I joined my first online community in 2004 – it’s called EPhotozine<\/strong> – and since then I’ve learned an incredible amount from the site, lots of useful tips from more advanced photographers guided me away from common mistakes<\/strong>.<\/p>\n However, what has been a perpetual gripe on the site, from me as\u00a0much as anyone, is:-<\/p>\n It used to drive me, and everyone else, mad, seeing people with poor photos getting 5 or 10 times more votes than your “better” photos.<\/p>\n The same is now true on Facebook, Google + and all the other social media<\/a> sites. You number of “likes” will be dictated by:-<\/p>\n Getting 200 “likes” on any photo is a wonderful feeling to anyone – we all love praise.<\/p>\n This means that if you’ve “liked<\/strong>” 500 photos last week, you will probably get 250 or more “likes<\/strong>” in return.<\/p>\n The true impact of this, for the serious photographer wanting to improve, is they believe the work they produce is\u00a0excellent<\/strong><\/span>, whether this is true or not.<\/p>\n It’s like the tone deaf kids you hear each week on\u00a0the The X Factor<\/strong>.<\/p>\n They then believe they have an amazing voice<\/strong>.<\/p>\n They believe they can “compete” with this amazing voice<\/strong>. No one has the heart to tell them “don’t do it!!”<\/p>\n They then get a HUGE shock when Simon Cowell<\/strong> tells them that they are terrible.\u00a0<\/div><\/div>\n This often\u00a0happens with photographers showing work online, their friends and family telling them how amazing their “obviously flawed<\/strong>” photos are.<\/p>\n The truth is that we all like to make people happy<\/strong>, and most\u00a0are uncomfortable\u00a0giving people constructive feedback – especially in a public space like Facebook.<\/p>\n If 30 people have said “wow, great shot”<\/strong> and you say “this looks over processed and the horizon’s out<\/strong> on the sea”, you are not going to look good – no matter how right you are. I’ve done this a few times and been unfriended<\/strong>!<\/p>\n Also you’ve got to appreciate that most people don’t want their work critiqued<\/em><\/strong> either – they are perfectly happy with what they’re doing and don’t need their confidence knocking with all the flaws being pointed out.<\/p>\n If you are serious about creating great images,\u00a0for competitions, print sales, stock, commercial clients or just for your own satisfaction, then what are the ways to develop?<\/p>\n That 4th step is hard. I don’t like doing it – but I do.<\/p>\n If you don’t, you may end up like\u00a0that 16 year old crying in front of Simon Cowell – having spent \u00a31500 on prints for an exhibition and sold none.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Many McFade trainees have been on Lightroom feedback nights and hopefully learned loads.<\/p>\n They bring along 5-10 photos each and, in turn, I edit as many as I can in the night. It’s a great form\u00a0to give tips on lightroom, composition and cropping – even mono conversions and funky split toning effects.<\/p>\n However,\u00a0it\u00a0never seemed\u00a0the right environment in which to give honest critique, for a few reasons:-<\/p>\n So to get around this, we started doing Blind Critiques –\u00a0here’s how it works…<\/p>\n I’d have no idea who’s photos they were,\u00a0and neither would any of the viewers, except the uploader. It means that through you may be giving (sometimes) harsh critique in public, no one knows who’s photo it is. Hopefully all egos are left intact, everyone learns, people improve and they achieve their personal goals.<\/p>\n Critiquing blindly this way detaches the image from the photographer\u00a0– all the “X-Factor” issues are gone!<\/p>\n It’s now like the “blind audition” phase of the BBC show “The Voice”. (I’m sure many poor singers apply to the The Voice, but they rarely get to the TV stage – it’s aimed at showcasing good singers, not humiliating poor singers)<\/p>\n Sir Tom only hears the voice and makes his judgement on that – likewise\u00a0we only see the photo.<\/p>\n If he likes the voice – he presses his button, and only then does he know anything else about them. Likewise with the photos – though we do comment on them all of course<\/a>!<\/p>\n The aims are:-<\/p>\n It’s not an ego trip or a chance to be Mr Nasty, but the best way I’ve found (so far) of helping many people learn in a short time.<\/p>\n If your photography is just a hobby you enjoy and you’ve no real desire to\u00a0move “to the next level”, then this critique thing is probably not for you.<\/p>\n If you are losing competitions at your club, getting prints which don’t look right, or especially, selling your services to paying customers (weddings, portraits etc.), then it definitely is worth getting honest feedback from your tutor, or peers.<\/p>\n Why…?<\/p>\n Picture this….<\/p>\n You may end up at\u00a0your first “wedding job” and, like that tone deaf kid from Sunderland \u00a0(who’s mammy told him what a great voice he has), end up stood in front of Simon Cowell in tears (or in your case, a furious bride and groom, angrily\u00a0demanding\u00a0a refund for their terrible photos) .\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n\n
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The Impact of False Praise<\/h1>\n
\nThe X-Factor<\/h1>\n
\nYou Can’t Handle The Truth!<\/h1>\n
\nBut if you want to get better….<\/h1>\n
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\nHow\u00a0“blind” critique works<\/h1>\n
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What actually happens…<\/h2>\n
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\nX-Factor versus The Voice!<\/h1>\n
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\nConclusion<\/h1>\n