When You Request a Critique on your entry...

Canon EF 70-200mm f/4.0L USM

09/12/2005 04:03:44 PM · #1

This is a call to all those entrants that request a critique from the Critique Club on your challenge entries.

Please, help us help you. If you request a critique, please make sure you include *as much information* in your write up as you possibly can. Including camera settings, post-processing steps (You don't need to go into detail, but at least list the steps you remember), and possibly some form of why you shot the photo the way you did and what you were going for.

Any and all information you can provide helps us as critiquers immensely when we go to do a critique. Without this information, we are reduced to a lot of guess-work, and it makes it a little bit tougher to give an honest evaluation.

So again, please put as much information as possible with your photo before you click that little "request a critique club comment" button. Your help is very much appreciated on this matter :)

Thank you!

Jaimeson

Nikon D40

09/12/2005 04:09:21 PM · #2

Thanks for the info on needed information. I'll be sure to include all the requested details.

One question, how would one know that their photo was selected to be critiqued by the Critique Club?

Thanks...

rex

Canon PowerShot SD780

09/12/2005 04:10:49 PM · #3

Agreed...........I wish people would really put as much in there as they can.

Message edited by author 2005-09-12 16:12:09.

karmat

Apple iPhone 7

09/12/2005 04:11:41 PM · #4

I think most (but not all) may send you an email/PM telling you a critique has been done.

If you can't give us much, at least try aperture and shutter speed. That would help so much.

Or just type "fully automatic" or something to let us know if you can or cannot adjust any of the settings. I feel like an idiot telling someone to use a different value when they can't, and that doesn't help (tryign to change something that can be changed).

09/12/2005 04:12:34 PM · #5

Originally posted by Jaimeson:

You don't know, you just have to keep checking on your image to see if a comment from a critique club member shows up. We almost always include a "Hello from the critique club" before our comments (or some form of that).

Kamlan 28mm F1.4 MF for APS-C

09/12/2005 04:13:09 PM · #6

Originally posted by karmat:

Oh heck.. I've not been doing that. I suppose I should start eh? :) My bad!

As for aperature values and such, I usually take a look at the camera used and adjust my critiques accordingly. A quick look-up on DPReview or clicking on the camera itself can say a lot about the capabilities.

Message edited by author 2005-09-12 16:14:24.

Jaimeson

Nikon D40

09/12/2005 04:14:57 PM · #7

:-) Ok, Thanks! I hope I get one sometime! I need all the help I can get! haha

Manic

DJI Mini 3 Pro

09/12/2005 05:29:01 PM · #8

*bump* :o)

Chiqui

Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II

Olympus 12-40mm f/2.8 Pro

09/13/2005 11:31:26 AM · #9

one more bump!

Napalm Nymph

Canon PowerShot G6

09/13/2005 11:34:32 AM · #10

Is there a way to go back and edit my write up? I honestly don't remember how much info I wrote.

Shecoya

Nikon D70s

Nikon AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5G IF-ED

09/13/2005 11:35:07 AM · #11

That.. is good information to know. Thanks for this thread.. guess I need to start figuring out the details.. I know the vision in my mind.. thats easy.. but the details of the actual shots.. gotta start paying attention more I think.

Manic

DJI Mini 3 Pro

Kamlan 28mm F1.4 MF for APS-C

09/13/2005 11:35:48 AM · #12

Originally posted by Napalm Nymph:

Is there a way to go back and edit my write up?

Just have a look in your portfolio - you can edit all the details (except the title) of challenge entries, just like any other portfolio image.

Napalm Nymph

Canon PowerShot G6

09/13/2005 11:49:13 AM · #13

Thanks, Manic.

I had already filled out the basic info, i.e. apeture, shutter, iso. However it seems there's no way to edit the write up. It doesn't show up. Unless I'm missing something. Which is entirely possible. :P

Just as an aside: I'm like a crazy person with this update button. :D

Message edited by author 2005-09-13 11:51:05.

