Manaheim's Guide to Getting Comments on Your Pictures

[manaheim]

I occasionally see people complain that folks don't get comments on their pictures. Here are some tips to how to get attention.

1. Before you even post your image... please make sure it is straightened. Seriously.
2. Come up with a catchy title for your thread... try to come up with something that is going to make people wonder what's inside. Don't just call your thread "A Bluebird", call it "Cast Your Eyes Skyward" or something. Enough to grab people's attention.
3. DO NOT mislead in your picture title in a way that will tick people off. The most common one I see people do is to state that it's NSFW or something, and it's a picture of a cat. (har har) Mind you... sometimes a clever title gets you interest, but you have to watch you don't cross the line and annoy people. It's a tough line to walk. My advice is err on the side of caution.
4. Only post ONE image per thread. If you happen to have a theme going, sometimes you can get away with posting 2-3, but my advice is NEVER more than three. If no theme, stick to ONE.
5. If you post more than one picture, be sure to number each one so people can refer to them easily when they reply.
6. Make sure your pictures are about 700-900 pixels on the long side. Anything smaller is too small to comment on.
7. Keep your watermarks reasonable. If they interfere overly with the picture, people will comment on the watermark- not the picture. Don't for a minute think that watermarks are going to protect you. They don't.
8. DO NOT start off your thread by stating all the things you have issue with in your picture. In fact, my advice is to post almost nothing about your opinions on your picture... nothing about what you were trying to achieve, what you were trying to say, etc. Let people come to their own conclusions.
9. If you feel you have to make excuses for your image, it's probably not something you really want to post. My advice is to only post an image that you feel is worthy. Along these lines, don't post an image that clearly needs some work straight of of your camera with no editing and say "this is straight out of the camera". (this is probably more along the lines of how to get useful and positive comments, vs. how to get any at all, but I figured it was worth mentioning)
10. DO NOT beg for help or opinions in either your title or your post text. Begging makes you look silly. Simply say "C&C welcome and appreciated if desired" or something similar, and leave it at that.
11. Traffic tips... the more your post floats to the top of the "active" list on TPF, the more folks will see it. Do not, however, instantly respond to everyone who posts. Deliberately wait and respond to people providing feedback about once a day. This gives you an opportunity to provide a meaningful response, ensures you don't pollute your thread with tons of your comments AND gives you a chance to bump the thread every so often.
12. If you don't get a SINGLE response, odds are very good that your picture falls into one of two buckets... either so unspeakably bad that no one dares comment on it, or so uninteresting that no one can think of anything to say to you about it. My advice is to bump it once with a simple, "Wow, not a single comment. Is it that bad? " and then let it go. Usually you'll get a couple honest responses at that point. If you get none, give up.
13. Be courteous to those who respond and express your appreciation for them taking the time. If you don't agree with the comment, graciously accept it. Don't argue with them. (this is a tough one for me, actually... I get annoyed when people make remarks that I think are completely beside the point... hey... I never said I was perfect. Bite me.)

Ummm... I'm sure I'll think of more later, but that's what I have off the top of my head. Did I miss anything?

 

[manaheim]

@#$)(@#%)....

#14... watch for spelling errors in your thread title.

Can some kind mod please fix that for me?

Thanks.

 

[rexbobcat]

#15
Don't post three threads in a row with completely similar subject matter. I mean seriously? Can't it all just go into one thread

 

[KmH]

@#$)(@#%)....

#14... watch for spelling errors in your thread title.

Can some kind mod please fix that for me?

Thanks.

What spelling error?

 

[Overread]

Hey I did one of these too - though some of my points clash with yours - but then varying opinions and all

http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/...e-your-posts-get-critiques-your-work-c-c.html

 

[manaheim]

@#$)(@#%)....

#14... watch for spelling errors in your thread title.

Can some kind mod please fix that for me?

Thanks.

What spelling error?

Thank you!

