Pick Up Your Nails. Joder Arabian Ranch, Colorado, 2013
This week, for a change of pace, I’ll let you practice your critique skills on your own with the above image. But, before you do that, take a look at a video critique by Craig Tanner–you might find your critiquing skills will be quite improved.
I really like Craig’s method of critiquing as it is always done with “muy buena honda” and in the spirit of learning and improving. His “bedside manner” as a teacher of photography is quite congenial and supportive, yet he also shows you ways to make the presented image better. As I have said before, I highly recommend his web site, The Mindful Eye, not only for his critiques but for the forums, his blog, and all the other great information you’ll find there. You’ll need to sign up to gain access to most of the good stuff, but it’s free!
There is another way to see some of Craig’s Daily Critiques: YouTube. Simply search for The Daily Critique on You Tube and you’ll find a good selection of his videos that are worth watching.
As you watch this, keep in mind Craig’s critique format. In just about every Daily Critique, it goes something like this:
1) Intro – He explains whose image it is, what the photographer’s intent was or what the photographer’s question was, where the picture was shot, and then he gives the metadata.
2) Craig starts out by talking about what he likes about the image. In this particular example, he’ll discuss concepts like rythmn, repetition, framing, lines, leading lines, the spokes-on-a-wheel concept, negative space, S curves, and B&W tones.
3) Then Craig will discuss how, “in a perfect world”, he would improve the image–and he’ll show you all of his suggested adjustments in Photoshop. In this example, his “improvements” are intended to create more of an opening for the viewer to move into the image, a way for the eye to move around the image, and a way to keep the eye contained within the image.
4) Finally, he’ll give a brief summary of his critique, generally with some positive, motivational comments for the photographer who volunteered the image for The Daily Critique.
So, without further skeedoo, here ya go (duration 8:50):
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