Beginner Pics - Critique Yourself

[PhotoXopher]

I'm a beginner myself (only had a DSLR for a little over a year now) and wanted to share something I have learned that has helped me improve.

It's nothing new, but I think it needs to be mentioned more often.

1. Critique your own work.
2. Critique your own work.
3. Critique your own work.

Seriously, be honest with yourself.

I don't care if it's your first bokeh shot and you're amazed at how well you made a flower in the house stand out against your living room clutter (we've all done it, no shame in that).

But ask yourself:

1. What makes this photo interesting?
2. What could be improved?
3. Can I change something to make it more interesting?

Lastly, experiment... don't tie yourself into one mode (manual, aperture priority, shutter priority, auto)... use them ALL. If one mode doesn't work, challenge yourself to understand why.

I guess that's really the key, challenge yourself... don't rely on others to tell you what's wrong with your photos, try to figure it out yourself before posting, then post it if you still want to and see how your thoughts line up with others.

 

[TJ K]

Yep. That is the most common thing i see. People relying off other peoples every word but don't really take the time to critique there own work and see what is right wrong what can be fixed and how it can be fixed.
TJ

 

[mrdemin]

Thats why I don't post pictures... Until I am satisfied with my photos, I don't see why I would need comments from others. It's when I AM satisfied with my photos will I ask for others input for stuff that I myself might've missed or not thought of.
I guess there is a negative to this as well, some may never be satisfied with their work while others might praise it.

 

[inTempus]

I posted pics early on and I found the blunt comments helpful. It pushed me to try different things and to experiment... or to think of things when composing a shot I hadn't thought of.

When you create something you often are too close to it to see all of the "mistakes". An author can proof read his own book 5 times yet when someone else proofs it they will find a whole gaggle of mistakes.

While it's great to critique your own work, it's also a good idea to get input from those with more experience. The problem with the boards is that you'll often get input from people that have less experience than you do. Some folks enjoy telling others how to improve their shots yet their own work looks pretty rough, or worse - you have no idea what their work looks like because they're don't post it.

But I digress. It's good to explore all avenues for critique as the more input you get the faster you learn - or so I believe.

 

[Inst!nct]

yea, good ideas and points, ive recently stopped posting pictures for c&c for that exact reason, however, i must admit that through looking at other's c&c it helps me focus on the aspects of my photos.

 

[NateS]

I'm with inTempus. I wouldn't be half the photographer that I am today (not that I"m all that great), if it wasn't for the sometimes harsh critiques I got on the forums. Sure, at the time, I hated them and even got my feelings hurt some, but I still took the comments to heart and tried to improve on those areas. You get better over time, but only if you know what is wrong with the photo.

I took a photo awhile back that I thought was great. When I posted it I found out that it was slightly out of focus, eyes were underexposed, and a little on the grainy side. When posting, all I saw was an incredible photo of my son with a cute expression.

 

[syphlix]

i agree w/ intempus and most everyone in this thread as well.

i learned a ton from this forum in the beginning from posting my own for c&c along w/ reading c&c on others' photos and also adding my own c&c even though i dind't know wtf i was talking about

also, i would post stuff that i thought a certain thing may not have been good, but i'd like to know if others see it the same as well, or if theres something else i didn't even notice...

 

[rufus5150]

The problem with the boards is that you'll often get input from people that have less experience than you do.

... or no input at all.

 

[PhotoXopher]

The problem with the boards is that you'll often get input from people that have less experience than you do.

... or no input at all.

I've had over 50 views on an image with not a single comment, but have watched what appear to be trolls post an image and it gets 3-4 pages worth

 

[inTempus]

The problem with the boards is that you'll often get input from people that have less experience than you do.

... or no input at all.

True.

It seems that the truly new users, the ones that could use the most direction from those with more experience, who post "snap shots" don't get a lot of comments. We do get a good number of "my very first picture ever!" threads and I can see how many of us burn out on posting detailed comments.

I know I don't do it all that much. But then I rarely comment on other peoples work unless I really think I have something important to say or I can impart some wisdom someone else hasn't already offered. But honestly, who wants my opinion anyway?

 

[Overread]

There's a really great there here which will also help you out when posting your images to get feedback on them: http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/...e-your-posts-get-critiques-your-work-c-c.html

In addition to the above I'm going to say that its important to not only critique your own work but to get out and comment on other peoples as well. Some of you might say why to this and to that I answer that critically looking and talking about the works of others is just as important as doing the same with your own work.