Disappointment with Comments (Or Lack Of) On Your Posts

The standards are sooooo much higher than they were when I first joined, and there are so many more members as well. I'm not much of a photographer, and I don't have popular dolls, so I don't get a ton of comments either. If I'm lucky those who have the same tastes as I or who like my work will be looking in the gallery when my posting happens to be on the first page, but given the small number of bjd people who like mini girls and how fast a post can fall to like, page 4 the odds are just against me! XD
So don't take it personally!
I'm not about to change what I do because I need some kind of attention for it. Do what you do because it's meaningful to you.

Raven

 

I get the same thing. I dont have the most popular of doll sculpts, and so dont get that many comments when I post in the gallery. But I admit, I RARELY post in the gallery because Im not that great of a photographer. I even have a nice camera, and it does little good. I do get some comments, and have even been surprised a few times when it hits two pages. But there is a secret to that. I wait to bump my gallery post. When it disappears off of the first page I go find it, and if I havent replied on it, I do and bump it back to the first page. It works fairly well, and sometimes it doesnt. And yeah, getting no to only one or two comments is really discuraging, but I keep at it because I like to share my pictures. ^^

That happens in the photostories as well.. Im not the best story teller, but I try at least. Iv done a few silly, no point ones, that get alot of laughs and alot of comments, so that makes me feel happy that Iv made someone laugh at least.

 

I speak for personal experience.
Frequently i've posted pics of my dolls in several board, even not related with BJD, as i collect so many other kind of dolls, and size,form Fashion royalty, to blythe to pullp, to living dead dolls, and only few comment where posted, and that make me very sad, a nice comment can mean so much after all the time you've spend in taking pics..
But taste is pesonal, or some dolls are more popular thne others, so you'll have to work with, sometimes it seams that you're not skilled enought, or that your dolls aren't popular enought, i don't think to be done as photgrapher but i'm not for sure a Rookie, as i've been payed in years for some artwork, sometimes it happens....moove on and do it for yourself only, as i do,
for sure you'll do pretty lovely pics, i'm looking forward to see them.Personally i've never post in critique section to me is useless as everyone have it's own eye to take pics, so it could be pretty hard to follow someone else directive.
LotOfLove

 

I def feel the non-popular sculpts, lack of talent and poopie camera that makes for no comments.

It always makes me feel like I should have tried harder. But, it's hard to "try harder" when you're doing the best you can for what you have. And yeah, I improve a bit each time, but when do I get good enough to warrant more than two comments?

 

Well, the replies to the question in answer was pretty interesting to read. But anyways, i have to agree that it does get kinda discouraging (?) when you've put in relative amount of efforts and thought that your pictures were okay~

But perhaps, there needs to be some eye-catching things with your photos (like what was already mentioned in front), or some X-factor that causes people to want to say something else other than : "he's so cute".
And it doesn't really matter so much as to having the latest SLR etc, because it still boils down to how creative you are, how you experiment with things etc! And my camera's not any better either. Just some normal pns. :/

Hmm, not that i'm trying to say that i've got lots of hits on the pictures that i've posted (which isn't really so), but i think the main thing, is to just play around with new ideas and try to incorporate them into your pictures (hahah, but my pictures are pretty boring too, so i can't say much on this either), so as to make them more interesting! 8D;

I've seen people getting popular sculpts just to kinda like, get more hits on the thread? Which is kinda saddening because they are just buying them for the sake of buying. Oh well, that's a generic example, so i guess there's not much to prove what i've raised either. ^^;; And, there's not really much of a need to get rather depressed over lack of comments. >_<;;

Cheers!

 

I don't seem to get many comments whether I'm posting an obscure sculpt or my Soom MD. *shrug* I have yet to figure out what draws the commenters, so I just continue to post as I see fit and if someone likes it enough to comment, then great, and if not, then I can always rely on my dollie friends for feedback.

 

I must be getting more use to not getting all that much notice on my shoots because it does'nt really bother me anymore. Yes, at first it is kind of disappointing, but in the end if a few people appreciate what you did, and you get to share your artistic vision, that is what it is all about anyway. Sharing and being part of the community is much more gratifying in the long run than getting your ego stroked by counting the number of posts you get.

