On Photo Sharing (2)

In the first part of these posts I explained my take on online photo sharing today. There's been good feedback on the Google+ post that I made, and one of the "pro Flickr" points was that it is still a very important site to get your work out there, noted and discovered, licensed, etc.; I can certainly agree with that because I'm also selling some of my photos through the Getty/Flickr connection. I mention this because that's not what I perceive as the primary purpose of photo sharing online. For me, that would still be this oldschool thing of making connections with others, getting feedback on your work, that sort of thing, and I want to talk about it in this second part.

On Google+ there's another and new component that is very very interesting: sharing others work with your readers. A component that is entirely missing on the classic photo sharing sites. I've been lucky to be among the 1st to be able to use Google+ and I always try to multiply the attention that I initially received and still receive, hoping that I can channel some of it to other great photographers that do not get the attention that they deserve. Seriously! There's so many fantastic photographers on Google+ that are in far less circles than I am - I just don't get it. I also prefer personal recommendations from fellow users over the piles of lists of photographers that exist in a abundance by now. :P

Now, when people are asked why they show photos online, many of them reply "to get feedback on my work" and "to learn from others", "to grow as an artist", that sort of thing. Quite natural. My question is... on sites that are all about photography and sharing/presenting/selling art online, especially today, where everyone is trying to attract attention to one's own work, is the feedback really helpful? (needless to say, my experience is that it is not.)

In the most extreme form of the popularity contest at 500px, you can almost read the "now please come look at my photos and vote them up after I left that friendly comment on your photo" request between the lines. Or rather, words. Like "great shot mate". Because that's about it for the average comment, no? Constructive and critical comments? They are rare. I've had better photo discussions back in the heyday of Picasa Web Albums, and heck, even a photo rejected by the editors on SeenBy is better feedback than "nice photo, mate".

Let me get that straight: I'm talking about photo sharing websites, not about social networks in general. I simply expect that another photographer, when he or she leaves a comment on a photo, will tell me what is to like (or not) about my photo. On social networking sites like Google+ and Facebook, it's totally fine that users leave comments to simply express that they like a photo. Not everyone is a photographer.

I think that social media holds a vast potential for discussing photos and getting good feedback because we're able to connect to "normal" people that simply enjoy looking at good photography, and not just other photographers. The definition of what is "good photography" alone is different, to start with. This of course yields the danger to tailor the content one shares to maximum efficiency, attention-wise. The internet is full of "popular" photos because of that (I'll write more about that in the 3rd part).

There's a problem with critical feedback on photos of course: how do you know it's welcome and wanted? And as a photographer, how do you express that you want it? And how do you deal with it?

A user on Google+ recently asked whether "the pro's" would be annoyed by amateurs leaving critical feedback on their photos. That's a big one for me. I've left (unasked, and apparently unwanted;) critical feedback on some "pro" glamor photographer, and what he did was to delete my comment - and block me. From my point of view... lesson learned. But still, he offered no word of explanation like "sorry pal, this is my public G+ portfolio" or whatever. By doing that, he diminished himself to ridicule. Not "pro" at all. Even if I was wrong with my critical comment, there would have been a chance to explain his style and technique in a professional and not condescending way.

My take on it is: if you want feedback, explicitly ask for it. And if you want to leave critical feedback and aren't sure, ask if it's welcome first.

In part 3 I'll write about the limited angle of view on photography "as a whole" that online photo sharing sites and the popularity concept of internet photo sharing suffer from.