What do you look for?

EdBray

EdBray

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Edward Bray
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I have been looking at peoples comments when critiquing others pictures, what do you actually look for?
Are you commenting on what is there, or what you think should be there?
When commenting on composition, do you take into account that a change in position (or lens) may not actually be possible?
Do you expect in this digital age than anything can be changed with PP?
Are you afraid to tell the truth? I have noticed that many unanswered posts have often have a poor picture or subject matter to be critiqued! Personally, I think people will learn a lot more from honest criticism than nice lip service as the commenter does not want to offend. If you think its crap, I think you should say so, but then, please offer constructive reasons why you think it is!

I heard a story a number of years ago about a judge, whilst judging a photograph of a beautiful perfectly exposed landscape, with a stunning sky an old Red Massey Fergusson tractor (on the third) ploughing a field with great composition and good foreground and background interest (quite honestly a stunning picture in every respect) marked it down because he thought that it was a pity that the tractor hadn't been a horse pulling a plough share!

Should we judge and comment on what is before us or not?

A lot of questions, but I am genuinely interested in what those of you that post critiques think, and it may encourage more that don’t to have a go!
 
Interesting question. I'm only just getting confident enough to offer critique rather than saying 'nice shot, like the light' etc so I tend to stick to things I think I know like exposure, whether the composition is sound or if anything is blown. Although I do try and find something positive to say as well because I feel that was what happened on some of my early (rather poor) attempts and the critique helps but its nice to have someone say that there is something right as well.

Andy
 
I very rarely comment on pictures partly becuse I don't often look in that part of the forum, and partly because I see each picture as how it appears to me which is usually the opposite of other comments and probably where I go wrong with my own :bang:
Other people will say its oof or needs to fill the frame more (they would "mark" it down for me as well), not sharp (I don't often notice that unless its really bad), composition - well thats a very individual thing. When I did look I used to see some where for example a rock has been criticised by loads of people as taking too prominant a part in the foreground/background or is not on a 1/3rd, where to me it made no difference and either would not have made the picture any better or could have made it worse!!
Noise is another thing for me, people want no noise and squeaky clean pictures but I used to think the edited version without the noise lost the character of the picture.
The ones I have commented on were the ones who's title caught me eye as I scroll down the screen are usually horse ones, but when I look all I see is how the horse is using itself and the effect the rider is having on the way its going rather than the photographic side :lol:

I do vote on pics in the competition, and from the ones I like and vote on I can see that I am usually well out of sync with everyone else, but I do things the easy way for me which is to scroll down to each pic, if it does not say "look at me" I go to the next one, those that say "look" I first think does it tie in with the theme, if so I look for a few seconds and think if I was into that sort of picture would I be happy to hang it on the wall - if yes vote, if no pass to the next!!

If I do ever a) improve my own pics to the point where I feel I am a reasonable standard and b) look at pics from a technical point of view of feel I could add something I may start to comment, but until then I'm happy in my own little world ;)
 
I just comment on what I see and how it appears to me. My views will probably be different to many because I really don't like the look of a lot of the over sharpened, over processed images that seem to really rock other people's boats.
 
I get a feeling as soon as I see the photo. It is a gut "Yes I like it" or "Nope, something not right". This gut feeling will determine my comment, sometimes I will simply say "awesome" if I really like it, otherwise I will say "Good shot" and suggest what changes I might make.

From a techy level, I am a novice so try and keep my comments short and sweet!

I am very weary of being too harsh as I feel contructive crit is very important as opposed to "thats sh*t".

Gary.
 
Is this aimed at me?:suspect:

I say what I think. When looking at composition then obviously shooting from a different position or indeed taking a different shot is worth mentioning. I quite understand that there may be very good reasons (cliff edge, motorway, crocodile pool, minefield, etc) that force a shot to be from a particular spot, however if that is the case then the poster can say so.

One thing is that people tend to just post an image without putting any comment about what they wanted to achieve or to put any context around it.

