C&C Please

There are a lot of reasons shooters post their images on photo forums. Obviously, simply being proud on one's work and wanting to share it with others is one major reason.

Many photographers also hope to receive some constructive C&C. (i.e., Comments and Critique.)

In the world of pretty girl photography, beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. That often means that one viewer's goddess is another viewer's Plain Jane. These differences in opinions, in terms of the relative beauty and allure of a model, often drives the number of comments an image will receive. We've all seen images of wildly beautiful women, photographically captured in wildly incompetent ways, and still those images receive many accolades.

Sometimes, the C&C is all over the map and the shooter is left trying to make some helpful sense out of it all. Other times, most of the C&C seems to agree with what's right and/or wrong with an image and the photographer is left with little doubt as to the appeal of his or her image. (And appeal is what it's all about.)

The "all over the map" responses can be especially troubling for novice shooters. Their level of photo-insecurity might be high. As a rule, they're looking for criticism, coupled with helpful hints and advice, to either overcome their image's shortcomings or improve it in general.

Other factors that comes into play are the qualifications of individual viewers to (expertly or, to varying degrees, semi-expertly) assess an image's positive and negative qualities. Often, this is decided by looking at the images the commenter has posted in a portfolio or along with the C&C. This can be helpful but also misleading. Everyone has an opinion. And quite often, those opinions are valid regardless of the opinion-giver's ability to create images that meet the same standards of his or her own critique.

So here's the deal: When all is said and done, the only person who's opinions really matter regarding the aesthetic and technical merits of your images is you. If you're happy with your images, be happy with them. If they make others happy, be happier. If they makes people with cash in their hands happy, and that cash is being extended to you, be happier still. Consider the opinions of others carefully, without regard to their qualifications to offer them, and make your own decisions about their relevance.

New York Yankee's baseball great, Yogi Berra, once observed, "Nobody knows nothing." But it should also be noted that most everyone believes they know something and, sometimes, they believe they know a lot. This means that, when you consider Yogi's philosophical axiom, those masses of people who know nothing will still decide whether or not something has universal appeal. I suppose we're all stuck with our own personal aesthetics and we can only hope, as photographers, that our personal sense of aethetics appeals to others while, at the same time, remains uniquely individual and personal.

Certainly, we're all influenced by the opinions of others. Sooner or later, we develop a style and an approach that is influenced by both our personal sensibilities as well as the sensibilities of others. That often becomes the style we end up routinely integrating into our work. If that style is unique, yet universal in its appeal, it will make our work stand out and be noticed. If not, it won't.

On the other hand, I might be completely out-to-lunch and full-of-shit in my opinions regarding all this.

The young lady having a good time with herself in the image at the top is Kelle.