My last post
ShannonW
Registered Users Posts: 248 Major grins
I first off want to say thanks for those of you that commented on the website review! :clap You helped make vital changes...still working on it.
To DAVIDTO...I have always admired your honesty and have appreciated your posts.
Humungus...great pictures and I also enjoy your posts.
All the bird guys, as much as I don't care for birds you guys are really good photographers and I agree it takes real skill to photograph them.
When I first found this forum it inspired me to go out shoot more and it did. I had hoped to learn a lot...ways to improve and such....but, learned very little although craved for solid critiques.
With this last post I am kinda fed up. 122 views and 1 POST!!!!:huh
But, you all will post "great picture" and "great capture" on lousy out of focus pictures.....How are we suppose to learn and grow???...by being ignored when people really don't like it and told good pic when it' out of focus????
I give up. I thank the people that have posted to my posts.
-Shannon
To DAVIDTO...I have always admired your honesty and have appreciated your posts.
Humungus...great pictures and I also enjoy your posts.
All the bird guys, as much as I don't care for birds you guys are really good photographers and I agree it takes real skill to photograph them.
When I first found this forum it inspired me to go out shoot more and it did. I had hoped to learn a lot...ways to improve and such....but, learned very little although craved for solid critiques.
With this last post I am kinda fed up. 122 views and 1 POST!!!!:huh
But, you all will post "great picture" and "great capture" on lousy out of focus pictures.....How are we suppose to learn and grow???...by being ignored when people really don't like it and told good pic when it' out of focus????
I give up. I thank the people that have posted to my posts.
-Shannon
0
Comments
Dont go just yet...
Packing up your marbles and leaving the playground is not the answer, either.
Everyone could learn, to get, you have to give. Everyone.
The forum is busy, but you should ask yourself this: 100+ people saw your shot. It's in the challenge forum - not the whipping post.
Use the whipping post for serious, serious critique and feedback.
Give more than you expect to get. Expect to get nothing, and be pleased when someone takes the time to post - whether it's "great shot" (they mayn't be capable of anything else) or a 500-word critique.
Hope you'll stay - sorry if you're leaving.
All the best,
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Thanks, Shannon.
Yeah, there can be a lot of gladhanding here. There's also some very insightful critiques, and not just in the WP.
I applaud you for your honesty, and I hope you see that you bring exactly what we need here.
I hope you stay and bring it.
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I am giving it a go....
Please don't stop posting here just because you feel you are not getting responses. This has been a frustrating problem for many of us at times. You just need to keep helping others with critiques and keep posting your own pics.
Don't take this the wrong way, but if you look at all of the posts you have started here, you have gotten some great responses to almost all of them.
"Website Critique" 13 replies
"Help with 20D" 24 replies
These were great responses that were really helpful.
Several of your posts seemed to be you just sharing your nice photos with us and not asking for criticism ("Christmas with cats" and "Holiday Joy") These were nice pictures and I'm glad you shared them. I didn't get the sense that you were looking for criticism.
When you did ask for help and criticism, you got plenty of replies and good advise ("B&W couple" 15 and "Whip it" 7). The B&W thread even involved into a great B&W conversion discussion.
The only post I can see where you got shortchanged was "butterfly pin". I'm not sure why you got no helpful replies. Perhaps it just got lost in the shuffle. If you still need help, repost it.
Just don't stop posting here!
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I do agree with Andy - leaving is certainly not the answer. Most people in this forum are not just dgrinners - they do other things . So lack of responses could be a lot of things - It could be a time issue, the new years and everything - things do get 'lost'. Oftentimes - it is difficult for me to assess who wants a critique or just a good word - the whipping post just makes it clearer. Nobody wants to whip you if what you want is a 'good job' !
so Stick around! I've learnt a lot here especially from those tutorials I don't comment on - gosh, I guess I should !
www.vandanaphotography.com
Photo-a-day 2013
Andy, Vandana, Mitchell and Gus, You bring up a very good point about the whipping post and I will be more specific when I want feedback in other topics.
As far as posting I feel like sometimes just being honest with someone will hurt their feelings. But I still give honest opinions hoping that they want the same honesty that I do. David really inspired me to speak my mind.
"have a cat-o-ninetails & some salt ready & waiting." Gus....I can't wait:uhoh or can I......
Think of it sort of sort of like a tea party in an art exhibition hall ...with a fight club in the shed out the back.
Good to see you hang about
Glad you are going to stay. Would also like to add a thought. You mentioned 122 looks and no comment, or maybe 1, anyway I was probably part of the 122. There are probably many on here that don't feel quaified to say more than 'good shot' and if we think it might be off we say nothing. OR how many times can we say 'good shot' there are tons on this list. It's hard me thinks.
