Beginner Where do you post pics for CC?

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JohnH

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John
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Hi,

I've been taking pics for almost 4 months now and wondered if there was a place on here to post pictures to get some constructive criticism?
Here is the most recent picture I have taken.
I use a nikon d5100 and just purchased a tokina 11-16mm lens. This was my first time using this lens. I used a gobe 10 stop filter for this.

EDIT - how do I insert an image? I tried using a flikr like to the image as when I clicked to insert image it asked for a url. This does not seem to have worked.
 
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JohnH said:
Ahhh, cant post links until I have 3 posts.
Click to expand...

not direct links out to flickr... but you can share the picture if you follow the guide as linked to by @Harlequin565 above...

or failing that, say "thanks" to everyone in this thread, and you've got your 3 posts, then go pick a "genre" from the list of categories that your image may fall into from the sections here...

https://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/#photo-genres-sharing-critique.139

and post away...

I'd suggest that for proper critique, you post a single image, and perhaps give some details of what you were trying to achieve with the shot (your "artistic intention" if you will) , maybe even where you think you've suceeded and failed - and where you feel you need assitance.

Oh - and remember, it's CRITIQUE, not necessarily CRITICISM - it's nothing personal, it's simply peoples opinion of how (in their own opinion) things could be improved... Some people's opinion may be more useful than others - generally, you'll find that the ones that tell you why you've missed the mark and how to hit it next time are more valuable than the ones that simply say "lovely image" - even if the "lovely image" posts are nicer to read... you learn from your bad reviews.

Join In, have fun, and I look forward to seeing some of your work... (unless it's birds on a stick or people/portraits - they're generally "not my bag" so I tend to avoid them ;) )
 
TheBigYin said:
I'd suggest that for proper critique, you post a single image, and perhaps give some details of what you were trying to achieve with the shot (your "artistic intention" if you will) , maybe even where you think you've suceeded and failed - and where you feel you need assitance.
Click to expand...

This is really good advice. Nothing worse than posting an image for someone to say "it's a bit under-exposed" when you meant to evoke a moody atmosphere.

Also,

TheBigYin said:
it's nothing personal
Click to expand...

Not everyone knows how to deliver critique with kindness. Accept the rough with the smooth :)
 
Harlequin565 said:
Nothing worse than posting an image for someone to say "it's a bit under-exposed" when you meant to evoke a moody atmosphere.
Click to expand...

I'd say 90% of the RTM's we get for "crit gone amok" threads (other than people posting in the critique section when they really only want to get facebook style "likes" and basically "smoke blown up their fundament") are due to mis-interpretation of the OP's intention for the shot - it's NOT compulsory to post a bit of a blurb about the pic, and lots of people would probably argue that if the picture doesn't stand on it's own without the words then it's failed anyway - but, certainly for the first few images posted for crit. by a new member, letting the regulars get an idea of your thought processes behind the shot can save much misunderstanding.

After a while, if you post regularly, people tend to get to know "your style" and understand - for example, with lots of my still life stuff, it's emulating the "dutch old masters", so the lighting is often quite subdued, to the point of being slightly dingey... That's not poor exposure, that's extremely carefully controlled lighting (and often a little help in PP) for a desired effect.
 
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JohnH said:
Hi,

I've been taking pics for almost 4 months now and wondered if there was a place on here to post pictures to get some constructive criticism?
Here is the most recent picture I have taken.
I use a nikon d5100 and just purchased a tokina 11-16mm lens. This was my first time using this lens. I used a gobe 10 stop filter for this.

EDIT - how do I insert an image? I tried using a flikr like to the image as when I clicked to insert image it asked for a url. This does not seem to have worked.
Click to expand...
This can be a very difficult place to ask for criticism. I used to do it but almost every photo got hacked to bits, mostly for very trivial things.

I tend to post most of mine on the photographic body forums (not sure what to call the generic organisation entities) because most of the people on there are professionals with years of experience and the feedback is legit. If you receive feedback here it will either be "nice pic" or a death sentence.
That's not to say it's the same for everyone. After a while, you start to learn who the pros are and who knows what they're talking about.
 
