chuck_watkins Posted March 8, 2004 Share Posted March 8, 2004 Is it possible to have a forum on photo/art criticism?There seems to be a great deal of consternation over low ratings. Anything below a 4 seems to be taken as a personal attack and is often rewarded with a counter-attack. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ivan colman Posted March 9, 2004 Share Posted March 9, 2004 Chuck, Imho there is no need for such a forum. 1° There is always the possibility to leave a comment clarifying a possible low rating. In addition the photographer has always the possibility to ask, via e-mail, some explanation about a low rating. 2° There are no universal standards of aestetics. Even the perception of originality is very dependend on personal and cultural influences. A forum will only demonstrate this personal aspects about photo evolution and not lead to general accepted guidelines of photo rating. 3° Imho it is a matter of politeness ! The possibility of giving a low rating exist. But when given, such a low rating should be accopagnied by a explanation. Because indeed everybody posting his/her photo's on photo.net has an personal emotional relation with the iece of work. A blund, commentless low rating is indeed a personal attack. Nobody loves to hear that the creation (s)he has produced sucks ! So imho ratings is personal ! Rules of Aesthetics is something for the ancient greeks, but nowadays it is much harder to make such rules. Low ratings must be possible, but I think the rater should then be polite enough to explain why (s)he gives such rating. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gonzalo_echeverria Posted March 9, 2004 Share Posted March 9, 2004 originality - 1aesthetic - 1. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
root Posted March 9, 2004 Share Posted March 9, 2004 Actually there are guidelines for things like lighting and composition that influence aesthetics. . . . not hard and fast rules, but things you can learn that remove this issue from the completely subjective. That's why people want to see your portfolio . . . to see if you know how to apply them to your own work. You may be a great artist lacking in these basic skills or have experience and insight totally apart from your ability to actually take a picture, but those who want you to assume that without seeing any supporting evidence, like a comment, are just kidding themselves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markci Posted March 9, 2004 Share Posted March 9, 2004 If you experience abuse, that's what abuse@photo.net. A forum??? For God's sake, the last thing photo.net needs is more yap yap yap about the ratings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chuck_watkins Posted March 10, 2004 Author Share Posted March 10, 2004 I agree with everything said so far - but what I'm getting at is not to develope a standard - I also think that that would be impossible - At the same time... there is a prejudice that nothing below a 4 should ever be given. This tends to shorten the evaluation scale and anything below a 4 becomes a personal attack - often with retaliatory practices by the "injured" party and their friends. After spending 20 years in photography, I went back to school to get a Bachelor's in Fine Art. You haven't lived until you've had a piece of your work publicly dissected with scapels and chain saws. You don't learn from comments like "WOW... HOLEY COW..." You learn from honest criticism. IMHO, you learn best from brutal and harsh criticism that is backed by reasonable arguments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now