Critiquing a PhotoSamantha Agnelli

Period 6

Basic Tips for Critiquing a Photo

Positive and negative comments are balanced

Ask yourself:What is good about it?What is not good?How could it be better?

Things to RememberMove beyond your own likes and dislikes

Identify the technical, objective factors that define a photo and evaluate them

Where to BeginDetermine the facts about a photo

Once you do this, you have a good basis for determining your own opinions

Four Basic FactorsFour basic factors determine a photograph’s

standard:ValueClarityCompositionPresentation

ValueValue, in a photograph, concerns light

Value refers to the range of light in a photograph

As a general rule, the more contrast a photo has, the greater its visual impact will be

Causes for poor value: Incorrect exposureHow the film is processedThe kind of paper used to make the printExposed paper

ClarityThe primary key to clarity is focus

In a correctly focused photograph, a subject may be either sharp or soft

With sharp focus, all edges are very clearly defined

With soft focus, the edges blur a bit

Questions to ask:What’s in focus?What should be in focus?Look at what’s not in focus: Why is it not?

ClarityClarity depends on an appropriate shutter speed

and an appropriate degree of contrast between the subject and background

Causes for poor clarity:Focus is the most commonUsing too large an aperture Incorrect shutter speed

CompositionPoint of Interest

Is there a point of interest?A photo should have one clear point of interest

Cropping Is is tight? (Is the frame filled with important

elements or is there wasted space?)

Balance Is it top-heavy, lopsided, or boring?

LinesEven a single line can draw the viewer’s eye

toward away from the point of interest

PresentationLook for the care and skill with which the final

product has been produced

Look for stuff on the negative that shouldn't’ be there like white flecks, fingerprints, and dark circles

Other aspects of presentation:Neatly trimmed edgesSquared cornersProper adhesion to the mat board

Sample Critique 1 I like the value in this photo. There are very dark darks, very light lights, and many shades of gray in between. I also like how the photo is in focus. Another thing I like is how it’s cropped, so that the entire picture is filled with important elements. Something I would improve is the brightness of the window and the watch because they distract from the faces, which are darker.

From Chapter 4 The Photographic Eye

Sample Critique 2

I really like this photo because it is very interesting and not boring to look at. The thing that makes it interesting is the presentation of it; the lines are not perfectly horizontal. Something I would do to improve this would be to crop the cloud out because it can distract from the main focus, which is the cat.

Corey Arnold Photographyhttp://www.coreyfishes.com/#/wolf-tide/2

Sample Critique 3

Micah Albert Photographerhttp://www.micahalbert.com/#/south-sudan/SOUTHSUDAN-3151

This photo is very interesting to look at. I like the way the photographer captures the sun shining through. The value in this photo is great because there are light lights (the sun) and dark darks (the side of the hill). There are also many shades in between, like the ground. Something I would improve is the purple spot on the picture, as it distracts from the photo since it’s a completely different color from the rest of the picture.