TheBigYin said:
not direct links out to flickr... but you can share the picture if you follow the guide as linked to by @Harlequin565 above...

or failing that, say "thanks" to everyone in this thread, and you've got your 3 posts, then go pick a "genre" from the list of categories that your image may fall into from the sections here...

https://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/#photo-genres-sharing-critique.139

and post away...

I'd suggest that for proper critique, you post a single image, and perhaps give some details of what you were trying to achieve with the shot (your "artistic intention" if you will) , maybe even where you think you've suceeded and failed - and where you feel you need assitance.

Oh - and remember, it's CRITIQUE, not necessarily CRITICISM - it's nothing personal, it's simply peoples opinion of how (in their own opinion) things could be improved... Some people's opinion may be more useful than others - generally, you'll find that the ones that tell you why you've missed the mark and how to hit it next time are more valuable than the ones that simply say "lovely image" - even if the "lovely image" posts are nicer to read... you learn from your bad reviews.

Join In, have fun, and I look forward to seeing some of your work... (unless it's birds on a stick or people/portraits - they're generally "not my bag" so I tend to avoid them ;) )
Click to expand...

So replying on here is classed as a post? Thats not too bad then I suppose
 
TheBigYin said:
I'd say 90% of the RTM's we get for "crit gone amok" threads (other than people posting in the critique section when they really only want to get facebook style "likes" and basically "smoke blown up their fundament") are due to mis-interpretation of the OP's intention for the shot - it's NOT compulsory to post a bit of a blurb about the pic, and lots of people would probably argue that if the picture doesn't stand on it's own without the words then it's failed anyway - but, certainly for the first few images posted for crit. by a new member, letting the regulars get an idea of your thought processes behind the shot can save much misunderstanding.

After a while, if you post regularly, people tend to get to know "your style" and understand - for example, with lots of my still life stuff, it's emulating the "dutch old masters", so the lighting is often quite subdued, to the point of being slightly dingey... That's not poor exposure, that's extremely carefully controlled lighting (and often a little help in PP) for a desired effect.
Click to expand...

Very fair points.

I agree that the picture should tell the story without the words if it is truly effective.

Incidentally, the person taking the picture may feel a certain way when making the exposure and everything they have done in camera and post processing they may be actively and sub conciously enhancing that story.

If someone else looks at it and feels a different way, the photographer may feel like they have failed, have they?

I think when critiquing you need to factually assess the technicalities of the shot.

Then as an opinion compliment or offer alternatives regarding the artistic licence used and assumed intention of the feel of the shot where personal preferences can be expressed.

Giving and receiving critique isn't not easy but rest assured no one on this forum is malicious or looking to berate. The best critiques I've ever received are hard truths!
 
Just be aware that sometimes your pictures may appear to be ignored, and the hoped for crit never happens. :( Sometimes it's because there's no easy aspect to crit (like dust bunnies or horrible colour cast) but no-one likes your image enough to really dig in and find something useful to say. While being ignored can be very disappointing and discouraging, it does mean than no-one found anything obviously wrong with it. ;)

Also learn to crit other peoples images in return, both for their sake and because it teaches you to read and see strengths and weaknesses in pictures. I always go through the landscapes section looking for images that have 0 comments, and try my hardest to find something both positive and useful to say about the image - if you don't like something then you must say WHY - otherwise you're just moaning. It is unusual for images posted here to have no redeeming features at all, although it does occasionally happen.
 
Craig_85 said:
I agree that the picture should tell the story without the words if it is truly effective.
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As I say, some pictures will stand on their own - other genre's can be slightly "bypassed" because we've lost the "visual language" that a particular form of image conveys - a case in point would be (oh god he's going off on his pet subject again!) my favoured still lifes - the whole "dutch old masters" school of imagery.

