Actually, I'm rather happy with my progress...

[elizpage]

I received a lot of negative comments from this website in particular about my photography skills (or lack thereof). I'd like to thank most of you now for pointing out how bad I was or I would have continued to not perform to what I knew I was capable of all along! This is not sarcasm, but genuine thanks to those who actually let me know my "work" wasn't up to par... I mean, and boy, was it bad....

I was an absolute embarrassment... There's really no doubting it. Although some of you could have been more constructive regarding feedback, I am really appreciative of the criticism. Now I know that I need to put out quality work that reflects my skill. I think it is rather hilarious though that most of the people with the harshest comments had no work to show. For those of you that actually do have hard-earned skill and gave constructive comments, I thank you much more than those who showered me with negative comments with no evidence to back up the claim that they had worked harder at photography than I had.


I'm obviously still growing, but I've really found my niche and I think it's in studio portraits and fashion photography! Here's a shot from a studio session I did with a client when I was just starting in my home studio I set up... Yeah, I know they aren't perfect and there are some composition errors. However, I think this is a good thing I notice these flaws and can work to perfect this things - That way, I'll constantly be growing!

 

[JacaRanda]

Unfortunately, what you have written seems to be pretty negative even if it's accurate.
It's not always easy to do, but take the good and apply it to make your work better. Disregard the bad, if it's not helpful to you.
Our words may be just as much of a distraction to our images as a large watermark may be.

Nice moody lighting in both images. You cropped or framed too close, cutting off some finger in the second shot.

 

[Designer]

I received a lot of negative comments from this website ..

Perhaps you're just thin-skinned. I remember your screen name, but I don't remember commenting. Perhaps I was one of those who did nothing but grouse at you while not bothering to prove I had standing. Whatever.

Since you've made this post about your negative experience instead of showing a more positive attitude, I may as well add to the agony.

First shot needs more separation. Model needs more light. Can't tell if the frame is good or not, as I cannot see anything in the lower half of the frame.

Second shot you've cropped her fingers. Very nice otherwise.

I'm glad you found your niche. Please post again.

 

[tirediron]

To be honest, the tone of your post strikes me as rather condescending. I just went back and reviewed both your posts and the responses you received, and granted people weren't gushing over your work, but they were providing you with some very good C&C. It might be blunt, it might be direct, and may have seemed like people were attacking you, but as an objective third party, I think you were provided with a lot of valuable and useful information.

As a specialty that's very near and dear to me, I'm happy to see that you feel portraiture is your niche. Classic studio work is becoming a very under-served market in the 'cell-phone selfie' world of today. With respect to the two images posted here, I have to say that I like the concept, but I feel that they have a way to go. The fact that you recognize that is very good; and will definitely help you grow. None of us are perfect, but if we stop striving for it, there's no point in doing anything.

An excellent method for improving your knowledge is to post the image(s) and then post your own self-critique.

 

[Designer]

I think a very good intro to your photos is to tell us what you had intended. What pose you intended, what light you intended, what "feeling" you intended to convey to the viewer. The reason this is helpful is with all the members' observations, what you really want to know is how it comes across.

If by pure chance someone offers his opinion of what feeling he got while looking at your photo, that is one thing, but if you say up front what feeling you intended, then more of us can explore the feeling aspect. So it becomes much more valuable to you.

Don't leave important stuff to chance; be specific.

 

[dannylightning]

yep, you post photos here and people tell you exactly how the feel about them.. it may seem harsh at times but most of the time its not people being mean or rude, there just telling you like it is. every time i post a landscape i get mostly negative comments about it. now if i post that photo on facebook or what not people really like it but the experienced landscape photographers see it differently and i can see why, some people take amazing beautiful landscapes, mine are just so so compared to allot of those.. i really enjoy shooting wildlife and i do not usually shoot other things so that is probably why i am bad at it.. i seem to do well with music photography too but i have only done that a couple times. when i do post something and people say what they feel about it i just try to take it all in and think about it.

i think those photos you posted in this thread are nice.. never saw any of your other stuff.

 

[waday]

People can be blunt, but they can also be harsh. I can appreciate bluntness, but harshness... well, that leaves a bad taste.

 

[elizpage]

yep, you post photos here and people tell you exactly how the feel about them.. it may seem harsh at times but most of the time its not people being mean or rude, there just telling you like it is. every time i post a landscape i get mostly negative comments about it. now if i post that photo on facebook or what not people really like it but the experienced landscape photographers see it differently and i can see why, some people take amazing beautiful landscapes, mine are just so so compared to allot of those.. i really enjoy shooting wildlife and i do not usually shoot other things so that is probably why i am bad at it.. i seem to do well with music photography too but i have only done that a couple times. when i do post something and people say what they feel about it i just try to take it all in and think about it.

i think those photos you posted in this thread are nice.. never saw any of your other stuff.

