Are POTN members too nice?

Don't get me wrong, i love this place because of all the good and valid input you get when posting... but one thing i've noticed when it comes to images, i rarely (and i mean RARELY) do i see any critisism... i want critisism, i can never achieve perfection, but you need critisism in order to evolve and become better.

It's great to hear "great photo" or "amazing setpiece!" etc.. we all love to get positive feedback, and it boosts our ego's. But what if our ego make us belive that we are better than what we actually are?
There is one thing i hear quite often, and it's the rule of third... i hate that rule, it's almost like it's destroying your creativity... there should be only one rule in photography.. and it's "no rules"
I know my limits.. and i tend do uglyfi (is that a word?) my photos and many times i do things on purpose like high ISO to get the rugged seventies feel or take from weird angles etc. But i would still like to see (and get) more critisism when it comes to other peoples work.. otherwise...well..i guess we are all perfect then?

One of the best photos (for me) i've ever taken is this one:

http://24.media.tumblr​.com …vpWX1rtbm54o1_r​1_1280.jpg

High iso on purpose, slow shutter, unfocused... but it captures a moment, a rugged moment of life.. ordinary life. I just love this photo, to most of you it would probably be a crap photo.. but then i need to hear it (i propably wont listen since i love it) but some of the input might make me improve on the next similiar photo.

Well, thats my late night rant..

Thansk for reading.

It's not just a POTN phenomenon. I believe most is well intended but not necessarily helpfull at increasing skills. Constructive criticism is not easy to take for some.

Are you posting in the critique corner?

If you think cc is hard to get here, you should see Flickr!

1Tanker wrote in post #15421672
If you think cc is hard to get here, you should see Flickr!

I can't put enough Amen's on here for that...

Well, I'd much rather give positive and encouraging input to folks here than negative input. That being said, if I honestly think that I have a "constructive critique" to offer, sure, but to criticize just for the sake of being critical is not my cup of tea...

As to your photo, I could say "Ugh", but like you said, you would not listen to me...

For those who are really looking for helpful input, I'll chime in if I have something meaningful to offer, but often I'll just say "Nice" if it is in fact a nice photo/scene. If not, I will just not say anything!

If its crap I tell them it's crap. If its good i say nothing haha. All kidding aside I'd just like people to actually comment on any images I post.

If I have taken the time to make a comment like nice, a great photograph or you have caught the moment very well, then I like the photograph enough said. I do not comment on photographs that I dont like as a lot of them are subjective, you may think it is great while I hate it.
A lot of photographs on the board are not the type of photography that I do not do (or could do) but I may still like or dislike it but who am I to critique it.
Breaking my rule.The photograph you posted in this thread I dont like. After you explained what it represented I understand what you were going after but if I were to just see it hanging on a wall I would wonder why on earth someone would hang a out of focus picture up.

I don't think that "too nice" is a fair assessment. For the most part, members of this community try to be fair, honest and intelligent....that said, sometimes responses to a post are tempered by the tone of the OP.

I'm always amazed by the sheer number of people that submit photos for critique....accompanie​d by a variety of disclaimers. "This is the most awesome photo I've ever taken", "I showed this to my friends and family and they absolutely love it", "I'm new so please be gentle"....I think you get the drift. Then we have the ones that jump right out with the "Rip this one to shreds, I want to learn" mantra....immediately followed by an extraordinarily defensive post the second someone makes even a simple suggestion on ways to improve the image.

An amazing number of threads go missing from the critique section when more than one person says the "Greatest photo I've ever taken" could be improved. Lots of posters delete those threads and many leave the forum altogether. Along that same vein, you might notice that some of the most brutal critiques often come from people that are very new to the forum, they flame a few noobie shots to feed their own ego and then as often as not, they too vanish from the forum.

Photography as an art form is highly subjective. An image that speaks volumes to you might never get beyond my recycle bin....and vice versa. I think many times, people view an image and think that the images failings are so obvious that it isn't worth the time and effort to state them or perhaps the image is so banal and benign that it doesn't evoke any strong feelings....not a great photo, not a horrible photo....just mundane.....and hence, if it does get a comment, that comment is most often "Nice" or some similar sentiment.

I think members look at a variety of factors before they post any critical comments. How long has the person been a member of the forum, how many posts do they have and what have they previously shared? Most of us are not looking to run the new kid off....so the comments are frequently tempered. Some folks don't want to get a rep for being a "know-it-all", some don't want to get involved with what appear to be obvious troll posts and some just don't want to spend the time and effort to craft a thoughtful response.

As far as the image you shared goes, I can see where you are trying to go with it...and the concept can work....but in the case of your image, there are just too many things wrong that detract from the idea. The over-exposed area between the train and the passengers, the noise, the mediocre color conversion, and the overly out of focus nature simply make it look like a snapshot from a person that had never used a fully manual camera before and simply pushed the button, hoping for the best. The idea behind the image holds potential....perhaps try doing a series of images....starting with a well composed, well focused and well exposed version and gradually alter your settings away from that baseline to get a capture that actually delivers on the promise.

