flickr Gratification

As a photographer there are a lot of good reasons for using flickr. The most important being that your work can be seen by a lot of people. The social networking aspects of flickr mean that your friends and family can be notified about your new pictures automatically. More importantly however, by joining a "group" and then submitting an image to that group it will be seen by a large number of group members beyond your personal contacts.


"untitled" - latest, or so, picture posted to flickr. Honestly, what do you think?

It's possible for viewers of images to leave feedback in comments and to also use a box on the image itself to make notes. This is a powerful combination for getting critical feedback about what a photographer is doing well, and what might need improvement. Unfortunately this most powerful capability is almost never used effectively. Why? Because there are almost no critical comments of posted photographs.

Selecting one of the most interesting pictures (determined by flickr) will probably reveal a lengthy list of adjective-based comments: "Great!", "Nice!", "Awesome!" Along with a large number of invitations to add the picture to some group or other, probably a group that uses emoticons and multiple "!" in the name. (Incidentally, I have observed that even pictures with a banal subject, uninspiring light and a poor choice of framing will get fawning praise if they have over the top image processing and a black border applied) There will be very few comments that focus on specific aspects such as, "The catch-light in the eye really makes it pop." that help the photographer know what they are doing right. There will be no critical comments pointing out failures in the picture. Of course criticism is more helpful, because it helps the photographer identify areas that need improvement, or avenues of artistic exploration that are dead-ends. I know many people are initially hurt by critical comments, especially if they have spent considerable time working on a picture, but I think that eventually an artist desires critical feedback, because it's the only way to decide if what they are doing effectively conveys their message to an audience.

I myself have been guilty of leaving simplistic comments, though I usually attempt to articulate what I like about a picture. But isn't it time for considerate honesty? If flickr members aren't critical in their feedback of one another, then a large part of flickr's promise (to become a better photographer) goes unfulfilled. Personally, if you're going to leave a comment for one of my photographs explain what you do or don't like about it, just don't use "Awesome!"