How to critique your photos

How to critique your photos
Critiquing Photography
Critique using 3 values +Emotional +Artistic +Technical
Emotional This is when we view an image for the first time and express our reaction.
Note your impression and explain WHY Emotional
If I like it, why? If not, why not?
Does it evoke: - an emotion - a mood - tell a story - is it nostalgic
How do you feel when you look at this photo?
What does this photo remind you of?
What is the mood of the photo?
What did you see that made you click the shutter?
Things with emotional impact +babies +puppies +graveyards +war photos +old family photos
Artistic Is the concept unique, creative?
Is the composition pleasing to the eye? Artistic
Is the subject placement pleasing to the eye? Artistic
Is the subject of interest obvious? Artistic
Is there anything in the image that does not add to its impact? Artistic
Does the perspective work? Artistic
Does the image need cropping? Artistic
Are lines aligned or not aligned creatively, or are they mere distractions? Artistic
Things with artistic impact have +good composition +interesting use of light +good use of colour +interesting perspective +compelling subject
Technical Is the photo in focus or meant to be blurry?
Does the overall exposure work? Technical
Is the white balance correct? Technical
Is depth of field used well? Technical
Is there too much lens distortion? Technical
Is Photoshop overly used ? Technical
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 Time Critique 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
Emotional This is when we view an image for the first time and express our reaction. Note your impression and explain WHY
Artistic Is the concept unique, creative? Is the composition and subject placement pleasing to the eye? Is the subject of interest obvious?
Artistic Is there anything in the image that does not add to its impact? Does the perspective work? Are lines aligned/not aligned creatively or are they mere distractions?
Technical Is the photo in focus or meant to be blurry? Does the overall exposure work? Is Photoshop overly used?
A worthy critique remains friendly, thoughtful, positive, considerate, and always honest.
When critiquing: Offer some depth into the why, along with added suggestions or recommendations.
Valuable critiquing utilizes proper etiquette for the purpose of enhancing and expanding a photographer’s skill from an 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
www.imagemaven.com

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