Critique - A proposal to members

someone said above about being worried about commenting or critiquing the more advanced users work ... i post and am lucky if i get a comment at all.. so here is my query do i remove my pictures and just help others?

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Paul good idea mate.

Give it a whirl and see how it pans out. If its no good you can always ditch it. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

I'm in.

Yes totally agree.

Yes ~ ~IS GOOD IDEA~~

Paul,

Good idea. though I'm with Di and Fay - a simple system would be much appreciated.
I can see Genese's point re the more experienced folk not having critiques left as the rest of us do not feel qualified to do so. I'd be prepared to be a little braver and make more comments - after all, the site can't be just about the work of us beginners, there would be no incentive for the pro's to be here at all - and we need them!
How's the head, by the way? Fantastic match!
Cheers,
Julia

Hi Paul,

I also agree with Diane and Fay, kiss ... I am not that good at critiquing and feel that I am not qualified to critique professional photographers ... but if we felt that if we critiqued them regarding a photo. ... it wouldn’t come back to haunt us .. I feel that everyone should be able to post not just the beginners .. everyone can learn even just by looking at photos.

I am also shy and would hate to hurt anyones feeling in any way shape or form. I love it when people stop by and let me know if and what I can do to improve my photo, I do try to work on them and repost .. but it’s can be a bit time consuming at times.

I think that the idea of a photo being posted ... and tell us what to look for .. etc more or less leading us to the water .. so we can see the difference. .. perhaps take two photos of the same thing .. would be good .. with excellent dof and the other without .. to show us what the difference is. Also I don’t really understand the difference when people say a photo is flat .. I end up scratching my head .. and saying ... what the el . do they mean ... lol.

By the way .. can u supply a new set of eyes .. or a magnifying glass .. lol ... Things like that happen .. as a person ages .. I will give you a hint of my age .. I have a mother that is 96 years old .. and I was born .. before she was 30 I am not saying how many years either .. lol ... so needless to say I find it at times difficult to see certain things.

I feel that a person is never too old to learn .. but examples are a great way to learn.

Thanks Paul for all your work .. and I will keep on hanging in here .. and try to work out this critiquing business ... I do try to make comments on photos .. what I find what works for me . go to my own gallery .. work on answers .. to any comments .. then work from there forward to all the other galleries .. photos that catch my fancy .. and find that I might comment on one or two if a person has posted 10 or so. I go right to the front gallery .. if I find I have the time, then post a photo or up to 3 .. .. if not, the next time I come back to PT then start off where I had left off and work forward.
Cheers
Else

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© "Whatt I See"

"Everything has it's beauty, but not everyone sees it"
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There are so many good suggestions in all the previous postings, I don't think I want to add more, since most of my feelings have been posted in one form or other.
There are some outstanding pictures, and then there are pictures where I have to ask myself --- why did they put it up ?
Often I feel like commenting on a picture, and do not do it for a simple reason, critiquing would be my opinion. I may see something wrong where others will find only positives.
I'm no expert, but I can appreciate a good shot. I do know the fundamental workings of the cameras, but have no clue about the tech stuff.
I also find people stay away from commenting on something they are not familiar with. This is particularly true with my Underwater photos. I have pictures posted on a different site (the one many members here went "Walk about" from). I like them and I know some are better than many I have seen in magazines, yet nobody seems to notice them. Mind, I had hundreds of hits and lookers, but no mention in any way. Is this because diving is not everybody's "cup of tea", let alone photography under water, which can be a challenge all by itself.
Then there are people like Brian (Tedz) (who blows me away with his creativity and wit) xNx, Fay, paveman, and many more who post pictures that can only be an inspiration to do better, but certainly not critique them. I have been reading "constructive"comments on other sites, and often I had to ask myself, why comment, there is nothing wrong with this picture. So, there it is, it becomes a very personal point of view.

This is a reason why I also like the idea of a high caliber type of photographer (s) giving constructive comments, like cropping, DOS and much more. He could look at the exif, figure how to make it a better picture and offer advise. I for one would appreciate that.

I feel that way with fashion photos or photographers using models. I have no clue about it. I won't comment on something I don't know.
In many way's I can carry my own. I may have to shoot a few frames before I get one I like, but don't we all sometimes?

Last, I would like to say THANK YOU Paul and your team for putting this site together. I know it is a tremendous amount of work you put into this site.
As a struggling photographer, who is also computer illiterate, I have a great appreciation in all the work you do.
With best regards Hans Swisschef216

I think like most that it would only be for the good to have a moe structured approach to critique. Limiting uploads seems a fair way to go. I am not sure though how a basic crittique would be differentiated from a more in depth critique especially when some aspects are subjective. As this site grows with more members posting I have felt overwhelmed and as a result not posted many comments. I like Pavmans idea of a template to help format an opinion.

Templates are good but limiting. Photography is quite art form and as such people express themselves in many different ways and use different terminology.

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Wow, so many comments and great ideas. Here's my two sense worth.
In my mind the best way to handle it is to keep it simple. If it's too complicated, it turns me right off.
Personally I don't like the rating system for critiquing. Here's why:
A) I think it would be complicated
B) I think it would be very time consuming for the panel to control and could prevent the panel members to have the time to post their own photos and critique too!
C) I think it could encourage people to critique without thought to get it done quickly in order to upload more of their own photos.
D) I also think it would be stifling for those who prefer to learn from others by reading critiques and not critique until they feel more comfortable.
I believe encouragement for those people is a must and understanding them too.
I think a permanent section on the site on how to critique would be a good idea.
And, I think it's important for us all to remember that no matter what grade of photographers we are, newby's to advanced, we all want to learn more and improve on what we do. That puts us all in the same boat and therefore we can all critique from what we know or like and from our knowledge and personal likes and dislikes.
Here's another idea:
Why not put a special "critique" gallery together so we can all peruse it easily. I think a lot of our photos that aren't getting critiqued is because people can't easily find them. In the critique gallery there would be all new photos specifically ready to be critiqued by their photographer and after a predetermined number of critiques have been made on that photo, say 3, that photo is automatically removed from that gallery and put in the general gallery.
That gives the photographer the choice of whether or not he/she wants their photos critiqued or simply shown. And those that are in the critique gallery will welcome being critiqued and therefore no one should be shy about critiquing them.
Hope I've helped.
Lots of varied opinions here, I'm just another one.