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How To Write A Photo Critique Be Specific. Comments like this are of no value. “Great shot, I like the contrast.” It says nothing about the photo, just what you like. A negative version of this is also useless. “I don’t like the contrast, it’s too much and it doesn’t work.” Say WHY it’s too much, what doesn’t work…. This, for example, is much better “Great shot, I like the contrasty lighting. It’s obvious you spent some time and effort on this waiting for the clouds to part and a blue hole to line up in just the right place to……” You are telling the photographer what, in your opinion worked / didn’t work and more importantly, WHY. Remember there’s no right or wrong in photography”. Sometimes technical errors (under exposure or a burnt out highlight for example) might be considered ‘wrong’ in theory, but do they add or detract from the artistic or emotive merit of the image overall? Steps to writing a useful critique 1. Spend some time and really look at the image and all it’s little details, whether you like them or not. 2. When you write, begin with how it makes you feel, what you think it’s about. This ensures you have paid attention to the image and tells the photographer you have looked at it properly. 3. Say if it’s technically OK. Are there dust spots, is it sharp, would it benefit from more or less depth of field? 4. Talk about the artistic points. Do you think it would be better cropped differently? Does it need more / less space around the subject? Is colour perfect or would Black & White work better? 5. Mention the ‘good’ points you like in the image -‐ and why you like them. Just saying “I like the blue sky” has no value, whilst; “I like the blue sky because it offsets the little yellow boat” has…
6. Points for improvement. If the image isn’t quite sharp say so now and offer suggestions how it could have been done. For example, a shot with lots of depth of field would have used a small aperture so the shutter speed would have been slow if it was in low light such as evening. Therefore using a sturdy tripod / increasing ISO would have kept it sharp. 7. Conclusion. Overall do you think this is a good image or not? If not, suggest areas the photographer could concentrate on, or practice doing more with. If you think it’s perfect as it is, say so. But remember to say WHY you think it’s perfect. www.PhotographyCourses.Biz