Newbie Making Comments - DPChallenge Forums

Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS

06/18/2005 11:37:47 PM · #1

OK, so I'm new to the site, and just learning how to make images (and make them better with software). But I also read these forums and understand that the respectful thing to do when voting is to include comments.
The problem is that I know I am not qualified to advise or even pretend I fully understand why something seems wrong to me (or right for that matter). So what's the solution? I don't imagine the really great artists out there are interested in reading babbling praise. And they certainly don't want to waste their time assuming I know what I'm talking about, only to check my profile and realize I don't.
Are comments from us rank amatuers really of any use?

Canon EOS-60D

06/18/2005 11:43:30 PM · #2

Start with my portfolio and babble away!!! LOL ;)

Just talk about things that you do like...If you like the vibrant colors or the post processing or the composition, say that. Try to explain WHY you like it or why it possessed you to say something about it. Once you feel more comfortable, then you can start commenting on things you DON'T like and WHY you don't like them.

Seriously, feel free to use and abuse my pictures as a training ground. :o) Welcome to the asylum!

faidoi

Pentax K10D

Pentax DA 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 AF

06/18/2005 11:44:33 PM · #3

Most of us can't paint like Picasso, but we do have our opinion on his work. A comment could be as simple as your observation of the photo.

Cooz

Nikon D200

Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR II

06/18/2005 11:45:34 PM · #4

I would say that any comment is useful, as long as you are expressing what you see/feel when you look at the image you are commenting on.

Everyone's eye is different, and hearing what other people think is what this is all about...even if the person commenting is new here.

I've only been around a few weeks and I've already discovered that the comments made are much more important than the number assigned, and I usually don't look at a comment to see who made it as long as it makes sense and gives their opinion...I used to refresh to see if my score in the current challenge changed...now I refresh to see if I have a new comment...

Everyone's entitled to their opinion...no matter how wrong it may be!

Pentax DA 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 AF

06/18/2005 11:58:28 PM · #5

I appreciate the encouragement very much. Sounds like, if I understand everyone, that my comments are most helpful when I can express what the pcture says to me as a viewer rather than as a photographer. I think I like this idea. I am not only a poor photographer, I'm a moderately poor writer with a degree in English, but I hate to read someone's work with a view to criticism of their technique. I just want to enjoy the work itself.
Thanks everyone for the help.

faidoi

Pentax K10D

06/19/2005 12:15:03 AM · #6

Before I entered any picture, I voted for and commented on every picture from a challenge.

strangeghost

Canon EOS-7D

Tamron SP AF 28-75mm f/2.8 XR Di for Canon

06/19/2005 12:31:42 AM · #7

Yep, what others said. Just state what you like or don't like. If you don't know technique, comment on how it stirs your emotions. (if it don't stir your emotions, comment on technique. :-)

RolandB

Canon PowerShot S3 IS

Raynox Pro Digital 0.66X Wide Angle Conversion

06/19/2005 12:32:37 AM · #8

Comment away. You can't be wrong. It's YOUR opinion.

ps. you can comment on my stuff too. I can always learn from another point of view. Don't worry about the sentence structure. This ain't school!

Good luck and remember to have fun.

SJCarter

Canon EOS-7D

Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM

06/19/2005 12:38:21 AM · #9

I personally believe that every comment I receive (even the ones that don't express my personal point of view) is invaluable. It's only through the voice of others that we can begin to see what others see (and don't see) in our work.

There are a lot of different tactics to take when commenting on an image, but I believe the best one is from the heart of the commenter. I do think that it provides more insight to the artist upon whose work you are commenting, to phrase or group your feedback into "categories" (if you will), like composition, crop, lighting, color, shadows, detail, focus, subject matter, processing, etc. This way it helps the photographer let go of some of his/her personal feelings and really examine the image from a more clinical perspective.

Just my 2 cents, and I'd love for you to comment (positive or negative) on my images as well... :-)

Jimmy

Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS

06/19/2005 12:42:49 AM · #10

Thanks again to all for your words. I will take up the offers to comment.
However, it's late in Tennessee and if I comment right now it won't make any sense at all. -- Bed time for Thomaspeople...

This feels like a great community to be a part of. I think next paycheck I'll buy in officially. I only seems fair to pay up if I'm going to get this much out of it.

Strikeslip

Canon EOS-5D

06/19/2005 07:31:38 AM · #11

You don't have to, & aren't expected to comment on everything you vote on, that would be very difficult. I try to vote on every photo in a challenge, then go back & adjust my votes, then comment on the highest & lowest scored photos.

I'm also a rank amatuer, but I know of some pro photogs who value the opinions of rank amatuers much more than those of 'experts'!

