Are you a giver or taker....or both
 

Was just wondering how you see yourself on the forum.

Do you give feedback to as many images as you post?

Do you post and run?

My biggest pet hate is those that post in the critique expecting feedback, then contribute nothing to the forum.

I think I give more. However there will be those who are new to both the forum and to photography who may feel they are unable to comment - lets give them time to learn and grow

I probably comment more in threads & in tha gallery, than I post images

This thread set me pondering Lee. I don't really know the answer. I do comment on other members gallery pictures and various threads far more than I post pictures of my own, but I'm not sure what the right balance is.

I would be interested to know how many members we have 'on the books' then to know how many of those members continued to show any significant signs of activity on the forum (say at least one post per month) over the period since joining. I'm always amazed how few members take part in our competitions - submitting entries OR voting on them.

Pet hates? Well probably going to a Critique thread and finding that the poster has just sent 10 links to some other internet site instead of taking the trouble to attach the relevant shots.

Me too :rolleyes:

I see my self as someone who visits this site for ideas. May on the odd occasion make a comment/suggestion but have not posted as yet.

Currently 5,810

Yup, which is why the critique posting guidelines specifically state that this is not advisable. I find the posters that do this also never actually say what they want, what they were trying to achieve, what they like and dislike. They often get the hump when there's either no response (despite not having followed the guidelines) or the response is less than glowing. This usually means the poster was tacitly saying "Tell me how brilliant my photos are" and wanted nothing more out of the posting than this.

It would be nice if those that do get feedback in the critique section then took the effort to give feedback to others who have posted there.

Well I must be a giver comment much more than post photos. Nothing to do with only having mobile internet, you understand. That is one reason why dont follow links.
Also dont know why more members dont enter competiton "As most will know I only enter for fun to encourage others, you understand." or vote.
No matter how new to photography people must know what photo thay like the most. If so vote for it, is not hard.

Hi - I am probably more of a taker than a giver (19 images to 25 comments so far) but only because I do see some images that I really do not like but would not want to post a negative comment. The images I really like have, in the majority of cases, already had excellent comments from other members and I do not feel that my comments could add anything further. Of course, there are some that I have commented on which have caught my eye. Hopefully, my "eye" for an image will be enhanced as I gain more experience.

I have recieved very good feedback and constructive criticism when ever i have used the critque thread, and really appriciate it.

I will however refuse to offer any critque to people that make absolutely no effort in other areas of the forum......

I can understand how some people new to photography feel ill equiped to comment on other peoples work, Im in this camp. when ever i stick my neck out to comment on someones work, i normally get shot down in flames for being wrong...lol.....:rolleyes: so i try to leave the serious commenting to the people that know what they are talking about.

As far as the competition goes....having entered a few times, and not recieving any votes, tends to make you feel a little useless. so i tend to stay away. Maybe i should give it another bash.

Amazing. Thanks for the info Duncan, far more than I thought, I was wrong by a factor of 3.

sadly I'm very much a taker on here these days but hopefully will turn this round in time... I've had a very difficult year for numerous reasons and have totally lost my inspiration and motivation. Currently my only real contribution to the forum is kicking off spammers, hopefully I'll refind my mojo and be back to my old self (always keen to voice my opinion).

I am sure this forum has a large ammount of knowledge, and being a new member as of today I am alas at the moment a taker, but I feel these forums are here for a reason to give folks who are new to digital SLR photography the information they need.

I feel it is hard for any new member to upload a picture then have it diagnosed as not a good photograph as what they thought, even though they enjoy there photography then surely that is all that matters.

My photography is not that brilliant but I enjoy taking photographs and looking at them, I enjoy printing them off and if I take one that I feel is special then I have it printed by professionals and frame for all at home to see.

So surely it does not matter if you arer a giver or a taker what does matter is you log onto the forum and take in this vast ammount of knowledge that the givers have produced and shared for the members to take in and enjoy.