Manic

DJI Mini 3 Pro

Kamlan 28mm F1.4 MF for APS-C

09/13/2005 12:04:21 PM · #14

Hmm... it's possible that the system won't let you edit the photo details until the challenge is over (when you're definitely able to).

basssman7

Nikon D500

Nikon AF-S Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8G ED VR II

10/29/2005 02:18:42 AM · #15

I understand how the info on how it was taken can help explain how to fix a problem, or how to make an improvement...but...

Is the critique not supposed to be of the PHOTOGRAPH, not the method used to capture it? I have done a lot of critiquing at clubs etc, and love to explain photography to people (at least as much as I know about it...lol). IMHO critiquing should be about exposure, composition etc...visual things, not technical. When things get technical it can sometimes take the focus of the discussion off of the visual aspect of the photograph, which is why the person took it to begin with.

You can still make observations about likely scenerios such as "could be improved by a more shallow DOF which would make the subject stand out better against a busy background. Try using a larger aperture next time."

That being said, I appreciate the time and effort your group puts in to this, and my comments are well intentioned. Keep on giving opinions!

Ernie

Bear_Music

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra

Sony 24-70mm F4 Vario-Tessar T* FE OSS

10/29/2005 03:05:47 AM · #16

Originally posted by basssman7:

Ernie,

I understand what you're saying, but take a closer look at Artyste's original request:

Please, help us help you. If you request a critique, please make sure you include *as much information* in your write up as you possibly can. Including camera settings, post-processing steps (You don't need to go into detail, but at least list the steps you remember), and possibly some form of why you shot the photo the way you did and what you were going for.

Any and all information you can provide helps us as critiquers immensely when we go to do a critique. Without this information, we are reduced to a lot of guess-work, and it makes it a little bit tougher to give an honest evaluation.

Note the bolded sections: apart from camera data (f/stop, shutter speed, ISO, basically) he asks for post-processing steps and a description of what you, the shooter, were hoping to accomplish.

PP steps are important from a technical point of view (helps us determine, for example, how artifacts like haloing or clumping came into existence), but more germane to your position is the second category, "intentions". I might for example, feel that an image is "too dark" but there are several ways to approach that. If the photographer tells me "I was going for a dark, moody look here to better express the world as seen through a snake's eyes" then that will certainly change the way I approach my critique of the darkness issue. Absent that information I might tell the photographer lots of things that are irrelevant to his intentions. Given the information, I'd narrow my focus to discussing how to bring more life into the darkness, if you catch my drift?

Similarly, if an image is out of focus, I might just point out that the lack of sharp focus is hurting the image; if the photographer, however, tells me s/he was going for a soft-focus, dreamy effect, then I can shift gears and discuss how better to employ or create the soft-focus effect.

It's the difference between perceiving things as out-and-out mistakes versus seeing them as deliberate attempts at some effect that fall short of the mark. It's often not easy to tell the difference. A common complaint from critique recipients is "But I WANTED it to be soft (or dark, or garish, or whatever)! The critiquer is trying to impose HIS ideas of what my picture "should" look like on me!"

Robt.

eyeronik

01/11/2006 05:33:32 PM · #17

deleted, sorry

Message edited by author 2007-05-23 08:04:12.

pidge

Canon EOS-7D Mark II

01/11/2006 05:38:02 PM · #18

Originally posted by eyeronik:

Shame the website doesnt make it clear that an indepth crit is done by a club, its more like it means its okay for normal people to comment indepth. Should be written in brackets on the challenges. Poor usability.

The 'club' doesn't critique a picture. An individual, who is volunteering their time critiques the picture. Underneath it all we are all (well, almost all :P) normal people. I always though a critique was an indepth comment, anyways. Am I missing something?

