About Critiques

[ifti]

HOW TO CRITIQUE A PICTURE?

Photography is a purely hobby and I am learning it by taking pictures. On and

off I have visited the site since April 2006. Initially I looked at the top

photos and they are so good that I was intimidated to post here ,?I don?t belong

here?, was the reaction.

 

Then I started looking at the section of critique requested photos and found all

levels of expertise. Have rated >400 and critiqued 66. There is no feedback on

them as to if am I doing it right or wrong?

 

Went back and looked at FAQ there are 17 topics one for how to request a

critique none on how to critique? Searched did not find any discussion in the forum.

 

Your rating system is well defined maybe that?s a subtle way to critique. There

is however no way to suggest how to improve.

 

Most of the Critiques I see are few words some time just one of accolades and

rarely if ever any suggestion to improve.

 

Only one of critique (1/66) the photographer replied to my critique agreeing

with my suggestion.

 

If I see a poor picture should I just rate it poor and move on or should a

critique tell were the flaw is what one should try next time to better it?

 

Today I saw two very bad photos by one person neither with no composition, poor

exposure or nothing of interest in them. Then there was one totally over exposed

and camera was tilted. They were bad and I was going say so then I looked at

their portfolio one has a large number of pictures and lots are class acts. The

other was all mediocre. .

 

So I did not write a critique. Will someone help me understand the culture here

as I for one definitely don?t want to step on any ones toes.

 

Regards ifti

[mwaks]

Many complain that they would rather have written comments then numbers. However as a general rule of diplomacy, negative comments need to be balanced with what seems positive in the photo.

If the photo is just plain bad and has no merit at all?......no comments and a low number of views sends a clear message.

[seismiccwave]

Critique is not about expertise. Photography is about artistic creation. Art is simply

something created by a human being. It may be very pleasing to the originator or a group

of people and not to others.

 

Instead of making a judgmental critique such as this photograph is good or bad maybe a

better way is to say what you like and dislike about an image in your own words.

 

What you like or dislike do not reflect on the photographer as an artist. It simply meant

that you interpret the photograph the way you do.

 

I hope this helps.

[dangoldman]

Always say a positive something in the critique. I have 1800 comments, a lot are on my own photos, but a large percentage of which are also comments on other people's photos, and a portion of those are real critiques. Remember, to critique a photo, you dont have to say the bad things about it. I like crtiques because it means that someone either liked it enough to give it some thought and took the time to right a critique, or that there is something seriously wrong that i missed and for which i am usually (atleast after the fact) happy to hear. I usually try and critique both what happened before the shot, and what can be fixed afterwards if need be.

[iqbal]

This is about "Comments" on a single photo. My observation is that at least 95% of times they are "just praise" to the level of meaningless.

A good comment highlights the negative aspect so that the photographer and others can learn. My other serious misgiving is complete (most of the time) absence of information on tools and techniques, especially a photo with massive digital manipulation. You have no way to know what was actually captured by the camera and what was photographer's own conception and creation. Though it could be a positive aspect of a photographer's creation and artistic ability, but atleast people should know about it.

[kbtphotography]

photo critique is intended to be constructive, I agree with the idea that "just praise" is meaningless... although it is a nice gesture to be ultra-positive, and if you 'love it' you love it and that's wonderful too -- but it could lead to stagnating in a pond of positivity with no challenges for next time, or artistic controversies....these things (although potentially seen as negative or even hurtful) tend to encourage growth and change...and as photographers don't we want to grow and improve? and isn't that positive?

 

one thing I have learned about giving critiques, build them like a sandwich and include positive statements on either side of a critical statement...and always try to encourage thinking for oneself....

 

"Wonderful subject!

Can you think of a better way to see/use the light?

nice use of compositional techniques"

 

those are my two or three cents...oh and one more penny...

