Brutally honest critique thread

[Hsg]

Generally on RFF we are a supportive, chummy-chummy group, and polite to a fault in our responses to pictures that are posted. When someone does come along with a harsher than normal for RFF critique, it is somewhat jarring and unexpected. This thread is only for those willing to have their images shredded if they deserve to be; kind of a tough love reality check.

I don't mean that a great picture should be unfairly insulted, the poster should not be personally insulted, just that in this thread, no allowances need to be made to consider a poster's feelings. In fact, if you have thin skin, you probably shouldn't offer a pic to be critiqued here.

I'd like to start by requesting that Ned critique this image of mine: Street Vendor

Even though this shot according to you was just a sacrificial bait, I'll just make one comment.

The photo has no shadows.

 

[back alley]

a really positive outcome of this thread, for me...is that i now realize that i don't care what others think of my work.

 

[Hsg]

A four photo collection - Barriers

Would appreciate hearing your thoughts on these as a group, of if you prefer to repsond to any individual.

Photography is not very well suited to conveying abstract ideas. With photography, you either have something to show or not. with these photos you're not showing anything to the viewer other than shapes.

Are the shapes interesting by themselves? In my case they're not because I can replicate your shots if I wanted.

 

[FrankS]

2 movies come to mind: a Jim Carey film where he could tell no lies, and a Steve Martin (I think) film where he could hear a person's private thoughts.

Applied to responses to our pictures, I think this is useful. Not everyone wants to hear honesty though, so don't participate if you want ego stroking, or if you don't care what others think, or if you don't think it's useful to comment on a single picture.

 

[back alley]

2 movies come to mind: a Jim Carey film where he could tell no lies, and a Steve Martin (I think) film where he could hear a person's private thoughts.

Applied to responses to our pictures, I think this is useful. Not everyone wants to hear honesty though, so don't participate if you want ego stroking, or if you don't care what others think, or if you don't think it's useful to comment on a single picture.

can't handle the brutal honesty frank?
i am interested in what impact my images have on others, thus my desire for a response from others...but my pics are done when i post them so telling me to crop here, add a shadow there is not helpful to me. i only just realized that while looking through this thread.
it's a good thing!!

 

[Dirk]

Is this a tight crop of a wide shot?

No, it's a zoom set to about 50mm equivalence.

 

[f16sunshine]

can't handle the brutal honesty frank? i am interested in what impact my images have on others, thus my desire for a response from others...but my pics are done when i post them so telling me to crop here, add a shadow there is not helpful to me. i only just realized that while looking through this thread. it's a good thing!!

Not useful even for future consideration?
Most of the time critiques are useful for images yet to come.... "The next time".

 

[FrankS]

"can't handle the brutal honesty frank?"

How can you get that idea when I initiated the brutal honesty thread?

There's another movie with Jack Nicholson: "You want the truth? You can't handle the truth!"

🙂

 

[back alley]

Not useful even for future consideration?
Most of the time critiques are useful for images yet to come.... "The next time".

maybe if i were a rookie and trying to figure out my camera and composition etc...but my pattern is set, my 'vision' is set and so my images look like i want them to.
what i really want is to know how the presented image impacts you.

 

[f16sunshine]

maybe if i were a rookie and trying to figure out my camera and composition etc...but my pattern is set, my 'vision' is set and so my images look like i want them to. what i really want is to know how the presented image impacts you.

Sounds like another thread topic is born.

 

[f16sunshine]

maybe if i were a rookie and trying to figure out my camera and composition etc...but my pattern is set, my 'vision' is set and so my images look like i want them to. what i really want is to know how the presented image impacts you.

Sounds like another thread topic is born.

 

[back alley]

Sounds like another thread topic is born.

i feel truly liberated...

 

[shadowfox]

Inspired by color street photos. I normally don't shoot color nor street photos.

 

[lawrence]

Inspired by color street photos. I normally don't shoot color nor street photos.

The restricted range of colours is nice but apart from that I don't think this works. To me a good photograph has to be complete in itself and here I feel something is missing, which is what they are looking at. Clearly it's something that interests them so why not show it? Also the cropping's a bit weird, with too much empty space at the top. Finally, the metal box in the centre is given too much importance as in my view it doesn't add to the meaning of the photo at all.

 

[lawrence]

A four photo collection - Barriers

Would appreciate hearing your thoughts on these as a group, of if you prefer to repsond to any individual.

I think it's essential to have all four photos the same size if they are to be shown in a group context. Having one larger than the others automatically gives extra weight to that photo at the expense of the others, which is probably not what you want. As it happens I like this first image best. It's ambiguous and hard to make out whether it's girders, planks, buildings or something else. As has been pointed out, abstract rarely works in photography but in this instance I think it does.

 

[lawrence]

* please let go of the tired old macho adjective "brutal" in inviting critique. Sarcasm is merely aggression. Exercise empathy as well as candor and wit.

My understanding is that in the context of this thread 'brutal' simply means being totally honest in one's reaction to an image and that (for once) no offence will be taken. Sarcasm is something else entirely.

 

[FrankS]

My understanding is that in the context of this thread 'brutal' simply means being totally honest in one's reaction to an image and that (for once) no offence will be taken. Sarcasm is something else entirely.

+1

No personal attacks by the critiquer, no butthurt by the critiquee.

 

[daveleo]

Seriously, are we getting anywhere here?
Starting to feel like one of those TV "grudge" matches - 15 wrestiers in a cage fighting anyone they can grab hold of.

 

[nightfly]

I would suggest one image at a time for critique for 12 hours or until the photographer of the photo says "next" or cries for mercy.

Would also confine the discussion solely to image critiques and take the side discussions elsewhere.

 

[f16sunshine]

Seriously, are we getting anywhere here? Starting to feel like one of those TV "grudge" matches - 15 wrestiers in a cage fighting anyone they can grab hold of.

Whoa!.... Is that a real thing?