If You’re Posting for Critique…

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coachjohn57

coachjohn57

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If this doesn’t belong here, I apologize in advance. I’ve belonged to various forums in a number of websites over the years and I’ve always been drawn to forums where the focus was image critique. At different times I’ve posted images I was on the fence about and looking for insight; other times I’ve posted images I felt were strong yet hoping for suggestions on how to make them better…I didn’t always agree with suggestions made, but I always “listened” with the intent to understand where the other photographer was coming from, hoping to glean something from their suggestion even when I didn’t see eye to eye with their comments. My rule of thumb was never to defend, always to thank them for their input, take from it what I could, and continue shooting. I’ve been a little surprised in this forum to witness the defensive posture taken by photographers who have asked for critique, and can’t help but think that it will only disillusion or deter those who offer their critique in good faith. Just food for thought.
 
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100% agree! It's a huge benefit to the learning curve if you can ask for critique and accept the input given. I'd much rather have critique than praise.

Until the time that my photos are being sold worldwide I am fairly certain I can learn something (and even then I'd venture to guess there is more to learn). :)
 
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I have been in both sides

I posted few days back asking genuinely for critique. One reply I did not exactly agree with made the poster very angry, and he reported me to the moderator asking for my thread to be relocated. A simple honest disagreement with the person who critiqued my work should not make him resentful.


Another time was yesterday. I was trying to critique a photo which in my opinion indicates very flat image in my opinion. The OP replied with very defensive manner causing me to shy away and telling him that the photo indeed looks fine.

My conclusion :

1-Most of people asking for critiques, they are indeed liking very much their work and want positive answers. It's human basic behavior at play. So in reality they are not asking for critiques.

2-The second group is when people critique a photo, they don't want to be challenged by the OP. As if a critique means OP shut up. We have to admit that some people who critique should accept the challenge from the OP if they give very odd advice.

Now regarding number 2 above some people will say do not challenge the critique. just list all of them and don't respond. I don't have issue with such view if I get 20 or even 10 replies because the odd critique will pop up as odd automatically among the others. but when you get 2 replies when one of them is very odd, the critique will be misleading and wrong advice specially to new people who try to learn.


So I think the best way is to stay away from such topics and just ask a friend who I trust about what is wrong with my image. For other people images, I will just say it looks beautiful like most people do any way.
 
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If I want a photo critiqued, I either send it to PSA for such by a someone formally trained in doing so, or to the camera club I belong to where images are critiqued by people with years of experience. Their critiques focus on constructive critique, and even as such, they do so as an opinion.

Even at the highest levels of photo competition, there are sometimes marked disagreements between photo judges, which is why there typically are three for each image. If this happens, judges discuss and rescore. Typically, the three judges will each score an image to within one-half of a point out of a total of fifteen points. That's pretty good in my opinion.

One of the worst issues in online critiqing is the tendency for most to tell the image maker that the image looks great, without further input. If it looks great, tell them why you think so. Then, if the image is absolutely perfect, stop. Otherwise, offer your opinion on way(s) that the image can be improved.

Oh, by the way, after I view one of my own images, I'm often one of my harshest critics; probably like a lot of others here.
 
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Whiskeyman said:
If I want a photo critiqued, I either send it to PSA for such by a someone formally trained in doing so, or to the camera club I belong to where images are critiqued by people with years of experience. Their critiques focus on constructive critique, and even as such, they do so as an opinion.

Even at the highest levels of photo competition, there are sometimes marked disagreements between photo judges, which is why there typically are three for each image. If this happens, judges discuss and rescore. Typically, the three judges will each score an image to within one-half of a point out of a total of fifteen points. That's pretty good in my opinion.

One of the worst issues in online critiqing is the tendency for most to tell the image maker that the image looks great, without further input. If it looks great, tell them why you think so. Then, if the image is absolutely perfect, stop. Otherwise, offer your opinion on way(s) that the image can be improved.

Oh, by the way, after I view one of my own images, I'm often one of my harshest critics; probably like a lot of others here.
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Yes, I too have seen some critique posts met with blind praise, such as a simple "nice shot!" for a photo that clearly needed constructive feedback. Similar to you, I send my photos to a pretty well known professional bird photographer for critique. His approach is very educational, not too harsh, and also supportive.
 
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I have also seen some critiques that cross the line into snarky, mean-spirited and just "clownish" comments too. Critique should be to edify, help improve, and encourage not cut down, belittle or be snarky. I saw one on a different forum where there was a field full of cardinal flowers and someone said the photo would look better if the flowers were pink. Well, the flowers are red not pink.

Jeff
 
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StarDust said:
Another time was yesterday. I was trying to critique a photo which in my opinion indicates very flat image in my opinion. The OP replied with very defensive manner causing me to shy away and telling him that the photo indeed looks fine.
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Sorry! I didn’t mean to be so defensive, I was just trying to say that I didn’t understand what you were telling me about the light being equally distributed. And from now on, I will take critiques the correct way, so sorry all!
 
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coachjohn57 said:
If this doesn’t belong here, I apologize in advance. I’ve belonged to various forums in a number of websites over the years and I’ve always been drawn to forums where the focus was image critique. At different times I’ve posted images I was on the fence about and looking for insight; other times I’ve posted images I felt were strong yet hoping for suggestions on how to make them better…I didn’t always agree with suggestions made, but I always “listened” with the intent to understand where the other photographer was coming from, hoping to glean something from their suggestion even when I didn’t see eye to eye with their comments. My rule of thumb was never to defend, always to thank them for their input, take from it what I could, and continue shooting. I’ve been a little surprised in this forum to witness the defensive posture taken by photographers who have asked for critique, and can’t help but think that it will only disillusion or deter those who offer their critique in good faith. Just food for thought.
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I agree with you completely, but good critiques are all in how one expresses them. Whether a photograph, writing piece, or something else, I always try to find positive things to say about what I’m seeing, and state them first. Having encouraged the person for what s/he’s done well, it’s easier to suggest other aspects for their consideration. I like to broach these in the form of a question “do you think the composition might be stronger if the subject was off center?” or “what if there was less negative space on the bottom of the image?”. I think most people don’t mind being asked their opinions about an idea, and are less likely to be offended or become defensive. I’ve watched Tom Mangelsen and other prominent photographers use this approach very effectively. Besides, most married folk know the art of diplomacy very well. 😋
 
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BAL Land said:
Sorry! I didn’t mean to be so defensive, I was just trying to say that I didn’t understand what you were telling me about the light being equally distributed. And from now on, I will take critiques the correct way, so sorry all!
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Actually I am the one who did not clarify my post. In many cases I prefer that the subject inside the frame should receive different amount of light or more focus than other objects in the frame.

But I also see your point that there are no other objects in the frame. In my case I would have played with the angle a little bit to reduce the light on the subject. However my way does not mean it is the right way, it is just opinion.

thank you for your civilized reply.
 
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