Being a new kid on the block, please please PLEASE take this thread in the right way. 

I have posted a few photos now and have fun looking at others, BUT I have found myself at times frustrated.  There is so much to learn in the world of digital photography and from time to time I'm just not sure if I have gotten an image that is just appealing to my eye or if it is REALLY a good shot.  Everyone is very polite, but at times a bit TOO POLITE. 

How horrified would everyone be if there were constructive criticism critiques (and I truly mean constructive criticism) posted on images? 

My husband has been at this a while and he showed me another website that I wont mention (cough photosig.com cough) that from time to time he looks at but has never posted on himself.  They actually have a section just to critique each others work.  There are many people on there, in my opinion, that are.....shall we say.....snobby.  But alot of the critiques have helped my eye look at others work, read the critiques, and evaluate whether I agree with the changes they might suggest. 

I have found myself setting up my shot with a keener eye, evaluate my settings better and spend more time on my post work now. 

I personally would LOVE to see less posts on my images that are the cookie cutter "marvelous image" and "superb capture" and more stuff like "I do like it but I think you could have increased/decreased your apeture to get a little better effect" or "I would like to see a wider/tighter crop" or " I think it might need a bit more/less saturation".  Dont get me wrong, I like it as much as everyone else when someone says they like my images, but I would LOVE to see WHY, what went right or wrong....  I learn and try to apply constructive criticism.

What is your opinion?  I would never want to offend someone on a good photo that might need a slight tweek to make it an excellent photo. 

People have the choice of critiquing because you can set your preferences if you do not want criticism. I do not mind the politeness here; I've found as people get to know you better they will provide more criticism that you will find useful. Some sites have people who are very destructive with their comments.

One of the problems with criticism is that we all like and dislike photos, but the photo you may dislike could be exactly what the photographer wanted to capture. If it is what s/he wanted to create, then the photo is successful, and what I think about it may be irrelevant. We just need to be more tolerant of what others 'see' with their cameras.

I absolutely agree in "eye of the beholder".  I saw a photo just the other day (and I will NEVER mention which) that really did not come out well due to the cropping, but had the potential to be so very interesting without the distraction of the part that needed to go.  It was a shame, and I deperately wanted to say something, but did not.  I rarely see anyone make suggestions that would improve the images (critiques) and I see some that could be wall hangers with the slightest changes. 

I'm not saying there work is "wrong", just that they might have missed a slight tweek that they end up seeing once pointed out and love the image all that much more.

I completely agree with you, as long as the constructive criticism is presented as a suggestion & not a lecture on the "right" way to do things. I have made such suggestions when I've seen a photo that I thought was really very good, but was either flawed in a particular way or could be made even better with a little tweaking & others have done the same for me. As an example, auntietk recently pointed out that a photo of mine had the horizon tilted & I was grateful for that & corrected it & reposted it.

But not everyone is interested in artistic or technical perfection. There are a lot of folks here who post photos just to document something they saw & have no real interest in technique. Which is fine, nothing wrong with that. Others are very creative & try wildly experimental techniques & I usually respect their personal creativity & don't try to impose my views on them. And if I think a photo is not very good at all (a pretty small minority as I think the quality in the Photography Gallery is generally very high), I will not comment at all.  I think it's a combination of figuring out who really is interested in constructive criticism & expressing your criticism in a friendly & helpful way.

Thanks for bringing this up in an honest & open way.

I think there are many who feel the way you do. and there are many who SAY what you say but explode if anyone dares to say anything other than "exceptional photo".

I always try to offer suggestions when I have any. Sometimes I do not feel very enamored of the subject and try to find something positive to say rather than say "I'm tired of squirrels" or "this is a shot that's been done so many times it can't be done in any unique way anymore..." 

I know that everyone posting here wants to know how to be better, but everyone is on a different level. Some know all about exposure settings and lighting, while others are still working on composition and pov...so it isn't always easy to critique in a way the photographer will understand. And everyone does their best so constant criticism is frustrating and often discouraging.

