I've just noticed that only 50% of my in-depth critiques are marked as helpful...
I don't do critiques to get positive feedback from the photographers, or to get a "helpful" comment. Whether someone finds my critique helpful or not will not prevent me from continuing to write criqtues...
Though it has been slightly unmotivating since a small sign of appreciating a critique could be just checking the box... Sometimes I think a day about some entries, and I do try to write a detailed critique... I let the photographers know I have written one though sometimes I forget... perhaps I'm way off on my comments and they're not really helpful? I'm no expert photographer I must admit - but I try to vocalize how pictures make me feel and how they may technically be improved...
has anyone felt this way about their indepth critiques? Is it just very uncommon, statistically speaking, to get a high rate of "useful comment" checks on indepth critiques?
In going through the archives, there seem to be a few trends on marking. Some people mark pretty much any comment helpful, with a few exceptions here and there (like me, not that I've gotten many comments). Some people mark pretty much none of their comments helpful, with a few exceptions, and no doubt that drops the helpful percentage a fair amount. Some people who get a lot of comments seem to leave a couple marked non-helpful that don't seem to be any different from the usual ones, and I suspect that sometimes they just miss marking the box in a long list, though I don't know if that happens enough to affect the percentage significantly. And some people really do only mark positive comments as helpful, alas; as in in-depth critique will almost certainly contain negative elements, that surely accounts for some of them.
But I think a 50% hit rate on the 'helpful' is pretty good, actually. Mine is currently riding a bit higher than that (185/309 helpful, and yes, I've really left 309 comments in the last 2 weeks, because I am insane) and it's pretty much the only reason I have not just torn my hair out and written off my $25 investment given my frustrations with my own lack of incoming comments. I figure if half the people I comment get something useful out of them I've reached more of an audience than a typical advertisment, for instance. And I get something useful out of deciding precisely what I do and don't like about a photo (or at least deciding loosely; some of those comments are fairly short). I may have a different perspective as I'm not leaving anything I'd consider 'in depth' for the most part, but I think you're reaching enough people to make it worth it.
I've posted a few times in regards to in-depth critiques. Sometimes I wish they'd check the box just so I knew they read it. I realize sometimes they aren't very helpful, especially when you pull a top 10 picture or something. But there have been a few that I thought I did pretty well on, for naught. I get a little irked by it. But I think at this point I'm also getting more used to it. I'm also getting more opinionated now that I THINK I have a grip on what's going on :) I really do appreciate getting a message from a photographer that I've done a critique for saying thanks or even that they disagree with what I have to say. I've gotten very few of those lately. I admit I haven't done as many critiques either. One week I did 25 critiques and I think initially 2 of them were marked as helpful. In the weeks following a couple other people did give me a helpful check though. Ok, I'm done. - Bob
I mark almost all comments as helpful, but only since we started the process (i.e. not the old challenges).
One thing you CC members (and other commenters) have no way of assessing is how often your comment is helpful to those of us who "Browse" the photos recently commented-on. I don't have time to write resonses to all of those, and I can't mark a check-box like the photographer.
Perhaps there's a way of attaching the same rating system used for the tutorials to the CC entries -- then others can also mark them as helpful.
Also, don't forget to notify the artist when you complete a CC review. Hopefully that (and other issues) will be resolves as the system changes to an after-the-voting request.
I get very frusterated when I pull up a CC assignment and see that 1)the photographer doesn't mark ANY comments as helpful or 2)has not made ANY critiques themselves.
However, I've been a CC member for less than 2 weeks now, and have made 118 CC critiques. 74 of which have been marked useful. I've gotten numerous emails thanking me for the the critiques, and even requests for more. Which is nice since I've quit taking photos for challenges and have become critique only.
I'm quite happy with the response I'm getting on the CC critiques I've given. Over 62% have responded positively. That is enough to make me smile. I want to thank those of you who have responded positively with kind words and helpful marks. You know who you are. You really make my day.
~Heather~
post-post edit...Well, I DID send this to the right forum (RANT), but had meant it for the forum on leaving comments. Thanks for letting me rant and please forgive. I think I've vented enough and will not post to the 'correct' forum. I had a dreadful day at work, does it show? 8-)
I've been trying to respond to the people kind enough to leave comments on my entries (lately) because there haven't been that many left. If they seem confused about the photo and actually ask a question, I do identify which entry was mine and try my best to answer. If they just say they like it or something, I thank them for taking the time without identifying the entry.
On the other hand, I think for some of us time constraints limit how and if we respond. I know for folks like myself with slowdems (it takes 45 to 120 seconds for an entry photo to load, the task even viewing 300+ entries a week is somewhat daunting to say the least. Add a careful look, score and considered comment and I wonder if I should just stick to scoring one challenge and leave the other one alone.
Among the more experienced of you, how would you set your priorities? Scoring as many as possible, maybe scoring and commenting on One challenge or just scoring on and commenting for 20% so they will count in each (or all) of the challenges.
I been watching the scoring (I wish I could stop! SOMEBODY HELP ME STOP!) on my entry for liquid. I definitely entered the wrong version, knew it moments after it was too late, but had waffled among 4 different versions too long. The scores reflect my lack of judgement, for sure! I don't mind, I rather expected it. But, after 77 votes, not one person has offered a comment. I know that some people score first then go back later to review and leave a comment, but I'd expected at least one "That's hideous, the lighting really sucks and you overcorrected a bad photo to begin with!" 8-)
Ok, done ramblin, probably should have sent this to the rant forum!
...I've quit taking photos for challenges and have become critique only.
You are a critic, the thing you write is a critique, what you do is criticize, what you offer is criticism. Popular culture and mass-media have been hard on the language ....
...I've quit taking photos for challenges and have become critique only.
You are a critic, the thing you write is a critique, what you do is criticize, what you offer is criticism. Popular culture and mass-media have been hard on the language ....
I did not say I have become A critique. I said I became "Critique only". Not submit AND critique. I said it right. Yeah.
If I only submitted, I would have said 'submit only'. Right?
Unless you have dissociated your corporeal being and molded your soul into a conceptual paradigm, you cannot "become critique" any more than I can "become integrity."
But I appreciate your writing -- I've read about twenty or thirty of those reviews you've done. If I could mark them useful I would.
kavamama- There is no right or wrong way to vote and leave comments. I think the thing is to do what you enjoy and don't burn out. ANd do what teaches you the most. If you like to vote on every single entry, do that. If you enjoy slowing down and leaving comments, do that. But don't get hung up on tit for tat. The comments you leave do not draw in more comments for your own entry. If there are too many entries and you feel everwhelmed, vote on an arbitrary number, say 100, or half. If you like to ponder join the CC club and write longer reviews.
For myself..I like to vote on a whole set (sometimes not both sets) because I like to see how my voting compares with the rest. I like to try to predict a winner. I also have discovered that I like to write long critiques. Beside being an exersise in writing a short essay, I find I learn the most about my own photography be carefully studying someone elses mistakes and successes. I'm with Heather, I haven't submitted in ages, yet my own pictures are getting better and better.
If you look at it selfishly - what method gives YOU the most satisfaction and information - then you won't get disappointed by lack of comments, lack of check marks, etc.
Thanks, Ellen. I'm going to take your advice. Since I need to learn what makes a photo great, I think I'll just vote on the challenge in which I have no entry (no temptation to compare!) and really study each entry I score. I'll do enough (goal) to make the scores count, but not more than I can handle. Actually, I've got a photo project coming up at work and may have to take a few weeks off from entering a challenge as it will involve a lot of post-photo editing. I'll stay tuned to dpc, though, I'm already hooked. Thanks again!
