no comment

dinorock

dinorock

Messages
4,581
Name
Mike
Edit My Images
No
please don,t say nice things about my photos, you could be lying or a coward. :eek: this was found on the net by a friend of mine.
(commenting on photography forums)

There’s nothing wrong with not being any good at photography. Everybody started out bad and none of us does all aspects of it well. But it’s a crying shame to want to be good at it, to spend time and money trying to be good at it, and not getting any better.

This isn’t like teaching a child to read. Positive reinforcement is your enemy. Your Facebook friends, your Twitter followers… hate you. Instead of taking ten seconds to say. “This doesn’t work. You need to do better”. They readily push that “like” button, because it’s easy and they hope to get the same from you, but also because they’re cowards.

His advice? “Seek out great photography. Devour it, and be suspicious of any undue praise.”

my question how do i know if its undue or not, or should i just assume everyone is "just being nice" confused in Reading.:bang:
 
I've never "liked" a photo I didn't think was good on Facebook. :s
 
BenUK said:
I've never "liked" a photo I didn't think was good on Facebook. :s
Click to expand...

i have a friend who is a professional photographer,and also a close friend of my son,she took some photos of him which were very good, but i commented on one i did,nt like and had my head bit off. some people are quite touchy about there work especially as i,m "only an amateur" :shrug:
 
See I would try and point out all the ones I do like before mentioning one I didn't like, and why I didn't like it. I would try and word it in a way in which it would be "how it could be improved" rather then just say its pooh. But hey that's just me.

Not that I have any idea what makes a good photo to other people but I know what makes a good photo to me. :)
 
If you post a pic that is utter sh**e I have no problem telling you. If I did the same I would hope you or someone else would tell me.
 
edthesock said:
If you post a pic that is utter sh**e I have no problem telling you. If I did the same I would hope you or someone else would tell me.
Click to expand...

that sounds good in theory but when its a noob who,s perhaps still learning ,you put up a comment (hopefully a helpful one) and someone else says hey give the guy/girl a chance as if you,ve said something bad. also mike i,d like to think that any one aspiring to be a photographer would know the difference, and would,nt post said sh**e.
 
Last edited:
BenUK said:
I've never "liked" a photo I didn't think was good on Facebook. :s
Click to expand...

sorry ben but liking a photo on face book is not really commenting on a photo.i "like" some of the jokes my friends put up on face book but if they put up a good/great pic i will have something to SAY about it. just my opinion mike
 
dinorock said:
my question how do i know if its undue or not, or should i just assume everyone is "just being nice" confused in Reading.:bang:
Click to expand...

You dont Mike, and this is something that has already been discussed before on TP. Imo if you put pictures up on forums then be prepared to accept all sorts of comments :shrug:
 
One of the things I've learnt on my OCA course is photos's I really like don't always make the grade, ones I think are OK, or risky sometimes are the best.
You also have to learn to take criticism and advice, but it makes you a better photographer for it. Luckily my tutor is excellent.

I stuck a couple of images up on here recently. One I got some great advice on how to improve the image, the other was slated, but that's fine because i knew it wasn't great but showed technique.

So - honest feedback is ok, but it has to be done encouragingly
 
dinorock said:
my question how do i know if its undue or not, or should i just assume everyone is "just being nice" confused in Reading.:bang:
Click to expand...

Some people will compliment you because they genuinely appreciate your work.

Some people will compliment you simply because they want you to tell them how great they know they already are.

Sometimes the people in both of these groups are genuinely good photographers. Sometimes they're not.

Set your own aspirations and benchmarks, possibly by identifying a small number of photographers' work who you respond positively to. Use your own judgement as to whether you are reaching the same sort of standards they have. If someone else appreciates what you are doing while you are on your journey then that's great and very encouraging but ultimately it's your work and we should all be our own worst/best critics.
 
Last edited:
It all depends on the person giving the criticism.

I had to attend a course through work on how to review people (everyone in management has to attend it) and after 8 hours it basically boiled down to:

Say what you like, don't like + how to improve then finish on a positive.

