Originally posted by photoptimist The site said "We do offer constructive criticism here" and those two ladies did exactly that.
And how do you know it was constructive?
As I said... does the sight allow constuctive criticism of the constructive criticism, where does it stop?
For example the one criticism about the exposure values. For people like myself who bracket and select what is in our interpretation the image that lets me to create the look I want, is the fact that others might select a different image to work with, is that a constructive criticism. or is that an attempt to impose your own preferences and values on someone else?
The inference seems to be that any internet poster is qualified to offer criticism. There's productive criticism, and there is destructive criticism. Any criticism that isn't building on the images strengths is destructive. The ability of the critic to see where the person is trying to go with his photos is a very important part of critique. Not everyone that thinks they are qualified to offer a critique has it.
I'd avoid a "constructive criticism" site like the plague personally. Unless offered by an established pro who'e work I admire. I don't need some unwashed neanderthal sitting on a computer in their mom's basement giving me photography tips. Free criticism is usually worth what you pay for it.
You need to be just as careful deciding who you listen to as you do selecting your gear. It's really frustrating on this site in that often, I can't even find images from the critics that would help me understand where they are heading with their criticism. What you need to learn depends on where you're trying to go.If you accept criticism form someone who takes crap pictures, guess where your photography path is headed?
Very few things are all good or all bad, but without an understanding that there's bad criticism, you're better off just doing your own thing. Criticism needs to be evaluated. There needs to be a chance that the time spent in evaluation will be worth the effort, First question.. "What pro photographers have benefitted from your criticism and the way you present it? " There's a lot more people who think their criticism is constructive than actually can give constructive criticism.
Or as we used to say in basketball coaching. "Practice doesn't make perfect, perfect practice makes perfect." Picking up bad technique from unqualified critics is really hard to reverse. It makes the work of someone who actually knows what they are talking about have to work a lot harder to get you on the right path.
Last edited by normhead; 09-16-2019 at 08:00 AM.