If when you are out and about and you see people taking pictures it is amazing how many just take out the camera and shoot without checking out differnt sightlines. I think that the downside of digital is that people can fail to put enough thought into what and how they shoot.

While all the nice shot/great/awesome/etc comments are very pleasant for the recipient, they do not actually give anyone anything to reflect on. How can we improve if we do not revisit and review the decisions we take?

I am a poor photographer (but trying to get better) with not enough time or expertise to take the shots that I want to . But I hope that my comments are on the whole helpful to the victims....

errr... recipients.

//pedant mode on: Gary, Are you really tired of being too harsh? Or just wary? ;-)
 
I look for composition, maybe things like something in the foreground, nothing sprouting out folks heads, everything working well together and whether it makes me feel anything to look at it. This is a gross over simplification and stuff you'll be doing already but just thought I'd stick my tuppence worth in :wave:
 
As someone critiquing, my comments seem to range from the banal, through to advice (if I feel in the slightest way qualified) to ways in which I think the shot could be improved to my eye. TBH, if a shot is really bad, I am one of those guilty of not commenting - largely because as someone who's only been taking photographs six months, I think that if I was receiving the feedback I might question the authority (if that's the right word) of someone with so little experience. I would rather leave the 'rules' of composition and technical DoF basics to those more experienced and qualified. My critique is more 'from the gut' and based on my own personal taste.

As someone receiving critique, I am grateful for any comments from one worders, through to whole paragraphs of advice. Basically if someone has the time to offer more, I am grateful. Otherwise a quick thumbs up/down at least tells me whether my own 'gut' feeling is correct or not. As for critique like cloning, moving one step left into the abyss, etc... I am equally grateful, but will bear in mind any limitations that I was faced with when taking the shot.
 
Peoples C/C are important BTBH i like what people have said about my picture's do i listen yes, i turn around look at somthing else and the comment has gone :cuckoo: so i go back and read it all again very helpful indeed .

I would not comment on a photo unless it was obvious, as i like all shots in fact try and show me a bad picture i like them all.

Regards mark
 
EdBray said:
When commenting on composition, do you take into account that a change in position (or lens) may not actually be possible?
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Having experienced this many times myself, I know it's a problem, but if a composition doesn't work it doesn't work, no matter why it was taken from a given position.

I have noticed that many unanswered posts have often have a poor picture or subject matter to be critiqued! ... If you think its crap, I think you should say so, but then, please offer constructive reasons why you think it is!
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I'm guilty of looking at a lot of pictures on here and not commenting. Often I look at a picture and know instantly that I don't like it, but really can't explain why I don't, or what I'd do to improve it. That's when I stay quiet, when I can't say anything constructive. Anyone else have that problem?
 
Being new to the forum I am a little wary about giving too much critic or comments, as I know my overall knowledge is limited. I do intend to still give an opionion though, and would hope that if I made an incorrect or unfair comment, another forum member would "put me straight". The way I look at it is at the end of the day, we are all hear to share our work, our thoughts and our opinions and develop our skills (in my case however limited) further.

When posting images myself, I would prefer honest critisism of the images and will certainly never be offended. The images I post I like and so therefore they have already been through my "quality control", advice and critisism in my view will only help me in the future.

Your comment about the photography judge and the comment made are how I imagine camera club contests to be. To be honest, this puts me off joining them with the limited skills I currently have. Maybe I am being unfair, but at my level of photography, I feel more comfortable displaying my work here, than at a local club contest, where I would receive comments like this. If any member knows of a friendly club in my area, please PM me.
 
I suppose I look at the image from a technical point of view first - exposure, sharpness, colour temp etc, and then from a compositional or artistic point of view. I don't think I'm ever dishonest or avoid any glaring issues, and I certainly try to give encouragement rather than coming across as harsh.

This is after all a photographic board, with members of all levels of experience. If people don't get honest useful criticism here, they wont get it anywhere so I'd like to see a lot more people making the effort to critic images. I critique a fair few images, but that doesn't mean I'm necessarily right and I'm very wary sometimes of coming across as a complete know-all , which I really don't profess to be. I do get a tremendous buzz out of seeing people's work improve and nudging them in the right direction - that's my excuse anyway.

