Standards for Critique

[JETA]

Now, some people like to praise all photos. They are definitely not helping anyone and even more negatively, encouraging mediocre photography. Those perpetual praisers may be nice people but they desperately need to do their research on what constitutes a quality photo. Take a course, buy books, join a photography club, but d**** it, take the time to really learn something about critiquing photos, and what constitutes quality work.
Stop the silly excuses and the "shirtyness" to borrow a term from one of the moderators.

Ronnoco

I spend much time looking at the photos here. Reading and never posting.

First I study a posted pic, form my opinion and then read the responses. For me it is a great learning tool.

My photography for the most part is sports, but I have recently started trying taking some portrait type shots of my daughter & really need help with them. For me to put her pic up here to be told she has something wrong with her that I should PS out and to have a snarky critique is the reason I don't post pics here. I'm not a pro photog & probably will never be. However, I love the photography & spend a lot of time working on it. It would be a valuable tool for me to get advice but I'm not interested in a specific type of professional critique. It is those types of critiques that make me keep my pics outside of sports to myself & my sports shots stay on the sports board.

On the sports board I'm always commenting on pics I like. I'm trying to stop because it seems silly..... Then again, maybe someone may be a beginner such as myself and appreciate that. It takes a lot of courage to post my pics on the sports board and everyone has always been so kind to me there. If they were cruel I would have been long gone and missed out on many wonderful things I've learned there. I've also had other newbies thank me for putting myself out there because they've learned from the questions I've asked & then had the courage to ask their own.

Help is something I appreciate. Some comments I've read here are brutal and imo guised as professional. It reminds me of the donkey in racing silks analogy. No matter how you dress it up, it's still a donkey in racing silks.

[readingr]

I spend much time looking at the photos here. Reading and never posting.

First I study a posted pic, form my opinion and then read the responses. For me it is a great learning tool.

My photography for the most part is sports, but I have recently started trying taking some portrait type shots of my daughter & really need help with them. For me to put her pic up here to be told she has something wrong with her that I should PS out and to have a snarky critique is the reason I don't post pics here. I'm not a pro photog & probably will never be. However, I love the photography & spend a lot of time working on it. It would be a valuable tool for me to get advice but I'm not interested in a specific type of professional critique. It is those types of critiques that make me keep my pics outside of sports to myself & my sports shots stay on the sports board.

Jeta,

Thank you for being so brave and posting this response - I was once like you eager to learn but the Internet wasn't around in those days.

Please post some pics so that we can help as this is what this forum is all about. By the way I'm not a pro photographer and I have never claimed to be a pro and in my critiques I try to give what I believe will help the photograph and the photographer.

Don't be scared - post away as that is the only way to learn. I looked at some of the posts you made on the Sports forum so I don't think you've got much to be worried about.

OH! by the way according to some of Ronnoco's rules some of Lord Patrick Lichfields portraits would get a slating and they sell for £1000's - go figure!

Roger