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Critiques can be for all levels of photographer. I love to get them, it helps you grow.
It is also the foundation for nearly every college level photography class. I've only taken a few, but from those, know that critiques are invaluable and just a given. You take your assignment in each week, it goes up on the screen or light table, and everyone critiques it...that is what you do week in and week out...you actually get good at it because you know right away it is helping. And giving critiques helps the person doing it because it forces them to put into words what they are thinking, and to justify the position. Not as easy as it sounds.
I did not see anyone leave a class because of it, they stayed and learned. And these were all beginner classes, most of the class had zero experience with photography and did not know anything...to start with that is. As you move past the technical, you get into the creative and artistic (man, that is hard to grasp most of the time!) side of photography, the real challenge. But there are certain fundamentals that can help regardless of talent level.
Not every post has to be a critique. What if the work really is amazing? What if the photographer posting is one of the best in that form of photography? How does one critique that? Then maybe you just ask questions, or make ‘what-if’ comments, always something to talk about.
That being said, 99% of us could use some real feedback, and the most typical and useful form of that is the critique. One does not have to agree with the critique, you can go back and forth on it, that is fine too, IMO. For example, a lot of my stuff tends to “expose for the whites’ or my main subject only, and let the shadows fall into black or shadows without detail. This bugs a lot of people. That’s OK for them to say it. They are correct that the image is not exposed for the entire scene. But if I’m doing it on purpose, then my choice, thank them, explain that, and move on. But if I was not doing that on purpose, would it be useful to have it pointed out, yes!
Many of the critiques I've gotten over the years here really helped a lot, and still so much more to learn...but not if what you get is a thread full of "great job" etc. My place in the photographic journey is past technical, and learning compositions…so I’m always hoping for some great critiques. Also not a landscape photographer so some when I get around to it and post in that forum with some of you folks are REALLY good at it, and many are, I hope you will critique the dickens out of it. 
Will also add that offering a critique is not "mean-spirited" or looking to belittle. That is why a sticky describing this process from start to finish may be helpful, just so everyone is on the same page.
Edited on Jun 29, 2008 at 11:44 PM
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