So I started this project to try new thing and have fun with it. I am NOT a photographer. In fact I'm pretty much the furthest thing from it... I'm currently studying biomedical sciences in the hopes of doing an MD/PhD in neuroscience. Long story short.
Has anyone else encountered people being absolutely rude... especially with critiques. I get that not everyone is going to like a photo... believe me if I'm asking for a critique I usually know something is wrong with it. Most people are very helpful in offering constructive criticism, but some people are just (pardon my language) asses. Has anyone else encountered this problem? If so how do you deal with it?
I've only seen it a couple of times, most people on here respect each other's artistic expression. And... what's funny is after looking through the albums of most "asses;" it's amazing they have the gall to speak badly of another.
What to do about it? Ignore them. Outright, plain and simple. I know it can sting, but who are they to you? It might hurt more if it were someone you respected on here, but there's no quicker way to find out how misguided your respect for them was. People who do this are usually bitter about something else and use you to vent their frustration. Easier said than done, but brush it off and don't let it bother you too much.
Ive just looked thru your photos, i think they are great! some great ideas in there. have you deleted the comments you are refering to? I can't say I have encountered feedback like that but i have heard of others mentioning it, what Aaron has said is spot on.
Yes, I have seen it happen, I do post on a forum and the owner can be very blunt almost rude, even to the point that people have left! I see photographs like a painting every one has their own style which is unique to them for some is their trademark, and no one is so perfect as to tell other their work is no good, I heard it said no one is a perfect expert in any field we all still have things to learn. How true that is..
@eking2007 i have never seen that. When you ask for critique, you cannot exept they are going to tell you how beautiful your picture is.
It this time in this project, I dislike the fact that you get only a positive feedback, but almost never a critique of my pictures, even if i knoiw there's something wrong with it
If you asked for critiquing on a photograph be prepared for someone who can't articulate what they like or don't like about it. Not everyone will be polite, if fact some can be downright rude. There are many people who speak that way. Say, thanks for your viewpoint but can you be more specific if you aren't getting constructive critiquing. Give them some guidence as to what it is you are looking for in critiquing.
If you haven't asked for critiquing then tell them you aren't interested in it. If they continue with it, it can be viewed as harassment and send a message to Ross.
I've been lucky enough to avoid those people, but I think @dmortega makes a good point. Not everyone can articulate what they do or don't like about something. I think I read somewhere that the rule of thumb here on 365 is to never offer anything but constructive criticism and always offer an example of what was done right, as well.
I honestly think if someone were to say something rude I'd react like this...
Read rude comment.
Read it again out loud with a snotty tone following every sentence with a "Really?! REALLY!?!!"
Read again and die a little inside.
Read to my husband.
Read again to my husband when he takes his head set off and can hear me.
Get mad at him for not having something better than "Just ignore them" to say to comfort me.
Post it on FB and wait for my friends that love me enough to lie to me to tell me what I Want to hear.
Eat some chocolate.
Eat some more chocolate.
Read it again.
Go watch Walking Dead and imagine the rude person is one of the zombies that dies.
Feel all better.
I saw the conversation and when you ask for honest opinions you may get answers you do not like. Not everyone on here sugarcoats compliments and will be honest with you. You may see it as rude, but to me you asked for an opinion and he gave it to you. Also you discredit the entire conversation by him coming back and saying he liked the green in the color and that he leans towards less processing. So while his first comment struck you as rude, he did come back immediately and changed to a positive tone.
I saw your post last night and to be honest, I thought the stars were a bit weird but I thought the moon was off center and disturbing to my eyes. I did not respond because I saw that you were new and never commenting on any of your photos I was not sure how you would respond to my comment on lose the moon and stars completely. I may not have worded it as bluntly but I cannot disagree with the comment, sometimes people push photoshop to the point of taking away from the photo itself.
