Ugh! Where to post what?

[PixelRabbit]

I've recently decided to try to expand my exposure a little and try different sites (I've only really used TPF and Flickr up until now). This morning I woke up to a bunch of very low ratings and negative comments on a couple of my (better) images. Not a nice way to wake up! I normally have a very thick skin and can take the bad as well as the good but this had a very narrow minded feel to it and as a kneejerk reaction by me and I removed them, it stung and I was immediately embarrassed (I know it was silly but I don't do mornings well to begin with, add in the comments and all bets are off )
After I got over myself I went and looked at the galleries of the ones who rated it and found selective colouring, underexposed shots and lots of not so good photoshop effects. Has TPF made me a snob??

I have quickly realized that some things don't belong in some places, section/site selection is very important to how your images are received. So my question is, what site do you find is best for what genre especially non mainstream?

 

[KmH]

Has TPF made me a snob??

I have quickly realized that some things don't belong in some places, section/site selection is very important to how your images are received. So my question is, what site do you find is best for what genre especially "fine art"?

TPF hasn't made you a snob, but TPF has made you better informed photographer.

If you haven't already, visit PhotoCamel - Your Friendly Photography Forum

 

[sm4him]

If the negative comments "seemed" narrow-minded, they very likely were, and I wouldn't give those commenters the satisfaction of affecting my emotions one way or the other. MOST of the negative comments on photo-sharing sites are from people who just don't have a clue anyway. They are reacting because they don't know the first thing about photography OR art--if they don't like your *subject*, they don't like your picture; they just don't see beyond what is a photo OF. That's why they LIKE blurry, underexposed pictures of their friend's new baby, or what their bestie had for dinner the night before--but put up something abstract or just a little "different" and they think it's a fail. But those people are of absolutely no consequence to you one way or the other, because they are not the people who matter anyway. One awesome thing TPF has done for me is give me a little more confidence (though I still tend to be an EWAC; Eeyore With A Camera )--at the end of the day, if *I* like it, it's a keeper. If others like it TOO, that's a great bonus--but if they don't, unless for some reason their opinion really MATTERS to me (like if Bitter says an abstract just doesn't work, or Charlie pans a bug picture), then I don't give them a second thought.
What's funny is--since I've felt more confident, I also seem to be getting much more positive responses to my pictures.

Anyway--the point is, don't let the naysayers rent out space in your head, for free. You'll need that space for new photography ideas.

As for what to post where--I sure wish I knew, but I struggle with that as well. I primarily use flickr and FB, and then use 500px for the ones that I consider my "better" work. I'm also looking at creating an online portfolio, on 500px or somewhere else, arranged a little better by categories of what I tend to do. For a while, I tried to quit using FB for my photos at all, and instead just provide links to the flickr uploads. But I found that very few of my FB followers were willing to actually GO to flickr and look at the pictures. So, I'm temporarily back to posting them on both sites, until I figure something else out. I also used to use webshots and picasa--but honestly, I just felt like I was spending all my time uploading photos!
My goal for uploading photos is basically three-fold; share them with particular friends and family, get my ego stroked a bit by others who like them, and possibly get a sale here and there, though again, I'm not looking to really go "pro." No shopping cart, sales are just when someone sees a photo and asks what it would cost for a print of it.

Basically, right now, I upload most online content to Flickr where anyone can see them, and try to organize it into Groups, and Sets and then tag them (although I think my organizational system needs a lot of work!). THEN, maybe 75% of what I post on Flickr gets posted on FB, where only my friends and family can see it. Then, not nearly often enough, I pick just a very select few to upload to 500px. Oh, and then there's my new blog, which is already feeling neglected. I really need to get a new post up today. That's primarily for sets of photos with a story behind them--but then, I can come up with a story about most ANY photo, so there's that. I try to write a little story, post two or three photos on the blog and then link to my flickr for the other photos in the set, to help drive traffic to my flickr page.

It's all a lot of work for someone who has no intention of making a living at this. Maybe I should quit posting them anywhere, and just spend the time TAKING more pictures. But I like the encouragement too much.

 

[PixelRabbit]

Thanks Keith, I haven't stumbled across that site yet.

Sharon, thank you! I needed that pep talk this morning <3
Normally I'm ok, I can fluff off the non constructive bad and keep it in perspective but alas it got the better of me today. You are absolutely right, presenting your work with confidence is so so so very important, if you don't believe in it yourself nobody else is going to.

 

[Buckster]

"But it's alright now. I learned my lesson well. You see, you can't please everyone. So, you've got to please yourself." ~Ricky Nelson

For me, that's really the bottom line, unless I'm shooting for a paying client, then I shoot to please them. If they choose an ugly background or want shots wearing stripes with plaids, that's on them and I just do my best to deliver. And that's okay.

But when I'm my own client (which is most of the time, because I'm a hobbyist, not a professional photographer), I shoot and process for what pleases ME. Even after more than 40 years of shooting and learning, a lot of the time, I super-saturate, overcook, color filter and mask like crazy, because I like the results. C&C often tells me that it's too saturated, overcooked and the colors aren't "real" or believable and, often, that all that stuff is just TOO much and not to their taste, and that I should do it different - I should do it their way - I should do what pleases them.

I thank them for taking the time to look and leave their thoughts, and continue on my merry way. Sometimes, I think, "yeah, what they said makes sense to me! I'm gonna fix that in this image and re-do it, or keep it in mind and use that advice next time!" Other times, I think, "nah... I like it better my way."

I think all it comes down to is that people have different tastes - WAY different tastes when you look at the whole range. In the end though, it's all subjective. No matter what it is or who made it, some will like it, some will abhor it, some will have strong feelings about it one way or the other, most probably won't, but it's ALL okay. They're ultimately just opinions and suggestions, and you can take them or leave them, use them or don't - but never take them to heart - even the ones that praise you - they're just opinions, after all.

