A short while back, I wrote a pair of pieces (Part 1, Part 2) about giving and responding to critiques of photography with a certain level of decorum. As many of you already know, criticism is best given when actually asked for. While having the confidence and self-awareness to seek feedback in and of itself is commendable, not all requests for feedback are equal. Despite what one might think, it’s not quite as simple as posting your photo online and asking for general feedback. As with giving and responding to critiques, there are certain ways you can present your request for feedback to improve your odds of receiving meaningful advice. Below, I’ll go over the information you can offer to increase those chances.
Professional boudoir photographer critiques his own terrible noob photos in this hilarious video
Often, we can be a little harsh to beginners and their work, especially when we see their images online with no reference or context as to how long they’ve been shooting. But would we be as harsh if we looked back at our own work from when we were just starting out? After all, none of us were great from the first day.
That’s what photographer Michael Sasser puts to the test in this video where he looks back on his early images from when he started shooting boudoir over a decade ago. He’s certainly not holding back, but luckily, the only person he can offend is himself.
There is now a website that lets you get (and give!) honest feedback on photographs
This is quite an interesting idea. ARS is a new platform which allows you to give and receive critique on photos completely anonymously. Created by Eric Kim, the system is designed to help photographers get some genuine feedback without all the smoke blowing and fluff we often see on platforms such as Facebook.
When identities are public, many who respond to images will say something nice just to avoid the risk of offending, than to say what they really think of an image. With the identities of the photographer and the commenter removed, people can say what they really feel.
This photographer received a 30-page feedback from his client
Most of us like receiving feedback from our clients, fellow photographers, and followers. But have you ever imagined receiving a feedback report spreading across thirty pages? A photographer from Hong Kong got such critique from his newlywed clients, and it’s basically thirty pages of elaborating how bad the photos were.
Stop asking for ‘constructive criticism’ – how to solicit good critique
Have you ever seen that “CC Welcome” caption on photos uploaded to Facebook, Flickr and 500px? Basically it stands for Creative Critique or Constructive Criticism, and it is probably the worse way possible to ask for feedback.
Photographer Joe Edelman notes that one of two will probably happen: you either get a bunch of ego flattering, one worded, “awesome” comments. Or real criticism happen and the photographer starts defending their choices. Neither is really helpful. To combat this Joe suggests several tips that will solicit good feedback right from the start:
A primer to advanced composition (and critiquing your own work)
A while back me and fellow DIY writer Joseph Parry were chatting over messenger. We had just started following a blog called Canon of design by Tavis Leaf Glover. Canon of design is a treasure mine of compositional information, which studies the master painters and how they designed, constructed and finished their masterpieces. These guys spent months, even years creating one image. Nothing was left to chance. Composition was perfectly drawn out, over and over again, until the image was compositionally bullet proof. I could write multiple articles about the benefits of signing up to Canon of design, but I will let you make your own mind up about that, just make sure you check it out.
Some Sweet Advice On Dealing With (Online) Criticism
Have you ever come back from the most incredible shoot of your life only to get a person go down on you? Have you ever had the most amazing idea for your business and when going live a fried totally dissed you?
Being a creative means that you put yourself out there almost daily and that means that criticism will come. The question is how to deal with it in a way that both let you take in the value from what you are told but not let this impact on your self esteem. And us creatives sometimes have very fragile egos.
Marie Forleo has some of the best advice I’ve heard about how to deal with criticism on or off line. While her advice may take some practice, it is extremely beneficial if you can follow.
[Do You Let Criticism Stop You? How To Insult-Proof Your Ego | Marie Forleo]
Learning to Critique
Pop quiz– How many times in an average day do you come across a photo on-line, put there by a photographer seeking critique, comments, suggestions, opinions, or input? Actually, it’s not a fair question. If your day is anything like mine, you lose track by lunch time. Between Flickr, 500px, my students, and the many photography-related pages I follow on Facebook, there are just too many to count. Despite the huge count (or maybe because of it) I find two things that resonate with me about these posts. The first– based on their reactions– is that most people aren’t really looking for an honest critique. They are looking for validation. The second thing that jumps out at me is that most people simply do not know how to give a proper critique.
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