A friend posted up an interesting photo online. I really liked it, but thought it would look even better with just a couple of tweaks. I started typing out a comment saying how much I liked it, with some constructive (hopefully) comments on how it could look even better.
Then it struck me that they hadn’t actually *asked* for feedback. Bit remiss and presumptious of me to assume.
My comments duly deleted, luckily before posting them.
I’ve noticed the same happening on Flickr a lot – people trot up with ‘great pic! I’d crop it/darken it/etc’ when actually the photographer has spent a considerable amount of time making it as good as they could.
Now, me? I post tons of stuff up online. I’ve got yards of photos up on Flickr, and am always open to constructive advice.
Note the ‘constructive’ bit. A comment saying ‘great pic’ is nice. A comment saying ‘you could try cropping out x, lightening that bit etc to get a stronger image’ is even better. Always learning, and I never assume that I know it all.
So, dear reader. If you see something that I’ve posted, be it a photo, a story or anything else, I’d welcome your comments.
Especially constructive ones. 🙂
espresso coco 
Hmm that’s a tricky one. I tend not to critique unless it’s asked for, or if it’s posted in a space which is generally for that purpose – so I tend not to critique friends photos on Facebook, for example (unless it’s posted in a specific photography group), but I would be comfortable doing it on Flickr.
The only exception to that would probably be if it’s a friend who I know IRL and have discussed photography with them in the past. Even then I’d probably try and initiate a conversation about the photo and processing they had already done rather than leap straight in with my ideas. Or say something like ‘hey that’s a great photo, that’d look great up on the wall in a square frame with a slightly different crop too….’ or something like that, then just see how the conversation goes from there, it usually becomes pretty obvious quite quickly if the person then wants to hear more of your ideas or wants you to STFU!
Thanks Claire. The photo was posted on my friend’s blog and when I looked back it was part of a series of similar shots, so it looks like they are trying to work out which one they liked best. Might drop a comment on asking if they’re looking for suggestions. Our see if they’ve posted it up on Flickr…. 🙂