Photography Forum, What's the Point?

I think that if you post an image on a public forum then you have to accept any comments, good, bad or indifferent, whether asked for or not.

ejenner wrote in post #18563323
I usually only comment on others if the photographer is clearly good. Good photographers are usually less defensive because they know they are good and so are less likely to care about your comment or take it personally.

That makes a lot of sense to me. I avoid 'constructively critiquing' images put up by photographers whose skills seem less well developed ... unless they have made it clear they would appreciate this. Why risk discouraging somebody? But commenting on or raising a query about a photograph taken by somebody who is clearly on top of their game seems fair, especially when they are posting images frequently. It's really instructive to learn why they made the choices they did ... and if you have stumbled on something they could have done better, a good photographer is not going to be offended or discouraged.

Whatever is being commented on, it's sensible and polite to begin with some positives. I'll only ever make unsolicited comments on an image if I think it's already good enough to be worth making better ... so there will always be positive aspects to offer a genuine compliment on. It's not difficult to do.

Gart's comment above on posters who put up images for C&C and then become highly sensitive if there is the least hint of actual critiquing rings very true. If somebody is just sharing their images, I can understand why criticism might draw a hostile response. But getting offended when not everybody who comments on a photograph put up for C&C thinks it's 'just perfect exactly the way it is' really is a bit daft.

Since then providing of opinion about photo has become not available on P.O.T.N? I'm not aware of it.
Nor I'm aware of specific part of the forum mentioned in OP.
I'm well aware of critique sub-forum. It is next to this sub-forum

kf095 wrote in post #18563601
Since then providing of opinion about photo has become not available on P.O.T.N? I'm not aware of it.

I don't understand what it is that you are saying here. . Could you please clarify this statement (or question, or whatever it is)?


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Tom Reichner wrote in post #18563619
I don't understand what it is that you are saying here. . Could you please clarify this statement (or question, or whatever it is)?

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It was given in response to this:
"The premise of the discussion was whether constructive criticism should be given in the "Photo Sharing & Visual Enjoyment" part of this forum."

kf095 wrote in post #18563645
It was given in response to this:
"The premise of the discussion was whether constructive criticism should be given in the "Photo Sharing & Visual Enjoyment" part of this forum."

Then why do you say that "providing of opinion about photo has become not available on POTN" ?

What makes you think that this is not available?

It may be inappropriate most of the time, but it has always been available, and still is, of course, available.

If you think that this has become unavailable, then perhaps you got confused at some point in this discussion and misunderstood what someone wrote.


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Tom Reichner wrote in post #18563669
Then why do you say that "providing of opinion about photo has become not available on POTN" ?

What makes you think that this is not available?

It may be inappropriate most of the time, but it has always been available, and still is, of course, available.

If you think that this has become unavailable, then perhaps you got confused at some point in this discussion and misunderstood what someone wrote.

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Where exactly I wrote what critique is not available? I was far from it. One more time, even dedicated forum for critique is available.

kf095 wrote in post #18563686
Where exactly I wrote what critique is not available? I was far from it. One more time, even dedicated forum for critique is available.

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I think that when you wrote "since then" instead of "since when" I misunderstood what you were saying.

The use of the word you chose to use made it hard to know if you were asking a question or making a statement.

kf095 wrote in post #18563601
Since then providing of opinion about photo has become not available on P.O.T.N? I'm not aware of it.
Nor I'm aware of specific part of the forum mentioned in OP.
I'm well aware of critique sub-forum. It is next to this sub-forum

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It is very important to me to always completely understand everything that everyone writes, and that is why I asked you to clarify your statement. . You have done so, and I appreciate that. . Thank you.


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My bad, Tom. My ESL is bad...

It is interesting trend and not only on P.O.T.N. Just couple of days ago threads where demand for posting photos and no critique is allowed started to pop up on rangefinder forum...

I think, is comes from those who been under "liberal" education system. For example, in Ontario they don't want to fail kid as school and it is crippling its way to universities.
I guess, then people were raised like this they are not prepared to read - "sorry, but here is what I think is wrong in your photo".
This trend leads to weak, non-competitive society and boring if not mediocre photography, at least.

I think it depends on HOW you say it, not what you say. My day job is signing up people for a charity lotto through the bank. Now most people don't want a regular commitment or don't like handing bank details in a WallMart. Most are polite and honest about it, but some say the same thing in an offish tone, or wave their arms rapidly about to show displeasure. Some are rude. That's the same about CC. Be polite in giving it. Don't just rubbish someone. I have Aspergers, and at a gig I did I made a mistake. I started a thread about how I could avoid doing it again and did they think I was in the wrong. I got lots of CC about it offering advice over how to avoid doing it again. One guy came in aggressively saying I was way out of line. I knew what I'd like to have replied, but didn't feel I should. Luckily, several members responded by saying he was out of order and didn't understand my condition. I was grateful. CC must be constructive otherwise it's not CC, just criticism. With nothing to help the photographer improve, it's worthless and demeaning.

When I was just starting out, I sought out constructive criticism. Sometimes I still do, but I use the Forum that was created for that purpose; Critique Corner.
If I post in the photo sharing and don't see many "likes", I get the point, whether it's posted here or on flickr.

Larry Johnson wrote in post #18563992
If I post in the photo sharing and don't see many "likes", I get the point, whether it's posted here or on flickr.

But it would be helpful to find out why people don't like it.

Pippan wrote in post #18564029
But it would be helpful to find out why people don't like it.

There's no shortage of bad taste, which makes them unable to like greatness!

I personally would have no problem critiquing an image, regardless of which sub forum it's in. Granted I don't do it too often though. I've found that for people just starting out much of what those images may need lies not in technique but rather vision, and with some more experienced shooters who have taken the time to master shooting and processing techniques, I find that the issues I see are often of processing or lighting choices, and you'd be surprised at how much more defensive some of those people can be relative to a neophyte. Don't mention to someone that if they had moved the light to the other side of the subject they could have minimized the subjects crooked nose, rather than accentuating it. Or that their processing makes the skin look very unnaturally textured, they aren't going to want to hear that. I've also found that if everyone is high fiving an obviously flawed image because "hot girl" then a critical comment will go over like a lead balloon.

Pippan wrote in post #18564029
But it would be helpful to find out why people don't like it.

there's not a single photo in the world that everyone likes...so how do you decide how much weight to put behind those that don't like something...