Well I reckon the site is for both givers and takers but obviously it is best if people take part when they feel able. Geoff, if you want special comment put some shots up in the critique forum stating your position as a 'newbie' to photography and ask for gentle constructive comment and that is what you will get. The main thing, as you say, is to enjoy your photography.
Peter, hang on in there mate! Kicking off spammers is a valuable contribution anyway but hopefully your mojo will soon be in full operation again.

Going through a rough patch is said to make us stronger. Like most folk recently I've had my fare share of that in the last 12 months. Sometimes you can refine your subject matter to death and when you reach the point where you have failed to improve any further you tend to lose the spirit. A new topic often gets the mojo firing on all cylinders again.

On the subject of new topics whatever happened to all these Photo Essays folk were talking about doing a few months ago ?

interesting thread , tend to think that in the main most regular posters here do a superb job, (hasten to add don't think i am amongst them),but from a point of information,tips and advice think anyone would be hard pressed to find better...for an new members who feel intimidated by posting,well everyone here started the same way,whats the worse that could happen ????

Hi I was a big taker when I first started . Due mainly to being a wraw beginer , posted mainly to criteque . I did not know to expect in return, I was very pleased to recieve a reply to my images all most welcome.in the main they were very honest and very helpfull. then I read the guidelines to post to that forum, yes i totaly agreed with the basic rules.If you are not clear inyour own mind about what you want,just post to any cattagory you will be supprised at what comments you will recieve.You have a good selection of them.I f your replies do not come up to your expectation. please do not give in try harder you will be supprised at how much you can improve.All the members here are most helpfull and patient. they must get fed up of recieving duplicate quiries . all they will do is make a comment and point you to a link ten times out of ten you will be very supprised at the effort they go to to answer your query. Thank you members who have helped me I look at an image in a different way now many thanks Regards john the joiner.PS.does this put me in the giver camp.

It just appears that no-one actually bothered to produce any. As I've mentioned around I'm at a low point in photography, opportunities and time are few and far between in my hectic life in suburban Reading. However I did learn how to print B&W in the darkroom - now I just need some good pictures to print.

I probably give more than I take at the moment on the grounds that I can post some comments in my desk bound lunch break or whatever but can't get out to take any pictures.

When i do get to post a few images I really appeciated comments of any sort and assume others do as well so I make a mental rule whenever I log on to try and comment on at least a couple of the new images in the gallery. Can't always think of anything particualrly clever or inspirational to say but simply the fact that this image or that has prompted me to comment at all means I have enjoyed looking at it.

And on that note I'd better see what's in the gallery tonight !!

Seems a lot of people are at a bit of a low point at the moment for one reason or another so hope things pick up for you. Having a new skill should certainly help and it is a skill that needs practice to develop properly until it becomes an art. In time you develop a real feel and that is when your love of film will really be able to be fully expressed and give you most satisfaction. Only takes a few years! Have fun!

I mainly comment on the images I like, I certainly am not qualified to critique, but I will sometimes offer my opinion on something I might do differently. I have had so much help from the very kind people on this site,and had a lot of fun along the way, I started joining in the comp to learn my way around the computer as I didn't have a clue when I started.
I find the comp gives me something new to try each fortnight,even if it is trying to find a different angle on an everyday subject. I do tend to post a lot in the gallery,the main thing for me is to have fun & keep learning.

Trena, that brought a smile to my face. That's a distinction so fine, I can't see it. You, like ANY other member are qualified to critique. The only qualification you need is to have an opinion that you can explain to others.

I probably needed to say I am not that confident with explaining my thoughts !!!! I'll keep practicing that too...

forgot to mention, nice images Clive, I agree, crop to suit the image

Thanks Trena... but that's a different thread

Attachment 6762

lol...woops..I'm not very good at this ,am I.

