anyone on deviantart?

[Pau.c]

having joined deviantart, i was wondering if anyone else is on it from this website too?

my deviantart is http://paulcockerill.deviantart.com/

im pretty new into photography so i would like opinions on my photos and i would love to see yours!

 

[MattSepeta]

Hmmm

This may come off as inflammatory and way off base, but this is my personal opinion:

I don't take anything on deviantart seriously. I have this stereotype ingrained in my head that anyone on deviantart is sitting at home in their moms basement drawing unicorns, scanning them, photoshopping them, and putting them on deviantart hoping for some backslaps and virtual high-fives over how deviant their art is.

And this is how I feel about flickr as well.

If you really want to grow your photography, participate in the challenges here, or make posts with a few images asking for critiques.

Or better yet, post at photo.net, or POTN, or Fred Miranda.

PS: You have the most adorable dog I have ever seen!!!!

EDIT: I don't mean to disparage deviantart too much but as far as actually improving your work, I don't see the value in it. I have yet to see much real critique or criticism from deviantart users, but then again, I have not even checked it out in years. Maybe it's changed?

 

[GoCubsGo]

Not to attempt to derail the thread but MattSepeta, telling someone that if they wish to grow as a photographer they should be posting here and asking for critiques or participating in challenges is inane. The challenges here are like challenges any where, they're fun but don't let yourself feel down if you don't win because like your assessment of DA, they're nothing more than a virtual high five. Asking for critique here is also like asking for it anywhere. Photo.net is going to have a wider range or professionals, any photo-dedicated site that promotes professionalism will, Fred Miranda is another. In one respect MattSepeta you are right, there is not much critique coming from users there but that is the case on many sites. DA is a business first ... it used to be different but everything changes.

That being said, I think participating in any community site is a good thing but they're not all going to help you grow, you need to look outside the internet to grow by taking pictures, recording your data so you understand why one shot worked and another did not and so on and so forth.

 

[MattSepeta]

Not to attempt to derail the thread but MattSepeta, telling someone that if they wish to grow as a photographer they should be posting here and asking for critiques or participating in challenges is inane. The challenges here are like challenges any where, they're fun but don't let yourself feel down if you don't win because like your assessment of DA, they're nothing more than a virtual high five. Asking for critique here is also like asking for it anywhere. Photo.net is going to have a wider range or professionals, any photo-dedicated site that promotes professionalism will, Fred Miranda is another. In one respect MattSepeta you are right, there is not much critique coming from users there but that is the case on many sites. DA is a business first ... it used to be different but everything changes.

That being said, I think participating in any community site is a good thing but they're not all going to help you grow, you need to look outside the internet to grow by taking pictures, recording your data so you understand why one shot worked and another did not and so on and so forth.

Very, very true. However, I never said that they should only participate in challenges, I suggested they simply post photos for critiques.

DA is fine and dandy if you want comments on your photos, as is flickr if you want weird sparkly glittery "Badges" and stuff.

I was speaking from strictly experience though. I used to have a DA account, as well as a flickr account. It did not help me as a photographer one bit. I got comments, I got sparkly badge things, but it did not help. But any post I make on MR asking for critique helps me immensely, just as I try to give critique whenever anyone asks for it as well.

I totally forgot to go into DA as a business though. DA is out to make money, charging for certain kinds of accounts IIRC.

Another good idea: Bypass the internet at this stage. Just take more photos, don't even worry about putting them on the internet! Shoot, shoot, shoot