_eug

Nikon D50

Nikon AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.8D

01/11/2006 07:04:31 PM · #19

I think he's refering to the dialog next to the check box. "Check this box if you're interested in having your image critiqued by a member of the DPC Critique Club". Which used to be less concise and could be confused to mean, "I want comments/critiques from regular members."

sfalice

Canon PowerShot SX60 HS

01/11/2006 09:07:28 PM · #20

I tend to cut the newest members a whole lot of slack on this.

When I remember submitting to my first Challenge, I had a great sense of accomplishment when I finally uploaded the image in a size that DPC would accept. Yippee! Yes, I did have a better understanding of my camera than a lot of new ones have, but many new people are just that: new to photography.

Now, members and registered users who have been around a while - that's a different story. "Just can't be bothered" doesn't cut it when it comes to filling out photographers details.

Still, I do the best I can with what I get. And that's what I think all of the Critique Club members do. Nevertheless, you get a better critique when you give better information.

And I sure do wish we had enough members to critique 'em all!

KiwiShotz

Panasonic DMC-FZ20

Panasonic DMW-LTZ10 1.5x Teleconverter

01/11/2006 09:45:59 PM · #21

Originally posted by Jaimeson:

One question, how would one know that their photo was selected to be critiqued by the Critique Club?

Jaime, if I read that question correctly, you're not aware that when you click that little box under your submission entry it is that which places your image in the queue to be critiqued? So it's not the CC that selects the image, it's you who request it. That's how you got the one of your bridge.

Sometimes there are just too many requested for the number of CC members available to do them. In that case, when the challenges roll over, all of the images that were in the queue but un-critiqued get passed in and the whole process starts again with the newly-resulted challenge images.

Brett

KiwiShotz

Panasonic DMC-FZ20

Panasonic DMW-LTZ10 1.5x Teleconverter

01/11/2006 10:00:32 PM · #22

Originally posted by basssman7:

Is the critique not supposed to be of the PHOTOGRAPH, not the method used to capture it?

Well no not really. The assessment of the Photograph is done by the voters and their comments. Thousands of them have already had their say, now we need to go deeper.

What's left after that is the question "Why didn't they love my beautiful image?". DPC is cleverly set up as a learning environment. We can talk as much as we like about the image but with the thoughts, trials, tribulations and achievements of the photographer as background information, we can then share some thoughts on the process of getting good captures and post-processing.

Some people are just new to DPC, some are new to photography and everyone is dying to do better or at least understand why they might have been misunderstood. As you know from camera club, you can look at an image and get completely the wrong idea - then the photog tells you what they were trying to do and you're able to say "Oh well, did you think about trying this?". The solution is always much more powerful with a context.

Brett

Message edited by author 2006-01-11 22:01:40.

zeuszen

Canon EOS-1Ds Mark II

Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0L IS

01/11/2006 10:45:20 PM · #23

Originally posted by basssman7:

...Is the critique not supposed to be of the PHOTOGRAPH, not the method used to capture it?...

I would hope so. Especially when it is conceivable that there are photographs which have not come via any 'method'.

crayon

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra

01/11/2006 10:55:04 PM · #24

Hi, greetings to the Critique Club.

Just a suggestion, so please dont get offended. Since the Critique Club (which shall be referred to as "CC" for the length of this post) sets itself apart from the normal comments, may I suggest that the CC approaches the photos in a systematic way? It is like writing a review, and to achieve consistency, a system or set of guidelines could be drafted for all the CC members to use. It actually makes the CC people work easier!

An example (just a very rough sample to show my point!) draft for CC members to use when leaving a comment:
1. composition x/10
2. technique used x/10
3. post-processing x/10
4. subject interest x/10
5. overall interest x/10
6. colours x/10
7. sharpess x/10
8. etc
9. etc
10. SUMMARY (to cap it all off in sentences as the CC has always done)

edit: I'm guilty of not typing very much in the Details field of my submissions. Can someone guide me how I can change the Details after a challenge is over? Thanks

Message edited by author 2006-01-11 22:56:02.