Unsolicited Critique

Never said it was ok, or wouldn't initially tick me off, but I've learned over the years to let the "clueless" comments run off my back. After being call a "baby-killer" in the '70's for serving my country, I figured out that you can either take things like that to heart, and drive yourself nuts, or decide if you really give a crap what they think, and get on with life.

ChristopherCoy said:

But what if you were enjoying your afternoon, and someone walked up to you and said that the shirt you were wearing made you look <fat, effeminate, ridiculous, insert adjective of choice...>? Now you didn't ask for input on your clothes, but by being out in public are you then subject to taking it?

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...and now you know how women feel .


Coincidentally, that was the exact thing I said to my wife just last Sunday night, after returning from a relaxing weekend of kayaking on the Kern River. A comment waiting approval greeted me on one of my YouTube videos, Fine Art Print Presentation. It was a profanity laced diatribe describing nothing but homosexual acts. It took my wife awhile to convince me not to approve it for all to see. I just have nothing to fear from this kind of thing directly and feel it should be made public, as a service to the poster. But it did make me angry and the ironic thing about this kind of unprovoked attack is that the poster can't appreciate that restraint isn't normally my strong suit.

If you follow the above link to my video, take a look at the only other "critical" comment from devonmale69, and my response, which again I was advised not to approve. But I felt in this case my response took on much more weight than the provocatively unwarranted criticism itself. My reasons for posting the video were, and still remain, purely altruistic. It isn't perfect, and there are a few things I would change if remaking it, not the least of which would be adding narration. While certainly no viral video, it exists happily enough as is, to be viewed by nearly 10,000 people in less than a year and a half. My comment in response to devonmale69 has 8 thumbs up, by itself!

Even posting the video here, I was stunned by dismissive criticism by at least one commercial workshop provider, who's toes I had unwittingly stepped on, by beating him to a concept video, as he was ramping up a new presentation area of his business. Naively, I had posted it without seeking or expecting criticism. I had to be satisfied by the realization of how small this person must be to reject my efforts in such an obvious and cavalier manner.


Here are my unsolicited observations:

1. The great thing about the internet is that you can reach everyone, anywhere in the world.
2. The bad thing about the internet is that you can reach everyone, anywhere in the world.
3. No good deed goes unpunished.
4. Grow a pair.

..

It depends at least slightly on the critique - I expect Christopher would have been fine with something like "what size are the backgrounds, I cannot tell from the photographs".

And of course a critique can go way past being just critical, it can be harsh and judgmental and just plain rude. Those are the most suitable for ignoring, even if it isn't easy to do so.

In the middle, a critique can be a weird way of expressing appreciation.

tkamiya said:

Today, some of us are so used to having opinions about everything and being able to express it without facing any consequences, especially on Internet. I wouldn't be surprised if that behavior bleeds into ones everyday real life.

[Underline added by Ken]

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Deeply meaningful observation. But beyond the immediate topic of this thread, so no further comment...

Ken

Opinions are like @$$holes, everyone has one. Consider the source foe the critique.

Photographers are trained to be critical of the images they see, either through self-study, course work or through their vocation. That is the essence of being a good photographer. One must have the ability to see an image and, with razor-like vision, cut it down to its component parts and analyze them in order to produce a good photograph.

Some people develop this habit automatically. For the very best, it becomes second nature.

I can not walk into a movie theater and look at the screen without seeing what's right and what's wrong with the picture. Sometimes, I get so bad that my wife refuses to go to the movie theater with me. One time, we went to a movie theater in Charleston, SC, several hundred miles away from home and, when the movie started, the projector wasn't framed correctly, causing a frame line to blink on the edge of the screen. My eyes were glued to it. I couldn't watch the movie. At first, I went out to the lobby and complained but the problem didn't get fixed. I went out to the lobby again but nobody was there. I looked around and found the door that led upstairs to the projection booth. I peeked upstairs but nobody was there. (The projector was running totally unattended! ) So, I sneaked upstairs, fixed the problem and went back down to the theater to watch the rest of the movie. This was a theater that I didn't work at and had never visited before.

