Re: comments from an old timer

[Leigh]

I've noticed recently a trend that was addressed before by someone I admire a great deal He put it so well, I thought I'd just quote him and bump the post...


greyflash wrote:

Being one of the charter members of the Nikon Cafe as well as a moderator on the site I wanted to request some help from the members. One thing I have noticed is that some of our newer members (especially those new to photography) do not get many responses to their image posts. Judging by the number of "viewers" many of you are already looking at the image but fail to take the time to make a comment or critique. As one of the most prolific posters on the forum (OK Flew you are still ahead of me) I feel that I can say that and not have three fingers pointing back at me.

One of the really neat things about a forum is to hear comments from fellow photographers. Lets all take just a few seconds and try to give feedback to those that are just starting out on this forum or are new to photography. It will make them feel good and I hope it will make you feel good to do it.

For anyone interested, the original post started on April 20, 2005...
_________________
Thanks,

Leigh Bramlett

 

[TOLady]

Yes, sometimes we breeze through all the posts in a hurry without posting. I know I've been guilty of heading to my fav forums, ie general, technical and then birds & animals and then the phone starts to ring and time gets away from me... and... and... etc.... etc....

Will try to do better in future.... hope others do as well.

 

[Chris101]

You becha Sandi - me too! Thanks!

 

[MontyDog]

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[Flew]

Paul,

I understand your POV on this, but have to say that you are one of the most prolific, and supportive members we have. If everyone responded to as many posts as you do, then pleas like Leigh's would not be needed.

What I'm trying to say is; Thanks Pal!! :wink:

 

[Leigh]

I know it's hard sometimes to comment on EVERY shot we see. I don't think anyone is expected to. But I guess my point was just that I noticed that some people only have 2 or 3 comments to their shots where others may have 10 or 12 or even more. We are all here to learn and to help others learn. We are all civil, friendly people and that's one of the things I like best about this place.

Paul, I agree it's difficult to decide how to reply, especially w/the newer folks. But we want to ecourage them to post more. If they aren't getting anything other than people viewing their shots, they will have no way of knowing what works and what doesn't. There is always something nice to say. You are a wonderful guy, I've always been happy w/the responses that you've given to my shots (no matter how mediocre the shot might have been).

It's encouraging to know that someone cares enough to not only look, but to respond as well...even if it's only to say "thanks for sharing".

Just my 2 cents.

 

[JeffKohn]

It's when folks are a little older I have the problem - especially if their intro gave so few details it's hard to judge the skill level, competance and aims.

You see, like most I try and offer honest opinions, but also to tune the comments to the poster - it's no use applying the criteria suitable for someone like Ron Reznick to a brand new first-dSLR-is-a-D50 owner still using fully-auto-everything out of the box, is it?

Agreed. Further complicating the matter is that sometimes you'll see a post with an image, but not much else: no background/technical info on the shot or what they were trying to accomplish, and no information about what kind of feeback they're looking for. If somebody doesn't ask for honest opinions or critiques, I'm hesitant to one no matter how constructive or politely worded it might be, because for all I know they're not intested in critiques and I don't want to risk offending somebody who may have just wanted to share a moment/memory with others.

The other problem for me is that sometimes I check in on the forum when I don't have a lot of time, so I may "look but not post", and don't always remember to come back when I have time to put a little effort into a reply. And of course once you "get to know" some people you may be more likely to participate in threads with them. But we all know what it's like to be the newbie so it's definitely worth making an effort to make people feel welcome. So in that regard sometimes a reminder like this thread is a good idea.

 

[JeffKohn]

One nifty feature of this forum software that I must confess I don't use as often as I should is the "View Unanswered Posts" link on the main index. If we all get in the habit of checking it occasionally that would probably go a long ways towards making sure posts don't slip through the cracks. The scroll rate here is nowhere near as bad as someplace like DPR, but it will continue to increase as the forum grows.

 

[greyflash]

Gee thanks Leigh. Your contributions to the Nikon Cafe have been outstanding and you are always willing to help others. We need more like you. In addition we have many members who took that original post to heart and have really done a great job in helping all newcomers to feel welcome. I will admit that it was much easier when we just had a few members but then we would miss out on all this incredible talent that has joined since those early days.

 

[dmwphoto]

I agree with this 100% and I try very hard to make a useful comment where I feel it is appropriate. I do not do them all, cant, dont have time, but i AM interested in all that is posted here and do my best to get thru them all. It is a great place and I feel among a large group of friends. Bottom line- I will try and do better.

 

[Gilles]

One thing i noticed is with encouragement and helpful critics a lot of member have started to post more pictures and by gaining confidence they improve a lot in the quality of those pictures.

 

[JayR]

I agree 100%. I just started posting in NikonCafe and would really appreciate comments/critiques on pictures posted.

I think comments & critiques play an important role in the development of a good photographic eye (atleast mine ). Please do help newbies (like me) develop. It would be much appreciated.

Thanks.

 

[sommer]

Adding a "me too" to JayR's post. I'm gaining confidence as I post here more, and I really appreciate any and all feedback, as I'm new to everything...photography, postprocessing, all of it...I learn from every bit of constructive criticism, and I appreciate every single comment, even if it's just 'hey I looked at your photo, thanks for sharing' (...and apparently I'm the queen of the run-on sentence tonight!)

The more experienced people here see things in my photos that I've completely missed, and I like to think I'm developing an eye for those details with every bit of input I receive.

It was really hard for me to start posting photos here, because I have very little confidence in my work, and because the overall level of talent in the group is just astounding. I'm glad I worked up the courage though...it's been a good experience.