Yes, there are peer groups that get ratings and views by saying everything is gorgeous...there will always bitter with the sweet. :-)

Well, a co-worker just gave me great advice. 

In my comment area I'm going to start encouraging others to please give me feedback on what they see, as constructive criticism. 

If I missed the mark, bring it on......hit me between the eyes with where I didnt quite pull off the effect I was going for.  I'm never going to learn any other way!!  If I did well, hopefully they will comment on what is appealing and I did succeed at........  All I can hope for is comments that explain WHY I did or didnt hit the mark.

I have to admit that I am sometimes guilty of a being patronising but I do it because I feel I have to say something rather than not comment at all.

I do find that a photo that you think very sharp, in your folder, loses sharpness in posting therfore could attract uncalled for criticism but all in all this is a very friendly site and some very nice people on it.

I thought I would give some feedback on a test photo I submitted.  I had mentioned above that a coworker suggest that I state in my comment section that I encourage anyone to critique my photos as I am trying to improve my techniques.  Well, I did just that with my photo named "486".  I have to say that in my opinion I got very fair critiques with advice on techniques to maybe get better results.  It was obvious the intent was to help me identify and tweek the weak areas of the photo.  EXACTLY WHAT I WAS LOOKING FOR!!!!!  I cant wait to pull that image out and redo some photoshopping to see what results i get! 

Anyone else with the same feeling as I have had here.....please try the same!  Just dont forget, critiques are not to tell you your work sucks but to point out where there are weak spot or flaws that maybe you just missed, so dont get offended, they are there to give an honest opinion and advise on how you may have gotten a better result, again in their opinion.  You have to be willing to look at your work through their eyes and admit sometimes........"yeah, I see what they are saying.....maybe that would look better...."  If nothing else, try their suggestions, and if you like your way better, then thats for you!!

Christie

Good luck finding constructive critique here or even in other online communities.  we tried a long time ago to set up a community of critiquing here but for various reasons it failed and all we now have is your "cookie cutter" comments and the odd gem.  Its all about making friends and back scratching here and very few decent togs around willing to spend the time constantly telling people that a 2 degree tilt in a horizon isnt "artistic licence" it is "annoying" or that on-camera flash in avoidable situations is not "my style" but "utter crap, stop being lazy", or that cute (but grainy, badly composed, blurry) pictures of pets with 40+ comments ad favs doesnt make you a good photographer. Sorry if that sounds jaded - maybe I am... 

Deep Breath...

The best way is to go to sites which are set up for it and contribute constructive critiques tit for tat in a structured system - the best one i have found - but because i waned in my efforts (too much work) have stopped posting - is 1x.com's critique forum.  Also - once you can get an image past their "filters" and posted on their site you know you have hit a certain "quality" in your images (whether the style is one you follow or not is another matter - but they are strict on my examples such as those i explained above so you wont get crap on there).

Good luck!

I agree with inshaala.  I am but an amatuer but I try to improve.  I'm not sure my photography skills are improving but I have grown more critical of my own shots by observing the spectacular posting in the gallery along with the poop.  You will be hard pressed to dig out the truly honest remarks from the mutual backslapping.  This goes for all the galleries at Rendo.  I have found that a few of the forums have people there who will be honest and polite both if you have a shot or scene that needs technical assistance.  Forums are a far better source for honesty than the galleries.

I wonder why some people post anything if they are so down on the comments others make? Fulfilling a need to show I suspect. Then there are the people who post regularly and never ever comment on anyone else's work. What's up with that? I think we need to just take the comments as they come and be happy that others are willing to write whatever they do.

Dilemma:

When a very average image has already got 79 comments and 28 favorites (with only 9 full-size views, by the way, what is that telling you?), what's the point in writing that the image could well be improved in at least 7 different ways?

Been there, done that. It's no use and it's not appreciated. You can't beat the system. Not this one.

varanasi - You have agreat idea to specifically ask for critique in your comment section. I have seen you do that a couple of times and got great feedback.