Critique is the life blood of this forum and lots more people need to be doing it rather than asking why others do. ;)
 
1. I like to look for what the photographer was going for, what where they thinking. I don't care what the photo subjects are.
2. Based on that, I look to see if i find the shot appealing or not.
3. Then I decide if my 'eye' likes to look at the shot and finds it easy..
4. Is it looking at the right spot, or is it struggling to settle somewhere.
5. Then I look to see whats distracting my eye, what makes the shot out of balance and what doesn't.
6.If it clears all those hurdles, it's a good photograph for me, I can look into it, enjoy it and do all that for sometime without wanting to look away...the longer I want to look the better the shot is.



...something like that..:thinking:

The technical side comes into that lot here and their, like if its oof its not going to do very well... but overall, for me, its the image that counts, not the blown highlights.


l
 
I try to be honest about images that I see and post what I can about them. That is however largely limited to what I do or don't like about particular images, and I often find it far harder to put my finger on what it is about an image I don't like. I really don't feel in any way qualified to pick out the technical aspects of an image so tend to steer clear.

Having said that, looking and trying to make clear comments is helping me improve on my own abilities also. Seeing a well composed, technically good shot, and looking at what I like/dislike in it and trying to write that down, I think, has helped me come along faster than not doing so.
 
I've made a concious effort to try and be a bit more critical in the last week or so, I stopped doing it after a bad response from a poster who basically decided that I wasn't fit to critique his image as I haven't got a web page full of master pieces! I did point out that most food critics can't cook and that the Simon Cowell is a terrible singer but he wasn't having it!

I do try to be constructive and if I say something negative I try to back it up with something positive, I do feel that too many snapshots get posted on the forum and attract half a dozen "Great Image" type responses because people are too afraid to criticise.
 
EdinburghGary said:
Double post, noob :D
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:lol: He's been a member longer than you Gary!


I do try to be constructive and if I say something negative I try to back it up with something positive, I do feel that two many snapshots get posted on the forum and attract half a dozen "Great Image" type responses because people are too afraid to criticise.
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I agree. (although there are more than two of them)



Also, it would be nice if people responded to the comments they get. I very rarely see any response to critique.
 
I sometimes have a spate of critiquing images if I have a spare few minutes. Sometimes it is basically "nice picture, I like it" other times I will say why I like it or not and how I feel it could have been changed.

I feel it is also nice if someone has taken the time to critique an image, especially in detail, if the original poster acknowledges that they have seen the replies. Not necessary everyone individually but that they have seen them.
 
who? said:
:lol: He's been a member longer than you Gary!




I agree. (although there are more than two of them)



Also, it would be nice if people responded to the comments they get. I very rarely see any response to critique.
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Fixed ;) Not sure how that happend, Now back to critique there must be some unresponded posts for me by now.
 
I lack experience (calm down) and am not sure what I'm looking for in my own pics never mind anyone else's. I know what I like though, it's a gut thing, and I like to think I recognise quality when I see it but I don't know enough to criticise the finer points.
For that reason I rarely comment on others work unless it's something that really grabs me. I do look at a lot though, just to learn.
 
a1ex2001 said:
I do try to be constructive and if I say something negative I try to back it up with something positive, I do feel that too many snapshots get posted on the forum and attract half a dozen "Great Image" type responses because people are too afraid to criticise.
Click to expand...

I 100% agree with this, I have never seen a photo here that has absolutely nothing good about it, likewise I have only seen maybe 1 or 2 that are absolutely perfect that nothing could be improved on. So comment on both good and bad, to allow improvment and "feel good", or is that over simplifying it?

Maybe when images are posted it should be stated if they are after serious C & C or are just there to be looked at/collect "Nice pics"...

I don't tend to comment on many images, because I feel that if I do I should give a full critiue, or if it is a set a brief critique on each image, not just saying which one is my favourite ;)
 
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