8 Places to Get Feedback on Your Photos | Dramel Notes

One of the best ways to improve your photography skills is to gather genuine feedback from people who know what they’re talking about. These eight sites are where you can do just that.

Having the most expensive piece of kit is no guarantee for taking good photographs. For that, you need a photographer’s eye, some technical skill, advice that can up your game, and practice.

It’s finding that all-important critical advice and feedback (some may call it smart feedback) that we’re focusing on here. Without advice from people who understand photography better than yourself, you’re locking yourself under a glass ceiling. You need access to individuals who can look at your photos and tell you honestly what you’re doing right, and what you’re getting wrong.

Luckily, the web has a few amazing places where you can gather critiques from people who truly know what they’re talking about (and some who don’t). What’s better: on the following websites, that feedback is completely free of charge.

r/PhotoCritique

With over 37,000 readers, r/PhotoCritique is one of the most well populated places to gather feedback on your photos. it’s so popular, in fact, that we’ve written a piece explaining exactly how to get the most out of /r/PhotoCritique.

As is always the case with Reddit though, some of the comments can come off as pretty harsh, but that’s all in your interest to grow as a photographer. To get the best feedback here, upload a quality version of your photo, and include EXIF data in your post. As a minimum this should include shutter speed, ISO, and aperture.

1X

Not all photos posted to 1X get much of a critique, but if you have a truly interesting image, you’ll receive a ton of valuable feedback. Take a look at some of their popular photos to see what I mean.

Each photo on the site is of a high standard by default. This is thanks to 1X’s approval process. Once your photo is live, other users — including many professional photographers — will tell you exactly what they like and dislike about your work.

Digital Photography School

Digital Photography School’s main site offers a wealth of knowledge for anyone wanting to improve their photography. Additionally, their forums house almost 300,000 enthusiasts, just waiting to offer you help and guidance.

Within the forum, you’ll find a host of sub-forums tailored specifically for requesting photo critiques. These range from landscape critiques, to macro critiques, and comparison critiques. The feedback you can receive in these forums is often highly in depth, and as technical as you can handle.

StackExchange

If you need more immediate feedback, try posting your photos to the Stack Exchange chat room. If the right users are online at the time you post, you can receive some fantastic tips. As this is a chat room (not a forum), you can instantly follow up with questions to dig deeper, in real time.

By scrolling through the chat history there, you can find some incredible discussions, with professionals sharing their best-kept secrets with amateurs in response to a photo being posted.

Flickr

Flickr’s critique forum has around 15,000 members, with almost 5,000 photos being posted for critique.

The feedback posted tends to be thorough, and well thought out. Photographers are often asked to post modified versions of their photos based on the feedback given, too. There’s definitely a lot to be learned here. Flickr also has a selection of great photography groups that you may find useful to join.

Professional Photo Critique

By submitting your photo to Professional Photo Critique, an experienced critic could cast a discerning eye over your work. This is open to you whether you’re an amateur, student, or professional.

The objective feedback received will incorporate both the positives and negatives of your photo, with the aim being to have a “conversation about your work”. You’ll also learn a ton by reading previous critiques that have been posted to the site. Find out how to submit your photo here.

The Grid

Each month, KelbyTV publishes an episode of The Grid (watch on iTunes) focusing on offering blind critiques to submitted photos. Not all submitted photos have the chance of being featured, but if yours is, the standard of feedback is phenomenal. You’re not even required to submit your name, so there’s no chance of being embarrassed if your photos suck.

There are a few submission guidelines, though that’s all standard stuff.

FredMiranda

The critique section of the FredMiranda forums is a popular place to gather some genuine opinions on your work, and advice on how to improve.

Take this photo of a waterfall. The photographer is given useful advice on improving exposure, where to place the horizon, introducing shadows etc. all in the name of free guidance.

When It’s Your Turn to Critique

Once you’ve grown enough as a photographer due to the advice you’ve received, you’ll be in a position to dish out advice yourself.

When this time comes, there are a few things to bear in mind.

A critique is not an opinion. A critique should focus on the objective qualities of a photograph. If something has objectively not worked out, such as lack of focus, you should be offering definite remedies. If they’ve gone too far with their photo-editing program, be specific. You should also explain why it happened in the first place, keeping in mind the context in which the photo was taken.

That being said, you should offer your advice with the photographer in mind. If they are a seasoned photographer, go ahead with offering the most techy advice you have. If they’re a beginner, however, help them to master the fundamentals of photography first.

Overall, keep your critiques constructive. If it’s too negative, it’ll turn the photographer away from photography. If it’s too positive, it’s not really a critique, and doesn’t help the photographer improve.

