Gloucester Camera Club – Photo Appraisal Group (PAG)

An introductory guide for commenting on images

This guide on commenting on pictures is taken direct from a document written by Sandy Robertson (2014, revised July 2016) and the content is being used with kind permission.

The document was originally produced and developed specifically for the Electronic Portfolio Group (EPG) of the Disabled Photographer's Society ( https://www.the-dps.co.uk ) It is hoped that participants of the PAG will also find this document helpful in commenting constructively on images.

A word about language.

Commenting is, in some circles, referred to as "criticism", "crtique" or "critiquing"  (see also http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Critique ) While this may be the technically correct jargon, I feel that it has a lot of very negative connotations for a process that is intended to be a positive and supportive experience which helps people understand and improve their photography. In this guide, I will use the term 'commenting' instead.

What is commenting on an image

Commenting on an image is the process of describing both the technical (objective)  aspects of an image (is it in focus, is the exposure appropriate) , and the artistic (subjective)  aspects such as what emotional response does it generate in the viewer or is the composition good.

Why commenting on others' images is helpful

Commenting on other people's images is very helpful in improving your own photography because it makes you think about an image. In order to comment you need to look carefully at the image and ask yourself a number of questions about it both in terms of the artistic aspects and the technical aspects.  Once you get practiced in asking questions about the images of other people, it becomes easier to ask questions about your own images and to see more clearly what works well artistically and also technically. So by looking at other images you learn to improve your own and become more confident in your own images.

Why is having your images commented on by someone else is helpful

All of us are different. As individuals we have a unique set of experiences and knowledge which will affect the way that we look at an image, the way we interpret it and our understanding of it. For example, some people will look at an image and see the technical aspects such as where the point of focus is and the distribution of different levels of brightness in the image, but someone else might be oblivious to that and instead see the symbolism of the objects portrayed in the image. The two perspectives are completely different but neither is right and neither is wrong... just different.

By asking others to look at our images we are getting other people's perspectives on what we have produced. Almost by definition, what someone else perceives will be different from what we see ourselves. So by asking them to comment on our work we gain insight into how our work is perceived by a range others. By becoming aware of other peoples perceptions of our work we can learn

How do I start?

For someone new to a group the prospect of commenting on images may be daunting and the idea of having others comment on ones own photos can be downright scary. The important thing to remember is everyone in the group from the person who has just got their first camera to someone who has gained a fellowship many years ago are all still learning the craft of photography and can learn from the observations of others.

(The term craft is used here because in the view of the author there are elements of art, science, technology and individual skill which are gathered together by the photographer in whatever proportions work best for that individual and are then crafted together to create the final image. )

A brief comment is better than no comment at all. e.g. I really liked the image because of the intense colours.

Always try to give a reason for what you. e.g. I like this image because it is bright and cheerful. The image was well focused because the flowers were sharp and which isolated it from the blurred background

Always try to find something positive to say. e.g. The technical aspects of this image (crisp focus, good exposure and colour balance) were excellent. or I really liked the composition because it looked well balanced.

If something does not work well or is plain wrong, do try to be kind and constructive in your comments.  e.g.  The face of the subject appeared to have a green cast which did not work well from my perspective. Had you considered using the colour correction tools in photoshop to change the colour balance of your image.

Here are some things to think about when commenting on a picture. You do not need to cover all of these points, but you may find that by thinking about them when looking at someone else's image, then you may find it easier to think about them when creating your own images.

First things first

The first question to ask yourself is: Have I had a really good look at the image?

While first impression are important, it is also very important observe the image carefully.  Make a note of your first impressions and see how they compare to when you have had a closer look.  Look at the picture in detail as well as looking at the picture as a whole.

Have a look at the EXIF data (many image viewers allow the user to look at this). The EXIF data may give you information about the type of camera and lens and the settings used which may also tell you a bit about the lighting conditions which the photographer was faced with.

Technical

These are things that are usually relatively easy to spot and to describe.

a) Focus:

is the image sharp?  and if not is the blur intentional and enhances the image?

Overall, is the image sharp in the right places and blurry in the right places?

