Why so many views, but so few replies?

[sabbath999]

Sabbath: Would you prefer that I, as an admitted beginner, only comment positively on your images or that I say nothing at all?

How do other pros feel about this?

Then I think you just passed on the part where I clearly agreed with you.

To be perfectly honest, I have no idea if you are a total newbie or Annie Leibovitz using a pen name, and unless your comments contained something that really stood out to me I probably would just ignore them. I is nothing personal, I assure you... it is just that the internet is full of people with opinions, and a person really should try to limit listening to people who can teach them something.

If you say "I don't like it" I respect that. If you say "why is it so grainy" or "why is it not nearly as sharp in the nose" I will answer the question with the reason. If you say "I don't care for the composition, I would rather see (insert appropriate comment)" I would take a look at it and consider for a moment... because composition is something that comes naturally to some people without ANY training or study.

It is all about the context of what is said.

I am not a pro when it comes to pictures on the internet, so I won't try to speak as one of them. I don't get paid in any way for any pictures that I post. I do shoot sports part-time for a newspaper, but I don't post any of those online for public comment... all the rights to those are owned by the paper. When shooting sports, the only opinion I am concerned about is the guy who is paying me for the pictures.

I personally would advise any "admitted newbies" to take all critique with a grain of salt unless you know for sure that the person you are getting it from knows what they are talking about.

 

[~Stella~]

...or Annie Leibovitz using a pen name....

I've been found out - the horror! Who tipped you off?

 

[Anelle]

Although I don't agree with everything Sabbath999 wrote, I do agree that ANYONE should take the cc they get online from whence it comes.

Another thing is that if you really want to improve technically from posting photos for cc ask for hard core cc and post your settings!!!!! That way I can see if you have a grasp of the basics. Another thing to do if you want some serious cc and you want to get it right in camera is to post your SOOC and your processed pic.

I actually think the cc on this forum is relatively tame (at least in my limited experience).

I never offer cc unless it was asked for and I refrain from offering it when the poster asks everyone to be nice. CC stings that's how it is, but it is also an invaluable tool for improving.

I only comment on a thread if I have something new to add. Or if the photos are OUTSTANDING or if I sense the poster wants honest cc...

Anelle

 

[skieur]

You don't have to be competent at all to say things like "it isn't sharp" or "it has a lot of noise" in it. But... here is where I start to have a problem... those type of critiques are useless coming from people who can't tell you how to make it better... or do better themselves. from Sabbath 999

In some cases the shot is not worth minor improvements because there are so many weaknesses in it. It is impossible to make a diffinitive statement about how to make it better without sufficient shooting information. Blurring could be due to your autofocus not being able to handle low light, a handheld telephoto, camera movement, subject movement, shutterspeed etc. Manual focus, tripod, faster shutterspeed, higher ISO, flash etc. might be solutions but it depends. Tripod is not an answer if the person did not have one, same is true for flash.
There are several ways to deal with noise too, but it depends on the experience of the photographer. Some are compromises that depend on why the photo was taken and if it is going to be used for some purpose.
Again there is seldom a simple one answer solution to a photo weakness.

skieur