Also this is an international site and represents many cultures of communication. I have a follower who tries to make funny critiques but fails more than he succeeds but my European followers find it really rude and ask how I can tolerate it. I just say, it is the attempt that he is aiming for wit and I take it with a grain of salt.
had a look through your images, couldn't see any nasty comments so presume you have deleted them. I've had a couple of people like that but just ignore it, it's my project at the end of the day.. If its helpful then great as you can learn from it.
your photos are great tho and i love the zig zag crayon one.
@brumbe Yeah I posted this discussion before he had responded. Like I said in that post I don't mind getting a bad critique... but the original critique seemed very rude to me and offered no explanation as to how to improve the photo/what to do differently. that being said after I confronted (in MY very rude post... that I feel super bad about) he articulated why he didn't like the photograph. I definitely understand his point of view... I went WAY overboard with processing. I think I will leave off photoshopping photos for a while... it was just something I wanted to try. I did not think about people coming from different cultures or that they may not express their opinions in the way that I am used to. I will take that into consideration from now on!
Like Paula @brumbe said, always keep in mind that this is an international site. There are lots of people posting here who's first language is not English. I try not to write things that can be misunderstood but I'm not sure I always succeed.
@eking2007 there are two schools of thought on editing. If the photo is not broke do not break it by doing too much, and if the photo is broke go all out on the editing and call it a practice shot. I will tell you that he is one of my most supportive followers and I actually learn a lot from him.
I haven't noticed this, but personally I would just tell people I'm not here for critique. This isn't a 'Lets all become professional photographers!' site. This is a site to take a picture every day, some people might think photography is the most important thing in the world, I think it's a tool to capture the most important things in my world.
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What to do about it? Ignore them. Outright, plain and simple. I know it can sting, but who are they to you? It might hurt more if it were someone you respected on here, but there's no quicker way to find out how misguided your respect for them was. People who do this are usually bitter about something else and use you to vent their frustration. Easier said than done, but brush it off and don't let it bother you too much.
It this time in this project, I dislike the fact that you get only a positive feedback, but almost never a critique of my pictures, even if i knoiw there's something wrong with it
If you haven't asked for critiquing then tell them you aren't interested in it. If they continue with it, it can be viewed as harassment and send a message to Ross.
I honestly think if someone were to say something rude I'd react like this...
Read rude comment.
Read it again out loud with a snotty tone following every sentence with a "Really?! REALLY!?!!"
Read again and die a little inside.
Read to my husband.
Read again to my husband when he takes his head set off and can hear me.
Get mad at him for not having something better than "Just ignore them" to say to comfort me.
Post it on FB and wait for my friends that love me enough to lie to me to tell me what I Want to hear.
Eat some chocolate.
Eat some more chocolate.
Read it again.
Go watch Walking Dead and imagine the rude person is one of the zombies that dies.
Feel all better.
I saw your post last night and to be honest, I thought the stars were a bit weird but I thought the moon was off center and disturbing to my eyes. I did not respond because I saw that you were new and never commenting on any of your photos I was not sure how you would respond to my comment on lose the moon and stars completely. I may not have worded it as bluntly but I cannot disagree with the comment, sometimes people push photoshop to the point of taking away from the photo itself.
Also this is an international site and represents many cultures of communication. I have a follower who tries to make funny critiques but fails more than he succeeds but my European followers find it really rude and ask how I can tolerate it. I just say, it is the attempt that he is aiming for wit and I take it with a grain of salt.
@curiousmomworm, you're hilarious, so true...
your photos are great tho and i love the zig zag crayon one.
@curiousmomworm haha :P
@brumbe Yeah I posted this discussion before he had responded. Like I said in that post I don't mind getting a bad critique... but the original critique seemed very rude to me and offered no explanation as to how to improve the photo/what to do differently. that being said after I confronted (in MY very rude post... that I feel super bad about) he articulated why he didn't like the photograph. I definitely understand his point of view... I went WAY overboard with processing. I think I will leave off photoshopping photos for a while... it was just something I wanted to try. I did not think about people coming from different cultures or that they may not express their opinions in the way that I am used to. I will take that into consideration from now on!
Thanks everyone for your responses.