Critique Forums

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Image © 2011/Denise Ippolito Photography
This image made me smile.

I hear lots of folks stating that they don’t like to participate in critique forums because they don’t like to have their work “picked apart” – I see it differently, I see it as a chance to participate in a great learning experience. As many of you know I am a moderator on Bird Photographers.Net in the Out of the Box (OOTB) Forum which is dedicated to creative imagery.
There are always going to be opinions, everyone has got one. However just because someone offers up their opinion doesn’t mean it is right and it most certainly doesn’t mean it is right for you. I feel that in a critique forum it is important to state your difference of opinion on a critique, failing to allows the other readers/viewers to think that you agree with the critique and then why even bother to put forth your own work if you do not believe in your work enough to stand up for it. If someone offers a critique that is helpful to you and has made a good point or it is an improvement that you may not have seen then it is just as important to state that you agree with their opinion. This puts everyone on the same page- whether they agree or not is a different story. Remember just because everyone has an opinion it doesn’t mean that they are right or that they are wrong- they are just opinions. Deciding what’s right for you as a photographer is paramount. I always follow my mother’s advice- You can never please everyone it is most important to please yourself first or you will never please anyone :)


______________________________________________________________ denise ippolito


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11 Responses

  2. Mark says:
    January 4, 2012 at 7:20 pm

    Hi Denise,

    Looks like you could use some clarity in the eye. Remember the rule of head angle! ; > ) Of course … as they say … Y.I.Y.V!!

    Make A Great Day!

    Nice shot though… like the blur. ; > )


    Thanks Mark, I appreciate it. :)
    denise

  5. LensScaper says:
    January 4, 2012 at 10:51 pm

    Constructive criticism is essential to growing as a photographer. Deconstructive criticism just knocks people back. You are absolutely right in what you say. I’d love to see more critique in the comments we all post sometimes.
    This is a fun image – and as a fun image I like it!


    Thanks Andy, All good points :)
    denise

  7. Len Saltiel says:
    January 5, 2012 at 12:01 am

    Very nice image Denise. I think that a lot of people don’t like to hear constructive criticism as they feel their photos are not very good. They don’t realize that everyone starts off as a beginner and learning is a never ending thing.

    The other problem is that the internet is so impersonal and it is easy to be harsh with others. Things that people wouldn’t say face-to-face are often said on the net.

    I like to hear anything that might help my images but I don’t always agree and that’s okay with me


    Thanks for sharing your views :)
    denise

  8. Peter Noyes says:
    January 5, 2012 at 1:12 am

    I don’t see how you can say it any better. You can’t he; but learn from constructive critiques. You are going to learn things that you want to do as well as things that you don’t want to do. We a;; see things differently and it is always nice to see it from another perspective.


    Thanks Peter, All good points :)
    denise

  9. Dennis Bishop says:
    January 5, 2012 at 2:52 am

    I presume you know that I agree whole-heartedly with what you’ve said. It’s probably worth adding something that I read on birdphotographers.net but can’t remember who said it. Doing a good job of commenting on the work of others can be a great learning experience because it helps one to understand why they do or don’t like an image.


    Thank you Dennis, I remember that too. It was right on point :)
    denise

  10. A.Barlow says:
    January 5, 2012 at 7:20 pm

    That is one interesting shot man. That’s really cool.

    And yeah, I think with the amount of learning, changing, innovations, etc; I will always be a beginner. At least, at heart I hope to be.


    Thanks so much! :)
    denise

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