Anyone notice less-than-skilled people giving TOO MUCH critique and advice on photos?

In the few sections of this forum that I frequent, I've noticed a few certain less-than-skilled people REGULARLY posting some pretty harsh critique and comments. I know that there are requirements for the G&N section, and I'm sure it'd be much more difficult to apply the same requirements in other sections of this forum. I guess I'm just putting it out there to see if anyone else notices the same trend?

For example, I'm fairly good at doing lifestyle shots, portraits, and automotive shots AND I will give and receive the critique that I feel is relevant, because those are my areas of interest and expertise. On the contrary, I can probably take pictures of wildlife and birds and whatnot, but its not my thing, so I feel it's not my place to critique them, and I don't.

I'm not trying to be snooty or rude and I know this is a public forum BUT it is one of the top 3 photography forums on Google. I've learned a lot from this forum over the past couple years and that should be the case for everyone, and I love looking at ALL the photos that are posted especially in transportation, people, and the lens archives. I keep my comments and critique in the areas that I'm proficient at and I wish others would do the same. And compared to other forums that I've been on, the Moderators on this forum are very good at being unbiased and firm and I do understand that some issues of this nature are out of your hands.

Is this a continuation of your rant at this poster here?
https://photography-on-the.net …hp?p=10313018&p​ostcount=7
And speaking of harsh comments I wouldn't call posting the response 'snapshot' (just that one word) at people very gentle or constructive.

These are very dangerous threads to start, as they have been known to boomerang right back at you, for instance some cruel person could point out that you have started a total of 7 threads and 4 of those have been in the sell forums, You have started two with images in the transport section and dispute you saying that one was, your first attempt at that type of photography, you did very well.

These personal crusade threads are not so good, I will critique any image when I feel i can help or add value, but as with all critique it will be subjective and has to be seen as such. I do tend to look for examples of work from people when they offer critique, the quality of their work has no baring on their right to offer critique, but it does affect how seriously I take it.

As an Art Professor of mine once said, a Critic is a Eunuch at an Orgy, in otherwords take all advice and critique witha grain of sand, see if it works for you... if what they say doesn't work or is wrong for you then don't use their advice... it may help someone else, and if it doesn't then they will learn that themselves...

If one receives c&c that one disagrees with or finds to be without merit for whatever reason, one is not obliged to respond to or attempt to refute the opinions. One would be better served to just ignore such comments rather than give the opinion an air of merit by responding.

Two observations.

1. Niche photographs are subject to the same aesthetic and technical strictures as any photography: exposure, focus, composition, lighting, etc. One does not have to be an expert on transportation in order to tell if the depth of field might have been better chosen.

2. Art is art. It can appreciated, or not, by those who are not themselves artists or who are still aspiring to be artists. That doesn't mean that they must shut their mouths when asked for their opinions.

If your only reason for posting an image is to have everybody tell you how great it is, then try a general forum where you will more likely get lots of comments of the nature of "OMG itz GR8". More experienced photographers will never be fulsome enough to make you happy. Many of us embrace the idea that one improves by making mistakes and being receptive to the subsequent criticism rather than seeking vacuous accolades.

Keep what benifits you and leave the rest. I don't see anything wrong with that.

There is a well known troll in the Transportation section. For some reason he gets away with murder....most people just put him on ignore and go on with life.

If the troll was so well known, I'd assume that people would report his posts,. which would add up, and he'd be dealt with...
???

This is what I wanted to hear...thanks to all that replied

Either listen to the C&C or not. You can't ask for it and then get upset with it if that makes sense. I too don't like getting some "dummies" advice on a topic or image type that they seem to have no real experience in.

I too throw out advice to people sometimes and might not be an expert on the type of image, BUT I do know what looks good in my eye or what I find interesting about it. Its a public forum and people will always have something to say. The biggest thing is to not let the negative ones effect you too much.

I LOVE public forums because you get such a variety of comments and advice. I would personally rather have 10 negative comments and advice on how to fix it for next time... than 1 or 2 "good job!" comments.

I get where you are coming from though!

All I can say is I hear from where the OP comes from. Ive seen it too, got mad with some of them too but I have been building tolerance with the hope of ending up ignoring those comments. If someone says he is only in it for documenting it seems a bit contradictory critiquing someone's job, specially when that someone is obviously working in depth at the photograph itself.

My advice is evaluate from where the critique is coming and give it the importance it deserves.

who decides the criteria to being skilled or unskilled? just because the photographers dont have a reasonable presence on the internet doesnt mean they dont know what they are on about...and for those that dont well..just ignore them. No sense losing sleep

if you are finding the critique harsh here go check out how people critique over 1x.com

Ay critique at all is a good thing, check the box to see if it applies to you and if it doesnt then just move on.

Well, if you ask for peoples' opinions, you have to accept them all as valid, from the perspective of the offeror. You don't have to agree with their viws, but since you asked you have no grounds to argue with them over whether they're right. I don't shoot G&N, but I can still tell the difference between soft focus and plain OOF.

And I can rarely tell soft focus, but I still know a good shot when I see one. And although I ain't that good, I feel I can sometimes offer constructive critique, whether favorable or not.