Just be true to yourself and to your own taste and vision. Never stop seeking and learning more. Feel free to experiment and to recreate shots others have made that you like - it's great practice and a terrific way to learn - by DOING. Pick up tips and information along the way that you can use to shoot and produce what YOU like, then use it all to make those kinds of images that please you and your tastes. Don't let the CC along the way, bad OR good, get to you and throw you off your own course.

 

[pgriz]

My mother always told me: "Consider the source." That was very good advice. Lots of things get said, but it's WHO says it that's important. If someone on the street calls me an idiot, I can safely ignore the comment as they don't know me. If my wife calls me an idiot, then I better pay some serious attention, because she knows me better than I know myself. In the matters of taste (as Buckster already said), the first person you have to satisfy is yourself. Then, you pay attention to the people who have already proven that they know what they are talking about. Then you can listen to the noise from opinionated but not necessarily qualified critics.

 

[Derrel]

"Nobody ever went broke underestimating the taste of the American public." H.L. Mencken. This ties in with the "consider the source" comment from pgriz's mother. I think the taste of the general public, American and Canadian, in terms of photography, is pretty much white, balloon bread...so...if your photographs were not facile, cheezy, and insta-digestable, they would probably be savaged on many a site.

 

[PixelRabbit]

Thanks so much guys <3 I normally pride myself in keeping things in perspective, being able to process the negative into useful and useless and handle each as such, but this morning just wasn't my morning. It is great to get your reminders of perspectives.

I reread my OP and I think it shows my lack of coffee that early lol I came off a bit like a spoiled kid "pout, I got some bad feedback so I took my pictures and went home, pout" but I assure you that's not me. I KNOW that a lot of the stuff that I am shooting is definitely not everyone's cup of tea and I'm good with that, in fact I'm more than good with that. I'm fully aware that I will always garner negative reactions from those who enjoy mainstream and have a more rigid definition of what photography is.

I suppose the core of where I was going with this thread was where is best to show this kind of stuff with the best audience for it? One of the host sites? 1X, 500px, photo.net? Join groups? Just post post post everywhere?
I do enjoy my own work at this point and nothing anyone says is going to change that but I'm going to admit it, I would love to sell my work some day and perhaps even sooner than later so I'm trying to find where it belongs now to ease into the possibilities.

 

[Derrel]

SNIP>>>> I'm fully aware that I will always garner negative reactions from those who enjoy mainstream and have a more rigid definition of what photography is.>>SNIP

Such a diplomatic way of saying, "Doze guys wouldn't know good taste if it came up'n bit em' on da' azz!"

 

[PlanetStarbucks]

I suppose the core of where I was going with this thread was where is best to show this kind of stuff with the best audience for it? One of the host sites? 1X, 500px, photo.net? Join groups? Just post post post everywhere?

I would say that each place has it's own personality, and you should post there knowing that personality and what you'll get out of it. There's really a ton of places out there. As an example, I have an account over at fredmiranda.com, but have never posted anything there. It's a sort of intimidation actually...I find that the average level of work is very high. I like this place, cause it has a good balance.

On the other hand, I don't think you should abandon a site like flickr. It has it's personality, obviously...but don't dismiss it. It's a massive community, populated with a lot of [insert gentler word here]. I think it's valuable opinion though...it tells you what the world at large thinks of your work. I know the artist in all of us says "I don't care what they all think" but your success is ultimately dependent upon all of them. If they don't like your work, you won't make money at it.

...or maybe that's just the capitalist in me.

 

[pgriz]

As Derrel has pointed out many times in other posts, you'll note, I'm sure that the highest volume of sales of just about anything (food, services, goods, art, music) is amost never the quality stuff. Cheap (in all senses of the word), easy to access, not particularly fulfilling or a good value... The really good stuff is almost never seen in the public arena. But the equivalent to neon paint on black velvet painting - oh those we have a plenty! So you have to decide which battles you want to fight, or perhaps which needs you wish to fulfill. Keep the good stuff for those who can appreciate it. Make money on the stuff that everyone wants. And when doing the latter, keep your ideas of taste out of it.

 

[invisible]

Just be true to yourself and to your own taste and vision.

This summarizes everything about everything :thumbup:

 

[mishele]

Just be true to yourself and to your own taste and vision.

This summarizes everything about everything :thumbup:

:thumbup: That and that!!

 

[Overread]

My mother always told me: "Consider the source." That was very good advice. Lots of things get said, but it's WHO says it that's important. If someone on the street calls me an idiot, I can safely ignore the comment as they don't know me. If my wife calls me an idiot, then I better pay some serious attention, because she knows me better than I know myself. In the matters of taste (as Buckster already said), the first person you have to satisfy is yourself. Then, you pay attention to the people who have already proven that they know what they are talking about. Then you can listen to the noise from opinionated but not necessarily qualified critics.

THIS -

But also I would add, sometimes you'll get negative views, but the important thing is to not just read the viewpoint, but also the why. And if the person hasn't told you why something doesn't work or isn't good - ask them! Sometimes it might just give you some new insight into things; you don't have to agree, but it can give you a background to the different viewpoints that people have.


Also you are very right that different things will do well in different social groupings, its one reason that I will use a few sites and different social groupings to get a wider selection of views. Places like TPF are good as they are generalist, you get a little bit of everything with some experts thrown in. If you've some very specific subject/situation/type/style of phtoso that you like I would also hunt down some very specific groups that cater to those - join up and join in. You'll likely find the average (for that subject) will be higher and you'll get some different feedback.