This site is falling apart..

[Tasmaster]

Ok, so I am new to this site, and relatively new to photography. I am by no means a pro. I do not consider myself one. When I critique, on this site or the other I am a member of, I try to tell what I like, what works for me, what doesn't work for me, why it does or doesn't work, and maybe a way to change it. I try NOT to keep it at "great shot" unless the whole thing works for me. So yes, I nitpick a little. And I am worse on my own stuff then everyone elses. Nothing I post is perfect, I just thought it was good enough to post. Tell me how to make it better. C&C isn't and shouldn't be rocket surgery. What's good, what's bad, why is it that way, and ideas to improve it. Even a noob can give good advice. Most of the people on a site like this are going to be non professional with a varying degree of experience. If you say it sucks but do not give a reason why, it doesn't help anyone. It means your c&c sucks.

"Being a pro" and "taking stellar photos" are not interdependent.

Noobs can give good advice (to an extent), but usually they don't. By definition, noobs can't give technical advice, which is needed very often.

I don't remember too many details, but there was a debate a couple of years back about critiques and the general direction the forum was taking, the end result was a more newbie-oriented identity at the cost of some very prominent members who left around that time or soon afterwards. No proper critique either, as the emphasis moved towards being polite rather than helpful. Now, i've been away from this for more than a year, so things may have changed again - i'm just filling you in in the details. I guess this issue keeps popping up as long as the forum's orientation is divided between beginners and those that the beginners call "pros".

 

[Chris Fulton]

"Being a pro" and "taking stellar photos" are not interdependent.

Noobs can give good advice (to an extent), but usually they don't. By definition, noobs can't give technical advice, which is needed very often.

I don't remember too many details, but there was a debate a couple of years back about critiques and the general direction the forum was taking, the end result was a more newbie-oriented identity at the cost of some very prominent members who left around that time or soon afterwards. No proper critique either, as the emphasis moved towards being polite rather than helpful. Now, i've been away from this for more than a year, so things may have changed again - i'm just filling you in in the details. I guess this issue keeps popping up as long as the forum's orientation is divided between beginners and those that the beginners call "pros".

I totally agree that us noobs can't always give the best technical advice. A lot of what I have learned though, has come from hanging out at sites like this and others. Had I simply tried learning from a book, I don't think I would have progressed as much as I have in the past two or three years. And most of the people I C&C on are newbies that are in worse shape than me. As I said, I just try to critique how I would like someone to critique me. I don't mind someone telling me that something sux, just tell me why it does and how to fix it, whether it's a simple crop job, or reshoot with this filter and f/stop, or adjustments in Photoshop. And I don't really call someone with better skills a pro, just someone who has more experience that I can learn from. And I would rather be helpful than polite. You don't learn if all someone says is "nice shot" or "it doesn't work for me".

 

[Mike_E]

So, is the sky falling or not?