Welcome Guest
[Log In]
[Register]
- SnapShot Forum
- →
- THE LEARNING CENTER
- →
- The Schoolhouse
- →
- How to Critque?
| We hope you enjoy your visit. You're currently viewing our forum as a guest. This means you are limited to certain areas of the board and there are some features you can't use. If you join our community, you'll be able to access member-only sections, and use many member-only features such as customizing your profile, sending personal messages, and voting in polls. Registration is simple, fast, and completely free. Join our community! If you're already a member please log in to your account to access all of our features: |
| How to Critque? | |
|---|---|
| Topic Started: Jan 30 2008, 09:58 AM (169 Views) | |
| gretchensteele | Jan 30 2008, 09:58 AM Post #1 |
Admin
|
There are lots of methods..I've always tired to follow a model similar to this - I learned to critique in different way by being on some of the sites that are devoted to critque and can be brutal at times....it's hard to hear a shot you've worked on and truthfully have developed some emotional attachment to just isn't that great... but by picking through what isn't so great or just awful about it...you learn not to make the mistake again. I probably learned more from those brutal critiques than I ever did from the sites where everybody loves everything! LOL so here we go...( I saved this from somewhere but honestly can't recall now..so I can't give proper credit to the original author) 1) Look First of all, take a close look at the photograph. Let your eyes scan it closely: Make sure that you’ve caught every possible detail of the photo. If something jumps out at you as being really good or really bad, note it, but don’t say anything 2) Interpretation Now, talk about the photo for a little bit. This is the thing that is most frequently overlooked when doing critiques, but is actually one of the most useful things you can do to a photographer. For the interpretation, start off by saying “When I look at this photo, I feel…”. Explain what sort of emotional response the photo raises in you. Follow up with “I think this photo is about…”. Any symbolism you spot, tell the photographer. If you aren’t sure, let them know that. 3) Technical points The next thing to take care of, is the technical points. Is the photograph technically okay? Did you spot dust, is the exposure okay, is there any unwanted blur (wrong focus, motion blur, zoom blur etc)? Are the colours accurately represented? What’s the contrast like? Could the photographer have used lighting differently? Would a bigger or smaller aperture have been beneficial? 4) Artistic points What do you think about the crop and aspect ratio? If the photo is in black and white, should it have been in colour and vice-versa? Is there a good balance between the foreground and the background? Would the photo have worked better with a different prop / model? 5) Good points This is where you point out what you like about the photograph, and why. The why bit is most important: If you can’t tell why you like X, Y, or Z, there’s no point in mentioning it. “I like the sky” is useless. “I like the colour of the sky” is better. “I like the deep blue colour of the sky because it contrasts nicely with the yellows and reds in the photo” is perfect. Put some thought into this. 6) Points worth improving This point is saved for last, because you’ve made the photographer more confident about their photograph by now. It is still important to remember that the photo has been taken, and that this photo can’t really be changed anymore. As such, there’s no point in slating people for their photographs. Tell them one or two specific points that could be improved on this particular photo (’clean up dust’ and ‘turn into black and white’ are useful suggestions, as they can done in the darkroom), and perhaps one or two points that you would have done differently, if you were the one taking the photograph. 7) Overall How did this photo appear to you overall? |
 |
 
|
| BlueIce | Jan 30 2008, 10:14 AM Post #2 |
~intrinsically damaged~
|
Gretchen I moved this to the schoolhouse because it in an invaluable lesson that as photographers we all need! |
|
|
|
| gretchensteele | Jan 30 2008, 11:01 AM Post #3 |
|
Admin
|
Thanks for moving it..I wsn't exactly sure where to put it...:) |
|
|
|
| kman627 | Jan 30 2008, 11:14 AM Post #4 |
Film Junkie
|
Great post! Definitely a good guide and a great lesson for all. I think the hardest part of critiquing is being honest. You know the person felt it was a good photograph, so it can be hard to tell them otherwise. While being kind might make you feel better, it's not going to make the person a better photographer. I think the next thing to do here would be for someone to post a photograph and have us all critique it. Any volunteers? I have no problem with posting one if anyone would be interested. |
|
|
|
| petmagnet | Jan 30 2008, 11:30 AM Post #5 |
|
Okay..Critique away! I liked this shot when I first took it the other day..but I now know it's not to interesting photographically. (At least not in others eyes.) This image has been sharpened and resized only. I couldn't shoot from a low angle, had to get on the top of my pick-up to get the entire trunk and swing in the frame because of ground elevations varying. I don't have any extra lenses or filters for my SONY DSC-H1 camera. No tripod was used. I am ready for, now.. Tell me what I should have done...I can take it!. Thanks!  
|
|
|
|
| gretchensteele | Jan 30 2008, 03:43 PM Post #6 |
|
Admin
|
Well, since I opened this can of critique worms I'll start - using the model for critique in this thread LOL Bear in mind I'm doing this from the library's not so great monitor... while you may feel that it doesn't have a lot "interest" it does have some great symbolism...to me it had a lovely minimalist look to it..almost a sense of abandonment... That being said I think that feeling / symbolism could maybe be heightened if this were converted to BW or maybe a duotone. The sky is just bit light..although I realize it's tough to get deep blue skies in the winter..especially without the aid of polarizer or ND... I also think just a slight trim at the top and bottom would give it a little more of balanced look... All in all I truly like this shot simply because it is lovely look at rural america..hence all the symbolism for me...without being over edited, overdone or cluttered up with trying to make it look like a typical rural scene / landscape. I intentionally left out any suggestions about dodging/burning, layering etc because I know Pet is a minimalist when it comes to post processing and editing... For the non minmalists...I think I'd lighten up the tree line just a smidge just to bring out some deatil that is kind of lost in the shadows...making the distant tree line seem a bit like like a harsher line of demarcation than perhaps was intended. An pet once again good shot that no one would have guessed was done with your "little point and shoot" You have learned your equipment inside and out by now and now how to use it to get what you want...that's half the battle! Jeez I feel just like I used to in college when we had to critique each others work LOL |
|
|
|
| bambam203 | Jan 31 2008, 02:17 AM Post #7 |
BAM
|
Not saying this will improve the pic but IMO, I try to think about where the photographer was when they took the shot too....If they are up in a hot air balloon and it's a little blurry it's not gonna help to say set up a tripod....or like going on a 5mile hike the middle of july in silo most folkz won't be packing in much gear in with them.......:D |
|
|
|
| gretchensteele | Jan 31 2008, 08:30 AM Post #8 |
|
Admin
|
That's a good point Bam -
Some of the "critique sites" also encourage you to consider the diffficulty involved in achieving the shot... |
|
|
|
| 1 user reading this topic (1 Guest and 0 Anonymous) | |
| « Previous Topic · The Schoolhouse · Next Topic » |
| Track Topic · E-mail Topic |
 7:16 AM Jan 8
|