Feedback – It’s a Matter of Authority & Credibility

[Atarandas]

well. on the question of this. i once had a debate with night86mare over this and i still vividly remember it.

my take: if ur not professional, aka ur portfolio sucks, u shldnt be criticising anyone

night86mare's take: u dun have to be a professional to tell if someone's photo is nice or not.

and i concur with night86mare much later on. to give u an idea why....

1: if ur tasting food, do u have to be an expert at cooking to say if a person's food sucks or not? i doubt so.

2:similiarly, for a photo, do u have to be proficient in the art of photography to judge? not true.

i believe that critiques are subjective, and of course it applies not just here, but almost every competition. some judges that i know of dun have that kind of amazing portfolio that some of the CS top members have. yet that will not hamper the judgement what. unless ur checking for technicality, anyone who has an eye for art can be a judge. even a painter can judge composition as this kind of stuff are applied accross disciplines. while some may feel bad being shot by someone else who seems to shoot worse than them, bear in mine its just a learning process, everyone is learning.

my advice on this: ppl viewing critiques shld read with a pinch of salt. its just an opinion, while some may be better in a sense. if ur too egoistic, then its pointless to ask for critiques. might as well post pic and then lock thread.

ppl who are giving critiques, try not to kill the enthusiasm of the ppl. we all been through all these as newbies before. everyone will makemistakes. no point making a critique sound like a "i hope u give up photography" speech right?

just my 2 cents

I totally agree :thumbsup:

But then again , I think if we are sincere to learn , I think we need to be our modest self and accept all criticisms but at the same time , not letting our confidence and faith go down the hill .

Some people are pure harsh mentors , straight to the point , blunt , old school style criticisms. But if you can reflect on their comments and improve from there , I think its a real value add to us.

The harshest mentor will make you grow fastest. Having said that , that style is quite difficuly to work in current context , where people no longer buy the mentor - student style of relation. In fact , people doesnt like to hear criticism but only praise. So now , instead of saying " This is rubbish" , we need to say " I think its great , but you need to be ....."

Hence , I think feedback needs to be given constructively , must let the reader reflect and see a perspective that he had missed out . And when receiving feedback , never take it personally , and see it as a challenge for you to move on.

 

[geraldkhoo]

I totally agree :thumbsup:

But then again , I think if we are sincere to learn , I think we need to be our modest self and accept all criticisms but at the same time , not letting our confidence and faith go down the hill .

Some people are pure harsh mentors , straight to the point , blunt , old school style criticisms. But if you can reflect on their comments and improve from there , I think its a real value add to us.

The harshest mentor will make you grow fastest. Having said that , that style is quite difficuly to work in current context , where people no longer buy the mentor - student style of relation. In fact , people doesnt like to hear criticism but only praise. So now , instead of saying " This is rubbish" , we need to say " I think its great , but you need to be ....."

Hence , I think feedback needs to be given constructively , must let the reader reflect and see a perspective that he had missed out . And when receiving feedback , never take it personally , and see it as a challenge for you to move on.

If you saw the "worst" picture you've ever seen in your whole life... could you honestly say "I think its great, but..."? :bsmilie:

 

[ahbian]

If you saw the "worst" picture you've ever seen in your whole life... could you honestly say "I think its great, but..."? :bsmilie:

"I think its great, but its the worst picture I've ever seen in my whole life."

 

[geraldkhoo]

"I think its great, but its the worst picture I've ever seen in my whole life."

hehe... I'll try that the next time I have to comment on something :thumbsup: :bsmilie:

 

[Atarandas]

If you saw the "worst" picture you've ever seen in your whole life... could you honestly say "I think its great, but..."? :bsmilie:

Haha I was thinking more along the lines of " I think its great , but this isnt exactly what it should be "

 

[Octarine]

The harshest mentor will make you grow fastest. Having said that , that style is quite difficuly to work in current context , where people no longer buy the mentor - student style of relation. In fact , people doesnt like to hear criticism but only praise. So now , instead of saying " This is rubbish" , we need to say " I think its great , but you need to be ....."

The universal rubbish answer is "It looks interesting ...", smells like a bit of praise, doesn't hurt at all and leaves everything open.

 

[hori]

The universal rubbish answer is "It looks interesting ...", smells like a bit of praise, doesn't hurt at all and leaves everything open.

The word 'interesting' is so versatile! :bsmilie:

 

[singscott]

Once you show up your photos to the public, you have to be open up for criticisms. If not, just keep them to yourself. :nono:

I think this a bad suggestion!!! Photography is about sharing. What I see, it the way I like to tell my tale, show the moment I witness and let other enjoy or awe. What here is on forum people like to criticize, but offer nothing of real benefit to other forum users. If people could offer good comment or their view point and not to a point of saying "YOU SUX", then any forum would be a good place to share. Also if they know what they are saying, it would be even better rather then just to comment on the sake of commenting and hiding behind the computer with the old classic of "Oh I can say it but can not do I am just giving my two worthless cents". I think what this article trying to say. Anyway I too think not all professional photographers are right all the times and I have seen great photographer who are not professional. We all are photographers. The only different is that one make a living by shooting for the needs of their client and act professionally in that service are called professional. I too think this is a good article, as there many example of people giving criticisms for sake of just giving criticisms in clubsnap.

 

[denniskee]

If you saw the "worst" picture you've ever seen in your whole life... could you honestly say "I think its great, but..."? :bsmilie:

well i will say "hm... very interesting, it a new experience for me."

 

[night86mare]

everyone has their own preferences.

good critique doesn't attack the person, only the work.

 

[Yutaka Go]

well. on the question of this. i once had a debate with night86mare over this and i still vividly remember it.

my take: if ur not professional, aka ur portfolio sucks, u shldnt be criticising anyone

night86mare's take: u dun have to be a professional to tell if someone's photo is nice or not.

and i concur with night86mare much later on. to give u an idea why....

1: if ur tasting food, do u have to be an expert at cooking to say if a person's food sucks or not? i doubt so.

2:similiarly, for a photo, do u have to be proficient in the art of photography to judge? not true.

i believe that critiques are subjective, and of course it applies not just here, but almost every competition. some judges that i know of dun have that kind of amazing portfolio that some of the CS top members have. yet that will not hamper the judgement what. unless ur checking for technicality, anyone who has an eye for art can be a judge. even a painter can judge composition as this kind of stuff are applied accross disciplines. while some may feel bad being shot by someone else who seems to shoot worse than them, bear in mine its just a learning process, everyone is learning.

my advice on this: ppl viewing critiques shld read with a pinch of salt. its just an opinion, while some may be better in a sense. if ur too egoistic, then its pointless to ask for critiques. might as well post pic and then lock thread.

ppl who are giving critiques, try not to kill the enthusiasm of the ppl. we all been through all these as newbies before. everyone will makemistakes. no point making a critique sound like a "i hope u give up photography" speech right?

just my 2 cents

well said

Personally, I feel that wedding photographer have the toughest job

The bride will complain you make her look fat and the groom will complain you make him look bald :bsmilie:

Everyone have a right to give comment but they don't have the right to put down other people and hurt them :nono: