The Photographic Critique as a Learning Experience

by Joseph Meehan

Although the word “critique” is rooted in the concept of criticism (“a judgment of what is wrong”), a successful photographic critique should result in a positive outcome for the photographer. That is, the experience should help the photographer better understand how his or her work is being perceived as a basis for improvement. This typically begins with the reviewer reacting to how well the overall visual message is stated. In doing so a professional reviewer is expected to remain objective while identifying the specific strengths and weaknesses of a photograph. It is not very useful, for example, to simply say they like or dislike a particular image without explaining why.

On the other hand, the photographer needs to approach this process with the proper motivation and attitude. Most importantly, to understand that the work is being evaluated in terms of how it appears to the professional conducting the critique. If there is a disconnection between the impressions of the reviewer and what the photographer intended, then something is obviously wrong. Identifying why the message was not clearly perceived should be balanced with an emphasis on how things can be done better or even to identify missed opportunities.

This is demonstrated in example A where the photographer’s intent was to capture a lakeside monument after an early winter snowstorm. The reviewer pointed out the importance of the main subject is being diluted by the wash of the lightly rendered foreground (lake) and background (mountain side trees). The reviewer suggested that by significantly burning in these two areas, the main subject would become clearly dominant while adding a dramatic tone to the whole presentation as seen in example B.

In example C, the photographer’s intent was to capture the beautiful spray of colorful Daffodils in sunlight contrasted with a background shrouded in a blue mist. The background line was effectively placed along the upper third of the picture while the main subject dominates the lower two thirds. To this point the photographer was successful but the prominent tree near the center breaks up an otherwise effective and balanced composition. In this case, the desire to capture the two main visual elements caused the photographer to overlook an important disruptive third element.

In example D, the photographer’s goal was to convey a sense of action and motion between competing players on the soccer field. This was successfully captured using a moderately slow 1/30-second-shutter speed with a panning motion of the camera following the players as they competed for the ball. This approach kept the players in sharp focus while producing a slight motion blur in the background. But the reviewer noted that in addition to motion, there was the possibility of a second important element: the eye concentration of the two players on the ball. As it turns out, the photographer was so fixated on the motion aspect that the crop for the final print eliminated the eye line of the player in white that balanced that of the player in red as seen in example E.

About the author:
Joseph Meehan has been a professional photographer, photo editor and educator for 35 years. His work has been characterized by the New York Times as “. . .alive with color and sparkling with light.” A former college photography teacher, Meehan was also the Editor of the British “Photography Yearbook” and a Senior Editor with “Photo District News”. He has served as a judge in national and international photography competitions and is the author of 25 books on photography including “Moods, Ambience and Dramatic Effects in Photography” to be released in November 2007 as part of the new Kodak “Art of Digital Photography” series.