Who here thinks that people should stop complaining about their scores and just chalk it up to a learning experience? It's obvious that people will never vote like you think they should, so what's the point in complaining about it?
Who here thinks that people should stop complaining about their scores and just chalk it up to a learning experience? It's obvious that people will never vote like you think they should, so what's the point in complaining about it?
I don't mind my scores so much and I do try to chaulk it up to experience. I do however feel that if more people could comment constructively, it would help other users become better photographers(I said help not make). I realize there are other ways to improve such as reading books, researching other online sources, and above all practice and experimentation.
I'd rather people not post why they vote down images, that's more annoying than people who complain about scores. Everyone has suffered a bad score and I think others can relate. Of course it also depends on how they complain and what exactly they complain about.
What orussell said. I personally don't care if my score is 1.000. I would just like to know why. I am sitting sub-5 and my only comment is "Lovely colours and use of light".
EDIT: And for the record, if my score were 8.5 and the only comment was "Horrible colors and terrible lighting", I'd say the same thing.
Who here thinks that people should stop complaining about their scores and just chalk it up to a learning experience? It's obvious that people will never vote like you think they should, so what's the point in complaining about it?
Considering you've participated in 6 challenges in only about 6 weeks of membership, have an avg of 14 comments per submission & only scored below 50% in 1 of them, you have nothing to complain about. You have great photos.
From the about page..."The original idea behind the site was for it to be a place where the two of us and a couple of our friends could teach ourselves to be better photographers by giving each other a 'challenge' for the week. "
That's the part many are here for...improving their photography. Without feed back on the low scores, they are left to wonder what can be improved.
Yes, I think it would be nice if people were more gracious over their scores, too. I've only been a Member for 8 days and already I've read so much bitching about cretins (trolls) giving low scores to pictures that the photographer, of said picture, thinks deserves better.
It's really a shame because art IS subjective and just because YOU think something is wonderful doesn't mean everyone will. Everyone thinks their OWN pictures are nice - it's just like your own kids and grandkids, they seem perfect to you even though others might think they're a bunch of brats.
The Orange Challenge is the first I entered - I thought my picture was quite good but right now it only has a 4.5 average. That's life, obviously other people don't like my picture as much as I do. Perhaps, I shall learn something to improve my photography if someone leaves me a comment. But you know what, I STILL like my picture even though other people might think it's ho-hum. You don't have to take things personally, there are lots of things I like that other people don't and visa versa.
No matter what my score, just think, 82 people have looked at my picture and thought about it. How many people would have ever seen it if I hadn't entered it in the challenge????? It makes me feel honored to think of that many people looking at and considering the merits of my photo! What good does it do to take a picture if no one sees it - even if they hate it at least they have looked at it. That's one huge benefit of DPC - people actually see the pictures you take.
When I first found this site and joined, I left a lot of comments. You wouldn't believe the rude letters I had from people demanding that I justify my comment. So now, I don't leave many comments - I'm sure that's why other people don't, as well. The crybabies who get mad over a comment with which they don't agree and send a nasty e-mail to the giver really make everyone wary of leaving comments. It's sad.
"That's the part many are here for...improving their photography. Without feed back on the low scores, they are left to wonder what can be improved."
But I wonder how many people here feel qualified to give constructive comments.
I certainly don't.
I get the feeling that there are two levels of people on this site.
The "profesionals" who know all about lighting and set ups and focal lengths and who seem to look down their noses at cats and dogs and babies and sunsets.
And the other set of people who like to take pictures of those sort of things and get "knocked" for doing so.
That's the part many are here for...improving their photography. Without feed back on the low scores, they are left to wonder what can be improved.
Dear Nancy,
I agree with you very much - I'd love to see why my Orange entry only has a 4.5 score so far. However, as stated in my previous post, I think people don't say why they voted low on a picture because they are afraid of getting a rude e-mail from the photographer.
When I first joined 8 days ago I left all kinds of comments and I got quite a few rude letters, too. It's really made me shy away from telling someone why I'm giving their photo a 5 or a 4.
Who here thinks that people should stop complaining about their scores and just chalk it up to a learning experience? It's obvious that people will never vote like you think they should, so what's the point in complaining about it?
Its part of the fun of DPC. Complain about your score, complain about the voters, complain about voting styles, complain about meeting the challenge, complain about not meeting the challenge, complain about how the quality of the entries has gone down in the last couple of weeks (pick any two week period), complain about too much stock photography, complain about nobody liking abstract photos... Complain about the complainers. Just go with it and enjoy the debate. :)
Unclebro, everyone is qualified to leave comments. Remember that professional photographs aren't taken pictures to appeal to other professional photographs. They are taking pictures to appeal to the masses. So personally, as one of the masses, I feel that my comments can still be helpful. I may not be able to suggest what focal length or whatever to change, but I can tell you what, if anything, doesn't look right and what does. It's not as helpful as detailed instructions on how to 'fix it', but it still serves some purpose.
And Sammie, someone once sent me an e-mail complaining about a criticism I left and, in so many words, told me I was wrong. So I went back and changed my comment to
"Upon further explaination by the photographer, I realize that my perceptions are wrong and that this photo is absolutely perfect in every conceivable way. Aboslutely nothing can be said negative about this masterpiece."
Along came the second e-mail calling me arrogant and some other choice words. Ultimately, I just deleted the comment and moved on with my life. With some people, pride gets in the way of their ability to learn. Don't let it bother you.