 

I put my doll photography on four websites, my other photography on two, and my art on one. I have tried everything from asking people to give me comments or critiques, sending out links, even flat out begging but honestly it is very difficult to get the right kind of audiance and I know it's frustrating (for me at least) to see someone who is popular or has a really popular mold get pages of comments longer then the amount of comments I could get on 10 of my threads (at least).

It would never deter me from making art, photography and non, but it makes me sad not to be able to get one really good comment on something. A few nice comments or favorites will warm my day, a really good critique would seriously (and the one time it happened, it did) make my week.

I think I will always be dissapointed with something that doesn't get a response, but I'll still keep trying. I think I should note that I rarely look at artwork without comment, especially if I like it or have something to offer.

 

I don’t believe (most) people have a personal goal to not post on other peoples’ threads, it’s just a combination of many
things that give (different ) people the desire to leave a comment. Personally, I don’t think it is good to take things
so seriously as to feel disappointment for lack of comments – it is just another hobby after all. Most things in life are
meant to be taken ‘with a grain of salt,’ I doubt this hobby is the exception. ^ ^

That said, I think that the number of comments left by others seems to depend on a number of many factors; such as how popular a sculpt is,
how popular the owner of the doll(s) is, how well executed the photos look, the way the doll is dress/posed/customized, etc…
I have also read that some people view posts depending on its title, but maybe that doesn’t influence people to leave a comment
as well, just make them curious?

Personally, I don’t receive many comments either, but that doesn’t stop me, or disappoint me in anyway. I do sometimes wonder
why “X-number” of people decided to click on my thread, as opposed to the number who actually left a comment...but that's about it! XD
I don’t take very good photos, and the sculpts I’m attracted to, are rather unpopular – but still I enjoy taking photos of them.
I hope to improve one day, however whether that inspires people to leave me a comment or not, will certainly have no effect
on whether I keep posting photos of my dolls or not. It is nice to receive comments, but not a factor for me to keep taking photos
of my dolls (& sharing them everywhere I can!). >_<;;;

- Enzyme ^.^

 

I figure that gallery threads are popular based on the dolls that are in them. Sometimes a better photoshoot will get a lot of comments, but this isn't always the case.

I've only ever posted one gallery thread and it was fairly recently. I suppose the only real disappointment I get is that I don't know which comments are sincere and which ones are just posted by those trying to get 40 posts for Marketplace access. :/ Honesty is important to me so unless someone really thinks my dolls or pictures are cute or good, I don't want them to say that.

 

It simply moves too fast for me. I do not have good light inside period and outside...well, I don't have many places to even take a picture. I can't comment on gallery posts due to most having so many pictures. I'm on dial-up so most pictures come up as a red X. Heck, it takes me forever to even upload my own pictures to photobucket! So I stopped taking pictures. Most of my dolls are so common so no one comments.

 

I don't post in the gallery often, but when I do, I don't take it personally if not any or many people comment. I post to amuse myself for the most part. I think it's fun to participate sometimes, even if I'm not an expert photographer. I miss lots of wonderful photos, I'm sure, just because the gallery moves so quickly and I don't have the time always to look, except at the first two pages or so.

 

There are two things that really get me with gallery comments.

One is that I've seen more up-nose, washed out by flash, dirty mucky background, badly posed dolls, and absolutely HORRIBLE dialog posted that just get flooded by comments saying how cute and charming and funny the doll is. It absolutely baffles me how THAT mess gets more comments than someone who's taken the time and the willpower and the EFFORT to produce something worth looking at. Thats what you get on DoA. It seems like the more effort you put into something, the more likely it is to be trampled by all those terrible, talentless posts that the owner didn't even TRY with.

The other thing is that when somebody posts a photostory or a continuation of a story- the people that ASKED for it and wanted to see it are nowhere to be found in the slightest...And so the story dies with people commenting (if at all) who never even saw part one or wanted to see more.

I know my own photos are hit or miss sometimes but DAMN at least I try. I take my photos and edit, adjust, crop, label, frame...All these things to make them look as nice as I can and its all for nothing because the doll posted right after me with a rats nest for a wig and eyes going 6_9 that has been thrown into a bowl on a filthy counter for whatever reason (aww how CUTE) has stolen the spotlight. That just sucks. Thats all there is to it.

