Why so many views, but so few replies?

[LaFoto]

The exceptions may also be in our average audience. There are so many here who ALSO take photos (photos shown here in the galleries!) as a means of communication ... on photography, on art, on the subject matter as such, and so on, and the answers/replies/ comments of those might more easily be obtained with a bit of "history of the making-of" of the photo(s) shown. Maybe?

For there are some who take the artistic/philosophical approach to photography as "visual medium", and others ... are different? (I am, I know that).

 

[Big Mike]

I guess it depends on what type of comments you are looking for. Sometimes, you might want to hear opinions of what people think, without any further information. If so, it would help if the poster said that.

However, opinions are not critique.

 

[crotograph]

I think it depends on your ego. Sorry, but that is what it seems to come down to. Post your photos, properly cut and backed and hung, locally at a show or exposition. Not on the internet for proper feedback. You can't start worldwide if the locals aren't paying attention.

The mistake that amateur photographers make is to think that the internet is the way to recognition. It isn't. It starts with your friends and your learning. Not the world wide expose.

A niche and mistakes and reality checks are your friends.

 

[MX962]

Maybe they are just speachless J/K ! Dont let it get you bummed out most all forums are this way. Every one is here for a different reason at different times,sometimes there here to learn,kill time,whine,share,read ,view maybe they dont know what to say ? or how to say it ! or maybe they just dont care , who really knows ,But I think if you need to know what other people think or feel about your image you need to be specific in your post what it is you need to hear .
I for one am here to learn and share I spend most of my time exploring new things places like this are a great way to find new things ! If I see somthing I feel I can critisize in a way to help I probably will If the image has merrit to it I will most likely post about it unless ten thousand others have also .But dont let it bother you ! Regards Ed

 

[sabbath999]

I don't worry about it too much. Most of the time my subject matter isn't very interesting to most people, and my execution is nothing special either... certainly no better than many if not most here could do, and not nearly as good as some of y'all's everyday postings.

I post because pictures are meant to be seen.

The only time I get annoyed is when somebody whos own work I haven't seen or who has not shown they have an excellent technical grasp of photograph tells me that something like "it's not very sharp", like I had recently. Shooting an alive and awake animal, through a cage, handheld, 340mm, 1/60th of a second, f/4.5 (wide open 70-200 VR with a TC-17) at ISO 1600... sheesh, what do you expect, razorblades?

 

[Fiendish Astronaut]

I often read a thread and decide I have nothing interesting to add, or don't feel my opinion is worthy or based on a decent amount of experience/knowledge.

In this case though I thought I'd best reply.

 

[~Stella~]

The only time I get annoyed is when somebody whos own work I haven't seen or who has not shown they have an excellent technical grasp of photograph tells me that something like........

I see your point, and can appreciate where you are coming from, from a technical point of view, but whether you intend it or not, this type of response intimidates those new to the field (or just the forum) into not responding at all.

 

[schumionbike]

Usually, I don't reply to a photo which I think is decent from a technical stand point but the subject matter doesn't interest me. In those case, I'll let though who have an interest in the subject of the picture reply. That mean I usually don't reply to picture of animals or pets lol. But when I see that a photo doesn't have reply after 50 views, I'll post something, just to give the person some kind of feedback so they know how others view their pictures.

 

[sabbath999]

I see your point, and can appreciate where you are coming from, from a technical point of view, but whether you intend it or not, this type of response intimidates those new to the field (or just the forum) into not responding at all.

Personal opinion, if the person doesn't have the technical ability to do it better than me then they really SHOULDN'T be trying to tell me how to do it (assuming they are new to the field).

The whole "yours is crap, I can't begin to do it any better than that... but yours is crap thing" is just not necessary in my opinion.

I am not trying to sit here and be "all that" and say my stuff is great. Most of it IS crap, I recognize that. But it is the best that I could do, at the time, with my skill level and the equipment at hand.

I don't shoot in the studio, and I don't shoot set up shots. I shoot animals and sports, neither of which have subjects that are the least bit interested in helping me get a good shot... the are doing their own thing. Often it is in low light, and unless I am doing macro it is almost always done at long telephoto distances handheld under difficult lighting conditions.

As far as the "new to the forum" part goes, to me that's pretty simple... we encourage people to a link to their own work in their Sig lines.

Quite recently I had somebody make a negative comment on one of my pictures, somebody I didn't know said that one of my macros wasn't "all that", so I clicked on the link to see THEIR pictures. Wow. All righty then, this person was MUCH better than I am at shooting bugs... I should listen to any comments they have to make.

Which reminds me to post another peave...

 

[sabbath999]

OK, another peeve (moved this to the peeve thread)

 

[~Stella~]

Personal opinion, if the person doesn't have the technical ability to do it better than me then they really SHOULDN'T be trying to tell me how to do it (assuming they are new to the field).