Is the depth of field appropriate and might the image do better with either a deeper or a shallower depth of field. For example to isolate a subject or to include more of the scene in focus.

b) Exposure:

Is the image the right sort of brightness? (some people may use the histogram in their editing program to confirm what they see)

Are the highlights (very bright areas) burnt out (no detail)?

Are the shadows too dark(do not show any detail)? this is sometimes known as blocking?

Have a look at the histogram, does this reveal anything about the exposure?

c) Colour balance

Does the colour balance look right for the image? For example if all the image of a tropical beach scene looked a bit blue (i.e. had a colour cast ), the colour balance would not be right. If an image of a rock concert all looked a bit pink, then it could simply be the stage lighting.

d) Lighting

Do the light/shadows work with the image and it's context.

Artistic

Composition

Does the composition (the layout of the shapes of light/colours/individual objects) work well for the image?

Is it harmonious, or perhaps discordant? and is that appropriate for what the image conveys?

Does the composition stick to or does it break traditional "rules" of composition?  Does the adherence to rules make the image better for you, Does breaking rules make the image better for you?

A word on rules:-

I do not like the term rule in this context. It can give a sense of being an inflexible requirement. Thee so called rules in composition are basically "rules of thumb"  or good guidance but will not be suitable or appropriate in all cases.    An example of a such a 'rule' is the rule of thirds in which people are guided to remember that subjects place on the intersections of lines a third of the way across an image will look better/have more impact. Some times it works really well, but other times it does not.  Another such 'rule' is that the horizon should be level. In most cases, a non-straight horizon looks really wrong...... but occasionally  it fits in with the rest of the picture.

Story and emotion

A picture may (but not all pictures do) have a story to tell, particularly an image with people in it. What is the story (if any) that you see in the image. Does it evoke an emotion in you? If so what and why? (Some images will evoke very positive emotions and other may invoke very negative ones, in both cases the image has evoked a response. On the other hand some images will evoke no response.)  You may or may not want to share the evoked emotions. It is OK not to share if you do not feel comfortable doing so.

Does the image make an impact on you? and does this image stand out from other images? and more importantly why does it make an  impact (or not make an impact). The reason is important as this will help you , and others  understand what has impact for a range of people. Remember that not everyone is the same and not everyone will react in the same way to an image.

Other stuff

In this section are some think to consider that do not fit easily in any of the other sections.

Does it fit the theme? (This will not apply to 'open' themes.) .  If the photo has been submitted for something where there is a specified theme, how well does it fit with the theme? Has it put a clever twist or alternative perspective on the theme?

Finally consider  if you were taking the picture, is there anything you would do differently and if so, then why?

Workflow

This may sound a strange topic in a note about commenting on images, but it may be worth thinking about how you tackle your commenting.   In the PAG we have a deadline once a month for both images and comments with  distribution of collated images and comments a few days after the deadline. This means that you have about 4 weeks to do your comments after receiving the images. This gives quite a bit of time to do your comments, but looking at and commenting on a dozen or more images is not something that can be done in five minutes. In other contexts the timing of deadlines (if any) may be different.

All of us work in different ways and it is worth considering how you approach commenting. For example do you like to do all the looking and commenting in a big block, or is it better for you to do comments on one or a few images at a time to spread out the work or fit it around your workload or what you are able to do in one sitting. Have a think about what works best for you so that your commenting is a fun activity.

Always aim to get your comments a reasonable time before the deadline, so that hiccups like the internet stopping working at the last minute before the deadline will not cause you stress.

The Quick Start Guide

This section gives some basic questions/comments you might wish to make when starting out with commenting. At first you may wish to choose just a few of these which you are comfortable with.

A very brief comment is much better than no comment at all.

The most important things are to be honest, constructive and kind, especially if you do not know what challenges the photographer faces when taking their pictures.

Some things to think about

Focus:

Is the image sharp where it is supposed to be sharp?

Is the image blurred where it is supposed to be blurred?

Exposure:

Is there some detail left in the really dark bits. (i.e. not 'blocked')?

Is there some detail left in the really bright bits (i.e. not burnt out)?

Does the brightness levels in the image work well in that context?

Colour balance:

Do the colours in the image look right to you?

Composition:

Does the image look well composed? Why?

Other things

Does the image fit the theme?

Is there/what is the story in the image? How well doe the image convey the story?

Does the image have impact (does it stand out)?  Why is this?