There should be an artist crit forum

[kkamin]

I've been active on the site for a few months now and I've noticed that most of crits are centered around the technical aspects of photography--whether that be how something was achieved, camera gear, or the technical challenges with different subject matter.

I think that is very important, and I've learned so much about equipment and techniques over the past months, and this site in an invaluable resource to me. But one thing I wish there was more of, was artistic feedback.

As any of you who went through art school know, one of the biggest skills you develop there is being able to talk fluently about art--the creative process, social context and connotations, formal aspects, artist intent, etc. The big "why" we are taking the picture, is something I miss talking about. This is one of the biggest forums on the internet, and I know there are art school grads, students, and others on here that would enjoy a chance to communicate in this deeper way on this site.

I think there should be just one new forum dedicated to the "artistic critique".

Photography can be about collecting gear and taking pictures of ducks or high school seniors. But the other side of photography can be about Man Ray, Robert Frank and a vehicle for inspiring social change.

Thanks for reading,

Kkamin

 

[Overread]

I would totally agree with you on this count, infact I would go so far as to say that the artistic skill with photography is (for many) a lot harder to pickup and perfect than how to control and manipulate exposure and ones equipment.

I would love a section dedicated to the more artistic and compositional aspects of photography (an area that I admit I am myself not brilliant in). However critique sections in general have not faired well in the history of TPF (which is why we don't really have one outside of the beginners area) and when it comes to art, well its far easier for people to get defensive and attack back againt honest critique (since art is always highly subjective). A hostile atmosphere like that has already resulted in the loss of a lot of good and experienced photographers from the site in more recent times and I think that an artistic critique section, whilst something that I would peresonally welcome and use, is something that might simply not work here.

However all is not lost, by any means, just because we might not get a dedicated section for artistic critique does not mean that we cannot have critique based on that aspect nor that such critique is not welcome (many beginners just don't know to ask the right questions when posting and so will default toward technical aspects). A

 

[terri]

Well, it seems you are asking for two different things, one of which is already present on the forum.

When you say, "Photography can be about collecting gear and taking pictures of ducks or high school seniors. But the other side of photography can be about Man Ray, Robert Frank and a vehicle for inspiring social change." - I can direct you to the Photographic Discussions forum, whose main purpose reads as follows:
"A place to discuss what photography means to you: your influences, ethical challenges, abstract ideas, and other non-technical matters about photography and photographers."

Granted, that is a discussion area and not one for image critique.

@ Overread: How are your C&C Groups coming along? Would you like to incorporate some of these ideas into one of yours?

@ kkamin: If you are familiar with vB forums, you know that you can open up various Social Groups, dedicated to any subject you desire. Sometimes this is more preferable to members than trying to get a forum created to their own specs, simply because you can control your own content and only like-minded people will be there. Critique, in general, is something that has a wide array of interpretations - and, on a forum this size, it's nearly impossible to please everyone by a restrictive approach. We've tried it and failed miserably on more than one occasion.

You might strike up a discussion about starting a Group in the Photographic Discussion area, and see what kind of interest there is. Any of you can "own" a Group, and there are many ways to spread the word.

Hope this helps!