The Value and Futility of Critique

[biggerry]

This is not a bad article, has some good points and in my opinion worth the read.

There is perhaps no better example of a love/hate relationship than that of creative individuals and their critics. With few exceptions, the writings of famed artists, authors, performers, musicians, filmmakers, and the likes, contain some reference to their critics, usually ranging from witty jabs to hateful diatribes. Curiously, the emotion is almost reversed when polling an audience of beginners and amateurs on any given online critique forum. Ask the members whether they value critique from their peers and the favorable answer is often as unanimous as it is emphatic. Why the disconnect

The author refers to a online forums and communities and its pretty easy to connect which ones he is referring to, or even just the type of forum - i think most of the aussie forums fall into this category with some exceptions..

The following statement I found useful and re-affirmed that one must engage with the photographer (where possible) to provide quality feedback.

Useful critique must be more than just honest. It must take into account both the critic’s sensibilities and the artist’s maturity and intent. Without knowledge of the critic’s personal preferences, and whether the artist is experimenting, learning, or making deliberate creative choices, no value judgment can be made.

http://guytal.com/wordpress/2011/12/the-value-and-futility-of-critique/

[Mr Darcy]

Not precisely on topic but relevant. I came across this the other day. I thought it may be of use:

Before you critique a photograph:
Some things that you may want to consider:

Effort: Has the photographer made full use of the facilities at his disposal? Or, are there things that the photographer could have improved with a little more work? Does it look like the photographer made an extra effort to capture the best possible image under the circumstances, or did he just go with what was in front of him?


Color: Was the photographer's choice to use or not use color sound? If the photographer used black and white, then is the subject of the photo something that is normally associated with color, like an apple? If the photographer used color, does the color add to or detract from the image?


Spatial positioning and composition: Is the subject in the center of the frame? Usually a centered subject looks boring, but it works in some cases. Did it work this time? Does anything look squeezed up against the side of the frame? Are there big open spaces around the edges that could be cropped out? Is there a clear subject that occupies the majority of the frame, or is the subject unclear or small and surrounded by irrelevant material?


Direction of attention: What do you see first in the photo? Is it the right thing? Do you have to hunt for the subject or does it stand out? Is your eye drawn to objects in the background, rather than the subject, or do you look to the edge of the frame, expecting to find something that isn't there?


Focus: Is anything in focus? Is it the subject or something else? Is the depth of field appropriate? Is the subject contained within the depth of field or are parts of the subject fuzzy? Are there distracting elements in the background that are in focus which would have been blurred out by a wider aperture?


Exposure: Is the photo properly exposed? Are there details both in the highlights and in the shadows, or are there large "blown-out" highlight areas or "blocked-up" shadow areas? If the exposure is biased towards light (high key) or dark (low key), did the photographer make a good choice?

I cannot attribute it as my source did not, but I suspect it came from the FCC

[the foto fanatic]

Interesting thought Gerry and a very informative post Greg.

[surenj]

Interesting stuff.

[sirhc55]

I would define what Greg has posted as TECHNICAL critique as opposed to creativity.

Some of the best pics posted on this forum follow none of the points in the article. In fact about four or five years ago we had a POTW that was totally out of focus, but it was brilliant (IMO).

This is a subject that will continue to go round in circles simply because there is no definitive answer to critique.

[biggerry]

This is a subject that will continue to go round in circles simply because there is no definitive answer to critique.

[/quote]

as Greg mentioned not really related to the linked article...

we had a POTW that was totally out of focus, but it was brilliant (IMO)

but it was not OO that made it brillant tho any man and his dog can do that.

[Matt. K]

Virtual oranges and lemons????? they have a certain je ne sais quoi.

[Remorhaz]

Thanks Gerry - I finally got around to reading that last night - an interesting read.

I think I'm mostly in the Indiscriminate Learning and Considered Learning - which may explain why I a) discover/learn/try/practice shooting lots of new techniques/etc that I can find and b) value getting critique and feedback on anything I do

As mentioned in the other thread I certainly don't think I've found my own vision yet - I'm not unhappy with that - in fact very happy to continue my search/journey/discovery to find what I like

[biggerry]

Virtual oranges and lemons????? they have a certain je ne sais quoi.

what? how can you not see the Anzac bridge in that

[surenj]

This is a subject that will continue to go round in circles simply because there is no definitive answer to critique.

On the other hand, it's good for beginners (like myself) to go on this merry-go-round just so they can form their own opinions and style about critique. Although giving and receiving critique may have an artistic element to it, I think some of it can be learnt.