Struggling to improve - DPChallenge Forums

Nikon AF-S Nikkor 17-35mm f/2.8D IF-ED

01/01/2011 09:05:14 PM · #26

Originally posted by tinkie2010:

Even though I do not have the self confidence to write my feedback down, I do review and compare and comment to myself in most of the challenges. I have casted 20 000+ votes and in each of these challeges I go at least twice through all the photos.

Voting is not the same as commenting. By writing down your thoughts, you make your observations concrete and externalize your thoughts so they are more objective, to you as well. And stop worrying about what and how you say something. There are a lot of photogs who don't even speak English, and still manage to put something down. Nobody is passing out grades for comments.

Mike

Canon EOS-5D Mark II

Tamron SP 24-70mm f/2.8 Di VC USD Canon Mount

01/01/2011 09:12:59 PM · #27

take a picture of a wine glass, that should help your scores.

MargaretNet

Sony DSC-RX100 VII

01/01/2011 09:43:18 PM · #28

Originally posted by mike_311:

take a picture of a wine glass, that should help your scores.

Full or empty?

GeneralE

Canon PowerShot S3 IS

Canon 12x IS USM (S3 IS built-in Lens) -- 36-432mm (35mm EQ)

01/01/2011 10:01:10 PM · #29

Originally posted by mike_311:

take a picture of a wine glass, that should help your scores.

What a coincidence ... :-)

01/01/2011 10:20:45 PM · #30

Originally posted by Yo_Spiff:

I agree with both of the above.

To expand a little on what Trollman said: Many of the most improved people on this site spent their first year or so on DPC commenting VERY heavily. It does two things. By making yourself analyze why you do or do not like a photo, you will learn things that you can apply to your own photography. Especially true for the midrange votes. The 4's and 5's for most people. These are normally tough to comment on, because there is nothing outstandingly good or bad that you can easily identify. You will learn the most by taking such time on these. Secodnly, most members will appreciate the feedback to let them know why their masterpiece is only doing mediocre.

As Zeuszen said, you need to decide for yourself what a good photo is. There is far more to go on than just the overall average. The comments and commenter's average vote can tell you if you nailed what you were after. I have had many low to medium scoring entries that I consider 100% successes because they hit the audience that I hoped they would appeal to. You have to interpret the voting results to decide if you got what you really wanted out of it.

I haven't a clue who the Sam Dickens your talking about Steve (giggle)....seriously

tinkie2010 you will be amazed at how much commenting improves your skills...it really makes you stop and look at the photo's in depth and to analyze what you do or do not like about the picture, and as you do this process you make lots of mental notes of what YOU like in a photo... people are always grateful to have your comments and don't be surprised when you get some notes back for clarification...that is how I have made some of my best friends on here...there are only a few on here that take the comments way, way to seriously...but you will quickly find them and ignore them as the rest of us do....(ahhh hummmm)....

Start with a very small challenge and make a point to complete the whole challenge, this way your not picking only the easy ones to comment on, but you have to finish the harder ones where your not really sure what to say, those comments are the most beneficial ones, not only are you growing but IMO you are hopefully helping someone else to grow...I try to always be polite but to the point...(many of you are choking about now) This has been one of the biggest tools in my growth in the past 2+ years...I love it now...

If you want to grow comment...even if it's only 10 a day...and before you know it you get in a rhythm....

Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark III

01/01/2011 10:27:42 PM · #31

one more thing...WHEN you do your 100% commenting be sure to post your score and comment record in

Judi's thread for 100% Comment Club you will get some ba-bling to add to your profile page. I will add that no one has posted anything since August as

Judi has had a terrible accident but I know that she will be catching up soon...and I guess that many of us (me included) need to get on our keyboards again and do our commenting... ;)

Yo_Spiff

Olympus 12-100mm f/4.0 M.Zuiko ED IS PRO

01/01/2011 10:30:10 PM · #32

Originally posted by Ja-9:

I haven't a clue who the Sam Dickens your talking about Steve (giggle)....

Were your ears ringing?

MargaretNet

Sony DSC-RX100 VII

01/01/2011 10:37:58 PM · #33

Originally posted by giantmike:

Not the nikon software, but a set of third party plugins:
Nik: //www.niksoftware.com
Topaz: //www.topazlabs.com/

Nik is now 20% off with NIKPSS promo code.

Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM

01/01/2011 10:38:12 PM · #34

Originally posted by Yo_Spiff:

Originally posted by Ja-9:
I haven't a clue who the Sam Dickens your talking about Steve (giggle)....

Were your ears ringing?

grinning like a fool...

Cory

Canon EOS-1D Mark IV

01/02/2011 12:35:01 AM · #35

Originally posted by hahn23:

.....I think everyone has a recognizable style that comes from how they capture images, not how they use post-processing techniques.
....

Yeah, and I've been able to nail your images a few times during voting recently too... :)

tinkie2010

Nikon D700

Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8G ED

01/02/2011 02:29:10 AM · #36

Thank you Thank you so very much... All these comments gave me a lot of fresh ideas and new things to try. I spend the bulk of the time shooting and mostly do very basic processing in photoshop. I also love wildlife photos, which is not something you can take on a weekly basis.

Kazzar

Canon EOS-450D Rebel XSi

Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM

01/02/2011 05:11:53 AM · #37

Originally posted by PennyStreet:

Originally posted by adigitalromance:
Maybe you could try something drastically different than your normal style. If you usually like having a picture one way, try editing it or cropping it completely different than you normally would. Or if you regularly shoot from shoulder height, try shooting from the ground up.

Spend a day shooting like you are a different person.

Looking through your portfolio I only see a couple of candids - I love this one . I agree that taking on something different, whatever you dream up, can often make things seem less boring. Your score may not reflect a change for the better but you might surprise yourself with enjoyment of the results!

This is great advice. I belong to a night photography group in Melbourne and while on these walks I predominantly do black and white street images. On a particular night, a few months ago, the leader of the group announced that the theme for the night (we'd never had a theme before) was colour. A few people looked at me instantly as they knew I rarely shot in colour. Despite my eye rolling and inward complaints I decided to get into the spirit of the evening. It was an interesting night. I can't say I captured any amazing images but I certainly had a lot of fun. What ended up happening was that we all took on the idiosyncracies of other group members. We learnt a lot about what it took to construct their images and understood more about what they were trying to achieve.

Give it a go. It's rewarding.

BTW I have never scored well in a challenge!

bob350

Sony Alpha 1

Sony FE 24-70mm f/2.8 GM

01/02/2011 07:36:28 AM · #38

Originally posted by tinkie2010:

Hi

Please help with any suggestions to improve - big or small will be appreciated.

Kind regards
Marna

Learning the language of the elements of design can really help. Consider a free registration at The Mindful Eye. Once you sign up, you have access to all the current and past content. You will find an ongoing series of videos commenting in detail on selected images in several sections. In particular, see all episodes of The Daily Critique (more like several times per week).

Craig Tanner concentrates on the design elements that affect how we perceive and react to images, and also teaches techniques of post processing to enhance images. Extremely useful resource.

Jon_H

Canon EOS-7D

Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0L IS

01/02/2011 10:45:26 AM · #39

Originally posted by Ja-9:

one more thing...WHEN you do your 100% commenting be sure to post your score and comment record in Judi's thread for 100% Comment Club you will get some ba-bling to add to your profile page. I will add that no one has posted anything since August as Judi has had a terrible accident but I know that she will be catching up soon...and I guess that many of us (me included) need to get on our keyboards again and do our commenting... ;)

Commenting on every photo is a challenge in its self but it is certainly worth it.like others have said it gets you thinking about what works and what doesn't. Although you will comment on others photos and then go and make the same mistake, i know i certainly do.

This was the first time i commented on all the images in a challenge.

Challenge:Member Challenge Kids With Toys (Dec. 20th 2010 - Dec. 26th 2010) [Challenge Details: Photograph a child (or children) using a toy (or toys).]
Rules: Advanced Editing
Submissions: 50
Voting Deadline: Jan. 2nd 2011
Details: Photograph a child (or children) using a toy (or toys).
Stats: You have rated 50 of 50 images (100%) in this challenge.
You have commented on 50 images (100%) in this challenge.
You have given an average score of 5.4000.

Yo_Spiff

Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark III

Olympus 12-100mm f/4.0 M.Zuiko ED IS PRO

01/02/2011 12:28:27 PM · #40

Don't feel you have to comment on an entire challenge. When I was in my early heavy commenting stage, I would just vote the 20% or thereabouts that I needed to have my votes count, and I would concentrate on commenting the 4's and 5's more heavily. I wouldn't worry as much about the high votes and those would usually get plenty of other comments.

Now Grog does the commenting for me.