talkphotography.co.uk
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get people jumping all over them ooing and erring, is it just me? I've recently joined as I wanted some independent critique of a few shots. I only really wander the halls of the people and/or nudes as thats largely what I've been shooting recently, so a relatively small percentage of whats on offer.
There's a lot of baby shots. There's a lot of bird shots. Inbetween all that there's some great photography and decent people. I think some of the more well known posters will get more attention than others, but thats the nature of the beast and not exclusive to that particular forum
There's a lot of baby shots. There's a lot of bird shots. Inbetween all that there's some great photography and decent people. I think some of the more well known posters will get more attention than others, but thats the nature of the beast and not exclusive to that particular forum
Stopped posting there about 4 years ago when photography really started going mass market and it attracted a lot of clueless people.
It got to the point where if you weren't in one of the cliques then you'll barely get any comments at all - let alone any meaningful critique. Having 10 people say "good shot" and think they're offering critique really doesn't help. People didn't want to offend each other, so everyone licks everyone else's arse.
So many people on there can be classed as "all the gear, no idea" it's comical.
Just as with Flickr, people fawn over crap photos that have been HDR'd when really it's just a crap photo with HDR but you can't say anything because the mods want everyone to play nicely.
The only reason I go on there at all now is there is a decent selection of 2nd hand kit in the For Sale section
I guess it's a victim of it's own success, it used to be a good resource when it was called thephotographyforums before the great split in 2004 which eventually resulted in TP and Pixalo
It got to the point where if you weren't in one of the cliques then you'll barely get any comments at all - let alone any meaningful critique. Having 10 people say "good shot" and think they're offering critique really doesn't help. People didn't want to offend each other, so everyone licks everyone else's arse.
So many people on there can be classed as "all the gear, no idea" it's comical.
Just as with Flickr, people fawn over crap photos that have been HDR'd when really it's just a crap photo with HDR but you can't say anything because the mods want everyone to play nicely.
The only reason I go on there at all now is there is a decent selection of 2nd hand kit in the For Sale section
I guess it's a victim of it's own success, it used to be a good resource when it was called thephotographyforums before the great split in 2004 which eventually resulted in TP and Pixalo
I go on there a bit and have found it useful for C&C. I do agree that sometimes pictures either get heaps of praise or the opposite and can't understand why.
I always give my comments honestly and based on my opinion - I'm polite and if someone doesn't like it or disagrees then fine, and I always hope people do the same for me. Haven't particularly noticed any cliques though myself, but perhaps I'm missing something!
I always give my comments honestly and based on my opinion - I'm polite and if someone doesn't like it or disagrees then fine, and I always hope people do the same for me. Haven't particularly noticed any cliques though myself, but perhaps I'm missing something!
It's a shame that there are a few people on there that seem to have a large group of worshippers, and whatever pics they post get loads of positive comments when in reality their shots are good but not outstanding. Then as you say other decent stuff doesn't get the response it deserves.
Mentioning no names of course!
Mentioning no names of course!
not knocking the site completely, as some have said, the C&C is quite useful when starting out in a particular Genre.
Once passed a certain level (not saying I am) of ability, I'm not sure there is enough examples of really good photographers with unbiased opinions to take you any further.
Yet weirdly, on here (a Motoring forum) i find whatever you want to take a picture of, there will be some incredible shots from great photographers with a much less biassed opinion and who are genuinely willing to help. eg. Macro advice? 4Hero - Scenery? GetCarter / Paul911 - Abstarct Urban? Mole - Static cars? GFwilliams - HDR? Rasputin - Motorsports? Havoc, Pixelpimp, YB etc etc (sorry if I missed anyone, not an 'A' list just examples)
I've had my moments on TP, I stay for a while then leave it alone for ages and never really gave it much thought as to why (apart from the annoying 800pixel non flickr friendly images)
But the last time I went on there though will be exactly that, much prefer the photo section here tbo.
thanks for the responses, nice to know I'm not the only one.
Once passed a certain level (not saying I am) of ability, I'm not sure there is enough examples of really good photographers with unbiased opinions to take you any further.
