CRITIQUING PHOTOGRAPHY

The word critique comes from the root word critical. Usually, being critical is not seen as a good thing. If someone is critical of your work, they don’t like it. In photography though, critiquing an image simply means looking at the good and the bad. It is an important part of improving. In this set of lessons we look at a format to be used to decide on the strengths of an image and identify where an image can be improved. This analysis should be used to understand how your photography will be assessed.

KEY

TAKE-AWAYS

Critique process: Technical, compositional, emotional

Part 1

TECHNICAL

Part 2

COMPOSITIONAL

Part 3

EMOTIONAL

It isn’t easy to look at your classmates’ photos and tell them how to improve, especially if you are new to photography. To make it easier, and to help you improve your own work, use these questions to help analyze photos. Depending on the photo, you may skip some of these questions. You may add your own. This is just a guide.

Divide your review into 3 parts:

Technical : which settings were used and how was the photo was taken
Compositional : how was the subject placed in the photo
Emotional : how does the photo make you feel?

Where to start: Critique the technicals. What settings were used to take the photo?

Exposure.
Is there any area of the photo that is too dark or too bright? (Can you see that some details are missing because of this? Why did this happen?
Focus.
Is the most important part of the photo in focus? Is it sharp or soft focus, or is the subject too blurry? Is this appropriate for the photo? Why or why not?
Depth of Field (DOF).
Is the DOF shallow or deep? Is this appropriate for the photo? Why or why not?
Lighting / White balance.
Look at the colours in the image. Do they look right? Is there a colour cast (blue, orange, red or yellowing colouring)? Is this appropriate for the photo? Why or why not?

Next: Critique the composition. How was the photo put together?

Consider the 6 rules of composition (simplify, eliminate distractions, rule of thirds, positioning your subject, visual weight, major-minor). Does the composition use any of these tools and if so, how effectively? If not, how might they help?
- e.g. Centred vs. “Rule of Thirds”: Is the main subject in the center of the photo? Is it on a third line? Was this on purpose? Does this work for the photo?
- e.g. Cropping/Framing: Is there wasted space is the photo? Would the photo be better if some part was cut off? Or is the photo worse because an important part of the photo is cut off?
Consider the principles and elements of design. Are these tools used to create emphasis in the composition? If emphasis is created, what tools were used? If not, what might help?
- e.g. Color/contrast: What colour do you see? Did the photographer use a lot of primary colours? Secondary? Complementary? Do the colours help draw your attention to where it's needed? Do they create contrast? Lines? Depth?
Think about other compositional tools we studied. Are these present?
- Diagonals, S-Curves, triangles etc: Did the photographer make use of any interesting elements, such as diagonal lines, triangles or S-curves?
- Leading lines: Do the lines move your eyes to any part of the photo? Do you look at what the photographer wants you to look at or are there too many things to focus on?

Finally: Critique the emotional. How does it make you feel?

Even if you are a beginner, you can critique how a photo makes you feel: what mood do you see in the photo?
Does the subject make you happy? Sad? Angry?
Does the photo have bright cheerful colours or does it use drab, or dark colours? How does that affect the way you feel?
Do you think this mood is what the photographer intended?
Does the photograph tell a story? What is it? Why does it matter?
Is there something that could be added to create more emotional impact?
Do you like the photo? Why or why not?