Yes, I know it was probably an a$$hole thing to do but I saw a problem, tried to get somebody to fix it and didn't get satisfaction. First, I am a professional theater technician. What was I supposed to do? Let a theater full of paying customers watch a crappy picture because some doofus was too busy chatting up the chick at the concession stand to do his job? This problem took less than 15 seconds to fix. Literally a turn of a knob.

Developing a critical eye is one thing. Politeness is another thing. Yes, it is sometimes better not to say anything.
However, consider this: The guy who gives his unsolicited opinion cares enough about photography to give you his opinion on your photo.
Okay, it was only an advertisement. The guy was probably off the deep end.

If one is going to give unsolicited critique, I would suggest he be diplomatic about it and give a proper, balanced critique and not just slam the other guy's work.

No matter how you slice it, to display artwork in any form, by it's nature, invites criticism. It has from the beginning of time:

[video=youtube;W_v_ubcYsTI]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_v_ubcYsTI[/video]

Thanks for your service, Griz. And for protecting our freedom.
Dan

Griz said:

Never said it was ok, or wouldn't initially tick me off, but I've learned over the years to let the "clueless" comments run off my back. After being call a "baby-killer" in the '70's for serving my country, I figured out that you can either take things like that to heart, and drive yourself nuts, or decide if you really give a crap what they think, and get on with life.

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You're very welcome Dan, it was an honor to serve...

Old-N-Feeble said:

Frankly, I wouldn't give a crap what someone thought of my shirt... or my panties... unless she was turned off by them.

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What if they belong to her?

some people never had their mother or grandmother tell them
if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all ...

Worker 11811 said:

I can not walk into a movie theater and look at the screen without seeing what's right and what's wrong with the picture. Sometimes, I get so bad that my wife refuses to go to the movie theater with me. One time, we went to a movie theater in Charleston, SC, several hundred miles away from home and, when the movie started, the projector wasn't framed correctly, causing a frame line to blink on the edge of the screen. My eyes were glued to it. I couldn't watch the movie. At first, I went out to the lobby and complained but the problem didn't get fixed. I went out to the lobby again but nobody was there. I looked around and found the door that led upstairs to the projection booth. I peeked upstairs but nobody was there. (The projector was running totally unattended! ) So, I sneaked upstairs, fixed the problem and went back down to the theater to watch the rest of the movie. This was a theater that I didn't work at and had never visited before.

Yes, I know it was probably an a$$hole thing to do but I saw a problem, tried to get somebody to fix it and didn't get satisfaction. First, I am a professional theater technician. What was I supposed to do? Let a theater full of paying customers watch a crappy picture because some doofus was too busy chatting up the chick at the concession stand to do his job? This problem took less than 15 seconds to fix. Literally a turn of a knob.
]

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Awesome story. That was pretty ballsy haha!

I critique the work of others when I am specifically requested to do so. It is almost an art form. By the sound of it, the "photographer" was simply sounding off without any skilled observation or contextual analysis or reflection on the capacity of the producer of the work to capture and convey the desired message in the image. Many digital "professionals" are like this: one recently decided to launch into one of my Ilfochrome trannies, but entirely missed the point that the way it turned out was a deliberate effort, not a "terrible technical error"! This guy seems to make a name for himself jumping from one lily pad to the next without qualifying himself or his critiques — or whether or not he is actually a photographer!

Unsolicited critiques can safely be ignored — and that's how I would treat the one that you received in response to an advertisement! You didn't ask for it and unless some salient, valid and proven carry-over points are extant in such a critique, it's not worth taking it on board, nor respecting the author of such critique. On the other hand, stand up and take notice of those who have done the hard yards and made a good impression on many people (e.g. in Clubs or Associations) over many years: they're not the types who would pull a Jack-in-the-box critique unannounced in an attempt to impress upon another as a means of deflecting their own weaknesses or lack of skill (and especially often visible, a profound lack of compassion and respect).

I guess if one is willing to accept unsolicited praise one shouldn't allow oneself to get to upset over unsolicited critique.

In any case, neither should be given much weight unless they are, in themselves, worthy of that weight.

ChristopherCoy said:

We've closed our studio, and used a previous photo as an example of a background that is for sale, in an ad.. Someone actually critiqued it. A for sale ad.

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They should just go on ebay and have a field day!

Sirius Glass said:

Opinions are like @$$holes, everyone has one. Consider the source foe the critique.

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...and they usually stink.