NikonGear'23
Images => Critique => Topic started by: Andrea B. on June 18, 2015, 23:14:01
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This was initially published on old Nikongear 01 May 2010. Someone asked me for a copy of it, but I did not have one. So I will cut/paste and possibly revise the original post here.
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Photo Critique: One Good Sentence
by Andrea G. Blum
01 May 2010
Last update: 18 June 2015
As the Commenter: You Can Write One Good Sentence about a Photograph
Please do not fall into the trap of thinking that you don't know anything about critiquing a photo. Of course you do, you just don't realize it yet!
- You have eyes to see the photo.
- You have a response to what you are seeing.
- You have an opinion about what you are seeing.
- You have a keyboard in front of you.
Express your opinion !!! Write something about the photo you are seeing. Everyone can write One Good Sentence about a photo. Commenting on another person's photo can help your own Photographic Eye develop.
As the Commenter: Respond to the Photo's Content
Here are a few things to get you started.
- What is the photo about ? A place, a time, a person, a thing ?
- Does the content tell a story ? Record a moment ? Document an event ?
- How do you relate to the photo content ?
- Do you like the photo content ? Dislike it ? Does it 'grow on you' ?
- Do you wish you had made this photo ?
- Does the photo subject remind you of a past event ? A personal experience ? Something you've seen ? A place you have been ?
- Is the photo mode abstract ? Realistic ? A collage ? A Photoshop mashup ?
- Does the chosen mode support the content ? Obfuscate it ? Make you think about the content in a new way ?
As the Commenter: Respond to the Photo's Technical Aspects
Writing about technical stuff is much easier than writing about personal responses.
- Composition, Exposure, Color, Processing Techniques -- what grabs you first technically ?
- How does your eye travel through the photo ?Is the eye-flow smooth ? Zig-zag ? Dancing ? Boring ? Diagonal ? Dynamic ? Static ?
- Does your eye suddenly get stuck somewhere ? If so, did the photographer intend that to happen for emphasis ? Are there curves ? Repeated elements ? Randomness ? Negative space ?
- Are there "flaws" ? Is the horizon crooked ? Is there distortion ? Did someone's feet or head go missing ? Is the subject too centered subject ? Are there twiggy bits that need cloning out ? Did the photographer perhaps intend these (so-called) "flaws" for the sake of creative compositional 'tension' ?
- Would a judicious crop simplify the photo ? Enhance the subject ? Does the crop ratio -- pano, square, 3:2, 4:3, etc. -- work for the photo content ? What crop might you try ?
- Is the photo overexposed ? Underexposed ? Purposefully high-key ? Purposefully dark ? Are details present in both brightest and darkest areas ? Do the blow-outs need to be reined in ? Or do they work ? Are the shadows too blocked up ? Is the contrast too low ? Too high ?
- Are the photo's colours or B&W supportive of the photo content ? Too saturated ? Too harsh ? Smooth & pleasing ? Irrelevant ? Too weird ? Too lomo-like ? Just right ? Is the white balance "off" ?
- Is the sharpening well done ? Too crunchy ? Underdone ?
- Are there too many special effects ? Does an Orton, HDR or other special process enhance the photo content in a good way ? Or does the special technique overwhelm the photo ?
As the Commenter: Respond to the Photographic Genre
- What photographic genre are you looking at ? Street, landscape, nude, Fine Art, portrait....(can't list 'em all). Does the photo fit any genre at all ?
- Is this particular genre inside or outside your "comfort zone" ? Have you learned anything by responding to a photo which is outside your comfort zone ?
- Is this photo a good example of its genre ? Does it break new ground in its genre ?
As the Commenter: The "If I've Seen This Once, I've Seen It a Thousand Times" Syndrome
Yes, you may have seen this particular genre or type of photograph a gazillion times. But the photographer/poster may not have ever made that kind of photo before and still needs a comment or two to guide them on their way. [I am assuming here that the photo does not fit the dreaded Snapshot Genre which is dealt with below.]
As the Commenter: Only Two (2) Rules
- "Don't be cruel", said Elvis. You can quite dislike a photo for very good reasons and yet still write about it without being mean, cruel or snobbish.