I actually don't want too much honesty in what is bad on my photos, so I don't usually give it. I do when it is glaring or asked for, but really to get much bad out of me, well, I have to have followed the person for a bit, etc.
But I can respond to just about anything. I do birds, haha, used to, should have gone out this AM, but I want my husband to go with me. Or actually, I am kind of morose right now and don't want to go anywhere.
But I don't like flowers much, and orchids are probably way down on my list. I do post flowers here and there but not often, and I don't respond to them much. That is not very thoughtful of me, reallly, I am thinking ..........it is downright prejudicial against flower shots. And if I post one, I certainly hope to hear how wonderful it is. Or something.
Personally, I have been on this list a long time, and I would say that since Christmas it has not been "normal" in who is posting and the amount of activity is down.
I had a post with no responses on "streets and scenes" for about a week w/o it going off of the page. Finally, I got some responses and the whole thing picked up. Or maybe it was on People. I don't exactly remember, but I would check it, seethe a bit, debate about adding a photo and jumping it myself, or just let it go. I just knew it was going to be what they call an orphan.
What I do often in those cases is to find all posts on the page w/o a response, and I respond. Just kind of a thing I do. Not to be nice, and not thinking it is going to help, though for some reason it sometimes seems to. I did that with my photo, found all the other zero responses, responded and still got nothing.
As, I said, days later there was a response to my post, then I got about what I would have hoped for or expected.
But I would not make any judgements on what is going on right now.
It is slow, and there are some things going on with people who are not posting, I think. As someone pointed out they are busy. I will try to say something about flowers. But you will probably have to do the whipping post to get a whole lot of advice. (or any............I did not notice your post of the flower) I have not been active on the nature thread, though. Not lately.
ginger
If it helps, I feel your pain. It can be frustrating when you don't get feedback. I think the other responders have brought up many good points though. I find it annoying when a thread with a catchy (usually vulgar) title gets more views and posts than a thread with better pictures. But it's human nature, so I think we have to learn to live with it.
I prefer a little criticism over something like..."good shot", but many others don't. I think we learn more from our mistakes than are successes, but many people don't want critisicm or are concerned about hurting others feelings.
Some things you might consider to help, add a line at the end of your post requesting feedback, try and be patient, give feedback yourself. I know that if I'm short on time I will respond first to those that have given me feedback.
Regards and I hope you stick around, even if you don't like my birdies :cry
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It's just that there are SO MANY out there, so many thousands of forums, so many millions of forumers, all posting and commenting. It's hard to find a community that's small enough to feel you're appreciated but active enough to get responses when you wish for them. Try posting a photo on DPReview, your thread will fall to page 7 within 40 minutes if your photo is not absolutely immaculate and stunning, or so horrible that everyone must feel the need to crush your hopes and dreams... Forums like FM have incredible photographers posting incredible work and they're all super-friendly but it takes forever to wiggle your way into their circle... And then there's forums like Outdoor eyes and Dgrin, where sometimes things are slow, sometimes you dont get the best, most enthusiastic and immediate responses, but you're definitely welcomed and your input is appreciated. Personally, I just don't have time to post my own photos anymore and watch the topic for feedback. All I have time for is to browse a couple different forums and offer a bit of advice here and there, if I can. I think this is what the photoraphy community needs most right now, is people who take the time to give feedback and reply to people who are fresh and eager to learn, just as we were however many years ago it was...
Take care, and happy trails,
-Matt-
My SmugMug Portfolio • My Astro-Landscape Photo Blog • Dgrin Weddings Forum
and fredmiranda.
It's unfortunate but not everyone that views critiques. Many lurkers in
addition to those who didn't have anything to say.
Ian
Ginger, I guess what I am hoping is that we will all start participating more. You do tend to be one of the more active members which is great! Glad to see you entered your photo in the New contest! Good Luck!
Rohirrim, I agree with you 100%! I will give your bird pic's a chance....hey I gave a peace and whirled peas a chance
Hope everyone gets that joke...maybe it's just me :uhoh
Matthew, I am a member on fredmiranda and love it! since I am a wedding photographer I frequent that forum a lot. I guess that's what brought on my frustration here. so many reply to posts over there with all kinds of feedback. I just really like this forum so I thought I would be honest with everyone and then go my way, but as you can see I am staying.
Ian and Matthew I will have to check out dpreview. Thanks!
