I have copied and pasted this from another Discussion where it has gone unremarked upon. I have had a couple of favourable private responses to the idea.



Would there be a possibility of having a section specifically for 'works in progress' where those of us who wish to improve our skills and are not afraid of critisism could temporarily upload images for advice and opinions before uploading the final effort ? I know this is sometimes done behind the scenes but others would benefit from it being open for all to see. It would surely result in works of a higher standard being uploaded for inclusion in the voting system.

I still belive this is a good idea - does anyone have any opinions?

I think it is a great idea, put it in the other stuff section and members could give tips on how to improve the image before the final upload. It would save the Mods some time also. The members would have a chance to do what the Mods normaly do. Everyone be nice, and have a great day.

Awesome idea...I know a lot of people say that sometimes they are afraid to give an honest critique, because they feel like they aren't "qualified" to give critiques. A WIP section would (hopefully) have many, many great examples of good critiques. The WIP forum would be a place to improve photography skills, but also critiquing skills.

Lyn, the only downside I see is the potential for abuse? What is a WIP? Can i take something straight out of the camera, throw it in the WIP gallery, let others do all the work, and then flip it in my gallery?

Also, would this count as as an upload for the day? What about after it is worked on and you move it to a regular gallery? Is that an upload to ? Just curious as to your thought process.

I think there is a ton of upside potential in your idea, as long as it isn't abused.

Rich

Yes, I see your point Rich - no I would not imagine it would work by letting others do all the work - just make suggestions, or give examples and the artist would do the work - that is the only way to learn. Someone as accomplished as yourself I would not imagine would flip an image straight off the camera into a WIP forum but maybe someone just starting out who thought an image had potential but no idea what to do, may do so.

Working on a compilation with another member for a previous contest made me realise how much can be learned from interaction of ideas, and techniques..
Request for Comment has the same potential for suggestions to be given, a rework done, and the image re-uploaded, after the original is deleted.

I dont think it should count as an upload - it would only be temprarily in the WIP section - and others could also learn by observation and participation. Possibly the final effort would not be considered suitable for upload in any case.
Maybe a limit of 1 per week, month or whatever, per member, would prevent a flood of snapshots being uploaded willy nilly.

There again perhaps no one would use it.:)

And as the bean man said it would aid in improving critiquing skills.

Request for Comment is a valuable place but if the faults could have been corrected before rather than after I think that could be beneficial.

Often I can see little wrong with an image until a fault is pointed out and very often no instruction on how to correct it is given.

Ok - something like - horizon not straight - why not correct it. I know how to do that, but when I first came here I didn't. There may even have been one or two others in the same boat - instead of me getting advice which was freely and generousy given behind the scenes, everyone who needed to could have learned at the same time - and seen the result.

Those of a more technical disposition could also discuss methods and learn from each other - and with an image to work on would encourage more of us to experiment.