How To Critique Photography

To capture a good photo you must be aware of basic photographic techniques and methods. If you are a professional photographer you probably have a whole range of photographic skills. But to critique photography, there are no hard and fast rules that you need to follow. If you want to be good at photography critique then you don’t need to know the technical methods of photography. All you need to have is an eye for details and the flair for writing to get your opinion across to the readers. You need to say what you feel about a certain photo and comment on it, to help the photographer improve on his work. But there are certain steps which will help you to excel in this job.

Tips to critique a photo

Analyzing the photo:

Critics are generally not meant only to securitize a particular subject; but they provide valuable comments on a particular matter. A photography critique should analyze the image, look into the details of the theme and the critic should then offer his comments on the work. If it is a piece of excellent photography with obvious errors in it, as a critic you should talk about why the photo is flawless. If not it is necessary to focus on the aspects of the photographs that can be improved – such as composition, depth of colour and where the photo fails to impress emotionally.
Now, you can only become a good critique when your comments get enough exposure and eventually you get recognized for your ability as a critic. You should publish your comments on certain platforms which are widely and regularly visited by photography enthusiasts. Here are some good

places to start:

Photo forums

Online Photography forums are the most popular platform to get better exposure. Many photographers post their photos on forums to invite comments. If you visit photography forums that has a gallery, then you will get to view comments from professional photographers and photography critiques - giving out their views on the featured photos. Various tips and advice is also discussed on photo forums to improve a particular photo. These tips might help you to judge the photo, which you want to critique.

In forums, various queries put by photography enthusiasts are also answered. Once you are registered to a photography forum you are free to post your views and ideas on the featured photos. Photography forums are also a great source of inspiration, so if you are a budding amateur, or want to be a gallery owner or an art critic they this is a good place to start!

Camera Clubs

Local camera clubs are also a good way to start learning and commenting on photography – as well as meeting new people. Visit your local community center for more information on this or google for camera clubs within your local area.
Photo Sharing Websites

Several websites offer you the option of uploading and sharing your photos. A lot of them offer free disk space for you to upload your own photos which others can comment on. You can post your suggestions on the galleries of photos uploaded by fellow amateur photographers and can normally reply to their views and tastes. Reading through other’s views can also help you to enhance your skills and improve your photography critique.
Hopefully, these are a few tips, which can help you to turn your comments into an excellent photography critique and get you on your way to becoming a good art critic.