On Photography Etiquette
Recently I found myself in a situation that many of us I am sure have experienced. I took some photos I was rather proud of and posted them on a forum. Now I knew that I am a beginner in this area of photography and I still have a ways to go, but I still wanted to show off my work. I do have rather thick skin and wouldn’t have minded some constructive criticism.
Water Smorgasborg by Joseph Calev
The response though was certainly not what I expected. A different poster basically said “yeah, that’s not bad for two months with this equipment. Now take a look at my awesome shots! You should try taking something like this!”.
To be honest, I did not appreciate this at all. Yes, his shots were clearly better than mine. However he provided no constructive criticism on my own shots. I was just a beginner hoping to shine a bit and he threw a giant gobo on top of me.
This brings back an earlier story where I was on the other side. A photographer posted several recent shots and asked for criticism. I wasn’t crazy about either shot and posted constructive criticism. I offered opinions on cropping, post processing, and angles. I did not post any of my own shots.
Another photographer also responded and included several of his own shots in the discussion. He offered much of the same feedback that I did. Shortly after this, the individual left the forum never to return.
I believe it is worth having a discussion about photographer etiquette. In general I find photographers are decent in terms of etiquette when actually shooting. When I am photographing a patch of flowers, another photographer has never sat right next to me. Similarly, I have not yet had an issue with another photographer interrupting wildlife I was photographing. I do often have issues with non-photographers, who thrust their point and shoots on top of me when I am photographing macros, stand in front of me when I am photographing landscapes, and scare away wildlife I am photographing.
However I am discussing photographers here. When it comes time to online discussions though, it seems we photographers are far less knowledgeable. Therefore I would like to present my list of dos and don’ts. Feel free to add your own.
Never post your own photo to a thread someone started to show off his/her own photos unless it is requested.
Photographers post their photos for different reasons. They may want to show off or they may want criticism. The general rule is never post your own photo on the same thread. It simply is not polite. You are taking the opportunity from another photographer and disregarding their work.
There are exceptions of course. Sometimes a photographer will say “show me your best x shots”. Other times the photographer may have a question on technique. He may show an example photo where a problem occurred and ask for remedies. In these situations it is perfectly acceptable to post your own shots.
If you comment on someone’s photo, add a “like” if the feature exists on the site.
This is a small courtesy. Even if you’re not crazy about the shot, if you take the time to comment then click the ‘like’ button if the site has it. This provides a good feeling for the other photographer. If you want to provide constructive criticism, do it in the comments and still like the photo anyways. Few photographers want to hear “this sucks”. Many do want constructive criticism, but would like positive comments mixed with the negative.
The way I look at it, if the photo caused me to write a comment, then it must have been a decent photo for me to notice it in the first place.
Understand what the photographer is aiming for before commenting
Different photographers have different goals. The goals of a stock photographer and a fine art photographer are quite different. Make sure you understand these goals before commenting. An awesome photo for stock photography will likely suck for fine art and vice versa. If you strongly criticize a photo using the wrong goals, your comments will not be useful to the original poster.
Be careful about posting your own photos as example shots
Say someone has a question about lighting. You response with a photo showing the discussed lighting technique. This is perfectly OK. Where the line becomes grayer is when someone mentions he/she is having a difficult time taking a type of photo and you reply saying “look at these awesome photos I took using this technique. If you were nearly as awesome as I you would do the same”.
You are trumpeting your own horn here rather than providing any constructive proof. Try to be more modest when posting. It is OK to post awesome (in your eyes) example shots, but simply mention them as an example of the technique. If the shots are truly awesome, others will call them out as such.
Try to understand what the photographer is looking for in critique
I am admittedly quite difficult in my critique. If I do not like a shot I will plainly say so. I will also give very specific reasons why I do not like it. Some people greatly appreciate this feedback. Others do not like it at all.
I openly do not like FlickR. The reason I do not is due to what I call “the FlickR syndrome”. This syndrome is very easy to catch if you are active on FlickR, as it is extremely easy to receive a ton of very positive feedback on an otherwise awful shot. This leads some photographers to believe that every shot that leaves their hard drive is blessed and all other photographers will be blinded by the sheer awesomeness of their photos.
These photographers then post their photo someone where someone like I sees it and they simply cannot believe that something can be wrong with one of their photos. I must clearly be an idiot for not recognizing the genius of this photo that hundreds of mindless FlickRites have proven.
The lesson of this is to try to understand what the photographer wants. Sometimes it is OK to specifically ask what type of feedback the photographer desires. Other times this is obvious from the original message. If the photographer states that he took some shots he is very proud of, maybe it’s best not to comment. If on the other hand the photographer states “give me your worst”, then absolutely do so.
If someone follows you or friends you, consider following them back
You are not above any other photographer out there and they should not be thought of as your flock. When someone friends you they are truly interested in your work. It does not mean they think you are better than they – just that your work interests them. Do the right thing and take a look at their work. Many times I have been greatly surprised that immensely talented photographers – way above me in talent – have chosen to follow me. I use that as an opportunity to follow them as well so that I may learn more from their photography.
Be careful when commenting on photos about people
We have all seen a lot of photos of ugly people. We have also seen photos of nice looking people in truly awful poses. I remember one photo a photographer posted to a forum that he was quite proud of. It was of a rather pretty girl stooped down in a way that looked like she was about to go to the bathroom. In another I saw a very young girl posed in a way that in my opinion was completely inappropriate for the age.
You have to remember before commenting on these photos that the subject may be the daughter, spouse, or close relative of the photographer. Also, the subject himself/herself may read the post. If you want to provide constructive criticism, provide it on what the photographer did – not the model. Be careful when stating what you don’t like about a shot though as many models are quite self conscious. Remember, most of these people are not professional models at all but are simply someone who volunteered for the shoot. If you say something about them that makes them uncomfortable, they may never volunteer for that photographer again.
Always assume your photo sucks when posting it
Few people like posts that say “see my awesome shots”. As I said before, post your shots with humility. Let others call out the quality of your shots.
