|
Forums >
General Industry >
Unsolicited Critique
I've had a few models/photographers aproach me (friending, tagging, mailing, whatever) and say "Oh, I love your work." (models) or "I'd love to work with you sometime." (generally photographers). My problem is that for some of them, I just want to say, "Thank you, but after looking at your work, you ..... (over photoshop, need more lights, blah whatever)" I don't necessarily want to give unsolicited critiques, be rude and tell them to F off, or pretend as if I like their work when really I don't. But on the other hand, I really DO want to be helpful. What to do? Dec 09 05 12:40 pm Link P.S. And in some cases, I DO like thier work, I just think it could be BETTER, and I don't know what/how to say it. Dec 09 05 12:42 pm Link Be honest Failing that be politically correct "Your style doesn't fit with what I'm looking to do" "Thank you, but I'm not interested in this shoot at this time" Dec 09 05 01:18 pm Link Please be honest! I approached a model that I really wanted to work with b/c I though she had a look that would allow me to do some different types of things that I really wanted to try. She didn't respond (though her site said she admired persistence - so I kept after her). When she didn't respond - I messaged her and said that I got the idea (albeit belatedly) that she didn't want to work with me and I was cool with that (albeit disapointed) and asked her if she could tell me what about my work did not appeal to her or what she would have liked to have seen. Frankly, her comments helped me see what I was doing in a new light and I'm making changes based on her critique. Dec 09 05 01:25 pm Link I really hope this site does not become like the model only section of another site. Where it is only a lame love fest with obvious bad shots receiving praise. We all cannot go forward if the only thing heard on this site is wow, great job. If someone takes the time to tag you with a polite critique or email you, then do not flip out. But polite is the key word. That does not mean that someone should be emailing you and writing something like give it up, you ugly nag. Or leaving a rude tag. I believe most people would listen more if a private message was received as apposed to a tag on a photo for that may not be seen for some time. Love is good but even my mom will tell me that my work sucks at times. That is real love. Dec 09 05 01:28 pm Link One way to leave constructive tags if you have no time to leave a message is to leave two. One for the positive points of the image and one the not so positive aspects of the image. But remember some people are sensitive about what is on their images or tags. Be diplomatic. I will be giving Diplomacy lessons later on this week. :-)) Dec 09 05 01:31 pm Link "I will be giving Diplomacy lessons later on this week." Can i help?!? Dec 09 05 01:33 pm Link MHana wrote: Maybe I worded it wrong. Its not that people are tagging or emailing me with critiques, just things like "I love you're work, I'd love to shoot with you sometime." Not altogether a bad thing. My problem is, what do you say back? I always feel compelled to give them a reason, "I'm sorry, I don't want to shoot because I want this style or that look", but how do you word it when "this or that" = "you to stop doing..." or "you to move out of the hotel room you're shooting in" etc. Dec 09 05 02:19 pm Link I think Raveneyes said it nicely. I don't think you're required to give a detailed reason aside from what R said... but if you do, like all have said, be diplomatic about it. Imagine if someone were giving you the critique of your work and word it how you'd like to hear it. I agree with someone's point in here about giving constructive criticism... if we aren't willing to do such there is no way any of us will be able to improve in our fields (whether model or photographer) Dec 09 05 02:26 pm Link Aesa wrote: Just be honest and be constructive. You asked me if you could offer some criticism and I wanted to definitely hear it, and it definitely made a lot of sense. Dec 09 05 04:38 pm Link I think I am the odd man out. I would just say you aren't interested because you are not looking for that particular kind of work or whatever. Unless someone asks for advice, don't offer advice. Frankly, I don't understand the critique forum. Putting something up there and asking everybody and his brother for comments is not really a critique, it is a public opinion poll. There are SOOOO many different kinds of people on this site. Most are fashion or wannabee fashion models/photographers but some are art photographs, fetish, all sorts of things. So what are you going to critique? Maybe they are doing exactly what they want. Frankly, I don't CARE if most models and photographers do not like my work. (Hmmm, I just realized that it is a bit ironic, because I DO love to get compliments, so I like it if some people like my work but if people don't like my work, and I think most do not, too abstract, then I don't care, I am not doing it for them.) If I want a critique, I will identify individuals whose work I admire and ask them specifically for comments. Dec 09 05 04:44 pm Link I actually don't offer unsolicited critiques, ever. I happen to agree that improvement and growth pretty much requires unbiased eyes and viewpoints, which is why I make sure to get myself critiqued on a regular basis. But it's not up to me to decide if someone else would like to hear my opinion, out of the blue, on what they do. I don't feel that a networking site is about that, that's what places like photo.net and photosig.com are for. I apply that same viewpoint to people who are interested in shooting with me. If someone is expressing a general, may-never-come-to-anything interest such as "I'd love to shoot you sometime!" I don't really take it seriously. That's not to say I don't care - I just mean that life gets in the way, and until concrete proposals and plans are underway, it's all ephemeral. So if someone whose work really doesn't do it for me says something like that, I am not much concerned by it, because I figure the odds of it developing into anything are pretty low. If someone does ask me to work with them, and I don't feel their style is up to the level that I prefer, I still don't take it as a request for a critique. I mostly work with artists, who are a prickly bunch, and I'm loathe to risk hurting people's feelings without provocation. (Please y'all, don't tell me this is a ruthless industry - I'm not part of any industry, what I do is too specialized to bear more than a fleeting resemblance to any kind of commercial modeling.) I do like what Moraxian mentioned, the request for permission to critique, that's a very nice approach, and one I may yet adopt. Until now, I have kept my critiques to the critique forum, and I will probably continue to do so, because I don't think someone wanting to work with me is an implicit request for a critique. It is a request to know whether my vision meshes with theirs. If it doesn't, I politely decline, and leave it at that. Perhaps I need to think about being more helpful - your desire to provide feedback will be, in the long run, vastly more helpful to the folks who approach you than my quiet refusals are to those who approach me. Hm. Dec 09 05 04:49 pm Link Ivan123 wrote: The critique forum is for people to ask advice... Dec 09 05 04:52 pm Link Ivan123 wrote: I'm with you. It's not my job to try improve someones work, if asked I'll reply with an honest answer but the truth is very few people want the truth, they see improvement as something that just comes from within naturally, thats why they suck, they're for the most part lazy and can't bring themselves to be humbled...they dont listen or take advice even from the pros. There are so many crappy "photographers" out there that I talk to, looking for advice on how to get jobs etc, I ask them "have you ever assisted a great photographer?" ....the answer is almost always "no" and its usually because they think they don't suck, anyone that doesnt think they have a lot to learn from others in the business and won't humble themselves to learn from the pros don't deserve my time. Dec 09 05 05:09 pm Link Nope. If they don't ask, don't offer. Dec 09 05 05:11 pm Link MHana wrote: You're kidding right? I think it's already like that. I've seen stuff on here that even a GWC would be embarassed to admit to get...'Love your port...tag me' 'Nice work' ugh! Dec 09 05 05:22 pm Link First i want to say Bravo!!!! to Mary  What i find funny about some comments is ,when a photographer leave a critique of the technical photography part on one of my images . I do the hairstyles I am not a photographer!!! And i do give credits to everyone i work with so why not follow the link to the photographer who did the shot and leave that comment on his portfolio? Dec 09 05 09:20 pm Link Olivier wrote: Great point. Pay attention to the type of port you are responding to. Dec 09 05 09:25 pm Link |
