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Are you put off by critique?
Over on our Olympus UK E-System User Group forum it has been decided to rename the critique board from 'Looking for Perfection' to 'Looking for Improvement'.
This is because some people were put off posting their photos because they thought they weren't good enough and others were concerned that they weren't qualified enough to comment on photos posted there. Naturally, the intention is to help people improve their photography with the help of constructive feedback - and anyone interested in photograph is naturally qualified to do this. I typed up some prose to underline this and thought I'd reproduce it here:
Good move to rename this board; while 'Looking for Perfection' is what it's all about, 'perfection' is subjective, but basically this board is all about posting photos to generate third party constructive comment aimed at helping the poster to find useful advice on improving the picture where possible - or condensed down to one single word: 'critique'.
Don't be afraid to post comments. One thing that is undeniably true is that it is much easier to appreciate other people's work than to create your own. Your opinion is very useful. Without adequate feedback a consensus is difficult to form. Especially if you don't like something, that feedback is very valuable. Naturally, be as respectful and polite as possible when providing feedback.
For those wishing to post their images for feedback here - do be prepared for comment that you may not agree with and respect such comments as long as they are well meant and polite. If you feel you won't cope well with negative comment, then it's probably best not to post your work here.
Other advice - critique forums work best if you limit each thread to a single image (or at least one shot and maybe several different workings of that shot, or maybe several slightly different images). If you post several images in one thread, especially very different ones, it's difficult to focus on particular points.
Above all - image posters and commenters - try not to be put off!
The above applies 100% as well here
Ian
This is because some people were put off posting their photos because they thought they weren't good enough and others were concerned that they weren't qualified enough to comment on photos posted there. Naturally, the intention is to help people improve their photography with the help of constructive feedback - and anyone interested in photograph is naturally qualified to do this. I typed up some prose to underline this and thought I'd reproduce it here:
Good move to rename this board; while 'Looking for Perfection' is what it's all about, 'perfection' is subjective, but basically this board is all about posting photos to generate third party constructive comment aimed at helping the poster to find useful advice on improving the picture where possible - or condensed down to one single word: 'critique'.
Don't be afraid to post comments. One thing that is undeniably true is that it is much easier to appreciate other people's work than to create your own. Your opinion is very useful. Without adequate feedback a consensus is difficult to form. Especially if you don't like something, that feedback is very valuable. Naturally, be as respectful and polite as possible when providing feedback.
For those wishing to post their images for feedback here - do be prepared for comment that you may not agree with and respect such comments as long as they are well meant and polite. If you feel you won't cope well with negative comment, then it's probably best not to post your work here.
Other advice - critique forums work best if you limit each thread to a single image (or at least one shot and maybe several different workings of that shot, or maybe several slightly different images). If you post several images in one thread, especially very different ones, it's difficult to focus on particular points.
Above all - image posters and commenters - try not to be put off!
The above applies 100% as well here
Ian
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