You have to consider the process of publishing. Brittany was told to do a picture for each post. This was probably quite some time ago in order to get the pictures, have them put with the posts and scheduled for publication as most bloggers, Trent included, usually scheduling blogs ahead of time.

Trent said that these are not reprints but include new materials. This means Brittany could not plan her shots to match the context of the post exactly. She had to go with the information she had and was working on this some time ago.

This is why while an internship like this might be good for exposure, it limits her chance to grow as a photographer because what she would have shot for this post two months ago might be very different from a shot she would take for it today – If the posts are done in advance she is not going to be able to incorporate the feedback right away.

There seems to be a lot of criticism without specific ideas for improvement. This isn’t helpful. Every creative person knows they can improve, but it is only useful if we are told “HOW”

For example – The best photography advice I ever received was to take your first picture (or idea for a picture) and discard it. This will be the one everyone takes. Discard your second picture/idea. This will be the one amateur photographers take. Carry on. It is only in the fourth and fifth picture/idea that you will find your own unique and specular viewpoint.

This process will help you step out of stereo types and getting those “Snap shot” pictures anyone can take.

Also, besides being a photographer you have to be a good stylist of both your subjects and backgrounds. This comes with practice and Brittany will find her voice.

I looked at Brittany’s website and she shows promise and much enthusiasm.

Good Luck Brittany and thank you for having the courage to share your work in such a public arena. I can’t wait to see what wonderful things you do with your photography!

However, the feedback is important to help writers and photographers realize that we all bring our own personal experiences and baggage to content. Finding out what others say and share expands our worlds, too.

Good comments, constructive, reasonable, and enlightening. And that’s what I love about this blog.

Dismissing someone who doesn’t agree with you as “silly” is not constructive.

The point is that women are often stereotyped as being impulsive and interested only in superficial things like new shoes (when they already have plenty of shoes); the photo of a blonde woman eyeing a pair of red shoes detracts from the point of the article. Regardless of the merits of the actual image, it reinforces stereotypes and distracts from the article, so it was not a good choice to accompany this post.

Also, I do want to say it was a good photo. It was just wrong for this article.

I’ve actually been thinking about this for a while now – Brittany, if you’re interested in some good-quality feedback on your images, I’d be willing to help out. I won’t pull any punches but I’m also a certified teacher and have significant experience teaching amateur photography so I won’t just tear things apart either. I’ve been a decent amateur photographer since 1999 and have doing paid wedding, portrait, food photography for three years now. If you like, I can contact you through your facebook page.

For the most part here, the comments that are negative in tone are actually presented in a fairly polite, well-reasoned way. Most people say what they think is wrong and then explain why it is wrong. I see nothing wrong with calling Trent out on bad advice or poorly reasoned arguments. Sure, there’s a little bit of snark, but why should we take what Trent says at face value? If he puts it out there, he needs to be prepared to listen to other points of view. Sometimes he even needs to be prepared to take some heat. That’s the nature of the business and the world is not a care-y share-y place where we all think the same things. If I see something that’s incorrect or that I don’t agree with, I will absolutely present my side of the argument, even if that means systematically deconstructing the other argument. In fact, I think we all have a responsibility to be active participants in a conversation.

Ultimately, I don’t read this blog because Trent shares magical wisdom. It’s probably obvious by now that I rarely agree with him and I fully admit to being one of his most vocal critics. I make an attempt to write well-reasoned rebuttals and there have been many times when I drafted comments that I ultimately felt were too snarky so I decided not to post them. I read this blog because the community is active, interesting, and willing to debate. I hate comment sections that have 32 variations on “Great article! Go you!” It’s uninteresting.