Giver or taker...? A bit of both I think, and it varies a lot as well. In the past I have tended to use the gallery as a test bed for images that I think have some merit, but have also tried to give advice on field technique and constructively critique images where I feel I have something useful to say.
As with a lot of people on this thread, I have gone through what felt like a stale patch in my photography, and hence havent posted any images on here for several months - thinking about it now, I dont know why it has felt stale, as I have had two images placed on a nationally distributed calendar, and several more used in advertising and publicity for various Mountain Rescue things in my own team and others. I have been successful with image sales for fund-raising, and I have even had requests for some images to go in a book, so things cant actually be that flat!
At last however, I am managing to find time to get out in the landscape with my camera and make some images after what has felt like a really long gap, and that is what I enjoy most in photography. It feels good to be out again, so you might see a few more images from me soon.

That is interesting Gordon, perhaps it is sometimes easier to shoot for a project, especially if there is a deadline set by somebody else, than get in the right frame of mind on a more casual basis for oneself?

Maybe so. And as someone said earlier, perhaps when you have refined your subject matter and approach so far, you need a break to come back to it with fresher eyes. The slightly frustrating thing is that the images that have gone down well in sales and usage terms are ones that I consider not much more than snapshots - I havent yet found an outlet for the landscape images, which are the ones I actually put some effort into.
In addition, the stale feeling co-incided with the summer season, which is a time of year I have always struggled with in landscape images - it just doesnt really suit how I see my local Dark Peak moors. Next year I think I need to get down to the limestone dales of the White Peak during the summer and find some more suitable subject matter.

I guess in the early days of WPF I was very much a taker. I understood film photography but digital and the processing element was a total mystery. I still do not do any of the fancy photoshop stuff, but without the givers input I would probably still not have much idea. Thinks back to last year and my dabble with Infrared. Tech stuff on getting an image was easy enough as I had done it on film, but without Harry's help on processing I would have given that up.

You guys know who you are and I cannot thank you enough for all the help you gave back then. :) :) :p

Other things on the bubble so I am not here as often as I used to be, but I hope after my initial take, take, I have been more of a giver.

Don

Thinking back to my work advertising/promo stuff that gave me a chuckle Mike.
That was pressure, pressure and very little fun when deadlines were not really realistic. Now I can take as long as I like, and the only pressure is from the boss to clear up if I do it in the house rather than my workshop. :D :D

Don

Good point, I know an ex pro who worked for a newspaper who upon retirement put his camera down never to pick up again. The pressure of the job had destroyed the love he used to have for photography. He now enjoys sailboarding and sailing which is pretty good for someone in their seventies! Perhaps self imposed projects would be better!

Hi, I enjoy the site, post photos, enter competitions and make comments, although lately I haven't commented so much as I have other commitments. I had a block a few months back but have got over that. Now, I hold my hand up regarding not doing this one, but perhaps, if we put up photographs of ourselves in the details there would be more sense of community - we could relate to the other members of the forum, site. What does anyone else think?

lol ...... Attachment 6764

Certainly the case I find Mike. The friends I recently did my course with have formed a very informal camera club, and each month we set a theme to work to and present at the next meeting. This gives me an incentive to get out and do things, when without this slight bit of peer pressure it would be too easy to just sit back and "do it some other time".

Giver or Taker?

I'm predominantly the latter at the moment, but working towards the former. As it stands, I am a "particpant".
I have posted several photos for critique, and so ask for critique (not a pat on the head; "that's nice" etc.), however, as a nearly new photographer it's not always easy to think of WHAT you want critiquing. Sometimes it's a case of "Just please tell me what is wrong and I will go away and improve".

Please don't put off new members with harsh words about a "less than perfect" post...give them some real critique, a gentle reminder of the rules, and see what happens. Bet they come back with an improved post, and improved pictures, and with the feeling that they have joined a helpful, friendly, knowledgeable forum.

Just my 2 penn'orth, for what it's worth (about 2p :) )