Critique or not to critique, that is the question?

puertouk

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15 Jul 2012 - 9:29 AM

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I have been on this site now, for going on 1 year and have enjoyed my time in various ways. Hopefully passing on good advice and also with mods. My dilemma is, I find some people (small minority) on this site who put their work up for mod and critique, really get shirty if you tell them that their image is not up to scratch and needs a little work doing to it and it needed this and that doing to it.

If these individuals do not like their work to be analysed and a mod carried out, why put the image up in the first place? They seem to like all the pats on the back and well done, but as soon as you infer that the image has faults. They tell you that you are wrong or they intended for the image to look like that, anything to make out that you are wrong and not them. No one is perfect, not even the best pro's who even make mistakes, but some of these people think they are pro's!!! They thank you you so much for all the good critique, but as soon as you say anything against an image, well, you're politely told to sod off because their image is great in their eyes.

Have others found this when doing a mod or a critique on an image for someone? Or, am I being too critical? I have noticed that the critique team don't seem to say anything or do mods for these individuals in question, maybe because they know how they react to any criticism. I accept some people cannot take any criticism whatsoever, whether that's photography or anything else they do. Me thinks I will steer clear of them in future as others do or even stop altogether doing mods and any critique. But then, am I defeating the object of helping people who do look for critique and a mod doing to help them?
Stephen

puertouk

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15 Jul 2012 - 9:37 AM

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Hi Karen, these people in question are not junior members, but adults.

brrttpaul

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15 Jul 2012 - 10:15 AM

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Im prob guilty of it if Im honest. The trouble is there is no feeling in text so sometimes its hard to work out if someone is genuinely being helpfull or just nitpicking. Hard to explain but for example I put a pic up few months back now of a fox cub, on facebook and flicker I had a lot of praise for it, I put it on here and it basically got slated "missed an oppurtunity there" etc. Now they may have been right but to me it was such a negative response I dont put them up for critique anymore.

KarenFB (Junior Gallery Team)

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15 Jul 2012 - 10:31 AM

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It may be safer, but there are many people on here who really want some honest critique - that means we miss out! Is it fair that because of one or two rude people the majority have to miss out!?!

robthecamman

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15 Jul 2012 - 10:51 AM

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everybodys different also different levels of ability so engage brain before the critique bit.help is nice but encourage too

Focus_Man

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15 Jul 2012 - 11:15 AM

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Quote: I put a pic up few months back now of a fox cub, on facebook and flicker I had a lot of praise for it, I put it on here and it basically got slated "missed an oppurtunity there" etc. Now they may have been right but to me it was such a negative response I dont put them up for critique anymore.

You will find that the general gallery and Flickr viewers always praise pictures whatever its merits or demerits. That does not mean to say that everything that is said is true, it is just people being nice to you and generally you will learn nothing as you are not meant to learn in there, but you will feel good. However if you really want to know all about your picture, warts an' all and to learn to improve, then uploading to the Critique gallery will give you a much truer version of what you have taken. Sometimes it may seem to be negative but members are giving of their best advice so please take it for what it is worth.

If you just seek praise then maybe uploading to anywhere other than the CG is for you, but you will not further your photographic education. Your choice.

Frank

User_Removed

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15 Jul 2012 - 11:51 AM

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Quote: ...... but for example I put a pic up few months back now of a fox cub, on facebook and flicker I had a lot of praise for it, I put it on here and it basically got slated "missed an oppurtunity there" etc. ..

As I am sure you have now worked out for yourself, most of these Flickr groups are simply inane mutual admiration societies. By and large, comments made on them or "awards" (sic) on them are totally meaningless. In fact, with some of them, giving comments or making awards is a condition of putting your own images up!!!

As I mentioned on another thread recently, to expose that banality of the system, I put up a few really bad images of my own. And I do mean really bad - poorly composed, poorly exposed, poorly processed (including an obscenely overcooked HDR) and - within hours they had got countless Gold Awards, Platinum Awards, Diamond Awards, "should be in National Geographic" awards, Best on Flickr awards. Absolute and total rubbish.

But the tragedy is that some gomerals, getting such awards and plaudits, might be mislead into thinking their poor photographs are good.

I am currently writing an article about that experience for a magazine - but I will be rather surprised if they publish it - not least because the photographs that would illustrate it are so awful.

Jestertheclown

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15 Jul 2012 - 1:32 PM

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I made my views re. the critique gallery, in its most recent incarnation, clear in another recent thread and they haven't changed.
I probably upload to there less frequently than I used to; it seems that way anyway, because I don't feel that I can get the same kind of feedback on my images that I once could.
Because of things that have occurred there, a number of regulars have stopped using the CG and now watch from the sidelines, if they use the site at all and quite frankly, I think that the gallery is the worse for it.
I don't mean to come over as being negative, just realistic.

Bren.