Which other sites do you go to for advice on your photos? Do you find having your photos critiqued useful? And which are the most valuable kind of critiques for you?

Image Credits:People in Meeting by Rawpixel.com via Shutterstock

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Take This Quiz to Measure Your Actual Productivity | Dramel Notes

Everyone thinks they’re more productive than they really are. There’s nothing wrong with that, per se, but sometimes a wake-up call is needed so we can re-evaluate and improve instead of stagnating.

So, take this productivity quiz by the Guardian to see where you stand and where you still have room to grow. Trust me, you won’t regret it.

The quiz itself is only eight questions long, and each question pertains to a specific hour and how you fare at that point in the day. For example, what’s your morning routine? How do you get through the mid-day slump? What do you do before bed?

All of these factors are important and whatever inefficiencies you have could be impacting your productivity and performance. It’s a simple five-minute quiz, so don’t take my word for it. Try it out!

At the end, it’ll take you through your answers and explain what you’re doing right and what you could be doing better. My results surprised me, and I’m sure your results will surprise you.

So how did you fare? Were you as productive as you thought? What areas can you improve? Share with us in a comment down below!

Image Credit: Businessman at Desk by Mascha Tace via Shutterstock

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12 Christmas Movies on Netflix You Should Watch Right Now | Dramel Notes

Watching Christmas movies on Netflix, regardless of the device, is a great way to enjoy the holidays, especially if you want to really immerse yourself in the season. And don’t worry about your connection, as there are many ways to improve your Netflix stream.

Whatever your preference, and whether or not you think Netflix is worth the money, Netflix is here to help you chill out and enjoy the holidays, wherever you are in the world.

Netflix has so much content it’s often difficult to sort the wheat from the chaff. So, to help you out over the holidays, we have selected 12 Christmas movies worth watching on Netflix.

Bad Santa

Bad Santa is one of the first films I watch during the holidays, mainly because of the crude language and great acting. The film stars Billy Bob Thornton and the late Bernie Mac, with support from John Ritter, Tony Cox, and Lauren Graham.

Bad Santa, which was released in 2003 and was John Ritter’s last film (not including his voice work with Clifford’s Really Big Movie), has turned into a Christmas cult classic, and should be a must-watch over the holidays.

The Nightmare Before Christmas

To be perfectly honest, I’m still not sure if this is a Christmas or Halloween movie, but The Nightmare Before Christmas is a great flick and a true cult classic. It’s also another movie I personally watch to get into the Christmas spirit.

The 1993 film was originally created by Tim Burton as a poem during his days with Disney, and was then turned into a storybook. The dark musical film tells the story of Jack Skellington, aka The Pumpkin King, and his desire to get out of the mundane and tiresome Halloween routine. The movie is unlike any other Christmas movie, which makes it an interesting watch during the holidays.

Planes, Trains and Automobiles

Plains, Trains and Automobiles is another must-watch holiday film, and stars the great Steve Martin and the late, great John Candy. The movie was released in 1987 and is sure to make you laugh, as Martin and Candy are downright hilarious. This movie is definitely a pick-me-up film for the sometimes-stressful holidays and features some very heartwarming moments.

I often enjoy this movie during the holidays with my family, as the movie seems to teach the importance of family and putting up with people you might otherwise not want to deal with.

Everybody’s Fine

Everybody’s Fine stars Robert De Niro and was released in 2009. The movie centers around De Niro’s character and his attempt to reconnect with his children during the holidays, which, sadly, is all too common in real life. The film also stars Drew Barrymore, Kate Beckinsale, and Sam Rockwell.

While the trailer appears to show a cheesy comedy, the film is more of a drama with a few funny moments. This film is just too good to pass up, especially during the holidays.

The Fitzgerald Family Christmas

The Fitzgerald Family Christmas, released in 2012, stars Edward Burns, who also produced. The movie is much like Everybody’s Fine in that it centers around a family trying to reconnect during the holidays.

While the film centers around this emotional issue, the film also has a very romantic theme, with Burns’ character falling madly in love. The movie has been well received by reviewers on Netflix, with many saying that the characters are believable and that their backstories are interesting and easy to follow, which always makes a movie that much easier to watch.

The Ref

Another movie much loved by Netflix reviewers is The Ref, a Christmas black comedy released in 1994. The movie stars Denis Leary, Judy Davis, and Kevin Spacey, and centers around a thief who kidnaps a wealthy and annoying couple on Christmas Eve.

Soon enough, the burglar realizes that he is in over his head when trying to deal with a couple on the verge of divorce, and presses his luck during the entire movie. While you hopefully cannot relate to this film, you can most certainly enjoy it on Netflix during the holidays.