Welcome to DPC!

moodville

Nikon D100

06/19/2005 08:42:40 AM · #12

There are two sides to every photograph. The technicals such as composition and dof and all that jazz and there is communication - what the photograph says.

Most people who buy photographs are not photographers. A person could hang a masterpiece on their wall and not even know that the depth of field was perfect for that subject. That doesnt mean they dont like it.

Not everyone here is after a technical review. It is the photographer within us that points these things out in comments and it is the assumption that people want to know the technicals in order to learn. Since we dont know who made the image we assume that any technical flaw was due to lack of knowledge and not lack of control or purposeful.

There are no qualifications to comment. If you either like or dislike something then you have an opinion and that is what the photographer wants to know.

Bebe

Canon EOS-5D Mark II

Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM

06/19/2005 08:50:51 AM · #13

Hi thomaspeople. I received one of your comments and it was very helpful. Keep it up!

I know exactly how you feel, though. I joined recently and found that compliments were easy to hand out, but it was harder to say anything constructive. Many of us learned early that "if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all." In addition, I felt, like you, that I wasn't an expert and so couldn't really justify saying anything like "I would have preferred a closer crop."

However, I feel that though the compliments are lots of fun to give (and get!), it's the photos that I score lower than the others that really deserve to hear from me with a reason for why. I decided that many of us on this site are amateurs, but I'd still rather hear "boring: 1" than get the 1 without the comment. So, I'm committed to commenting as much as possible on anything I score low on my scale.

BTW, welcome to DPC!

mesmeraj

06/22/2005 01:11:57 PM · #14

I just recieved one of your comments, and i have to say you comment very nicely! You laid out what you liked, what you thought might have used some improvement and did it in a polite and friendly way - i'll take your comments any day!

Originally posted by thomaspeople:

Canon EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM

06/22/2005 01:40:16 PM · #15

Newbie, huh? Well Thomas, REAL DPC members quit their jobs so they can comment on ALL the images ALL the time. Even if you don't quit your job, we have a tradition here at DPC - newbies are required to post one of each of the following photos in their portfolio:
- Macro of bug or flower
- A pet
- A baby
- Sunset
- Waterfall
- Rubber Duck
- A Woody shot

I might have missed something - one of the veterans will chime in if I did. Now get busy. :P

SteveJ

Canon EOS-7D

06/22/2005 01:46:44 PM · #16

You did forget one, a nude on a tandem riding across a landscape, inverted and using plenty of dodge and burn.

Steve

06/22/2005 01:57:04 PM · #17

Originally posted by Formerlee:

You did forget one, a nude on a tandem riding across a landscape, inverted and using plenty of dodge and burn.

Steve

Thanks Steve. I knew I missed at least one. :)

06/22/2005 02:18:47 PM · #18

Originally posted by kpriest:

You know, I can probably get a shot of my youngest sitting by a waterfall at night with the dog (holding a rubber duck) watching a bug. But Where can I get a Woody...?

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

06/22/2005 02:38:45 PM · #19

Originally posted by thomaspeople:

But Where can I get a Woody...?

Check your spam email - there's always recommended products in there. :P

edit: ps - The The Enquirer will pay big bucks ($4.99) for the shot you described!

Message edited by author 2005-06-22 14:41:19.

VinceDoss

Nikon D2X

06/22/2005 03:02:35 PM · #20

Originally posted by thomaspeople:

....But Where can I get a Woody...?

I bought 3 different sizes of Woodies here and our dog promptly ate the smallest one. I have yet to post a shot of the woodster in action, I am saving whats left of the small one for a tragedy shot, but I think you have taken a nice step in broaching the subject of comments. Just remember, No Good Deed Goes Unpunished...it does not matter how you deliver your comments they will (sometimes) be interpreted different than what you intended. The same goes for your pictures and editing. You just need a thick skin and step on out there in the traffic!

CreativeFlyPhoto

Canon EOS-5D Mark III

Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM

06/22/2005 03:11:21 PM · #21

I have a Woody shot ... i'll post once i get home from work! :)

I got my Woody from Walmart BTW

PS - i'm always open to any kind of comments to my photos and i'll comment in return

Message edited by author 2005-06-22 15:14:19.

chesire

Canon EOS-60D

06/22/2005 03:16:03 PM · #22

Originally posted by thomaspeople:

[quote=kpriest] ...we have a tradition here at DPC - newbies are required to post one of each of the following photos in their portfolio:
- Macro of bug or flower
- A pet
- A baby
- Sunset
- Waterfall
- Rubber Duck
- A Woody shot

Ok got the Pets, got the baby.... Now where's that yellow duck, maybe I can set it on the river just above a small fall at sunset.