Don't bother checking out DPReview if you're iterested in posting photography and getting feedback. It is mostly useful for news in the photography business, to me. From the official news and very, very good reviews (best on the internet in my opinion) to the forum rumors / "spy pics" about what could be released in the coming months, DPR is mostly about news. The rest is usually a bunch of stalwart fanboys who go around bashing "their" competitor's brands and boasting in the abilities of their own system. Being an argumentation/debate person myself, I indulge every now and then in some harmless fun concerning things like FF VS DX or Nikon VS Canon, but only in good fun. If debating about the latest gear is not your thing, and especially if you are established at such a high-quality forum as FM< then you can safely overlook DPR. Although do subscribe to their newsletter, it's seriously better than subscribing to any photographic magazine out there as far as news on new gear & it's performance is concerned.
Take care and happy trails,
-Matt-
My SmugMug Portfolio • My Astro-Landscape Photo Blog • Dgrin Weddings Forum
Your website makes you out as a professional photographer, selling services to clients. However your posts on Dgrin, particularly including this thread, crave support and advice to help you to 'learn and grow'. And now you're heading off because you aren't getting the support you feel you should be getting here.
Are you a real, established, commercial photographer or a beginner/amateur/wannabe? It seems you are professing to be the former while you are actually the latter. I'm confused! Are your clients? Are you?
I don't think Dgrin or its members are letting you down. There are myriads of examples of extremely good advice provided by incredibly talented and experienced photographers, both amateur and professional, on this site.
Are you a real, established, commercial photographer or a beginner/amateur/wannabe? I am a professional wedding photographer. I have only been in business for about a year now. Worked at Wolf Camera for 5 years managed for 4 of those years then went to school and got a commercial photography degree. Studied and worked with several wedding photographers (2 yrs) in this area before going out on my own.
It seems you are professing to be the former while you are actually the latter. I'm confused! Are your clients? Are you? No, I am not confused when it comes to my work as a wedding photographer. My clients are also not confused. They love my work and have never complained. In the last 6 months I only lost one job to another photographer.
I don't think Dgrin or its members are letting you down. There are myriads of examples of extremely good advice provided by incredibly talented and experienced photographers, both amateur and professional, on this site.[/quote] As I said before I just got too frustrated and had to vent. I did not want to leave it ws just discouraging to see people post good job an a blurry photo and then I get nothin. Not even a It sucks
You're right there are lots of good photographers on this site why do you think I want their input
I do want to enlighten you a bit about myself. I went through a very traumatic thing right after I got out of school. By the way I was at the top of my class so the fall was far. I didn't shoot at all for fun anymore. This lasted for a few years. I love weddings and shot a few with other photographers referrals and friend, family etc. But this is all I did. At the time I did not realize what this laps of shooting had done. I literally feel like I am back to square one as far as my creative abilityies...except weddings. I shoot them so often it's just second nature now. I wanted to get back to shooting for fun. Nature, animals and such. My first wake up call was before I found this forum. I went out to shoot with my new digital and looked back at the images and they sucked plain and simple. So of course I gave up for a while longer.(let's call it a rut) So one day I was like...I WANT to be a wedding photographer...I love photography to heck with what I think I've lost! So I began to shoot again, but I still sucked... although my friends boyfriend and family liked the pictures. So, I thought maybe I needed a figure like one of my old teachers. He was border line verbally abusive but pushed me to levels I didn't think were possible. Then I thought how cool would it be to form a local group to share and critique photos. and then I came across this website. I guess I wanted people to be more aggressive with their comments . Kinda like how Andy, Ginger, Gus and David were about the Orchid. I guess I am glutton for pain! :beatwax
Since I didn't shoot for so long it really effected me in ways I didn't understand until now. And so now I am trying to make up for it.
My wedding clients do not have to worry about it b/c I am a pro and know how to shoot a wedding. As photographers we ALWAYS have room for improvement. The moment you think that you are the greatest....well, look what happened to me.
Sorry for the long post but, I didn't want you to get the wrong impression of me. I am not offended by anything you said. I like and appreciate honesty.
I think the best way to drive participation is to participate. I get frustrated from lack of comments too, but I have found I get more meaningful comments if I only post one or two pictures in a thread, instead of a series. I have also found that I leave better/more comments when someone else only posts one or two pictures (I guess it is easier to be more specific).
I am glad you are staying, and would love to see some of your favorite wedding stuff in addition to your "creative" stuff (I put it in quotes, because if/when I shoot a wedding it is creative and scary as I don't do many).
Please continue to post and critique. I think everyone is looking for some good critique once in a while.
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