 

Hmmm...but, you know what, there are people posting and looking at pics for different reasons. Some people are really into photography and when they photograph their dolls, they're creating a piece of art work. They work hard to hone their skills and put out something really well done. However, there are also people that just take pics of their dolls to share the dolls with the community, and are less interested in becoming great photographers. Viewers maybe drawn to a particular doll because of it's sculpt or relationship with the owners rather than seeking out exceptional pieces of photography, because it's the doll they're interested in rather than the photograph. But then the opposite people exist as well--those who are very picky about the quality of the photography.

It's also pure chance that a photoshoot or story will be on the first few pages when the people who are interested are actually perusing the galleries, which maybe the bigger issue.

 

The internet does not and never has given points for effort, and I think the sooner we all accept that the happier we'll be.

Anyway, none of us here are the effort police. You can't tell how much time or effort someone put into a photoshoot by looking at it. Some of those people turning out lovely shoots are inevitably JUST THAT GOOD and some of the people doing terrible ones are just that bad and then there's most of us in the middle. I don't think it's anybody's place to dictate how much effort is "necessary" or who "deserves" comments more than anyone else.

 

So if I had a popular doll mold that people were wanting to see and I just plopped it down on a filthy carpet without brushing its wig or pulling its head down so its not staring into outer space- that deserves to be commented on just because I feel like sharing?

Its a gallery. The whole idea of posting pictures is to share your dolls. What I'm getting at is it seems like whether people put forth an ounce of effort or not- it doesn't seem to matter.

No, you don't have to be a professional photographer or even a photography enthusiast to be able to take two seconds to brush the dust bunnies away from your doll and straighten her head before you share it with the world.

 

Nobody "deserves" anything. I think it's really dangerous to start thinking that because you expended effort in your photoshoots you are deserving of comments, and someone who expended less effort is less deserving. The DOA gallery and its commenters don't owe you anything, however much time and effort you put into your post.

 

From the 'non-posting' side, I don't comment much because a) I don't spend a lot of time in the gallery and b) I feel kind of cheap just posting 'OMG I love your dolls!' everywhere - I try to only post if I have something actually meaningful to say. Not necessarily about the poster's photography skill (though I do post about that sometimes, lol) but about the content of the picture. I didn't realise getting loads of 'your doll is cool' posts was important

From the 'non-receiving' side, I really don't care Most of my threads don't get a lot of attention and I'm fine with that. If I wanted loads of "OMG that pic/doll is awesome" posts I'd post my pics on deviantArt (cause let's face it, up until recently there wasn't much in the way of meaningful critique going on there unless you were a really good artist already, but that's off topic and merely an aside =3) I post my pictures (on the rare occasion I have time/inclination/a remotely good camera to do so with) because I like to share my dolls, and I know that ownerpics help a lot of people decide on what doll to get ^_^

With photostories, I post on ones of people I'm following (and even then not all that often and not on every story), or ones I really love - again, I don't feel the need to post on every photostory I read, particularly if the only comment I can think of is identical to the one above me.

 

I don't think anybody owes anybody anything. But as far as personal opinion- which is what this is- I disagree with the bolded part. Thats just me, and what I think. I'm not trying to start a huge debate. I just happen to feel differently on that. And I don't mean me personally. Some of my photos deserve to go un-noticed. Posting them at the time I thought they were great. Now I wonder what I was on when I took the photos. I mean people in general. It makes me sad to see really really nice photoshoots get passed over. Just to clarify.

 

It's true -- the more "popular" or "in vogue" sculpts, the rarer ones, etc -- tend to get the most gallery views and comments. Also, timing your post correctly so that it doesn't get buried immediately also plays heavily into things.

As many have mentioned, you don't need an expensive camera to take good photos. There are more factors other than the camera to take into consideration when taking pictures. Being creative with your shots can generate a lot more attention and chatter, even if you have a common sculpt.

I know myself, I am more likely to post a comment if the photos impress me--and that usually is when someone was able to capture their doll as if it were a real person. Or, it is in a unique setting, etc. What's frustrating, personally to me, is seeing folks who post 7 shots of the same angle at the same distance. All you see is a portion of the face that's not even looking close to the camera. Put some variety into your shots and angles. I like to see the whole doll, but that doesn't mean it has to be a boring shot. Play around more, experiment.

But yeah, if you're posting in the gallery only for comments, you're going to be disappointed and are taking photos for the wrong reasons.