- Don't let a photo slide off a forum page with no comment. You would not want this to happen to you, right ?
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As the Poster: Please Initiate the Dialogue When You Want to Receive Comments or Critique
- Tell the viewers of your photograph what you were trying to achieve technically, compositionally, emotionally, documentarily or whatever-ly with the photo you have posted.
- Ask your viewers questions about the parts of technique, composition, content or anything else that you are unsure about or that you would like comments about.
- Never ask whether the photo is "good" or not. Really -- do not ask that. There is no meaningful answer to that question.
As the Poster: Please Be Patient
We all have our own photographic work to keep up with. Sometimes it takes a few days for some of us to get to NG, to look through the new posts on the forum and then to write a few comments responses.
As the Poster: NO! Please Do Not Post That Snapshot
We've seem them all before, and
we don't want to look at them again,
and we're sure as heck not gonna comment on snapshots.
Srsly.
As the Poster: Only Two (2) Rules
- Please Say "Thank You" like your Mom taught you to do.
If someone has taken time to Comment, it is the proper thing to do to say Thanks. You don't have to post a Thank You after each comment -- just one generic Thank You per thread is cool. - Don't Go All Snippy if You Don't Like the Comment. This shouldn't have to be on the list.
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SNAPSHOT or PHOTOGRAPH ?
What's Your Photographic Intention ??
Excerpt from a posted comment: How to know for sure when the image you're thinking about posting is a snapshot.
I think only you yourself -- as the Photographer -- can know whether you are taking snapshots or making photographs. It's all about your intention or purpose.
Good Memory shots of family, events, pets, vacations and so forth? The photographic intention is personal. These photos will wind up only in Grandma's family album because only another family member (or friend, whatever) will ever care about the content.
Working the scene, trying different compositions, looking for "the line", thinking hard about framing, trying to "say" something visually, going into a photo-trance: The photographic intention is, well, photographic, or artistic.
Oh sure, there can be overlap between the two types of photographic intention. And if you handle it right, then you will become the next hugely famous Sally Mann, and the world will pay really big bucks for your work. ;D Nothing in Photography or Art or Art Photography is really well defined.
Can a Snapshot be a Good Photograph ? Of course. Ever seen the work of William Eggleston who some say elevated the Snapshot into Fine Art ? Everytime I look through his book -- William Eggleston's Guide -- I'm alternately horrified ("I don't get it. These just look like old snapshots !!") and then awed ("I can't stop LOOKING. Why do these hideous snapshots work SO WELL ??). If you are another William Eggleston, we will gladly accept your Snapshots as Fine Art.
The End
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I deleted this post.
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[[Vivek: about your complaint: I posted this as stated - as a favor for a friend. This ain't flapping rules/regulations or anything else. Geez you are a pita.]]
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A certain structure in the way of thinking can be beneficial for many users.
Otherwise, just do something else.
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I also deleted this post though it may create a wrong impression.
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That I certainly am. Hope there is room here in this place for me a little while.
Look, I do not want to waste my time in a repressive pedantic school. I want to enjoy photography and not be bogged down by it.
The more rules and regulations- you get the idea. May fit many but not for me.
[[Vivek, if you don't like what I write, then it is really easy - just stay out of the threads I write in. It is extraordinarly presumptuous of you to assume you can tell other people what to post and what not to post. I am extremely tired of your trash-talk to me in the forums I frequent.]]
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To every one interested: This kind of interchange serves no useful purpose. Please stop now.
Also do note: We will NOT delete or hide such threads. So think twice before you post a rash comment. It will be there forever.
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Any member starting to delete his or her own posts will be put on a moderation thread so further actions cannot be performed before approved. Deleting content is equivalent to thrashing site value.
Again, all these troubles are easily eschewed simply by thinking twice before you post.
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Wise words from Andrea, thanks for reposting from the past.
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No good deed goes unpunished
Oscar Wilde
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Thank you Andrea. Happy you are here.
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Thanks for posting this.
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Thanks for posting this Andrea.
Focusing on one good sentence in a comment about a posted image is a great idea.
As for acerbic and disparaging comments... They rarely (if ever) benefit anyone.