Criticism Welcome

Discussion 38 posts |  Only members can post. Join?

About Criticism Welcome

Some people don't like anyone criticising their photographs. Others don't mind. Posting a photo to this group's pool is a way of signalling that you don't mind and are interested in constructive criticism and debate on your photograph.

Please tag your photographs 'Criticism welcome' (or, equivalently, 'criticism_welcome' or 'criticismwelcome') as it makes them easier to find.

Posting to the pool

You can post as many or as few pictures to the pool as you like but please do not spam it with huge batch submissions. If you are posting more than five pictures at a time it is too many.

By contrast, use the tag 'Criticism Welcome' liberally. Not everything you tag with this has to be added to the pool. Think of it as a general signal to the viewer that it's okay to express their opinion. On your photo page, they can just glance at the tag list to see if 'Criticism Welcome' is there and adjust their commenting accordingly.

Searching for 'Criticism Welcome' will throw up many results which are not in the group pool.

Please note: I don't intend that posting a picture to the pool should suddenly make it open season for negative comment a la the 'deleteme' groups. Only that if someone has constructive suggestions they should feel free to express them.

Also be aware that your criticism may be criticised. Don't be offended if your judgements are challenged!

Criticism guidelines

Good criticism is specific.

"The picture sucks" isn't specific.

"The framing sucks" pretends to be specific, but isn't. Is it too close-cropped, or too wide? How could it be cropped differently? Why should it be cropped differently?

"You should try cropping it tighter to get rid of the distracting figures" is good stuff because it tells you what the criticism is, why it is being made, and how the poster thinks you could address it.

Of course they may be completely wrong.

If you don't 'get' a picture at all... don't understand why the photographer took it... especially if the photographer seems technically proficient... ask yourself if you've looked at it long enough or thought about it hard enough. Many people here are exploring unusual avenues in photography and their photographs may not fit your preconceptions about what a photograph should look like. That doesn't mean they need a lesson in photography. Try to approach the photographs on their own terms.

Finally, be aware that your idea of what makes a photograph 'good' may not be universal. Eye-popping colors, dramatic compositions, the rule of thirds, level horizons, sharp focus etc are not pre-requisites.

A muted picture with an snapshotty composition, a crooked horizon and missed focus can still be a great photograph. Criticising Winogrand for crooked horizons, Sugimoto for missed focus, or Eggleston for his compositions would be beside the point.