CC ethics

[ndancona]

I was recently sent an angry private message on facebook telling me not to comment on his images.

I was invited to "Like" this guy's photography page and one of his images caught my eye. It was a BW portrait of a semi nude girl. It was side lit with one off camera speed light. However, he had a bit of light spillage in the background and the image did not have a clean dark background which is what I believe he was trying to achieve. There was a reflection off a wall or background object that left a visible horizontal line going across the image and intersecting the models head.

I commented on the image complementing him and mentioning that I thought this particular image was the strongest of the set. Since he is a beginner photographer I thought I would offer some support and point out what I mentioned above, since it's an easy fix.

A few moments later my comment was removed and I got an angry PM saying not to offer CC if it is not asked for and that he would never ask for CC on an open page.

So it got me thinking to what exactly are the ethics of CC? Why invite me to Like your page if you don't want me to say anything?

What are your thoughts....

 

[goooner]

IMO life's too short to bother tbh. I'm not on facebook, but if I get C&C on here I tend to take it in stride. I can understand if you are a professional and your clients are also looking at your work. If they (your clients) see negative C&C it might sow seeds of doubt, but then it is the photogs fault for posting these images on an open forum.

 

[SCraig]

Many people only want praise, not critique. They see nothing wrong with their photographs and are unwilling to admit that others might see flaws.

 

[Bryston3bsst]

Many people only want praise, not critique. They see nothing wrong with their photographs and are unwilling to admit that others might see flaws.

I think it's safe to say all people want praise. But then again not every one of the pictures we shoot are worthy of praise. There are many here that are just starting out and truly want to know what they can do to improve their pictures. There are those too that feel obligated to offer only criticism probably because it makes them feel superior, who knows. Then there are the situations where the comments stem from personal taste, a little lighter, little darker, crop this, remove that......and for a beginner, I think that just adds to their confusion. Those comments aren't necessarily made with regard to improving the image so much as to improve the image to the preferences of the commenter. Which, of course, are useless for technical improvement.

Something else lacking in many 'critiques' that is very important is common courtesy. But that's probably another discussion.

 

[TomOScott]

I never critique a photo unless the photographer is specifically asking for it. I learned the hard way, as apparently the OP has.

 

[mmaria]

I’ve started my photography page on fb recently. I haven't used fb privately for a few years now but I decided to present my photos there also...

If I got the comment like that I would immediately take down the photo, fix what's there to be fixed and upload it again sending you the following message: "Thank you for noticing that I made a mistake... would you please be kind if you see something is wrong with the photo in the future, would you send me a pm, I would be very grateful to you. Thanks again"

idk.. people are very sensitive and I don't understand why..

but.. I would post on facebook only photos that I'm sure are just the way I want them to be. If I got cc and someone doesn't like my photo I would politely respond something like this "I understand you don't like it but I do... and thank you for taking the time to comment"

but also... I wouldn't post c&c on a fb page.. or anywhere where isn't specificaly said that the photographer wants c&c.

 

[tirediron]

Many people, especially beginners (in any field) don't know what they don't know, and if they get a bunch of "Mom compliments" from friends & family who know even less, they can begin to feel that they're more skilled than they really are, and wen the bubble's popped, it hurts. Personally, I would always rather have someone point out an issue, or make a suggestion for improvement in my work. I don't have to accept it, or even agree with it, but I always appreciate the fact that people are looking at my work.

As for offering unsolicited C&C, I'm not a facebookian, so the OPs scenario isn't a likely one for me, but I will try and offer, polite, positive suggestions for improvement when I see there's a need for it.

 

[waday]

Because the photographer wasn't asking for C&C, you could have sent him a private message with the critique rather than posting it in the public eye. A little courtesy goes a long way.

 

[Gary A.]

Many people only want praise, not critique. They see nothing wrong with their photographs and are unwilling to admit that others might see flaws.

I am one of those people.

 

[ronlane]

Because the photographer wasn't asking for C&C, you could have sent him a private message with the critique rather than posting it in the public eye. A little courtesy goes a long way.

But this is the interweb, where it's just easier to slam people as apposed to being nice.

 

[Bryston3bsst]

Because the photographer wasn't asking for C&C, you could have sent him a private message with the critique rather than posting it in the public eye. A little courtesy goes a long way.

But this is the interweb, where it's just easier to slam people as apposed to being nice.

And while the whole world is watching. And, apparently, it's more enjoyable for the slammer than being a decent human being.

Many people, especially beginners (in any field) don't know what they don't know, and if they get a bunch of "Mom compliments" from friends & family who know even less, they can begin to feel that they're more skilled than they really are, and wen the bubble's popped, it hurts. Personally, I would always rather have someone point out an issue, or make a suggestion for improvement in my work. I don't have to accept it, or even agree with it, but I always appreciate the fact that people are looking at my work.

This so true. Friends and family always fawn over your work which, as you mention, can be very misleading.

 

[Dave442]

I think critiquing a photo on social media is something like calling out to all the shoppers in the food market so you can yell out that you like the bananas, but there is one that is overripe.

 

[jsecordphoto]

I hate when people critique photos on my social media pages- even if they offer something helpful that I could use. I belong to a group on FB with a small (25-30) group of talented landscape photographers, specifically for critique. Even though critique can hurt, I regularly post images there before putting out the final version on my business page, and they've pointed out stuff that I had missed that really helped create a stronger final photo. Here, I appreciate critique.

Everybody has different reasons for creating social media accounts for their photography, but as somebody trying to run a business I feel like it's rude and self serving for somebody to publicly post critique on one of my photos. I have had people privately message me and offer helpful (and sometimes not) critique and that's always appreciated though.

 

[otherprof]

I was recently sent an angry private message on facebook telling me not to comment on his images.

I was invited to "Like" this guy's photography page and one of his images caught my eye. It was a BW portrait of a semi nude girl. It was side lit with one off camera speed light. However, he had a bit of light spillage in the background and the image did not have a clean dark background which is what I believe he was trying to achieve. There was a reflection off a wall or background object that left a visible horizontal line going across the image and intersecting the models head.

I commented on the image complementing him and mentioning that I thought this particular image was the strongest of the set. Since he is a beginner photographer I thought I would offer some support and point out what I mentioned above, since it's an easy fix.

A few moments later my comment was removed and I got an angry PM saying not to offer CC if it is not asked for and that he would never ask for CC on an open page.

So it got me thinking to what exactly are the ethics of CC? Why invite me to Like your page if you don't want me to say anything?

What are your thoughts....

"Lord how much clearer I can see without my pride." From the Bobby Bare song, "I can almost see Houston from here." Some people you can't help. Doesn't mean you shouldn't keep trying with other people. There are two types of criticism - the type that means to tear someone down, and the type that is meant to make them stronger. Some people can't tell the difference.

 

[Derrel]

My experience is that rank beginners and novices often appreciate being given suggestions, tips, and helpful C&C. The people who know the least and who need the most help are the people who almost always appreciate helpful suggestions and insight from others. My experience also shows that once these same people get a few years of experience, they often move to the category of, "Don't say anything bad about my pictures--I KNOW WHAT I AM DOING, so kindly STFU, and praise my skills!"