Christmas with the Kranks

Tim Allen, Jamie Lee Curtis, Dan Aykroyd, and “Cheech” (from Cheech and Chong) help to make Christmas with the Kranks a thoroghly enjoyable film. It also teaches a valuable lesson about the importance of, you guessed it, being with family during the holidays.

The movie was adapted from the 2001 book Skipping Christmas by John Grisham. And though it appears at first glance to be a wacky 1990s film, it has some real-life themes that make the movie an interesting watch.

White Christmas

Irving Berlin’s White Christmas movie from 1954 is certainly a classic. The movie features Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye who start up a song-and-dance routine after the war and become wildly popular. The two then join a sister act, played by Rosemary Clooney and Vera Ellen, and head to Vermont to finally experience a White Christmas.

What makes this movie great, aside from the movie itself, are the nostalgic memories you may enjoy while watching it, as it has been regularly broadcast for many, many years during the holidays.

A Christmas Carol

Another classic holiday movie is A Christmas Carol. This version stars Reginald Owen, Gene Lockhart, Kathleen Lockhart, and Terry Kilburn, among others. The film, which is just over an hour long, is one that I have seen many times during Christmas, and was adapted from the 1843 Charles Dickens novel of the same name.

The movie is seen by many as a sentimental favorite, and, much like White Christmas, has been broadcast on TV for many years. Though many people say the film doesn’t stick so closely to the Dickens novel, it is still seen as a favorite Christmas movie and will surely be enjoyed for many more years to come.

Get Santa

Get Santa is a British-based movie with British-based humor. The movie was released in 2014 and features a top notch group of actors and actresses, including Jim Broadbent, Kit Connor, Warwick Davis, and Rafe Spall.

What makes this movie eminently watchable is that it can be enjoyed by kids as well as adults. It also features an interesting plot that will really get the kids in the family cheering for Santa. As if they weren’t doing so already.

Love Actually

Another movie based in England is Love Actually, a 2003 film which stars an ensemble cast of actors and actresses. The comedy has received mostly positive reviews on Netflix and is described on the site as witty, romantic, and sentimental.

The movie centers around 10 love stories that intertwine throughout the movie and eventually lead up to a “climax on Christmas Eve.” If you’re a sucker for romantic comedies, you’ll love this film. If not, give it a try anyway, as the London scenery is sure to impress.

A Very Murray Christmas

A Very Murray Christmas features the one and only comedic genius that is Bill Murray, among a whole host of other Hollywood A-listers. The movie, pitched as a fake documentary, is hilarious and an “irreverent twist on holiday variety shows.”

The trailer should be all you need to know whether you’d like to check this one out for yourself. However, George Clooney is in it, so we’re guessing that’s half the population sold on it already.

What Christmas Movies Are You Watching?

If you’re looking for more great Christmas movies to watch on Netflix, just click on “Genres,” then “Holiday Favorites” to find more hand-picked holiday films available to watch right now. And then come back here to tell us what gems you found.

What Christmas movies are you looking forward to watching on Netflix over the holiday season? Are you a fan of the flicks featured in the list? Or are you desperate to tell us about a Christmas movie we should have featured?

The comments section is located below for you to have your say.

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Quickly Improve Your Handwriting with These Fantastic Resources | Dramel Notes

If you’ve always wanted to improve your handwriting but never got around to it, here’s your chance.

If you’re a firm believer in graphology — the study of handwriting and its relation to character traits — you may believe that your handwriting is as fixed as your character.

But you’d be wrong.

You may also believe that decent handwriting is obsolete, or that teaching cursive in schools is a waste of time. But for many, teaching handwriting is still something we need to take seriously.

As is teaching ourselves good handwriting.

There’s a wealth of resources, both online and offline, designed to help you straighten out those scribbles, and to make your scruffy handwriting somewhat more readable.

Why Handwriting is Important For Adults

For children, good handwriting can lead to improved grades, and an easier time at school. For adults, however, the benefits are different. And they are more than simple vanity.

Writing by hand has its own host of assets, from acting as therapy to improving memory. But if your scrawls remain illegible, not just to others, but to yourself, you lose out on a good portion of those benefits.

By not being able to look back on, and understand, your written-down thoughts and ideas, you are unable to make proper decisions based on them. If your writing is especially bad, going through those thought processes again is often easier than struggling to decipher what you wrote in the first place.

If you need any more convincing, watch this entertaining TEDx Event talk given by Jake Weidmann. He explores the connection between the pen and how we learn, think, and carry our cultural heritage in a time when everything around us is bits and bytes.

