let's just suppose, for the sake of argument, that i wanted to hang about at those websites where they give you lots of critique (hopefully more constructive than destructive) - what websites would those be?
i'm not under any illusion that i am ready for this - just thought i ought to check it out to get a sense of what i am aiming for...
DeviantArt.com is the most 'honest' place I've found.
Haven't quite had the courage to post anything there for critiquing yet and I haven't been visiting that site much recently due to 365 taking all my time. ;)
Tag me into a pic you want an honest opinion on and I'll give it. But then you got a tonne of people probs already offering that. Still its always a persons opinion, see, I hate watermarks, I hate too much processing and HDR and all that shiz from the old hate-threads (I miss them/her) so if you showed me a pic my first few reactions would be standard things I'd say to anyone. I guess second paragraph I'd knuckle down to what really made the image pop for me. On Model Mayhem there's lots of facility for this, two levels in fact, indepth crit, and just comments and advice. But to get on the discussion boards you'd have to join and they 99% expect and prefer portraits and pictures of people and models.
@chewyteeth@northy I would love for you to give a good, honest critique of any of my photos. It's the only way I will truly improve. I just attempted a low-key that I'm not sure about. Please feel free to have your say :)
I find Deviantart doesn't really give you many critiques or comments, I've been a member for years and only have about 1 comment per 20 photos .. I do comment on alot of peoples but most just tend to fav'n'go..
Maybe once a week Critique Challenge might be interesting.
Form a group that wants critique and post the photo for critique on a certain day of the week... like Monday... so we had the weekend to produce a work worthy of people critiqueing it.
Then people who were participating and had posted a photo of their own, would be welcome to give an honest feedback on what works, what doesn't work, how they think it could be improved, or a suggestion of what to try next.
Personal bias like I hate puppies, flowers, watermarks, over processing, etc is not constructive criticism. I personally am not a fan of rhubarb, but am sure some Chef could make that into an amazing dish.
Anyway, if someone opens a group challenge, even for a week, I will be glad to jump in. I just don't have the time to take this on for the next month or so because of family obligations.
@swguevin hmmm... interesting concept... anyone else game for this?
i have to say, tho', that i would be disinclined to limit the critique as coming only from those who participated - very difficult to police, and why would you want to? i'm happy to get constructive criticism from whoever wants to dish it out :)
also, just in case others are interested in signing on, per the other thread on this topic, i'd probably want to present this as providing input on what one might have done differently... frankly, i, personally, do not feel qualified to give my opinion on what works and what doesn't in the objective sense... subjectively, when looking at a photo, i can tell you what my eye sees and likes, what my eye struggles with, and what i might have done (or tried to do) differently...
as for the personal bias pieces, i think it's fair for someone to open up with that comment as long as constructive criticism followed... for example, i am not a huge fan of flower shots... if you really wanted my honest critique, i'd want you to know that because while i would still do my utmost to provide constructive criticism, it might be helpful for you to know why my enthusiasm may be a bit muted, y'know?
@tabithasyear I've just had a look for the dA Critique groups I used to lurk in, and they do seem to be either defunct or have become 'nice shot' echo chambers. Disappointing. :(
@northy On the photography course I did, we had to try critique each others work, which was an interesting exercise. The comments where usually in the format, "I like xxx, I don't like xxx, a suggested improvement". It was often the people commenting 'out of their area' who gave the most perceptive critiques in my experience.
I do wonder if it might be worth some one with more experience of providing critique writing an article for Ross to post. It does seem to be coming up on the forums a lot at the moment.
As for a group, maybe people could extend the 'critique me' tag idea to include the month/year? (e.g. forcritique-0712) The general tags seem to get bogged down after a while and a set format would avoid people having to dig out the thread every time.
@humphreyhippo well - there's thems that want it, and thems that don't... i'm sure a gentle guide to giving constructive criticism wouldn't hurt, and some tips on how to analyze a photo as well - is that what you mean? or something else?
@northy Yes that's exactly what I meant - as one of the blog articles on the site. There was one on sports photography & one on what to charge for pix recently I think.
@chewyteeth or any others - would you be willing to critique me? i have only 4 photo's as i am new to the site (and to photography) and the main reason i joined is to learn. i have no watermarks and embarassingly, i don't know what hdr is.
i am more than happy to offer critique to any who want it - i may not be able to offer much in the way photography knowledge but can take the time to say what specifics i like / dislike about a photo and what it makes me feel when i look at it. i would really like to join any group set up for critique.
also i will be starting the ou course in october so will hopefully be able to offer more in terms of critique in the future as it is part of the course.
thank you
@elou
thanks for tagging me, I like your start, you've a long journey ahead which I'm sure you'll love. Your macro is cool. I can't really offer more, I'm a bit funny with subject matter lately. Some things on here are photographed to death but actually the macro one I commented on is a pretty excellent example.
