On 28/11/2011 12:21 PM, Tom C wrote:
7. I generally give only positive feedback and feel that praising the
positive is the best way of promoting improvement and continued
excellence. The photographer can learn the basics from a book and with
practice, so I feel no need to give instruction.
Well, yes and no. Only giving positive feedback can have exactly the
opposite effect.
Here's a metaphor.
As you know, I take pride in my abilities to train dogs. As a dog
trainer, one of the tools I use is called "positive reinforcement". This
training technique (and it is quite successful) used praise when the dog
does something tight, and no feedback at all when the dog doesn't do
what you want.
The idea is that by ignoring undesirable behaviour and praising the dog
whenever it comes up with a way to please the owner, the dog will tend
to start doing that which gives it feedback, and will cease doing the
undesirable stuff which gives it nothing at all.
So, lets take what we have learned about simple psychology and apply it
to photography.
A person goes out and shoots a subject, any subject, and manages to hit
on a decent picture. They post it to the internet and get back positive
comments, comments that may be semi specific in relation to aspects of
the image.
So, the person starts looking for those aspects, since this is what
garnered positive feedback.
And next thing you know, they have a whole body of work of what is
essentially the same picture.
Take it from someone who has a whole body of work that is essentially
the same picture, I know of what I speak.
8. Take a 'no comment' as either negative feedback or lack of interest
on my part. If not that, then it means I was simply too busy too look
or respond.
But it isn't negative feedback, it's just no feedback at all (negative
feedback would be, metaphorically speaking, a good solid jerk on the
leash). So, your "negative feedback" becomes meaningless in the face of
the positive motivation that comes from the gushers, and the person goes
out and takes another picture of a pretty girl in front of a hunk of
canvas, or another sunset, or another of the many, many cliches that are
abused by photographers on a daily basis.
And life goes on, and photography gets dumbed down a little bit more.
Did you know that every time I do a studio shoot a kitten dies?
--
William Robb
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