If you’re looking for an even more pragmatic reason to improve your handwriting, the handwritten note will never be fully replaced by email. When it comes to building your network, or climbing the career ladder, Jessica Cleiman believes:

In this day and age, when sadly we’re getting fewer and fewer letters in the mail, a handwritten thank you note, well-crafted on good stationery, will make a candidate [or acquaintance] stand out from others who chose not to take that extra, personal step.

It’s true that a hand-written note tends to hold more value than a simple email or text. If you are able to craft such a note in decent, if not excellent, handwriting, you’re able to use this as a tool to create deeper relationships, and — according to some small business owners —  as an excuse to stand out from the crowd.

A Few Common Lessons

Throughout the courses, lessons, apps, and books that follow, there are a few basics that keep coming through.

1. Start with basic movement exercises to loosen up
2. Practice your handwriting every day.
3. Slow your writing down
4. Examine writing that you like

Whichever of the following resources you choose to make use of, be sure to keep these four “rules” in mind at all times until your improved handwriting style becomes second nature.

The Basics: Writing Cursive

This basic, 29-part YouTube course on How To Write In Cursive (the first video is above) is a thorough place to start. You will feel like you’re back in school, but you’ll be surprised at how many of the fundamentals you’ve completely forgotten.

Each lesson is only a few minutes long, and comes with a free worksheet (the link to which is in the corresponding video description) to print out to help you practice.

If you want to practice these basics even more, print out and work your way through this cursive writing workbook from Peterson Handwriting.

Novice Tips

Once you’ve nailed the basics again, you may want to make a few alterations to your style to add some more personality, or professionalism to your handwriting.

This 14-minute video by professional sign-writer John Neal is aimed specifically at adults who want to improve their handwriting. The meat and potatoes starts at 2:30, where you’ll be shown how to pay special attention to rhythm, speed, and direction.

Becoming a Pro

Next, work your way through this short, 8-part YouTube course taught by a handwriting specialist. Much of the information does overlap with the previous video, but hearing two different descriptions of similar techniques will most definitely serve to help.

Splashing Out

If you’ve tried the above courses (and practiced), without seeing much improvement, it may be time to spend a little cash on something more comprehensive.

Udemy have a highly rated 4-hour course titled Improve your Handwriting – Improve your Life ($100), with many past students citing “immediate improvements”.

The aim of the course is to guide you through daily, 10-minute practice sessions gradually changing your muscle memory, and causing a positive effect on your handwriting. You can sign up to Udemy for a free preview of the course.

Going Old School

If you’re looking at using a textbook to help improve your handwriting, there are two books I would recommend.

The first is Rosemary Sassoon’s Improve Your Handwriting ($13). The structure of this book encourages adult readers to experiment with styles to find the one that works for them, including left-handers.

The second is Barbara Getty’s Write Now: The Complete Program For Better Handwriting ($18). The aim of this book is to help anyone “achieve elegant, legible handwriting” by focusing on writing in a specific italic style.

Try Two Mobile Apps

Although handwriting is almost exclusively for pen and paper these days, you can use mobile devices (usually tablets) to help you practice. Using these apps on your smartphone is possible, but won’t be particularly effective as you need a larger, flatter area on which to write.

If you have an iPad, the Cursive Practice app (Free) is an easy way for you to practice your cursive writing on the go. The lessons take you through uppercase, lowercase, individual words, sentences, and numbers. You’re also able to change the width and style of your “pen”.

A similar option for Android devices is Writing Cursive (Free). This mainly focuses on uppercase and lowercase letters, so has less functionality than the iOS app mentioned above. Even so, it’s still an easy and enjoyable way to practice your cursive to help build that muscle memory.

Ideally, you would be using these apps with a stylus pen, rather than your finger. If you wanted to you could even build your own stylus pen.

Practice Handwriting on Worksheets

Once you’ve spent some time studying how to improve your handwriting, you’ll need to have some decent worksheets on which to practice.

If you search Google Images for “handwriting worksheets” (searching specifically for large images which are suitable for printing), you should be able to find all you need. If you’re after something more specific, try:

• Blank handwriting worksheets
• Cursive handwriting worksheets
• Sentence handwriting worksheets

If you’re after something more specific, you can use a wesbite such as HandwritingPractice to create the exact worksheet you need. These include both dot and outline worksheets, with plenty of customization options.

A Life of Beautiful Handwriting

Once you’ve spent a good deal of time practicing the lessons you learn from these resources, you’ll turn writing beautifully into a habit. This should be a habit you’ll never have to relearn. You may even love your new handwriting so much you want to turn it into your very own font.

After seeing all of the resources that are so easily available, will you be making the time to improve your own handwriting? If so why? Why do you think good handwriting is so important?

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