I have a question

justin24

I have a question. Why is it when someone posts non-infant or kid photos they hardly get commented on or critiqued and get hundreds of views and not one comment. Can't Dgrin make a kid section. There are other photos that are really good of people not involving kids that I feel are ignored cause we have to look at another adorable baby or kids walking a field.


Sorry nothing against infants or kids.

Qarik

babies invoke an emotional response... that said I don't think I agree with your characterization that kid photos don't get commented on. They do get commented on a lot imo. It's not the subject matter.

what I find is that really good images get a lot of comments no matter the subject. Really "bad" images also get a fair amount of responses becasue often it is fairly easy to point out issues and offer suggestions. Images with pointed questions will get responses as well. It's the middle of the road images, if you get my drift, that suffer the lonley walk to the 2nd page and into oblivion.

I think it's more difficult to comment on images that are in this muddy middle. A response like "it's okay" seems less then helpful. To be helpful you have to really invest some time examining the image and it might not be obvious how to make that image jump from okay to good...the lighting maybe is just okay, the comp is just okay, posing is just okay. It's just hard to thoughtfully comment with out writing an essay it seem in these cases.

I am sure Andrew will offer a good reponse though

Caspian

I have noticed the same thing and I think there are several factors. Qarik is right that average pictures generally get few responses. He is also right that it is hard to help people a lot with average pictures. That can be frustrating for guys like me who take a lot of average pictures and would like to get better.

Babies get a lot of comments because they are babies and they are cute.

Another big factor is that this is a community with members who have known each other, at least online, for a long time. I'm a relative new comer and judging by your number of posts, you are too. Like any community, you get accepted over time by getting involved. Make it a point to be here every day and comment on all the pictures. The bottom line is that this is a volunteer community. No one is obligated to comment on anything and the pros and advanced amateurs have other ways they could be spending their time instead of helping us get better. So, hop in and keep commenting. I suspect that I people get to know you and see your work, you will get more comments.

sweet caroline

I haven't seen a problem getting comments on big kids and adults. I know I often look without commenting because I work a lot, have kids, and I am often brain dead by the time I get a little time to hang out here. It's true that I am more likely to comment on someone I know, partly because I am familiar with their work and can compare, and partly because I feel like even if I say something stupid to someone I've known online a long time, they are unlikely to get offended or judge me for it. Sometimes the issue is just that the chattier people don't have as much time to post at the moment.

So, just keep posting. I've learned a tremendous amount looking and reading critiques on other people's photos, as well as getting direct critique on my own.

Caroline

Swartzy

In answer to your direct question....many here "relate" to the child or infant as they have their own and frequently photograph them. It seems that children are a common denominator for feedback if you will. Higher tech shots often are not in the scope of understanding or better yet, interest of many on the forum. Some are just learning how to use a flash, let alone several metered strobes with ratios. Kids expressions and cuteness factor is an easily identifiable common ground to where most "parent's can relate.

It's not a bias per se, it's just the way it is. I too love children...love to shoot them..and they are near my heart, being a "papa" and all but do have a hard time personally with lack of responses to other types of portrait work. We must be somewhat forgiving and realize we are all at different levels and stages of photography. It would be no different than trying to convey algebra concepts to 3rd graders or simple math to geometry students. Go with the flow, don't be offended, try to gain what best information you can from each post and like anything in life, take the good, throw away the bad...all with a grain of salt.

Wachel

Caspian wrote: »

Another big factor is that this is a community with members who have known each other, at least online, for a long time.

This is a big factor. The folks that are on here all the time get more comments because that have more friends on the forums. It's just a fact of life. I would be more likely to comment on someone I am friends with.

I have been on here since 2008 and only have 170 or so posts. I don't get many comments. Maybe I just suck?

In all seriousness...just keep posting. If you comment on people's pics then they are more likely to comment on yours.

Just my 2¢

Sachis2112

I'm very new. I obsessively lurked for the first couple weeks. Then I finally started commenting and then posting. I think I maybe have gotten a total of 3 comments on the 4 things I've posted in "shots". The one thing I posted in the Refinery got 5 comments/tips eventually but it had 170+ views before the first comment. (By the way, those comments were VERY helpful. Thanks folks!)

It is frustrating and intimidating for someone like me, who is a hack, to come here and just start commenting. Many times, I find something pleasing to my eye even though it breaks all the general photography composition "rules" and I have to really force myself to comment, knowing that this community has pretty good rules about conduct and that I will probably not get flamed.

Jump in. Have fun. We (unfortunately) will likely never meet any of these folks but something wonderful might happen too. So I'll keep posting and hope some more folks find my shots worthy of comment some day.

ivar

I think some valid points have been mentioned above; I don't think there is one cause that a thread doesn't get commented on immediately. Just make sure you don't start taking it personal; It is by no means a measure for the quality of your work.

A good thing to remember also is that the number of hits don't mean as much as you may think. For one, one person getting back to that thread counts as two, another reason is that guest-views (including yours) and search-engine views count as well towards that total number.

Keep at it, keep posting and commenting and everything will be fine