Yet weirdly, on here (a Motoring forum) i find whatever you want to take a picture of, there will be some incredible shots from great photographers with a much less biassed opinion and who are genuinely willing to help. eg. Macro advice? 4Hero - Scenery? GetCarter / Paul911 - Abstarct Urban? Mole - Static cars? GFwilliams - HDR? Rasputin - Motorsports? Havoc, Pixelpimp, YB etc etc (sorry if I missed anyone, not an 'A' list just examples
)I've had my moments on TP, I stay for a while then leave it alone for ages and never really gave it much thought as to why (apart from the annoying 800pixel non flickr friendly images)
But the last time I went on there though will be exactly that, much prefer the photo section here tbo.
thanks for the responses, nice to know I'm not the only one.
Edited by Pvapour on Wednesday 14th July 11:24
I posted there a few times in the Landscapes Sub forum, my photos were generally well received but there was little criticism for what was supposed to be a criticism forum.
Seems like a nice enough place but as with all photography forums/websites it all seems to turn into a popularity contest where the quality of photos is not the top priority. I also stay away from it as the classifieds section is way to tempting.
I post the bulk of my stuff on here, My favourites of my Landscapes go on my DeviantArt Page (shameless plug - moleeth.deviantart.com which is admittedly even worse for receiving criticism than TP but I have been using it for ages so i like to stick to it) and make the occasional post of abandoned stuff on various Urban Exploration Forums.
Seems like a nice enough place but as with all photography forums/websites it all seems to turn into a popularity contest where the quality of photos is not the top priority. I also stay away from it as the classifieds section is way to tempting.
I post the bulk of my stuff on here, My favourites of my Landscapes go on my DeviantArt Page (shameless plug - moleeth.deviantart.com which is admittedly even worse for receiving criticism than TP but I have been using it for ages so i like to stick to it) and make the occasional post of abandoned stuff on various Urban Exploration Forums.
There's only really one place I know of in the genres I shoot where open and sometimes quite blunt critique is given. It's generally accepted that you go there and you're open to whatever comes back. Even thats got a bit tame recently though, there's people posting for crit that just dont get responses as I guess some people think it's not worth it
Many of the other forums tend to avoid real honest critique as it invariably ends in an argument through different opinions. I'd rather someone tell me they didnt like something and go on to say why than a straightforwad "its s
t" but sometimes thats what they think and cant quite put their finger on whats wrong
Many of the other forums tend to avoid real honest critique as it invariably ends in an argument through different opinions. I'd rather someone tell me they didnt like something and go on to say why than a straightforwad "its s
t" but sometimes thats what they think and cant quite put their finger on whats wrongI gave up on TP.
I used to actually say what I thought of the pics and provided info on the technical stuff and never bothered with the chat forums. I didn't make many friends.
There are some very good photographers passing through but most people on there just want to be told how good things are.
I'd also say that overprocessed/oversaturated stuff seemed to be better regarded than decent photography.
(Not that I consider myself a decent photographer btw).
I used to actually say what I thought of the pics and provided info on the technical stuff and never bothered with the chat forums. I didn't make many friends.
There are some very good photographers passing through but most people on there just want to be told how good things are.
I'd also say that overprocessed/oversaturated stuff seemed to be better regarded than decent photography.
(Not that I consider myself a decent photographer btw).
andy-xr said:
Many of the other forums tend to avoid real honest critique as it invariably ends in an argument through different opinions. I'd rather someone tell me they didnt like something and go on to say why than a straightforwad "its st" but sometimes thats what they think and cant quite put their finger on whats wrong
The arguments tend to come about how people say things rather than what they say. "it's st" but sometimes thats what they think and cant quite put their finger on whats wrongt" without an explanation of why helps no-one at all, except perhaps by massaging the ego of the person saying it. Unfortunately some people (the keyboard warriors that populate every forum) seem to think it is acceptable behaviour to denigrate someone's efforts without offering any suggestion of how it could be improved in future.I almost never offer critique, mainly because I don't think my own photography is of a standard where I could offer anything meaningful and I'm not going to post "I like this" over and over.
The general forum is good for the car crashes that wedding photography topics always turn into though
.
I only joined TP about 6 mths ago and started posting in Motorsports specifically to get c&c to try and improve but lately Im loosing faith in it as reply are few and far between. My photos arent that bad but far from great and i need positive or negative critique to see what im doing wrong.
I will give it a go for the rest of the oulton season but if it doesnt improve by then Im going down shouting
I will give it a go for the rest of the oulton season but if it doesnt improve by then Im going down shouting
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