Missed opportunity

[JAC526]

I like attaboys....don't get me wrong. But I'd much rather have someone tell me how to improve. Generally I know what I like about a shot. I want to know what I can do better.

 

[Rick58]

I'm a little confused about Judi's and Lew's posts. If I post a photo of a tree in the middle of a field and ask for C&C, I really need to add "How could I make this shot better?". Isn't that what C&C is all about?

 

[pixmedic]

I'm a little confused about Judi's and Lew's posts. If I post a photo of a tree in the middle of a field and ask for C&C, I really need to add "How could I make this shot better?". Isn't that what C&C is all about?

if you look at C&C lately, it seems to me, that when you post a picture for C&C, you not only need to specify that you want to know how to improve, but also WHY you took that shot, what you were looking for in the shot, what you were trying to convey with the shot, EXIF data and equipment used to take the shot, how YOU feel about the shot, and what you had to eat before taking the shot.

 

[PixelRabbit]

I'm a little confused about Judi's and Lew's posts. If I post a photo of a tree in the middle of a field and ask for C&C, I really need to add "How could I make this shot better?". Isn't that what C&C is all about?

Rick, I wasn't targeting you specifically with my post, it just happened to fall right after yours It was more in general to those who say they get no feedback.

That depends on what you want to get out of the feedback you get. It has been my experience here that the ones who are just looking for an attaboy! generally don't post any text with the image.

Post an image of a barn without text for C&C and unless it hits someone on a personal level or it is hitting a specific mark creatively nobody is going to say anything, it can be nicely composed, exposed, focus is good, etc etc... but .... it's a barn and it WILL get passed up. Post the same image and ask a pointed question about how to capture the barn in a different way with X intention in mind and you WILL get replies, you have stimulated the viewer by your words to illicit a response regardless of whether your initial image hit the mark with them or not.
Sometimes you have to guide the viewer into your thought process so they can get on the same page as you, give them something to chew on other than the image to get THEIR creative juices flowing in your direction so YOU get what you want out of the C&C.

 

[The_Traveler]

I'm a little confused about Judi's and Lew's posts. If I post a photo of a tree in the middle of a field and ask for C&C, I really need to add "How could I make this shot better?". Isn't that what C&C is all about?

Better in what way?
Are you concerned about the composition, the lighting, the depth of field, the color?

If just sitting back and expecting people to figure out what it is you don't know and want to know doesn't get you the feedback you want, shouldn't you consider actually trying to elicit answers?

And if you don't want to make a step, then you will continue to get what you have been getting, I guess.

 

[pixmedic]

I'm a little confused about Judi's and Lew's posts. If I post a photo of a tree in the middle of a field and ask for C&C, I really need to add "How could I make this shot better?". Isn't that what C&C is all about?

Better in what way?
Are you concerned about the composition, the lighting, the depth of field, the color?

If just sitting back and expecting people to figure out what it is you don't know and want to know doesn't get you the feedback you want, shouldn't you consider actually trying to elicit answers?

And if you don't want to make a step, then you will continue to get what you have been getting, I guess.

but, if you specifically TELL people what you want them to say...you lose the diversity of the different views people have on a photograph. one person might look at the photo and see some technical aspects that they recommend changing, color, temp, WB...
another person might see compositional flaws, or artistic flaws. if you ask for just one, you might miss out on all the rest. ask for C&C, and you can see what different people see in your photo, without the bias of them knowing what YOU think they should see.

 

[PixelRabbit]

I'm a little confused about Judi's and Lew's posts. If I post a photo of a tree in the middle of a field and ask for C&C, I really need to add "How could I make this shot better?". Isn't that what C&C is all about?

Better in what way?
Are you concerned about the composition, the lighting, the depth of field, the color?

If just sitting back and expecting people to figure out what it is you don't know and want to know doesn't get you the feedback you want, shouldn't you consider actually trying to elicit answers?

And if you don't want to make a step, then you will continue to get what you have been getting, I guess.

but, if you specifically TELL people what you want them to say...you lose the diversity of the different views people have on a photograph. one person might look at the photo and see some technical aspects that they recommend changing, color, temp, WB...
another person might see compositional flaws, or artistic flaws. if you ask for just one, you might miss out on all the rest. ask for C&C, and you can see what different people see in your photo, without the bias of them knowing what YOU think they should see.

We are talking about not getting any responses to a picture posted for C&C, if someone can post an image without any input from themselves and get the feedback they want then good on them, their method of posting for C&C is working just fine.
If you aren't getting any responses and you WANT more then it is up to you to figure out why nobody replies and how to get them to. The absolute simplest way to do that is to ask a question, open the conversation.

 

[The_Traveler]

but, if you specifically TELL people what you want them to say...you lose the diversity of the different views people have on a photograph. one person might look at the photo and see some technical aspects that they recommend changing, color, temp, WB...
another person might see compositional flaws, or artistic flaws. if you ask for just one, you might miss out on all the rest. ask for C&C, and you can see what different people see in your photo, without the bias of them knowing what YOU think they should see.

No, what you are doing is giving people somewhere to start, an entry into a conversation.

It doesn't take a master tactician to say, "what I'm interested in is this ....... but I'm happy to hear anything else.'

Let's not make this a silly passive aggressive encounter just asking for input.

If you don't get what you want and you don't ask for it, who loses out?

If there is help/input available if you ask, and you don't ask, who loses out?

