20% off all products!   Sale ends tonight at midnight EST.

Return to Main Discussion Page
Discussion Quote Icon

Discussion

Main Menu | Search Discussions

Search Discussions
 
 

Edward Fielding

8 Years Ago

How To Ask For A Critique

Some thoughts on how to ask for a critique here on the FAA/Pixels forum.

1. Be brave and have a thick skin. The things you are about to hear are probably going to be brutally honest.
2. Take all comments with a grain of salt - its just someone's opinion. You need to decide if the comment is valid or not.
3. Prepare a separate gallery for the critique. Put 20 - 40 of your best images in a separate gallery and link to it. Don't ask people to wade through your whole portfolio.
4. Give people time to respond. Don't open a thread and close it 20 minutes later before anyone has a chance to respond.
5. Don't respond to the critique with a bunch of excuses. The work is what it is. I would have, I should have, I was meaning to --- these excuses don't hold any water. The work critiques is on the work shown. If there is something better than show that.
6. Learn from the responses. This is the point of the critique. If you think that a critique is about getting attention to your portfolio, think again. Its about striving to be better.


Anyone else have any tips to add?

Reply Order

Post Reply
 

Colin Utz

8 Years Ago

Before you ask for critique, ask yourself this simple question: "Would I buy a large, expensive print of my picture, and hang it on the wall of my living room or the reception area of my office?"

 

Anne Sands

8 Years Ago

I love critiques and have improved each time i have requested input. I am brave haha
I wonder if someone would critique my abstracts. I know very little about how to judge a good abstract since most of mine lean to realistic. And if you suggest that I stick with reality thats ok.
Sell Art Online

 

TL Mair

8 Years Ago

I'll be honest I've thought of asking a thousand times but I'm just not brave enough to do it I guess!

TL Mair
http://tlmair.com

 

Mike Savad

8 Years Ago

keep the thread open long enough to let others speak, they may have a different view point.

when you want a critique, don't dump it into a random thread, start your own.

don't throw away the advice and keep doing what your doing. if there were flaws, fix them. i've seen many that ask for them. don't do a thing to fix anything then ask again a month later.

when someone does ask for a critique and they get them ---- EVERYONE else reading it should look at their own images the same way. the things said for theirs, is probably true for yours as well. asking the same questions and having the same problems is just kind of annoying.

don't become defensive about the response, and don't say - i guess you were having a bad day, you were mean, you were strict, you really thrashed me, i got busted by him, i survived or any other inane comment like that.

critiques don't have to complimentary, and we don't have to find your best work either. we don't have to lay on the sugar, and it shouldn't be needed. its not worth crying over either. they are just images...


---Mike Savad
MikeSavad.com

 

Mike Savad

8 Years Ago

oh...

don't erase your account after getting one.

don't join just so you can get a critique (some places you do pay for them)

remember you get what you paid for, which is nothing.

when we say to calibrate your screen - do so, don't argue it.

if we say you enlarged it, and it won't print. don't argue that you printed it.

a person is allowed to give critiques even if they are a painter or have no art themselves. people pointing out things they like or don't is always helpful. if they offer camera advice and their images either look bad or are missing - ignore the advice.

we are totally aware that if you move 10 ft to the left you will drop off the mountain. however we don't know that either, so telling us about it is kind of pointless. if it looked better from that angle, then it does.

anything you get on your current images, unless they are really bad, the info applies to the NEXT image.

---Mike Savad
MikeSavad.com

 

Jason Christopher

8 Years Ago

but dont forget the critique of critiques ! chuckle

 

Mike Savad

8 Years Ago

yeah those are fun. back seat critiquers. have no problems telling the one that tried to help off, calling them mean or heartless. all the while, either they don't give one themselves. or they play good cop saying - all your work is great, don't listen to that guy that knows what he's talking about. those types of people usually have very weak work themselves.


---Mike Savad
MikeSavad.com

 
 

Mike Savad

8 Years Ago

i love how you scroll down. and WHAM that doll is right there....


---Mike Savad
MikeSavad.com

 

TL Mair

8 Years Ago

That reminds me,I was/am going to start a thread on calibrating monitors!

TL Mair
http://tlmair.com

 

Abbie Shores

8 Years Ago

LOL he loved that doll

 

Mike Savad

8 Years Ago

beware of the reality shock. if your used to hearing only nice things about your work. we aren't jealous of the work, we are just telling you like it is without jaded glasses.

remember, you were on that trip, not us. we can only judge the image as you have it there presented to us. its your job to make the image as nice as your memories. don't argue that you did shoot it at sunset despite having the white sky.

if we point out that the signs in the background make it into a snap shot, or it detracts. don't argue that some people might want the signs there. and they have seen other people selling signs and such.

if its a picture of your own family member - DO NOT take it personally. i've seen so many irate people go bonko's because i mentioned the baby looked cross eyed, or had drool coming out, or was covered in (hopefully), chocolate pudding. the owner thinks its adorable because they are related to the kid - its not adorable. its quite often disgusting.

try to critique the image yourself first. be critical about it. look at it as if it was someone else's. break yourself away from the images you take. simply forget you ever took them. that's how you grow a thicker skin. look at the advice, don't let it get to you.

if the advice sounds stupid or vindictive. ignore it. simple.
if the advice doesn't tell you why they don't like it - ignore it.

if the advice says - i love it - but doesn't tell you why - ignore it. its not helpful. they want to be your friend by telling you what you want to hear. and its often poison when it comes to hearing the truth, the part that might hurt you.