The whole "yours is crap, I can't begin to do it any better than that... but yours is crap thing" is just not necessary in my opinion.

I am not trying to sit here and be "all that" and say my stuff is great. Most of it IS crap, I recognize that. But it is the best that I could do, at the time, with my skill level and the equipment at hand.

I don't shoot in the studio, and I don't shoot set up shots. I shoot animals and sports, neither of which have subjects that are the least bit interested in helping me get a good shot... the are doing their own thing. Often it is in low light, and unless I am doing macro it is almost always done at long telephoto distances handheld under difficult lighting conditions.

As far as the "new to the forum" part goes, to me that's pretty simple... we encourage people to a link to their own work in their Sig lines.

Quite recently I had somebody make a negative comment on one of my pictures, somebody I didn't know said that one of my macros wasn't "all that", so I clicked on the link to see THEIR pictures. Wow. All righty then, this person was MUCH better than I am at shooting bugs... I should listen to any comments they have to make.

Which reminds me to post another peave...

So criticism of any type isn't permitted unless someone can, by your estimation, out-shoot you? I can completely understand being insulted by someone who doesn't know what they are doing offering technical advice which isn't helpful - or talking out their ass in general, say about equipment they are inexperienced in, but no negative comments at all? I didn't realize one had to be a great artist to appreciate great art or to be able to spot flaws in good work? Isn't part of improving oneself in this field learning to critique in general so as to better one's own work?

I've never seen anyone say "wow, that's just a pile of crap!" to anyone's photos and even if it WAS a pile of crap, that would be not only rude, but not even remotely constructive, so if it's this type of comment to which you refer, than I'd have to agree with you, but it would be just as offensive and nonconstructive coming from a seasoned photographer - possibly even more since the seasoned photographer is in a much better position to offer advice on how to improve, so limiting this peeve to newbies really doesn't make sense to me. Nonetheless, I don't think that type of negative, unhelpful, comment has any place in this forum.

I'm gonna be your next peeve aren't I.

 

[sabbath999]

I didn't realize one had to be a great artist to appreciate great art or to be able to spot flaws in good work? Isn't part of improving oneself in this field learning to critique in general so as to better one's own work?

I've never seen anyone say "wow, that's just a pile of crap!" to anyone's photos and even if it WAS a pile of crap, that would be not only rude, but not even remotely constructive, so if it's this type of comment to which you refer, than I'd have to agree with you, but it would be just as offensive and nonconstructive coming from a seasoned photographer - possibly even more since the seasoned photographer is in a much better position to offer advice on how to improve, so limiting this peeve to newbies really doesn't make sense to me. Nonetheless, I don't think that type of negative, unhelpful, comment has any place in this forum.

I'm gonna be your next peeve aren't I.

When I say "you" in the following it is the "royal" you, not anybody in particular.

You don't have to be a "great artist" to be a critic for things like subject choice and composition. You don't have to be a "great artist" to compare one person's work to another... to say that "you are not as good as so-and-so" at shooting macro, and that is fair as well.

You don't have to even be able to take a simple snapshot to look at a picture and say "I like it" or "I don't like it". Fair enough.

You don't have to be competent at all to say things like "it isn't sharp" or "it has a lot of noise" in it. But... here is where I start to have a problem... those type of critiques are useless coming from people who can't tell you how to make it better... or do better themselves.

If you are going to criticize how a painter chooses to do his brushstrokes, you really actually DO need to know exactly how to do that brushwork yourself with that particular type of paint, on that particular type of canvas.

I don't believe that one should criticize technique unless that person is capable of actually doing the technique to at least the level of the person they are critiquing.

There are infinite levels of sharpness, and infinite levels of noise. Unless the person offering the critique is technician enough to understand exactly how each of the settings in a given situation can be adjusted, and improved upon, then simply pointing out "it is noisy" is of absolutely no help to anybody.

Sure, it is noisy... but how do I fix that given the equipment that I own, and the subject matter that I am shooting?

Since I have actually seen people calling other people's pictures crap, literally, I will just take a pass on the second part of your reply.

 

[~Stella~]

Sabbath: Would you prefer that I, as an admitted beginner, only comment positively on your images or that I say nothing at all?

How do other pros feel about this?

Since I have actually seen people calling other people's pictures crap, literally, I will just take a pass on the second part of your reply.

Then I think you just passed on the part where I clearly agreed with you.

 

[jols]

find another forum that is not so busy if you want feedback

 

[Tasmaster]

Unless i am mistaken, wasn't there a dedicated critique section in this forum a while ago? Where people could (and were supposed to) post direct, frank, in-your-face commentary - polite but sincere, with the aim to point out each and every fault they could find in a photo, while providing suggestions and directions to correct them. I'd really like such a section, geared towards a high/pro standard - complete with a big warning label for the average newbie (both poster and critic) to steer clear or be ready to accept the roasting . I realise that it has to be highly moderated, at least until everyone understands what it is about.