Comments on: The Value of Critique, or: My Ego Needs Some Stroking http://www.singleservingphoto.com/2007/11/05/the-value-of-critique-or-my-ego-needs-some-stroking/ Photography in Small Doses Thu, 28 Aug 2008 18:26:46 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5 By: photographyVoter.com http://www.singleservingphoto.com/2007/11/05/the-value-of-critique-or-my-ego-needs-some-stroking/#comment-1041 photographyVoter.com Fri, 09 Nov 2007 14:28:08 +0000 http://www.singleservingphoto.com/2007/11/05/the-value-of-critique-or-my-ego-needs-some-stroking/#comment-1041 The Value of Critique, or: My Ego Needs Some Stroking... It’s now easier to solicit feedback about your photographs than it is to fall out of a boat and hit water. Unfortunately, comments are seldom used to give constructive criticism or to share practical knowledge. Why?... The Value of Critique, or: My Ego Needs Some Stroking…

It’s now easier to solicit feedback about your photographs than it is to fall out of a boat and hit water. Unfortunately, comments are seldom used to give constructive criticism or to share practical knowledge. Why?…

]]> By: Ed Z http://www.singleservingphoto.com/2007/11/05/the-value-of-critique-or-my-ego-needs-some-stroking/#comment-1049 Ed Z Mon, 12 Nov 2007 22:10:38 +0000 http://www.singleservingphoto.com/2007/11/05/the-value-of-critique-or-my-ego-needs-some-stroking/#comment-1049 Aaron- would you believe I've never checked out PhotoSig before? great tip! It's interesting to read other artists perspective on this topic- I like your point about having an "artistic vocabulary" to aid in critique. I think I was trying to get at something like that in my article, but that is a great way of putting it. Hope you don't mind if I steal that phrase (with credit of course :-) Aaron- would you believe I’ve never checked out PhotoSig before? great tip! It’s interesting to read other artists perspective on this topic- I like your point about having an “artistic vocabulary” to aid in critique. I think I was trying to get at something like that in my article, but that is a great way of putting it. Hope you don’t mind if I steal that phrase (with credit of course :-)

]]> By: eve http://www.singleservingphoto.com/2007/11/05/the-value-of-critique-or-my-ego-needs-some-stroking/#comment-1050 eve Tue, 13 Nov 2007 15:26:52 +0000 http://www.singleservingphoto.com/2007/11/05/the-value-of-critique-or-my-ego-needs-some-stroking/#comment-1050 The premise behind photo critique sites like PhotoSIG and Photo.net is great. But the reality is that, like in Flickr, only the "pretty" pictures get good critiques and people end up doing the same kind of pictures. I'm pretty sure that people like Lee Friedlander or Alec Soth would get trashed at these sites. The premise behind photo critique sites like PhotoSIG and Photo.net is great. But the reality is that, like in Flickr, only the “pretty” pictures get good critiques and people end up doing the same kind of pictures. I’m pretty sure that people like Lee Friedlander or Alec Soth would get trashed at these sites.

]]> By: Aaron http://www.singleservingphoto.com/2007/11/05/the-value-of-critique-or-my-ego-needs-some-stroking/#comment-1051 Aaron Tue, 13 Nov 2007 16:34:36 +0000 http://www.singleservingphoto.com/2007/11/05/the-value-of-critique-or-my-ego-needs-some-stroking/#comment-1051 One of the best things about participating on PhotoSIG is that nobody really gets "trashed." It's true, people have submitted work to that site with virtually no redeeming value, and people speak their minds, but one of PhotoSIG's tenets is respect, and they _do_ enforce it. I see what you're saying, Eve, and it's true that Flickr, Photo.net, DeviantArt, and other "simple" comment-based sites foster a groupthink environment where the strongest signals come from the least controversial and most-liked work overall, rather than from the "long tail" of very good work appreciated only by a choice few. In the case of Flickr, their open API allows for some engineering of that behavior. Tools such as "Flickr DNA":http://bighugelabs.com/flickr/dna.php show how a little bit of outside data mining can help you find things you wouldn't normally see by surfing the popularity charts as measured by Flickr. If we ignore discovery, though, and focus on pure critique, Flickr, Photo.net, and DeviantArt seldom deliver the volume of usable critique that PhotoSIG does simply because of the simple comment system they have in place. You will see a lot of new and amazing work happening on PhotoSIG every day. One of the best things about participating on PhotoSIG is that nobody really gets “trashed.” It’s true, people have submitted work to that site with virtually no redeeming value, and people speak their minds, but one of PhotoSIG’s tenets is respect, and they do enforce it.

I see what you’re saying, Eve, and it’s true that Flickr, Photo.net, DeviantArt, and other “simple” comment-based sites foster a groupthink environment where the strongest signals come from the least controversial and most-liked work overall, rather than from the “long tail” of very good work appreciated only by a choice few.

In the case of Flickr, their open API allows for some engineering of that behavior. Tools such as Flickr DNA show how a little bit of outside data mining can help you find things you wouldn’t normally see by surfing the popularity charts as measured by Flickr.

If we ignore discovery, though, and focus on pure critique, Flickr, Photo.net, and DeviantArt seldom deliver the volume of usable critique that PhotoSIG does simply because of the simple comment system they have in place. You will see a lot of new and amazing work happening on PhotoSIG every day.

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