---Mike Savad
MikeSavad.com

 

Mike Savad

8 Years Ago

i have to recalibrate my screen myself. i do it quarterly or as i remember. my video card really wants to update, i'll do it after that.


---Mike Savad
MikeSavad.com

 

Jason Christopher

8 Years Ago

ps most people appreciate your critiques Mike


edit: but all critiques have to be carefully considered, takes alot of gumption to accept a thorough slaughter, and elements of a critique can be accepted or rejected. it could well be that a critique is utter crap too! as many might be very good and informative... i mean a critique that misses the point of the work isnt that useful... etc...

 

Brian MacLean

8 Years Ago

I appreciated his for one... it was a few weeks ago and when I first read Mike's responses I was like "UGH".... but then I said to myself "This is what you asked for" and the job is taking away some of my time and I am working on everything he and everyone else said in that thread.... and I appreciate all their input.

 

TL Mair

8 Years Ago

That's true I know I learn a lot just reading Mike's critiques!

TL Mair
http://tlmair.com

 

Diana Angstadt

8 Years Ago

Take a grain of salt from critiques though.. they can be helpful, but please remember, they are "personal opinions"... there is no one here who is the "almighty king/queen of critiques". If you have to ask for a critique, that shows you are not so sure of yourself... but if you take the step further and feel like you have to totally change to meet the criteria of someone else's viewpoint, then you are not a true artist in your own right.

 

Mike Savad

8 Years Ago

usually what happens is, the person asking moans and goes along with it. its the sideline people that feel they have to "stand up" for the other people and yell at me for this and that. telling me i have to be "nicer" and "compliment more" - ain't happening i said. said no one likes me unless you show more empathy or something... ain't happening i said... called me a psychopath they said.... i said yep, pretty much, sounds right... still don't care, still going to rate them the way i do.

many focus on the negative, and never read the entire thing. i really try to add that one that looks pretty good. and some look very good with minor things. but many just want to focus on negative sounding things i say. mostly what many don't get is - i get right to the point. i don't meander into stories to soften the blow. i don't do that in real life either. if someone is talking to me, i'll start walking away or rolling my hands to get them to get on with it already and just tell me what your thinking. so many get wrapped up in the pleasantries they forget what the topic was about.

the good mornings and such, don't roll with me, nod your head when your near, its all i want to see. if you don't do the things people expect, they outcast you.. or, there are others that like the honesty, and its fine for them... and many who think i'm brutal - the ones i give are very gentle. i used to make people cry, still can if i wanted too.

the work i do, i tend to nitpick my own stuff, things no one would ever see or notice, i do, because i can see them. because of that i can see things in an image in a near instant. i'm a much harsher critic on my own pieces than anyone else's.


---Mike Savad
MikeSavad.com


 

Colin Utz

8 Years Ago

Critiques of composition, color, subject, etc, are always very subjective. Everybody have a different taste, and the art of someone is the trash of somebody else and vice versa. Because of that, I normally donīt participate in the "critique my work" threads.

Another things are the technical aspects of the photograph. The quality control here on FAA is very strict (I learned thet the hard way sometimes 😎). Here you should listen to everybody, who finds your flaws, and correct it, if possible. If itīs not possible, take the picture down! It saves you, and especially the customer, a lot of frustrations.

Composition, color, subject, etc., are open for discussion. Technical flaws are not. You canīt argument against the printer! If he refuses to print your image, youīve lost.

Colin Utz
http://colinutzphotography.com

 

Mike Savad

8 Years Ago

if you got a critique after asking, don't give up art.

if your teacher/family etc have only been praising you, encouraging you, always seek outside advice. because your family may not be an artist or have any taste, and the teacher only praises to keep you in the class.

if a friend says - that is soooo good, you should sell it. ask them why they think its good and why they like it, and most importantly - ask them if they would like to buy it. if they make up excuses why they can't, or they don't know why its good - they are probably just talking.

if your work isn't selling. or your not getting the views you thought you should be getting. be sure to look at everyone else's work to see if your work looks like theirs. blurry? crooked? bland subject? bad lighting? etc. all this matters. i've seen on other sites people compare their beach image with another and ask why everyone like the other one, its the same subject. they overlooked the fact that the tropical island, with the distant mountains, sunset, blank beach and single empty chair... looked nothing like their blank sky, crooked ocean, messy sand, no chair, many people, garbage can in the shot, image.

erase the memory of the location you went to, and focus on the image you presented for it. or at least compare them well. its easy to upload things that you just saw, so you can show it off. the memory of a location overrides the actual image. you become blind to it.

on that same note, don't post your best shots, if those are losers too. like - it could have rained the whole trip, and your best image was a shot of a wet bird outside your hotel window and its really blah... don't bother posting it if its bad. i had a trip once where i broke the mirror on the camera and i was shooting blind. the camera wouldn't focus either. i was happy with what i got, and it let me put up things that were not that optimal.