Hey I did one of these too - though some of my points clash with yours - but then varying opinions and all

http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/...e-your-posts-get-critiques-your-work-c-c.html

Oh hey... you did. Very nice. I even commented on it. I guess I forgot. Oh well, was trying to be helpful.

 

[tirediron]

Good post Manny, and I agree with all but #s 8/9. I like the fact that the photographer has provided some critique on their own work; it shows that they're thinking about they can do better next time, BUT I don't like excuses, especially the old "it's my artistic vision" one, as in: "I deliberately under-exposed by four stops to enhance the drama of the stop-sign at the end of my street".

 

[c.cloudwalker]

Wow... 13 points? Really?

I only need one.

PUT UP A PHOTO WORTH TALKING ABOUT!

Why the hell do we need a so-and-so photog with very little imagination to tell us what to do?

 

[HughGuessWho]

Why do positive actions like this always draw such negative remarks? I just don't get it. Maybe the header of this forum should be changed to "Only self professed photography experts allowed. Anyone with any ideas other than mine will be beaten and swiftly expelled."

 

[c.cloudwalker]

Why do positive actions like this always draw such negative remarks? I just don't get it. Maybe the header of this forum should be changed to "Only self professed photography experts allowed. Anyone with any ideas other than mine will be beaten and swiftly expelled."

You are quite right. That should have been ManofHeim's thread title. And in that case we could have saved a whole lot of time....

 

[12sndsgood]

Good post Manny, and I agree with all but #s 8/9. I like the fact that the photographer has provided some critique on their own work; it shows that they're thinking about they can do better next time, BUT I don't like excuses, especially the old "it's my artistic vision" one, as in: "I deliberately under-exposed by four stops to enhance the drama of the stop-sign at the end of my street".

Im kind of torn on this one. When I post up photos I usually pick over what i dont like, sometimes I feel I should point them out more to show people that I have taken a hard look at what I've produced. But then there is the other half of me that wonders if I am being overly critical and maybe it's something most people won't even notice. So I tend to let the viewers come to there own critiscism and see if anyone else points out what I didn't like or thought needed fixing.

 

[Compaq]

If I'm going to try and critique with my limited experience, and I come across a picture that I don't deem very good, and nothing else is given, I'm sort of lost. What the heck should I be looking at? The photographer must have been triggered to push the shutter button. Not many are able to convey that trigger in their photograph, and even few beginners.

It's different when asking for constructive criticism. You're asking people to tell you what you did good, and what you could do better. I can't tell anyone my own opinions if I don't know what their intent was. How else can I conclude whether I think they did it in a good/bad way?

If you're at an art show, you'll just get the picture - not what the photographer was/wasn't happy about. There it's up to you to find the image's meaning. Maybe you find something that just relates to you - or maybe it's a clishé that relates to the whole world. C&C threads are art galleries, but places to ask for help. You must/should give something more than just the image, IMO, or else I, at least, will have problems coming with any useful tips.

 

[Overread]

c.cloudwalker - you're thinking like a gallery showing when you're actually in a classroom environment (we are in beginners not the galleries )
If people want guidance through the net then an important part of that is first learning to help themselves; this not only helps them understand things better, but also often opens them up much more readily to critique and comments on their work than if they simply treat it all like a gallery.

 

[c.cloudwalker]

Thanks for your input Overread but I am only interested in the Man's response...

But, just between us, if people want guidance on the net, they don't need to be totally confused by pseudo-know-it-alls.

 

[manaheim]

Thanks for your input Overread but I am only interested in the Man's response...

But, just between us, if people want guidance on the net, they don't need to be totally confused by pseudo-know-it-alls.

Oh I see cloud is off on one of his "I hate manaheim and must lash out at him" tears again.

This was just an attempt to offer folks on the forum some ideas about how to get some attention when they post asking for critique. It's not useful information in any way beyond the confines of an Internet forum, and is in no way a reflection on the quality of a would-be poster or myself personally.

If its helpful for you... Cool. If not... Well... I tried. -shrug-