Photographic Critiquing

Critiquing a photograph should be done in the following order:

• Impact
• Composition
• Technique

Critique Guidlines

Identify the type of photograph (portrait, photo journalistic, landscape, seascape nature, travel, sports, etc.) as composition and technique are not the same for all types of photographs.

Impact

• Immediate response (positive or negative)
• Does it create "mood" (emotional response, e.g. joy, andger, etc.)
• Senses response (photo suggest heat, cold, wetness, dryness, smallness, vastness, tallness, etc.)
• Record shot
• Is it realistic
• Involvement (especially for peoply-type shots)
• Contrast (big/small, light/dark, etc.)

Composition

• Use of space
• Dynamics (use of lines, patterns, shapes, etc.)
• Does the cropping add or detract from the intended impact
• Is the angle suitable for the type of photograph
• Relationship of "parts" to the "whole" (is there harmony)

Technique

• Clarity of intended focus (sharp focus, soft focus, etc.)
• Exposure and use of light and shadow
• Creativity, creativity, creativity (originality)
• Ingenuity/imagination (new ways of treating the same old subject matter)
• Camera angles
• relationship of foreground/background to the photographer's dominant theme (is it obvious, out of place, inappropriate or distracting, does it fit as intended)