 

[pixmedic]

but, if you specifically TELL people what you want them to say...you lose the diversity of the different views people have on a photograph. one person might look at the photo and see some technical aspects that they recommend changing, color, temp, WB...
another person might see compositional flaws, or artistic flaws. if you ask for just one, you might miss out on all the rest. ask for C&C, and you can see what different people see in your photo, without the bias of them knowing what YOU think they should see.

No, what you are doing is giving people somewhere to start, an entry into a conversation.

It doesn't take a master tactician to say, "what I'm interested in is this ....... but I'm happy to hear anything else.'

Let's not make this a silly passive aggressive encounter just asking for input.

If you don't get what you want and you don't ask for it, who loses out?

If there is help/input available if you ask, and you don't ask, who loses out?

but it didn't seem like Rick was looking for anything specific as far as critique on his photos. just peoples general opinions of them as far as a record of some particular item. that's what I got from his posts anyway. If he wants general opinions, then he pretty much asked for just that by requesting C&C. saying "here is my photo, opinions and C&C welcome seems like a decent conversation opener to me. Im not sure to what you were referring as "passive aggressive", my comment was honestly not meant as such, just my thoughts on pictures posted for general C&C.

 

[The_Traveler]

but it didn't seem like Rick was looking for anything specific as far as critique on his photos. just peoples general opinions of them as far as a record of some particular item. that's what I got from his posts anyway. If he wants general opinions, then he pretty much asked for just that by requesting C&C. saying "here is my photo, opinions and C&C welcome seems like a decent conversation opener to me. Im not sure to what you were referring as "passive aggressive", my comment was honestly not meant as such, just my thoughts on pictures posted for general C&C.

But he was complaining that he didn't get what he wanted.

So, he can persist in his previous behavior and be disappointed in the feedback he gets or he can try a new tack and see if that works.

His choice.
But, if he does persist in letting it 'happen' and it doesn't 'happen', he's got no complaint.

 

[The_Traveler]

There's an old story about a man marooned on the roof og his house during a flood.
First someone comes by in a boat and offers to take him off and he declines, saying he's waiting for God to help.

Then the Coast Guard sends a power boat, and again he refuses, saying that he's got a strong belief and he'll wait for God.

Finally, a National Guard helicopter hovers overhead and he waves them off.

Later that night, in the dark, he is sitting, wondering why he was left alone and God speaks to him.

He yells back, 'Hey God, why'd you leave me here?'

And God says, 'Hey moron, who do you think sent those other people?'

The moral being that, if help is available and you sit on your butt waiting for it to be handed to you the way you want, well, even God won't help you then.

 

[fjrabon]

my process is usually something like this. First, I post the photo with next to no information, just the image. I want to see if somebody has thoughts on it without any prompt. I leave it to sit on the board for about a day or so. If nothing, i might give a little more and ask a specific question. Then if a conversation gets going, I'll give more and more info about the photograph.

It's a tough balance, because a photo should generate thought with minimal content from the artist. On the other hand, you sometimes need something to get conversation going.

 

[pixmedic]

but it didn't seem like Rick was looking for anything specific as far as critique on his photos. just peoples general opinions of them as far as a record of some particular item. that's what I got from his posts anyway. If he wants general opinions, then he pretty much asked for just that by requesting C&C. saying "here is my photo, opinions and C&C welcome seems like a decent conversation opener to me. Im not sure to what you were referring as "passive aggressive", my comment was honestly not meant as such, just my thoughts on pictures posted for general C&C.

But he was complaining that he didn't get what he wanted.

So, he can persist in his previous behavior and be disappointed in the feedback he gets or he can try a new tack and see if that works.

His choice.
But, if he does persist in letting it 'happen' and it doesn't 'happen', he's got no complaint.

I will admit I can find no fault in that statement.
I would just caution people getting too specific with what C&C they want, unless they really ARE looking for specific aspects of a photo to be changed.

 

[JAC526]

There's an old story about a man marooned on the roof og his house during a flood.
First someone comes by in a boat and offers to take him off and he declines, saying he's waiting for God to help.

Then the Coast Guard sends a power boat, and again he refuses, saying that he's got a strong belief and he'll wait for God.

Finally, a National Guard helicopter hovers overhead and he waves them off.

Later that night, in the dark, he is sitting, wondering why he was left alone and God speaks to him.

He yells back, 'Hey God, why'd you leave me here?'

And God says, 'Hey moron, who do you think sent those other people?'

The moral being that, if help is available and you sit on your butt waiting for it to be handed to you the way you want, well, even God won't help you then.

Wow man, I just got freakin deja vu. I just told this story to my father-in-law last night. How crazy.

 

[Demers18]

Pixmedic seems to be the only one that gets it. If a person asks for C&C, that's exactly what they're asking for. "Hey here's photo, How can I make it better?"

Just so I'm clear, I guess I need to say.

What do you think of the exposure
What do you think of the crop
What do you think of my choice of DOF
What do you think of my composure
What do you think of my chioce of shutter speed
and on and on and on...

According to Lew, if I ask for C&C on my composure, and my photo is 3 stops off, I'll just hear about my composure. If I'm wrong, and someone WILL say "Hey your exposure is way off", then why exactly is it necessary to spell it out

I think what Lew is trying to explain, correct me if I'm wrong, is that if you like to have some feedback on the image you are posting you also need to put in a little effort as to why you are posting it for CC. For example, give a sinopsis of why you took the shot and what this image does for you.
I don't think it's asking for too much and quite frankly agree with it. Some of the people who help on this board will go to great lengths and share their wealth of knowledge, but at the same time they want to know that you actually put some effort into the photo.