It will all help you raise your confidence

 

[MWHCVT]

Well as this is an old subject covered many times on TP i will give the same answer i always do..

You can give critique and do your best to explain and people will take it the wrong way and get upset..

You can give one liners and poeple say not enough and get upset..

You can give an alomost perfect critique and someone else will dissagree and get upset...

By starting this thread your looking for perfection with critique but you wont find it.. because we are all different and we all see things differently...thats always going to cause problems one way or another ..

All true of course however if we don't try and improve the situation then where will that leave us?

 

[KIPAX]

All true of course however if we don't try and improve the situation then where will that leave us?

thats my point.. improve to what? you will never get it perfect... its not that bad as is

 

[Pinkbikerbabe]

I'll tell you something Mandy, take a look at some of the utter rubbish I produced at the start of my 365 which for me was all about learning and trying new techniques shooting every single day really did help me a lot, but so did the critique I received, I don't think you'll have a issue with the polite/courteous factor so as I said keep it simple to start with concentrate on what you like and why even asking questions on how someone did something too? It will all help you raise your confidence

Thats what i try to do for now is stick with what i like, given that i am still learning myself, i will get better it's just a matter off a little more time and understanding.

 

[dinners]

Oi Phil, this ain't no critique thread

Glad you got the irony.

With my serious hat on - I totally agree about the crit (or lack of it) on the forum which is a shame as I certainly appreciate constructive comments.

To be fair - you (Matt) give good crit. It was only the other day (I can't recall the thread) you gave what I considered constructive crit but it wasn't taken to well.

I'll crit your Fillongley lodge shots when you get around to it

 

[MWHCVT]

thats my point.. improve to what? you will never get it perfect... its not that bad as is

But is it okay how it is, with a sea of inane posts that don't really add anything to help people to improve in their photography?

 

[simonblue]

But is it okay how it is, with a sea of inane posts that don't really add anything to help people to improve in their photography?

I think you can improve your photography,by getting out their and taking photos,don't forget for a lot of years their wasn't the internet in which to put up your photos for quick critique.

Plus not everyone likes everybody style of photography,some people will simply critique not because the photos are bad,but because they don't like the subject,and are we masters of all type photography.

 

[MWHCVT]

I think you can improve your photography,by getting out their and taking photos,don't forget for a lot of years their wasn't the internet in which to put up your photos for quick critique.

Plus not everyone likes everybody style of photography,some people will simply critique not because the photos are bad,but because they don't like the subject,and are we masters of all type photography.

Of course getting out there and shooting is the way to improve you cannot improve if you don't take photos, but by your logic of there not being the Internet a few years ago to get feedback, does that mean that we should ignore it now that we do have that resource available to us?

And who is saying that people have to critique stuff that don't know about, there are genres I've little to no interest in such as sports or people photography as a result I rarely visit or comment on such threads, we are however lucky on this forum to have extremely talented photographers covering probably every genre imaginable

If you don't want to try and make the community that little bit better which is what I'd love to try and help achieve with this that is of course your prerogative

 

[boyfalldown]

But is it okay how it is, with a sea of inane posts that don't really add anything to help people to improve in their photography?

Good critique helps both the original photographer and the person giving crit improve. Being able to look at a photo say what you like, what you don't and what could be improved & why helps both parties.

That said, the thing that gets my goat is when people ask for and then ignore crit. Not even a simple thank you for taking the time