I've been coming to this site for over 4 years. I am just a simple hobbyist. If you look at stuff I did 4 years ago, it was horrible. Now it's better, but certainly nowhere near what guys like Marc Grant, J.T., or a lot of the others post. But I have substantially improved by simply viewing work here.
I hate the "you have to post an image in a reply" rule, because first of all, I hardly post anything I shoot. Not because it isn't good, but because most, if not all, of what I shoot is of "regular" people, who don't want to have their photos up on the net. I have some really nice stuff I can't post.
Second, I often go months without a shoot. No big wup.
Summertime is busy for me, and I just don't have time to shoot.
But let me give you a simple example of why I think immediatley running to "my" portfolio" is absolutely silly.
I have a secretary who wanders into my office. She can run a camera, but just for fun. She is somewhat interested in some of the things I look at, and will often comment on images that are up on the screen, that I am processing, etc.
A lot of times she goes "that's cool" and points something out, and other times she goes "ooh, her skin is way too yellow".
In most cases she is dead on.
Why is her "impression" of a photo any less valuable than mine or a seasoned pro???
I shoot some "sports" photography....quite poorly I must admit, but I am getting the hang of it. But I see photos online and in the paper that have major issues.
It isn't that I could do it "better" but that doesn't mean I can't see a flaw and point it out.
Sometimes somebody who has no skill, training, ability, or knowledge can only rely on their "impression".
Why is that "impression" not valuable???
I saw a recent photo that one of the big guys around here posted not long ago. About 10 people gave it the thumbs up, but the shadows were horribly blocked up. I said nothing. But I still thought it.
I've seen a couple of cases where I actually think the guy posted a photo with an "issue" just to see if anybody would say anything bad, the photo was that flawed.
But the bottom line is, when you post a photo, do you want peoples true impressions or just a pat on the back.
Do you want to improve or stagnate.
The real question should simply be, is the critique on the mark or off, not the qualifications of the person making it.
Frankly, I think if 90% of the people who view a photo see an issue, it matters not whether the effect was intended.
If you have to "explain" why you did something, or why you broke a rule, then I think you have missed your audience.
If you don't see what the vast majority of people are seeing, then again, don't you want to know about it.
Mark
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