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Dyxum Critics Corner

Dyxum Critics Corner is a place for in-depth photographic discussions. Posters in this forum should use their photographic knowledge and perception fully to evaluate the given photograph. Also the information provided by the shooter should be taken into account to understand the shooting moment, for its limitations, opportunities, and how well the shooter performed in those circumstances. 

Before proceeding to the forum, please read the following rules.

For Requesters

Important Note About Copyright: as with all photos posted on Dyxum the copyright remains with the photographer who took and posted the shot. However to make the idea of Critics Corner working Dyxumers who are evaluating your work and providing the critique in here may need to modify your shots to prove their point, suggest some different processing, etc. Therefore by posting an image in Critics Corner you give all Dyxumers providing the critique your permission to post a modified version of the photo for instructional/educational/critique purposes. Such modified photos will be published exclusively in Critics Corner section on Dyxum and will be removed as soon as possible on your (copyright holder's) request.

A request for critique in this forum is likely to end up with a number of people spending significant time looking at and thinking about the image you have posted.  If you are expecting people to spend their time critiquing your work, you should be prepared to put in some work yourself and give them a good starting point.

Firsly and most importantly, try to tell us what you set out to achieve when taking the shot – what were your thoughts and hopes about the scene being captured. In other words you, the topic starter, should start the discussion yourself by providing your own evaluation of the picture and the points you want to discuss. There is a crucial point in the taking of a photo, and much that is done before the shutter is pressed can only be slightly improved with later PP. Describing the situation, surroundings, available shooting positions, available lighting possibilities can all enable the critiquers to come up with more meaningful evaluations of your photo. 

If you think you did the best possible job you could with a given scene and are just wondering if the end result is good in the eyes of others, say that. While you may feel like you should thank people for taking the time to critique your photo, please wait, at least initially when replies are likely to be posted quickly, and reply to several at once. This avoids your thread being bumped twice for every critique you receive. Finally, remember it goes without saying that all comments you receive are ‘IMO’ … they’re just somebody’s opinion. And your own opinion is what matters most. 

Be aware that when you post an image to this forum, you're not asking for a pat on the back. The assumption made by everyone who reads this forum is that you're looking for honest commentary and criticism. Members will tend to critique based on their own skill level so if you're nervous about commentary you might receive, take a few minutes to explain where you think you are, photographically, and what you hope to get out of the critique. If you think that you 'almost' nailed an image, but you're not quite happy with it - say that;  any image posted without your explanation of what you are trying to achieve will be moved to Open Views . 

Basic rules for requesters: 
Do not post multiple pictures in the topic unless you specifically want to make comparisons between a main shot and one or two others.
Do not just post pictures with a one line request for C & C.
Do not post more than two requests for C & C in one week, or more than one a day.

If your post does no comply with any of the above, Moderators will move it into the 'Open Views' forum (where you should still get some valuable feedback).

For Critiquers

You should be honest, but be constructive. You can discuss aspects of a photograph without being judgemental toward the picture or the photographer. The difference between "harsh" and "constructive" lies in the wording and the intent to be helpful. Similarly, if you think a photograph is great and don't really have suggestions for improvement, it can still be helpful to the photographer to explain what you think is right about it. 

Don't assume that every photograph "needs" improvement. If you can see obvious ways that an image could have been improved, either in capture or in post-processing, feel free to suggest your ideas. Or simply comment on the pros & cons of an image. 

Remember, images are posted here for critiques, not plaudits so please don't reply with "Nice" ... that doesn't really help anyone. If you're truly impressed with an image; even if you're a newbie looking at a photo that you aspire to, take the time to write up what you like about it; how you react to it. 

Basic rules for critiquers:
No 'nice photo' only posts. Tell us about why do you like the photo.
No 'I don’t like this' only posts. Tell us why you don’t like the photo.
A critique should cover compositional, emotional and technical aspects of a photograph - so avoid just posting PP tips (unless that is what the requester has asked for).
Take time to view a photo, and read other critiques before writing your own.
Never, ever publish any modified versions of the photo being criticized on web sites/galleries where you have no control over it.

The following links are to some rather good pages on critiquing on the 'Nature Photographers online magazine':
http://www.naturephotographers.net/je1001-1.html 
http://www.naturephotographers.net/articles0407/je0407-1.html

(thanks to Polyglot for the links!)

I have read the rules. Take me to the forum!

Edited by MiPr - 28 January 2012 at 20:55