---Mike Savad
MikeSavad.com

 

David Bridburg

8 Years Ago

Remember when someone does not want to hear it, that you are not the artist involved or the final say.
Do not be forceful with another person's business. It is not your business.

David Bridburg

 

David Randall

8 Years Ago

I'm unsure a critique here can be anything more than confusing for some. Basically you must pick and choose what you wish to hear. It ends up being a popularity contest much of the time. Some like it some do not. I wouldn't expect to learn much in that. Getting many likes here may give you an ego boost but not translate into sales.

Some are looking to be abstract others not. If someone is trying to create a Mondrian like abstraction, giving them a critique on aerial perspective is pretty much useless information.

I believe there are rules and skills of composition, color, drawing, etc. Do you know those rules? Are you trying to learn them? Are you trying to break them? What do you hope to gain from the critique?

 

Rod Melotte

8 Years Ago

The problem with critiques is that it all depends on what you are looking for. You can have a LOT of fantastic images that do not sell just because they are too beautiful but don't strike that chord in a person brain saying he NEEDS it. But then (like me) you might have images that sell but ALWAYS get poor critiques, like on photo.net, my lowest ratings were/are the biggest sellers. So the question is what exactly are you asking for. What will make this sell? or how can I make it more beautiful.

For instance - images of Greece are always beautiful but they are a dime a dozen. Same with the ol' drop of water dropping into water. NEVER SEEN THAT BEFORE! (actually I did see one guy that was awesome).

 

Monsieur Danl

8 Years Ago

"How To Ask For A Critique"

1. Say please.

2. Ignore everything anyone has to say

3. Go back to work.

 

Jon Glaser

8 Years Ago

There are plenty of sites that have dedicated forums for critiques! DPReview. Fredmiranda.com and luminouslandscape to name a few

 

David Bridburg

8 Years Ago

M. Danl,

We are in 100% agreement.

Dave

 

Mike Savad

8 Years Ago

always listen to mike... me... best thing you can do....


---Mike Savad
MikeSavad.com

 

David Bridburg

8 Years Ago

Super Mike

 

Edward Fielding

8 Years Ago

MD - that's my strategy. But people asking for a critique are typically 1. a beginner or 2. looking for some exposure

Easiest way to self critique is to look around. Compare your work to the competition. Do you see images with trash cans, dull contrast, blah color and crooked horizons selling on the "recently sold page"?

 

Mike Harlan

8 Years Ago

I've been a lurker in the forums for several months now. I haven't contributed much, but do enjoy reading through the discussions every day or so. I actually have learned a lot by reading through critiques of others. I've thought of asking for a critique, but for now I'm content on learning from the critiques of others. I really do appreciate the honesty that Mike Savad provides in his critiques. A lot of his critiques are very detailed, and I'm sure time consuming. I've enjoyed reading through them, and taking his free advice to heart as it relates to my own work. If I ever did ask for a critique, I'd hope that Mike would respond. I have fairly thick skin, but may need to put on a few extra layers before asking for a critique. Anyway, thanks to all who are active in the forums, they really are helpful to us lurkers. OK, back to lurking.

 

Monsieur Danl

8 Years Ago

Edward-

"Compare your work to the competition."

And I say, let others compare their work to mine.

 

Mike Savad

8 Years Ago

what takes the longest is switching back and forth. the list of what i see doesn't take that long at all. i learned to be very fast. because i try to do them in camera as i shoot. like how would i have to edit this scene if i shot it like this? would that chair be in the way? how about that sign post - how hard would it be to remove that easily? and then try to align myself so i can easily fix things.

---Mike Savad
MikeSavad.com

 

David Bridburg

8 Years Ago

I need to compare to the master artists.

Just say'n M. Danl.

Dave

 

Robert Kernodle

8 Years Ago

How To Ask For A Critique ... (^_^)

1. Remain in self denial and savor the disappointment of not reading the endearing, congratulatory words that you were really asking for.
2. Accuse everybody who comments of being rude.
3. Continue to believe that you are the most outstanding artist here among tens of thousands.
4. Keep doing things the exact same way, and keep reacting the same way to critiques that you are secretly lying to yourself that you want, when what you really want is ego stroking.
5. Act like an expert when you critique others, and criticize them for not taking YOUR advice (since you are the best).
6. After your third request for a critique, cancel your membership to FAA and move to another art website to ask for critiques there.

 

Edward Fielding

8 Years Ago

WWMS = what would Mike say?

Probably the wise thing to ask oneself before asking for that critique. What would Mike say about these garbage cans over here? What would Mike say about this dust spot? etc. Probably would save a lot of anguish.

 

Robert Kernodle

8 Years Ago

... and, above all, will it print?

 

This discussion is closed.