As for flickr and facebook, likes on there don't really bother me because 98% of facebook wouldn't know a good photo if it slapped them in the face and just like anything, and Flickr, as mentioned already, it's all about the ego and trying to entice people in to liking their posts by liking yours.
 
i get what your all saying if for example its someone i know personally such as stuart (cosmix3) or darren (cowasaki) to name a few then i listen and learn from there comments but what about the rest.they could be "massaging my ego" which dos,nt help anyone.i agree with the comments about some pictures being better/worse than i thought they were, i go to a camera club and theres lots of ego massaging going on there :D not by me i might add.
 
Last edited:
dinorock said:
sorry ben but liking a photo on face book is not really commenting on a photo.i "like" some of the jokes my friends put up on face book but if they put up a good/great pic i will have something to SAY about it. just my opinion mike
Click to expand...

I agree, but when you don't have the time to do that I think the like button is a very easy way to say, well you "like" the photo.
 
BenUK said:
I agree, but when you don't have the time to do that I think the like button is a very easy way to say, well you "like" the photo.
Click to expand...

sorry ben but being on here and using Facebook etc if one of my friends etc put up a good photo i would definitely have some thing to say about it and "like" probably would,nt be enough. just my opinion but thats just the way i am (a nice guy) :lol:
 
Harvey_nikon said:
As for flickr and facebook, likes on there don't really bother me because 98% of facebook wouldn't know a good photo if it slapped them in the face and just like anything, and Flickr, as mentioned already, it's all about the ego and trying to entice people in to liking their posts by liking yours.
Click to expand...

so like me stu you have a flickr page, and must need your ego massaging now and again :D just kidding. i have flickr because its a tool i use to upload to forums such as these and for giving people who i have photographed somewhere to go to see the images i have taken.not for any ego boost but i some times print these photos off for these people and it gives them a chance to "see" my shots before hand to let me know which one they like:eek: i think i just used the "like" word:lol:
 
In all honesty I take photographs mainly for me, (partly why I don't post many on here) I know what I want to achieve (don't often achieve it though) But most of the time I know why it hasn't quite worked.
I don't like most of what Picasso did, doesn't make it bad just doesn't appeal to me. Photography is the same.
 
In all honesty, "beauty is in the Eye of the beholder";), my wife paints abstract pictures, and I get the "do you like it" and " which one is better":nuts: , to Me they are just random blobs of colour, to wifey they are meaningful expressions of something or other:love: ( good job she doesn't read this forum:naughty: )

Its the same with photographs, I've taken one or two I really like, but the technique is bad, or focused wrong or something that would be "shot down" if I was to ( heaven forbid:gag: ) exhibit them, but I like the way they turned out.

So criticism here may help you get better technique , but won't necessarily
help you achieve what you like to see.

I'm not trying to sell or impress, I'm just attempting to record what I see around me in a way I like.
 
vizzair said:
In all honesty, "beauty is in the Eye of the beholder";), my wife paints abstract pictures, and I get the "do you like it" and " which one is better":nuts: , to Me they are just random blobs of colour, to wifey they are meaningful expressions of something or other:love: ( good job she doesn't read this forum:naughty: )

Its the same with photographs, I've taken one or two I really like, but the technique is bad, or focused wrong or something that would be "shot down" if I was to ( heaven forbid:gag: ) exhibit them, but I like the way they turned out.

So criticism here may help you get better technique , but won't necessarily
help you achieve what you like to see.

I'm not trying to sell or impress, I'm just attempting to record what I see around me in a way I like.
Click to expand...

could,nt agree with you more john, i have put photos on here i REALLY like, and had them torn to pieces. and on reflection i notice it was,nt actually as good as i originally thought. but i take criticism generally well and hope i learn something from it :clap:
 
I think the whole think about "liking" on Facebook is completely different to people commenting favourably to images posted on here.

I've put pictures on facebook that my friends have thought were amazing but I know from a more technical perspective they're far from perfect or amazing.

