How to critique your photos

CritiquingPhotography

Critique using 3 values +Emotional +Artistic +Technical

EmotionalThis is when weview an imagefor the ﬁrst timeand express ourreaction.

EmotionalNote yourimpression andexplain WHY

If I like it,why?If not,why not?

Does it evoke:- an emotion- a mood- tell a story- is it nostalgic

How do youfeel whenyou look atthis photo?

What doesthis photoremindyou of?

What is themood of thephoto?

What didyou see thatmade youclick theshutter?

Things withemotional impact+babies+puppies+graveyards+war photos+old family photos

ArtisticIs the conceptunique,creative?

ArtisticIs thecompositionpleasing tothe eye?

ArtisticIs the subjectplacementpleasing tothe eye?

ArtisticIs the subjectof interestobvious?

ArtisticIs thereanything in theimage that doesnot add to itsimpact?

ArtisticDoes theperspectivework?

ArtisticDoes theimage needcropping?

ArtisticAre lines alignedor not alignedcreatively, orare they meredistractions?

Things with artisticimpact have+good composition+interesting use of light+good use of colour+interesting perspective+compelling subject

TechnicalIs the photo infocus or meantto be blurry?

TechnicalDoes theoverallexposurework?

TechnicalIs the whitebalancecorrect?

TechnicalIs depth of ﬁeldused well?

TechnicalIs there toomuch lensdistortion?

TechnicalIs Photoshopoverly used ?

Technical problems+distract us+lessen the impact+people easily dismiss us+not tolerated in commercial work

A worthy critique remains friendly,thoughtful, positive, considerate, and always honest.

Practice TimeCritique the following photos for practice. Then critique some of your own using emotional, artistic and technical values.

Emotional+Artistic+Technical

Example✦ I like the old brick on this building. It’s nostalgic.✦ The warm colour and the lighting of the shot is nice too. It looks like early morning or late day light.✦ The oﬃce tower in the bottom right corner is distracting and I think it should be removed

Example✦ The leading lines add nice visual interest.✦ I would have tried shooting it from a slightly more frontal view, but still keep the leading lines.✦ The photo is cropped too tightly at the top causing a tangent point at the top of the frame.

Example✦ The photo shows life coming out of what looks like drought✦ The cracks and grass shoots have a lot of repetition✦ This would be a good illustration for a story on global warming or farmland drought

Example✦ The photo is shot on an overcast day and resulted in very low contrast lighting.✦ The s-curve in the middle draws us in and up into the subtle detail of this photo.✦ There isn’t a lot of colour✦ Despite all this I ﬁnd it interesting to look at, and I’d like to see it big.

Example✦ Seeing the Twin Towers in NYC has a lot of emotional impact on me.✦ The horizon is crooked in this shot and there is a railing from the bridge that’s a bit distracting.✦ Using black and white gives it a nostalgic and timeless quality.

Example✦ This photo is a bit busy and I’m having a hard time trying to ﬁgure out what the main subject is.✦ The shadows cause strong angles.✦ The black and white adds some extra grittiness to the shot.

+Emotional+Artistic+Technical

Review

EmotionalThis is when we viewan image for the ﬁrsttime and express ourreaction.Note your impressionand explain WHY

ArtisticIs the concept unique,creative?Is the composition andsubject placementpleasing to the eye?Is the subject ofinterest obvious?

ArtisticIs there anything in theimage that does notadd to its impact?Does the perspectivework?Are lines aligned/notaligned creatively orare they meredistractions?

TechnicalIs the photo in focusor meant to be blurry?Does the overallexposure work?Is Photoshopoverly used?

A worthy critique remainsfriendly, thoughtful,positive, considerate,and always honest.

When critiquing:Oﬀer some depth into thewhy, along with addedsuggestions orrecommendations.

Valuable critiquing utilizesproper etiquette for thepurpose of enhancingand expanding aphotographer’s skill froman objective point of view.

How did that go?✦ Self-critiquing is an important step in your visual literacy.✦ Despite how it sounds, critiquing builds conﬁdence.✦ If you’ve got conﬁdence in your work it will be easier to sell it, and easier to talk about it with others.

How did that go?✦ When working with clients it’s even more important to be able to look at your work objectively, making sure that your photos meet the highest standards, especially the artistic and the technical.✦ Clients hire you to give them something more than what they can do themselves.✦ Give them your best!

How did that go?✦ If you are still having trouble seeing your photos objectively, I can help.✦ I will critique your photos using the same values outlined in this presentation.✦ I’m currently oﬀering photo critiques which provide you with an audio visual critique of a group of your images✦ The critique is delivered via video For more information click here

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How to critique your photos

by ImageMaven Inc. on Nov 30, 2010

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How to critique your photos — Presentation Transcript