Who here thinks that people should stop complaining about their scores and just chalk it up to a learning experience? It's obvious that people will never vote like you think they should, so what's the point in complaining about it?
After some time here, it will also become obvious that people will never stop complaining, so what's the point in complaining about it?
Complaining doesn't change anything. Maybe a complaint comes from the idea that I think my photograph is great and others don't. If someone is truly happy with a photo, the scores and comments don't matter much.
Who here thinks that people should stop complaining about their scores and just chalk it up to a learning experience? It's obvious that people will never vote like you think they should, so what's the point in complaining about it?
Considering you've participated in 6 challenges in only about 6 weeks of membership, have an avg of 14 comments per submission & only scored below 50% in 1 of them, you have nothing to complain about. You have great photos.
From the about page..."The original idea behind the site was for it to be a place where the two of us and a couple of our friends could teach ourselves to be better photographers by giving each other a 'challenge' for the week. "
That's the part many are here for...improving their photography. Without feed back on the low scores, they are left to wonder what can be improved.
I totally agree with commenting on why you voted a photo low. And I try to do that. But in my experience, the comments I get are totally contradictory, so all I have learned is that people see things differently. For example: in my Design and Engineering submission (//www.dpchallenge.com/image.php?IMAGE_ID=63431)I got these two comments:
"The plane on the left seems to distract from the overall strength of photo"
&
"I also like the second plane in the background to give it more depth."
So all I can learn from that is that some people will like what you do while others won't...
I love getting feedback and I'm sure I'd be depressed if I got bad scores and didn't know why, but voting is subjective and my point is that it doesn't make sense to complain about the score you got or where you placed.
As Written by ScottK
[/quote]Its part of the fun of DPC. Complain about your score, complain about the voters, complain about voting styles, complain about meeting the challenge, complain about not meeting the challenge, complain about how the quality of the entries has gone down in the last couple of weeks (pick any two week period), complain about too much stock photography, complain about nobody liking abstract photos... Complain about the complainers. Just go with it and enjoy the debate. :) [/quote]
What a cool atitude you have Scott! I shall have to have more of it myself. As Bette Davis said in one of her films, " Fasten your seat belts everyone, I think we're going to have a bumpy ride.". (That's probably not an exact quote.)
The "profesionals" who know all about lighting and set ups and focal lengths and who seem to look down their noses at cats and dogs and babies and sunsets.
And the other set of people who like to take pictures of those sort of things and get "knocked" for doing so.
generally quality shots of those subjects do very well here. "quality" being the key word.
I think everyone is qualified to leave a constructive comment, even if it's just feedback about what you like about the photo, or offering your suggestions as to what might be improved IN YOUR EYES.
Note I expressed both of those in a positive way, and recognizing that the process is subjective, so not in absolute terms. I've been critiquing on various sites for several years. My experience has been if you try to word things positively, and not in absolute terms, you will not get complaints. Tell people what you think MIGHT be improved, and if you feel like it, you can suggest how they MIGHT improve it.
WORSE: This photo really sucks.
BAD: The subject of this photo is completely out of focus, and it should of course be sharp.
BETTER: This might have had more impact if you had focused on [the subject], or if you applied an unsharp mask during postprocessing.
or
BETTER: I think it would have been better if you had applied a stronger unsharp mask during postprocessing.
I do wish, however, that I could see how many comments a photo has received while I was voting (not what the comments are, just how many) that way I would know whether or not the artist needs to hear that the photo is too blurry... sometimes I imagine people get 60 of the same comments and that mine isn't needed...
too blurry
too blurry
too blurry... yada yada yada.
But if I knew that no one had told this person what was wrong with their photo, I might be more inclined to chime in. Just a thought.
I totally agree with commenting on why you voted a photo low. And I try to do that. But in my experience, the comments I get are totally contradictory, so all I have learned is that people see things differently. For example: in my Design and Engineering submission (//www.dpchallenge.com/image.php?IMAGE_ID=63431)I got these two comments:
"The plane on the left seems to distract from the overall strength of photo"
&
"I also like the second plane in the background to give it more depth."
So all I can learn from that is that some people will like what you do while others won't...
I love getting feedback and I'm sure I'd be depressed if I got bad scores and didn't know why, but voting is subjective and my point is that it doesn't make sense to complain about the score you got or where you placed. [/quote]
First, if you leave more comments you may get more, or at least encourage more folks to leave comments. (Kellian, you have been here longer than me, scored higher on average, and left 107 comments, me 604. You should be leaving more comments than me because it would appear on statistics you know more and could provide more helpful feedback than i.
As to the contradictory comments, yes i agree 110% on that one!
If the ghost of Ansel Adams were to return and submit one of his master pieces to a DP Challenge, I'm sure he'd get his share of ones - and maybe not even finish in the top three. He'd get arrogant and irrelavant comments, too.
I do wish, however, that I could see how many comments a photo has received while I was voting (not what the comments are, just how many) that way I would know whether or not the artist needs to hear that the photo is too blurry... sometimes I imagine people get 60 of the same comments and that mine isn't needed...
too blurry
too blurry
too blurry... yada yada yada.
But if I knew that no one had told this person what was wrong with their photo, I might be more inclined to chime in. Just a thought.
What a good idea Kellian, I've felt the same way. Especially on some of the photos I think are the worst, I think to myself - perhaps if I say it's too blurry or grainy or whatever that it will just be the straw that breaks the camel's back and discourages this person from being in another challenge.
