Reply To: I got called a "bully" again, and was reminded of this show

[JLiu]

It can be difficult to determine if someone is truly asking for real CC vs. someone who is just vomiting their work for appraisal on a Facebook wall. I’ve found, more often than not, that the ones who are truly looking to improve tend to identify the weaknesses first…or, at the very least, know that something is off and are asking about that.

If someone posts a completely OOF shot and asks for a critique, I feel it’s rarely, if ever, worth bothering to offer anything – this person is obviously the “tone deaf” equivalent of photography. Unless this person is asking why the focus seems off, there’s not really much you can do to help.

If someone posts an over-edited shot that’s at least in focus, this is someone you can probably work with…but that all depends on whether or not the person wants to be worked with in the first place. Some people don’t strive to be anything more than mediocre.

Regardless, it’d be wise to know what type of person you are with regards to how you critique. If you’re “abrupt,” be prepared to precede your critique with that comment so that the recipient at least knows the stabbing will be brief. Perhaps this might help the person to ask questions about why you feel that way and open up communication as opposed to feeling like you’re some cynical clown with not much to say.