 

from my experience, critiques are not usually pleasant, and admittedly it kinda sucks to hear that you could have done better...however, if you truly ask yourself if the feedback is valuable and look unemotionally at your own work you will see areas in need of improvement amongst the beauty -- if you can do this, it is highly likely that you will improve --or at least grow thicker skin--

 

peace,

katherine

kbt photography

[tonmestrom]

I agree with the people before me that it should be constructive. Having said that, I think you started out with a good thing and that is check first if you're dealing with an acclompished photographer rather than a novice. While the first in most cases will be receptive off a less than positive comment I think that a less acclompished one needs rather some encouragement.

If I don't know the person who's written it a single line doesn't do much for me either. Important to consider is that not ever a single photo became better or worse from a comment so nobody should lose sleep over them. There are far more important things to worry about.

 

The fact of the matter is that most people find it very hard to write about an image. While they often instinctively know what they feel they find it hard to put that into words.

 

For myself I don't care if a comment is positive or negative as long as its honest and substantiated. I also try to do that when writing comments on other people's work. There will always be someone who will be offended by your honest opinion. But that's the risk if you expose your work to critique. Frankly I think hardly anyone can complain. I've been exposed to some critique you wouldn't believe in the past by some of my former teachers but it was all aimed to make me better or give me some insight. If people can't cope with that they should better stop. In this community it's a bit different. We all do our best and you have to take that into account. But like I said before as long as you give your honest opinion nobody has the right to complain.

In the last month I've met some great people here who are very good at it but don't shy back from telling me what they don't like. I think that's valuable feedback (the ability to write a meaningfull critique is depended on one's own experience so take that into account too).

 

I agree that there are not enough people who write comments or respond on received ones. You just have to find those that do. That takes some time though.

 

But the best thing of all: if you don't agree or just don't like them you can just ignore them.

 

Keep healthy, Ton

[anthony_brookes5]

Having been a member of a postal portfolio for some 20 years - and learnt a lot and benefited - I can honestly say that the ONLY ctritiques of any value are the ones that describe precisely and firmly what is wrong with the picture. It's nice to have someone say the picture is good but you should only say so if it really is.

[mr. sullen]

"Will someone help me understand the culture here as I for one definitely don't want to step on any ones toes"

 

Answer: The culture here is diverse so say what you feel, be that a one liner or five paragaphs long. If you step on someons toe's, and you will, so be it. Stick to your guns but also consider others thoughts on the photo. If someone makes you feel that you were wrong in your assessment don't get mad just simply and clearly argue you point. It's not so hard but it can be exausting at times. So enjoy it if you can and critique how you want. Shay-

[j.kivekas]

Critique is negative by nature. Those who drum for politeness are probably here for their ego. Face it. If you want to learn, you need to know what is wrong. Especially american people seem to be rather thin skinned here.<p>

When you have a categorized stock like here the critique should always start from the function of the photo. I think it is essential to critique within the genre in question.<p>

Basically you can divide your comments or critique in two: the technical side and the impression or what ever you want to call it. You can also estimate how original or cliche a shot is. Most shots have been done about a million times already.<P>

You can comment about composition. I'd say it is rather subjective. There are many thumb rules of composition to break. You can comment about the light (soft, hard, direction, level,...) and you can estimate the trouble gone into making a shot. A beautiful sunset shot on the beach is one of the easiest ones to produce. A sports shot need perfect timing, a product shot need getting the lights right down to the smallest detail, a macro shot is all about getting the distances right and a characterizing portrait should tell something more than just the shape of a human being.<p>

Anywaya, if you critique/comment within the genre you naturally have some reference of what is accepted or commonly found to work.

[pnfphotography]

I ask myself this same question and have participated in several online photography networks. I still do not feel I am qualified to "critique" work. I comment on what I do like about the image rather than try to find things I do not like. Focus on those things you see in images that strikes your eye as you continue to build your own body of work. I do not know how many of us truly feel "qualified" to judge others. I think I have learned more from viewing others work as to what my eye finds attractive or inspiring.