Images are subjective just like art, some people like to see animals chopped in half and stored in formaldehyde, others don't :lol:

vizzair made some very good points about critique on here which I agree with completely :)
 
+1 for the comment by Vizzair. He said basically the same as I did a few weeks ago on a thread, but much more succinctly. I've had photos which I really like and mean more to me than a million other photos, but aren't technically correct or perfect, but capture the essence of what I was trying for. Then someone will have a look and just say it's c**p cause they don't like the subject matter. Hardly inspiring is it.
 
vizzair said:
In all honesty, "beauty is in the Eye of the beholder";), my wife paints abstract pictures, and I get the "do you like it" and " which one is better":nuts: , to Me they are just random blobs of colour, to wifey they are meaningful expressions of something or other:love: ( good job she doesn't read this forum:naughty: )
Click to expand...

I blogged recently about synaesthesia, which I think probably plays an important role at this end of the abstract spectrum.
 
artyman said:
Surely 'Likeing' on Flickr is mostly a case of ego massaging, much the same as 'Friends' on Facebook, doesn't mean anything to be honest.
Click to expand...

I favourite a lot of photos on flickr for no other reason than that is the easiest way to keep it somewhere accessible so you can refer to it time and again. For me, it's the same as putting a post-it note in a book when i see an image, or bookmarking a page on the internet.

As for the OP's question, I see 'undue praise' as that gushing stuff you regularly see on forums because people can't be bothered to write anything in-depth and don't try to dig any deeper.

As for liking images on bookface, it's more to do with the comment attached to the image, or the intention of the image that I press the like button for. For example, today a mate posted a pic of a nice 4lb chub that he caught in foul weather - I liked it because I know he put some effort in to catch the fish. Another mate posted a really good image of some guys fishing, real arty stuff that he'd processed to give it mood and grit - I commented on it (a general question about location) but I didn't 'like' it because it carried no real explanation or backstory despite my questions. I like to have explanation and backstory with images, as I feel it shows an understanding of what the person is doing with this camera, be it to create a work of art or just to record a moment in their life that they want to share.
 
Jayst84 said:
Nothing to do with Google, I read it when he posted it and feel it's nice to credit work to the author. Just like if you're discussing someone's photo you would expect to credit the photographer.
Click to expand...

and you still didn,t answer my question :bang:
 
dinorock said:
and you still didn,t answer my question :bang:
Click to expand...

Only about half the posts in this thread do. You'll have a fun few months if you're going to start calling out all the posts on the forum that don't directly respond to the OP's question. ;)

If I must then, though surely, it's obvious isn't it? The more you know about the person offering comment on your work, the more (or less) weight you can give to that comment.

No one can tell you who to listen to, because then you're back in the same boat - who's advice do you take on who's advice to take?
 
dinorock said:
and you still didn,t answer my question :bang:
Click to expand...

Do you want your ego massaged? Are you putting images on social networks just for the ego boost? Or...are they put up for critique? Is it a business? I can't see your point.
If you post something on the web then you are signing a contract for everybody in this world to read, view, or listen to your stuff, how up yourself must you be to say "please don't hit the like button" what about the people who genuinely like something and feel like they don't understand something enough to comment, hit the button.
That's like someone sending a comment like "compliments to the chef" into my kitchen during service and me sending one back "i know my food is good, don't blow smoke up my arse" No, what i say is thank you or i am glad you enjoyed. The customer doesn't know what went into their meal most of the time, but they enjoyed it enough to hit the like button.
Basically, if it annoys you or bugs you that much don't post things on forums, Facebook, flickr.
 
I generally don't comment or favourite photos I don't like on Flickr. There's no need for it.
 
Simon photo said:
Do you want your ego massaged? Are you putting images on social networks just for the ego boost?.....etc, etc....
Click to expand...

I think the OP is (very badly) quoting a train of thought that wad posted on the web, and not saying it himself. He's asking the question in reply to what he found in the web....
 
Ok guess i missed that but the rest of my comment still stands, be gracious and not an arse about your work being well received. But, If you feel someone is clicking for the sake of it and just being "nice" then you already know your work ain't up to scratch, so why post it on the web. I did read that it was being used for "clients"? To view images before getting prints?
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top