Art is subjective, true. Thanks for these valuable points

 

[elizpage]

I think a very good intro to your photos is to tell us what you had intended. What pose you intended, what light you intended, what "feeling" you intended to convey to the viewer. The reason this is helpful is with all the members' observations, what you really want to know is how it comes across.

If by pure chance someone offers his opinion of what feeling he got while looking at your photo, that is one thing, but if you say up front what feeling you intended, then more of us can explore the feeling aspect. So it becomes much more valuable to you.

Don't leave important stuff to chance; be specific.

Yes, that's true too! Thanks for your insight into this. I don't really remember who commented, it's really not important.

I'm not by any means "thin-skinned," I just wanted to put something out in the open that's an issue here on these forums.. If it was negative, oh well.

 

[elizpage]

To be honest, the tone of your post strikes me as rather condescending. I just went back and reviewed both your posts and the responses you received, and granted people weren't gushing over your work, but they were providing you with some very good C&C. It might be blunt, it might be direct, and may have seemed like people were attacking you, but as an objective third party, I think you were provided with a lot of valuable and useful information.

As a specialty that's very near and dear to me, I'm happy to see that you feel portraiture is your niche. Classic studio work is becoming a very under-served market in the 'cell-phone selfie' world of today. With respect to the two images posted here, I have to say that I like the concept, but I feel that they have a way to go. The fact that you recognize that is very good; and will definitely help you grow. None of us are perfect, but if we stop striving for it, there's no point in doing anything.

An excellent method for improving your knowledge is to post the image(s) and then post your own self-critique.

I was provided with some information that was useful, true However, this post wasn't meant to be condescending but instead to point out an issue.... If a mod actually shuts down your topic and apologizes.. it may be time to address the issue.

I agree with growing constantly! I think the self-critique is definitely a good idea too.

I'd also like to offer some of my insight on how you might be able to improve your website if you'd like to hear my viewpoint on it.

 

[Vtec44]

Oh hey it's good to see you posting again .

 

[tirediron]

If you mean my personal website, then by all means. Hit me with both barrels.

 

[otherprof]

I received a lot of negative comments from this website in particular about my photography skills (or lack thereof). I'd like to thank most of you now for pointing out how bad I was or I would have continued to not perform to what I knew I was capable of all along! This is not sarcasm, but genuine thanks to those who actually let me know my "work" wasn't up to par... I mean, and boy, was it bad....

I was an absolute embarrassment... There's really no doubting it. Although some of you could have been more constructive regarding feedback, I am really appreciative of the criticism. Now I know that I need to put out quality work that reflects my skill. I think it is rather hilarious though that most of the people with the harshest comments had no work to show. For those of you that actually do have hard-earned skill and gave constructive comments, I thank you much more than those who showered me with negative comments with no evidence to back up the claim that they had worked harder at photography than I had.


I'm obviously still growing, but I've really found my niche and I think it's in studio portraits and fashion photography! Here's a shot from a studio session I did with a client when I was just starting in my home studio I set up... Yeah, I know they aren't perfect and there are some composition errors. However, I think this is a good thing I notice these flaws and can work to perfect this things - That way, I'll constantly be growing!


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The critical comments were about the photos, not you. When Socrates was sentenced to death, the last thing he asked the jury was to have someone to give his children the criticism they would need to become stronger and better. Criticism is not always an attack; sometimes it is a gift - of time, thought, etc. If I had to be able to prove I was a better photographer than the person whose work I was commenting on on this site, it would cut down my comments to almost nothing.

 

[KC1]

If you are happy with your photos, that's really all that matters. The rest is just noise. Everyone has a reason that they comment, and unless you know that reason you never know if the comment is even worth listening to.
As the song says, you can't please everyone so you've got to please yourself.
Happy shooting!

 

[waday]

The critical comments were about the photos, not you.

One comment that ended up being deleted (but is still visible due to being quoted) from one of the OP's previous threads:

"Is the fact that I would have deleted these images before they saw the light of day constructive criticism?"

Then a moderator came in and cleaned up the place. Comments like these make people that are self-conscious about their photos not post. That's not the kind of forum I want to be a part of. This commenter essentially said they wouldn't have even taken the pictures (i.e., "before they saw the light of day"). That's not constructive. Why not make comments about the composition, posing, settings, etc, instead of just bashing the photos?

I'm not trying to pick on any specific users that made comments, but we're better than this. In fact, the person that quoted this statement said they hesitate posting their photos because of comments like this. That's not good.

We can and should provide feedback that is constructive, not destructive.