Now, few of us had the luxury of studying art history at school or college - I know I certainly didn't, at least not in any great detail (we had a 1 hour art history/appreciation lesson in the 6th form for 1 term, as part of getting us through A-Level General Studies) - so for example, the whole Pronkstilleven school of painting, and the Vanitas style of imagery would be something that we may have seen a few paintings, but didn't understand the underlying symbols - but - to a 17th century middle-class person of average intelligence, they'd be as clear as day...

So when I did a few shots of these style of image, I didn't just slap up the picture, but wrote a short paragraph or two, just to explain the visual language used... Would the pictures stand on their own? Probably. Would the viewer get as much out of them without the "blurb"? I seriously doubt it.
 
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Often the best critique I've recieved hasn't had a shred of technical advice in it. It's all been around what the image makes the viewer FEEL when they view it. If I can make people think, and feel, and experience emotion, I really don't give a damn if the exposure is 1/3 of a stop under, or there's a dust bunny in the bottom corner, or someone would like to see a colour version of the image, even though I stated in my post that it was shot on black and white film.

I won't say I'm past caring about the "technical" side of taking a photograph - I'm not - but the camera on a partial-auto program (usually Aperture Priority) will take care of things "near enough" these days - I'd far rather concern myself with whats in front of the lens, in composition, in arrangement, and in lighting. That's what people (i.e. not photography enthusiasts) see in the end result.
 
TheBigYin said:
Often the best critique I've recieved hasn't had a shred of technical advice in it. It's all been around what the image makes the viewer FEEL when they view it. If I can make people think, and feel, and experience emotion, I really don't give a damn if the exposure is 1/3 of a stop under, or there's a dust bunny in the bottom corner, or someone would like to see a colour version of the image, even though I stated in my post that it was shot on black and white film.

I won't say I'm past caring about the "technical" side of taking a photograph - I'm not - but the camera on a partial-auto program (usually Aperture Priority) will take care of things "near enough" these days - I'd far rather concern myself with whats in front of the lens, in composition, in arrangement, and in lighting. That's what people (i.e. not photography enthusiasts) see in the end result.
Click to expand...

These are often the more difficult bit, aren't they? The creative side is harder to crit than the technical, not least because we see different things, and sometimes our creative choices will actually spoil an image for someone else. There's a danger that we can get so into our own images that we forget to view them like a stranger would.
 
TheBigYin said:
So when I did a few shots of these style of image, I didn't just slap up the picture, but wrote a short paragraph or two, just to explain the visual language used... Would the pictures stand on their own? Probably. Would the viewer get as much out of them without the "blurb"? I seriously doubt it.
Click to expand...

Drifting further off topic (glad a mod's involved - must be ok :)) I think this is another important reason why some images can't stand on their own in a forum like this. You only have to check out the "is photography art" threads to see that many members of this community freely admit they don't "get" the artistic intent. By adding a sentence or two, you help them understand what/why you're doing what you're doing and also engage with the community - which is what sets a forum apart from things like Insta-like & Flickr.
 
I think the "supporting words" can also vary in nature depending on subject - for example in the macro section it's pretty usual to specify the kit involved in getting the photo - as understanding the degree of magnification involved and other aspects also has an impact on the difficulty of getting the image in the first place. Similar in the Birding section - the very fact that an image was taken with a 500mm lens and a 1.4x converter (say) bears testament to the technique involved c/f if it'd been taken with a 200mm F2.8... In both these areas the crit. will usually be highly technique and technical in it's nature - whereas in people and portraits, the comments may well be more about the models pose, hints on "giving direction" to the model, or on the lighting. Neither of these crit forms is wrong... it's just suited to the subject matter.
 
ancient_mariner said:
An example of good crit: https://www.talkphotography.co.uk/threads/anticipation-and-defeat.646861/#post-7734949
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it is a pretty good example, yep...

and for an example of the degree of depth some people go into read this one... (it's on a shot of mine, so I'm not "victimising" anyone but myself...)

https://www.talkphotography.co.uk/threads/oh-no-not-yet-another-still-life.377753/#post-5745237

(it also serves as an example of adding a certain amount of background detail about the "visual language" if you scroll up to the top of the thread ;) )
 
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