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03/06/2016 01:25:11 PM · #1
Thanks for such a warm welcome :)
I love that I have visitors to my portfolio and even a nice comment.

I'm definitely going to learn a tremendous amount here. You're all amazing.
03/06/2016 01:49:54 PM · #2
You have no idea how much you'll learn :)

BWAAHAHAHAHA
03/06/2016 02:03:10 PM · #3
Originally posted by tanguera:

You have no idea how much you'll learn :)

BWAAHAHAHAHA


That sounds...ominous. lol
03/06/2016 08:21:59 PM · #4
I for one can say you may not learn as much as you would think unless you ask for help, because people seem afraid for the most part of giving advice, they seem to think you will think it is negative and it may hurt your feelings. I for one am open to good advice and try to implement it when possible. I have given advice here and have been jumped on more than once, I pretty much ignore people like that. Welcome aboard.

Message edited by Bear_Music - ..
03/06/2016 09:53:03 PM · #5
To be fair, Larry, most of us have not learned about photography from other people's comments but by actually getting out there and shooting, trying new things, different genres, processing styles. There are tons of tutorials as well. And yes, if you don't receive comments, you can easily solicit them by creating a thread, or reaching out privately to photographers whose work you admire.

On the other hand, you can learn a whole lot by GIVING comments.

As for giving "advice", it always depends on how it is phrased. Expressing why something does or doesn't work for US is much more helpful than proclaiming the image to be bad or whatever.
03/06/2016 11:11:34 PM · #6
Reading tutorials, voting, Googling, participating, etc. I do hope that more people would comment in the voting phases. I practice that, myself. A person can be kind with their views by pointing out a positive along with the negative.
I hope to be a positive addition to the community here. So far so good :)
03/07/2016 04:05:03 AM · #7
I don't think you're going to learn a lot based on the number of comments you'll get. That number is quit low nowadays. But you do learn a lot by commenting on other images, by determining what you like or dislike in an image, what you should have done differently. And if you don't get a lot of comments on your submission, start a thread after voting is done for that specific challenge and ask for it.
And another way of learning a lot is participating in the DPL, the team league challenges. You will work with other photographers who can give you valuable advise on your shots.
Hope you'll enjoy DPC and learn a lot!
03/07/2016 11:13:41 AM · #8
enjoy your time here but dont put much stock into the scores. this place has its own style that it prefers and the style you develop may or may not mesh with it.

also dont worry about getting comments, instead comment on other photos. you will learn more about what you like and how you would make an image better and it will carry over to your own work in time.
03/07/2016 12:06:55 PM · #9
The comments are so few and far between here. But that's actually not what teaches you the most. It's everything that goes into it. I'm sitting back with 2 days to go until my membership expires. But there's no way that I'll let it expire.

I have 889 entries in the past 7 years. This is what I've learned:

EVERYTHING!!

Well, not everything, because I keep asking questions. :)

Anyway. My recommendations:

1. Shoot for every challenge. Especially the ones that don't interest you in the slightest. Seriously -- you're going to get better at the things you like regardless of us, just because you like to shoot these things and practice makes better. (very few of us are perfect. But we do have a few. :). Anyway, shooting the awful challenges help you learn soooo much. You find a way to make it palatable. You experiment more, because you don't care as much. It frees you up to find what you like, don't like, find something interesting.

2. Don't worry about the scores, but look at them anyway. I've had photos that I absolutely love that have fallen worse than flat. That's ok. But it's interesting to look a bit deeper and figure out why one photo worked and another didn't. It gives more insight. How the score places next to others really doesn't matter. How it places compared to your other photos is an interesting stat that's worth looking at. Compete against yourself, not others. Which also makes it easier to vote.

3. Speaking of voting. Do it! Again. It helps you figure yourself out. What do I like? What don't I like? Why?? I grew up in a photography vacuum. I knew what I liked to shoot and what photos of my own I liked. But I didn't have access to other people's stuff (until the internet). And even then, I didn't look. Looking critically at someone else's photos is much easier to looking critically at your own. If you don't care how you place in the challenge, you'll find it easier to vote high on the photos you think deserve it without worrying how it will affect your score. This helps you enjoy the photography. I really do like looking at challenge entries and saying "crap!! I really blew it this time -- these photos are awesome!". I love seeing how people attack a challenge. It helps me learn how to see things differently.

4. Another thing on voting. If you dislike something. It's an interesting experiment to figure out why. Was it simply the processing? The content? The style? The gut reaction is so important. But to learn, I like to figure out what I would have done differently. I don't usually comment on that anymore, because a number of people said they dislike that kind of comment. They did the photo for a particular reason. So they don't want to know what I would have changed. But it's really interesting for helping me figure out what works and why. The why gives you such a chunk of information to pull from the next time you shoot.

5. Ask. The most I've learn has comes simply from asking. I'm having difficulties doing photoshop composites, because I don't enjoy them, and it's not my thing. But, I find myself needing to do them for different reasons. I created a thread and asked. And there's a wealth of information already from helpful people. When I like someone's style, I ask about it. I PM them and ask for info/help. I think I've only had one person from whom I'm still waiting for an answer. It's an incredible batch of people that can be truly annoying and wonderfully helpful. :)

6. Find people and get a small critique group going through PMs. (that's PM plural -- not PMS. :) A great way to learn.

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