What is the 'proper' thing to expect?

The_Traveler

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Out of the many times I have commented on pictures, virtually all of the positive comments have been mentioned by the OP in some way.

OTOH, if I make a comment that describes what I see as a failing in the picture, often the OP will not respond at all.

This happens most often when there is a landslide of 'attaboy' responses and I post the sole negative one.

On the odd occasion the OP will respond with a burst of anger as if I had violated some sort of gentleman's agreement not to mention the awful color or terrible composition.

What do you expect when you comment and what do you do when you post and get comments?
 
I like it when people praise me obviously, but if there's something I can learn from their experience, I'd love to hear it.
 
Never happened to me, but generally if i'm really going to do a serious crit, it's on someone who frequents this forum and I think they can buck up and take it.

hopefully receiving the same in return.
 
Switch, I think that's a great point. If someone is serious about wanting critique, than chances are they will accept the good and the bad. It's the people who are posting more for an ego boost, or who already "know" that their picture is amazing, that respond to criticism as a personal attack.

I haven't yet posted any pictures on here yet, but I hope that when I do, I have the maturity to accept both praise and criticism.
 
If someone is serious about wanting critique, than chances are they will accept the good and the bad.


agreed. I like a compliment just as much as the next guy, but I would rather have someone telling me what's wrong with my pic (or what they dislike), than hear nothing at all.





pascal
 
Traveler-I know which thread brought this up, and I think they were out of line for getting upset.
Personally, if I don't get any negative feedback, I assume everything is good and I'll continue shooting that way. I can only learn if someone gives me some constructive criticism.
 
Please keep in mind the following post is filled with glittering generalites... obviously, I am talking about groups of people and individuals vary.

We live in a world where our educational system values "self esteem" above all else, and people who are coming out of school today have it in droves.

Everybody who participates gets an award these days. In sports, if you go to a banquet, everybody wins something.

While this has raised an entire generation of very confident people, it has also raised a generation that simply doesn't know how to take criticism correctly.

On kind of a side note (but still somewhat on topic), I have a good friend who is an HR director for a regional company with several thousand employees. There is a very disturbing trend in HR involving people who simply cannot take criticism... they are calling their mommy.

Seriously.

A boss give a "yearly review," and even though it may be 95 percent positive with only a couple of "you need to improve this" sort of things, the second the person leaves the office the cell phone flips open and he/she is crying to mommy on the phone. Mommy (or Daddy) then calls the HR director in a rage, demanding an appointment to sort it all out...

The first time this happened to my friend, she kind of freaked out... then it started happening on a monthly basis. Now, it is happening on a DAILY basis.

This sounds completely nuts to those of us who have faced reviews like this: "You are still getting your paycheck, if you mess up I will fire you. Until I do, I guess you know where you stand".

Anyway, it sounds like this would be a whacked-out isolated case, but in fact it is a trend... a REAL problem that is happening more often as the children of helicopter parents are entering the work force.

If you jack up an entire generation's self esteem, teaching them that whatever they do is "just fine" then the flip side of it is that you strip out their ability to take constructive criticism in the manner it was intended.
 
When the occasional child (I actually mean photographer) reacts badly to what I say that stirs two opposing emotions on me. First, I resolve to be more careful before I say something negative and then I think, 'Well, screw that. I'm not their mommy. I'll say what I think, or close to it.'

For me, it is an issue of respect. I will respect them as adults and will be honest but civil and not treat them like children who need something sweet to take their medicine with.
 
Sabbath: what you said is very very true!

What some people need is to get familiar with disappointment from time to time. Thats the only thing that will make you grow. I grew up with hard knocks, and it was a good thing. It taught me a lot of good lessons about myself.

Nothing annoys me more than someone walking around with a huge head and delusional thinking. Criticism or critique, when properly applied, keeps us humble and striving for improvement.

I would rather have an honest opinion than a "feel good" opinion any day!! If it is both "honest" AND "feel good", then bonus for me. But I'm not going to expect it.

Traveler: you have been nothing but honest with me since day 1, and that is worth its weight in gold.
 
When I post comments about someone else's picture, I don't really have any expectations. If they like what I say, great. If they think I'm completely off-base, that's fine too.

When I post a photo for comments, I really want *honest* feedback. The positive stuff is certainly nice to hear; but I can get that from friends and family. I don't learn much that way. I truly want to hear the negative stuff as well. Criticism from more experienced photographers helps me grow and improve my skills. I want to be a better photographer much, much more than I want someone to give me an ego boost.
 
I think that some of the problem is that beginners tend to see only the subject of the photo and none of the details or other things in the shot.
Some espouse an enthusiasm for photography but don't do their homework so-to-speak as in reading some basic books on photographic technique, studying composition, and carefully looking at photos with technical and compositional excellence. This total lack of basic knowledge is displayed when the OP, for example, seems "insulted" when you point out that portraits are supposed to flatter the subject or that blue grass and blue pavement might indicate a colour problem.

On the poster side of the critique, comments such as: "I don't like the ......" or other comments of strickly personal taste are not terribly helpful.

I think that the expectation from the OP should be meaningful, knowledgeable and helpful comments whether positive or negative. Beyond that, encouragement or diplomacy may be a goal of the moderators but realistically that is not a skill that everyone has.

skieur
 
For me the best comment is the truth but not just the bad. I would like to read the bad and good. I tend to judge each comment on it's own and not overall. So for example if The_Traveler were to comment on my photo and all he said was all the bad things then I would think there was nothing good that he liked at all and his opinion is valued more than lets say a newbie BUT what if The_Traveler actually thought my composition was good then it would be nice to have that comment too. That way I can look and say from a professional's eyes all these things need work but I got my composition right! I appreciate all my comments even from a newbie but the ones that are really valued are from someone with much experience. Does that make sense. And if the whole picture stinks and I didn't do one thing right, then let me know, be brutal, just tell me the truth!
 
I'd like constructive criticism as well as people noting what they particularly liked about it so I can try to minimize the faults and capitalize on the strengths next time. I personally try to mention at least something positive about it while commenting on the weaknesses.

That said, I'm new and realize I have a lot of weaknesses to overcome - it's very encouraging to get a positive comment when you are a beginner.
 

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