Hello all. I have been a member of NPN since 2021, and I have loved it and learned lots over the years from contributors in this community. I feel, however, that I have “posted and run” too often. I am looking to be a better “contributor” to try to add some value here. But I’m not sure that I’m qualified to critique another’s image much beyond “I like it”. Is there any advice on being more active without overstepping my knowledge base? Or is “I Like It” enough?
Thanksfor your time, and I hope to give at least as much as I take, if not more, in the coming year.
Hi Todd! I’m happy you decided to get more involved with the community. In addition to contributing, one of the main values of critiquing other peoples’ photos is how much you learn that aides your own artistic journey. It’s amazing how much it improves your own vision and photography.
That was a great post Todd and I have to say I have had the same thoughts over the years and I still have the same thoughts. My process to become better at critiques is to study images and read lots and lots of critiques of those images. In addition, when I do write a critique, I try to be one of the first and I do it on an image where I feel fairly confident that I can make a contribution both complimentary and constructive.
Hey Todd, I too wish I was more consistent here - mostly for me I just forget to login and chat. My attention is pulled in too many directions. But in terms of being qualified - you’re HUMAN and have preferences, so I’d just lean into those preferences and say what you like, and what you wish was different, in a kind way. I don’t think critique has to be more complicated than that. There’s also a really good guide that NPN has here on the site that can give you more tips on this.