Woolburr wrote in post #15426173
As far as the image you shared goes, I can see where you are trying to go with it...and the concept can work....but in the case of your image, there are just too many things wrong that detract from the idea. The over-exposed area between the train and the passengers, the noise, the mediocre color conversion, and the overly out of focus nature simply make it look like a snapshot from a person that had never used a fully manual camera before and simply pushed the button, hoping for the best. The idea behind the image holds potential....perhaps try doing a series of images....starting with a well composed, well focused and well exposed version and gradually alter your settings away from that baseline to get a capture that actually delivers on the promise.

Thats what i'm talking about.. constructive critisism.
And for you saying that some people can't take it.. well then maybe they shouldent post their photos asking for opinions

bent toe wrote in post #15421531
Don't get me wrong, i love this place because of all the good and valid input you get when posting... but one thing i've noticed when it comes to images, i rarely (and i mean RARELY) do i see any critisism... i want critisism, i can never achieve perfection, but you need critisism in order to evolve and become better.

It's great to hear "great photo" or "amazing setpiece!" etc.. we all love to get positive feedback, and it boosts our ego's. But what if our ego make us belive that we are better than what we actually are?
There is one thing i hear quite often, and it's the rule of third... i hate that rule, it's almost like it's destroying your creativity... there should be only one rule in photography.. and it's "no rules"
I know my limits.. and i tend do uglyfi (is that a word?) my photos and many times i do things on purpose like high ISO to get the rugged seventies feel or take from weird angles etc. But i would still like to see (and get) more critisism when it comes to other peoples work.. otherwise...well..i guess we are all perfect then?

One of the best photos (for me) i've ever taken is this one:

http://24.media.tumblr​.com …vpWX1rtbm54o1_r​1_1280.jpg

High iso on purpose, slow shutter, unfocused... but it captures a moment, a rugged moment of life.. ordinary life. I just love this photo, to most of you it would probably be a crap photo.. but then i need to hear it (i propably wont listen since i love it) but some of the input might make me improve on the next similiar photo.

Well, thats my late night rant..

Thansk for reading.

Given that many members are from the US and UK it might just be a cultural thing....
For some reason the English believe that everything must be phrased in a positive way and prefer not to give any negative feedback... the problem with that: it sounds like idiocy and incompetence get praised because the tiniest positive aspect has to be mentioned...

I'm not sure what can be done about it to be honest... except ignoring all feedback because like that it is meaningless anyway...
If you speak German, maybe try photocommunity.de? At least the Germans are a bit more outspoken when it come to (negative) feedback.

How many on POTN are "qualified" to critique? I for the most part only chime in with stuff I am familiar with, I enjoy the images in the other sub-forums and the most I can really do without sounding like a tool in those scenarios is compliment the images.

Have you tried the "rate the photo above you" thread? Critique seems to be flowing there!

You think we're too nice? I have a solution.

Bring back Korrector!!!! He was brutal. Got himself banned a while back for something, not sure what. He'd rip you a new one just for putting "please be gentle" in you post in the critique section.

Honestly, I don't quite know where the culture of brutal critique for photographs came from originally, but I'm not sad that people take a little more time to point out both the good and the bad in someone's shot. I hate it when someone says "this shot sucks" or something similar. How's that helping the person learn? I think we can, as Woolburr just demonstrated, offer a thoughtful critique without being rude or obnoxious.

Well, time to go jump off the fiscal cliff. Should I bring my camera?

I agree with the OP-so many pics get posted of inane objects with nothing special whatsoever that a 5 year old coukd have taken and I seriously sit there for a few minutes looking trying to see what I am missing...and realise nope, is just another terrible photo. I don't understand why anyone would post such simple photos? It's like wow my camera can actually take photos-here's one I took earlier for proof, amazing huh!!

I'm still a long way of having photos worthy of being posted, but when I do I want constructive comments as you can't get better if you don't know what you are doing wrong IMHO

blogs wrote in post #15428578
I agree with the OP-so many pics get posted of inane objects with nothing special whatsoever that a 5 year old coukd have taken and I seriously sit there for a few minutes looking trying to see what I am missing...and realise nope, is just another terrible photo. I don't understand why anyone would post such simple photos? It's like wow my camera can actually take photos-here's one I took earlier for proof, amazing huh!!

I'm still a long way of having photos worthy of being posted, but when I do I want constructive comments as you can't get better if you don't know what you are doing wrong IMHO

One thing you have to bear in mind. There are people of all skill levels here. Not everyone strives to be the next Ansel Adams or Annie Leibovitz. For some folks, simply getting the subject in focus and in the frame is fulfilling a lifelong dream. Sure, everyone that comes here has aspirations of becoming a better photographer, but "better" is a relative term.

People seeking honest critique of their work can improve their odds of receiving same by taking the time to evaluate the works of others and provide them with honest and insightful comments. Active participation in the forum will certainly get your work noticed.

Another way to improve your chances of getting an effective critique is to spend a moment to explain the particulars of your shot. Were you trying to capture a mood? Were you trying to accomplish something specific with the image? Was it just a snap or was this a planned and crafted shoot? Does the image look anything like you wanted it to?

A surefire recipe for getting no input is to post an image this way: