Whom to avoid and whom to pay heed to, while getting a critique on my photograph?

Mattdm had posted this link in a thread somewhere.
I found the comments to be sensible!? but at the end realized that it was a piece of dry humor.

I have heard several times that you should be very careful in choosing whom you listen to and whom to avoid, while taking a critique from someone.

How to separate helpful critiques from unhelpful ones?
Why are the critiques in the above link said to be a sarcastic joke? Are they wrong? In which way, if yes?

Answer

I’m going to suggest that all critique can be valid. It doesn’t really matter that much to me if somebody is being sarcastic or they have a strong view they want to express.

Whether or not you pay attention to them seems like it’s going to come down to personal choice. To me, the deciding factors are:

• Have they said something constructive, which can be acted upon / thought about in the future?


• With any changes suggested, would the picture still be your style / what you want your style to be.


• Most importantly looking at the picture, in light of the critique, do you believe any changes suggested would have made the picture look better TO YOU (or possibly your clients).

Remember that different opinions can exist and that that’s perfectly OK. Avoid entering into an argument about a critique that has been given. If there’s something you don’t understand, then asking for clarity is reasonable. But I’d really try to avoid trying to convince the person giving the critique that they’re wrong. If they’ve given an honest review, they’re entitled to their opinion and if they’re being sarcastic it’s probably what they’re looking for…