@scrivna hey Ross... if you have a moment, can you check out this discussion thread and speficially @humphreyhippo 's suggestion about a guest blogger? is there anyone who could help out with providing some guidance on analysing photos and giving good and helpful constructive critique? especially for those of us who are fairly inexperienced? 'twould be really helpful!! tx!!n
@chewyteeth@swguevin
Sorry a little off topic, but what do you mean that you hate watermarks? When people put a signature or logo on the edge of the photo? Why?
@bonniebouman think about a constable painting, 7 feet by five feet and the signature two inches long in the corner. Then consider some watermarks on this sight, obscuring 10, sometimes 20% of the picture. Destroying the composition, sometimes overlapping and detracting from the main subject. Imagine your fav photo by David Bailey, then imagine same photo with the name David Bailey spray painted across jean shrimptons head! Also anyone with PhotoShop can remove it, so its purposeless. Also the best photographers on here don't use them, so why does anyone feel the need? Also people watermark pictures of their cats, their new haircuts, their kids eating beans, who's stealing pics like that? That's why.
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Haven't quite had the courage to post anything there for critiquing yet and I haven't been visiting that site much recently due to 365 taking all my time. ;)
Requests for Critiques: http://browse.deviantart.com/?q=special:critiquable
Critiques: http://browse.deviantart.com/critiques/
I'm sure there was a way to search critiques just for photography, but I can't remember how. Will check my bookmarks when I get home.
There are Flickr groups specifically for critiquing too.
Form a group that wants critique and post the photo for critique on a certain day of the week... like Monday... so we had the weekend to produce a work worthy of people critiqueing it.
Then people who were participating and had posted a photo of their own, would be welcome to give an honest feedback on what works, what doesn't work, how they think it could be improved, or a suggestion of what to try next.
Personal bias like I hate puppies, flowers, watermarks, over processing, etc is not constructive criticism. I personally am not a fan of rhubarb, but am sure some Chef could make that into an amazing dish.
Anyway, if someone opens a group challenge, even for a week, I will be glad to jump in. I just don't have the time to take this on for the next month or so because of family obligations.
i have to say, tho', that i would be disinclined to limit the critique as coming only from those who participated - very difficult to police, and why would you want to? i'm happy to get constructive criticism from whoever wants to dish it out :)
also, just in case others are interested in signing on, per the other thread on this topic, i'd probably want to present this as providing input on what one might have done differently... frankly, i, personally, do not feel qualified to give my opinion on what works and what doesn't in the objective sense... subjectively, when looking at a photo, i can tell you what my eye sees and likes, what my eye struggles with, and what i might have done (or tried to do) differently...
as for the personal bias pieces, i think it's fair for someone to open up with that comment as long as constructive criticism followed... for example, i am not a huge fan of flower shots... if you really wanted my honest critique, i'd want you to know that because while i would still do my utmost to provide constructive criticism, it might be helpful for you to know why my enthusiasm may be a bit muted, y'know?
:)
@northy On the photography course I did, we had to try critique each others work, which was an interesting exercise. The comments where usually in the format, "I like xxx, I don't like xxx, a suggested improvement". It was often the people commenting 'out of their area' who gave the most perceptive critiques in my experience.
I do wonder if it might be worth some one with more experience of providing critique writing an article for Ross to post. It does seem to be coming up on the forums a lot at the moment.
As for a group, maybe people could extend the 'critique me' tag idea to include the month/year? (e.g. forcritique-0712) The general tags seem to get bogged down after a while and a set format would avoid people having to dig out the thread every time.
i am more than happy to offer critique to any who want it - i may not be able to offer much in the way photography knowledge but can take the time to say what specifics i like / dislike about a photo and what it makes me feel when i look at it. i would really like to join any group set up for critique.
also i will be starting the ou course in october so will hopefully be able to offer more in terms of critique in the future as it is part of the course.
thank you
thanks for tagging me, I like your start, you've a long journey ahead which I'm sure you'll love. Your macro is cool. I can't really offer more, I'm a bit funny with subject matter lately. Some things on here are photographed to death but actually the macro one I commented on is a pretty excellent example.
Giving a good photo critique:
How to help your friends become a better photographer http://www.pixiq.com/article/doing-a-photo-critique
Sorry a little off topic, but what do you mean that you hate watermarks? When people put a signature or logo on the edge of the photo? Why?