Do photographers posting here want honest feedback, or not?

[Blufftonian]

I don't quite see it that way myself. If I put a photo up on a public forum I expect that I might get comments. Otherwise I'm not really sure why I'd be putting it up. 99 times out of 100 if there are any comments it's people saying that they like the photo, but I have no objection at all to constructive criticism like "nice shot, but it might look better if you cropped it to cut out that distracting object at the side" or "it looks like you've brought the shadows up too much. It would probably be better if you dialled back on the shadows slider a little". I'm always happy to take suggestions and learn from other people's experience.

I agree that "destructive criticism" is entirely unacceptable. "That photo's crap. What were you thinking?" There shouldn't be a place for that sort of comment.

David

David, you make good points and I certainly wouldn’t object to comments like you posted.

I just think that if someone prefers no comments at all, then that should be fine too.

 

[dtc25]

David, you make good points and I certainly wouldn’t object to comments like you posted.

I just think that if someone prefers no comments at all, then that should be fine too.

Of course. Maybe the correct etiquette is not to comment unless the poster specifically requests it. Above all people should feel welcome. Internet forums can degenerate into horrible places, although the DPR ones I've frequented have always been quite civilized.

 

[stig]

I mostly post images of things that interest me, typically these days nature photography. I do post-process and try to improve them but I'm much more interested in the subject than photographic perfection. Equally I'm more interested in the content of other people's photography rather than how or why they made the image. With an art school and architectural background I'd like to think I have a decent eye for composition and colour, and I've been doing photography for a long time, well over 50 years. Now if Tom Mangelsen, Steve Perry, Thom Hogan or a select few others would like to offer me some tips that would be fine, but otherwise it would be a waste of my, and their, time.

Good grief- reminds me of:

 

[Mujana1]

Wonderfull! +1

 

[stig]

“Hi bgreg, I don't think we've ever met but that shirt you're wearing is simply the wrong colour for you. And the pants, please, where did you find them? The shoes? Well the less I say about them...."

Silly, isn't it!

Well, that would vary with context, which you have warped here. Now if it was a photo of him on a fashion show catwalk and displaying his taste of attire, then your comment may be well appropriate [providing he wasn't a snowflake]

 

[Mujana1]

“Hi bgreg, I don't think we've ever met but that shirt you're wearing is simply the wrong colour for you. And the pants, please, where did you find them? The shoes? Well the less I say about them...."

Silly, isn't it!

Silly?
Maybe, but I wouldn't have any problem with a comment like that. I could find him/her very wise and helpful (depending on the clothes I wear), pathetic, ridiculous, mentally limited or even very funny...probably that last one

 

[grsnovi]

I recall mom saying: If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all.

In a recent photo post here I specifically asked for input on processing and got zilch.

I suspect that a number of folks who do post images are simply doing so to be a member of a community. That community is often described by the name of the sub-forum. Forums often take on a personality. For example: the Astrophotography forum might typically critique an image not due to content or framing but rather due to the incredible number of steps involved in capturing and post-processing an image (assuming it isn't a single frame snap). I would imagine that anyone in that forum would both expect and welcome input.

By the time a forum gets to be 25 years old members also often have a sense of the really well-known members. I'm more like to welcome input from somebody who has been around a while and who is known for their insights.

Interestingly there was a "situation" on DPReview where an individual skilled in post-processing ran afoul of a touchy individual in another forum that resulted in a loss to the forum members in general because the RETOUCHING forum was deprived of this person's knowledge (I believe they left of their own accord).

Anyone whose skin is so thin that they can't deal with unsolicited critique (favorable or nasty) ought to READ the T.O.S. and understand that the site owner can generally do what they want with your posted image (including posting it as an example of poor photography with a scathing critique). In fact I'm surprised that Amazon hasn't taken ALL of the posted images and offered them to the camera manufacturers to be used in improving AI enhancement (maybe they have).

There are any number of ways this non-issue could be handled with s/w.

1. Your critique preference could be decided by a checkbox in your profile.
2. There could be a POST CRITIQUE button beside the POST REPLY button.
3. When posting your image there could be a question asking if you do or don't want critique.
4. In addition to the THUMBS UP LIKE at the bottom of the post there could be a THUMBS DOWN DISLIKE.

All of the above are likely beyond the out-of-the-box capabilities provided by a pre-packaged discussion forum template and would involve effort/cost.

Is it worth the effort?

I don't think so.

 

[PentUp]

Of course. Maybe the correct etiquette is not to comment unless the poster specifically requests it. Above all people should feel welcome. Internet forums can degenerate into horrible places, although the DPR ones I've frequented have always been quite civilized.

Indeed. Alternatively if you have something, relevant, useful and constructive to say about a posted image, one should perhaps ask the poster if they mind or would like some constructive comments. This is merely a matter of common human courtesy, something that these days is severely lacking in society, especially on internet forums.
"Manners maketh man"

 

[ken53]

I have used DPR for 15 years, posted over 2300 posts. I must say overall, this discussion's subject matter is a first for me.

 

[EricNepean]

Do people posting images here want honest feedback? Or is this more for "social sharing?"

I used to spend a lot of time posting at naturephotographers.net, where the expectation was that people would post their best work and expect honest critiques from other photographers. It was an excellent way for people to gauge the quality of their own work, hear honest criticism and advice, and incorporate that into their future work. I spent many years at NPN but have moved on after it changed owners and took a different form.

I know it can be hard for any of us to take criticism, and some people posting at NPN actually only wanted positive feedback. I also know how hard it can be to give honest feedback in a sensitive manner.

So, before I go down the wrong track here I'd like to hear what others think of this. Do you want such feedback? Do you think it helps or hurts to get such feedback? Do we need a way to indicate our preferences when we post an image? Should the be a separate forum just for image critiques?

Much depends on context, and on tone.

For example I’ve seen people post an image to demonstrate some particular technical issue such autofocus accuracy, flares or noise, and some replied “thats terrible composition”. This kind of feedback is out of context, and just frustrating to receive.

Another example of objectionable feedback is a response I witnessed some years ago (on dpreview) to a new photographer struggling with a top line Nikon DSLR, to the effect that “newbies shouldn’t try to use professional cameras”. That kind of feedback hurts people and drives them away. Fortunately there were others (including me) that provided helpful advice.

Then there is the response which can be summarized as “you will not get acceptable results until you get rid of that brand X gear”. This also doesn’t lead to any useful result.

Another issue is the dismissive tone. In one forum, when I asked for feedback regarding my composition, I received “that’s terrible, there are many good books on that topic, read some of them”. That kind of feedback just results in people departing the forum, perhaps that was the intention.
I received much more useful feedback in a different forum.

There is also the travelogue kind of pictures provided by someone who has visited some hard to get to place or seen some rare wildlife. In this case one probably can’t return, and may not have had much opportunity to compose the image. Extensive comments on composition here will not be useful.