All information below is the work of Julie, see her website
By now you should be familiar with how to constructively comment on someone else’s photographs and even prepare critiques of their images so you can learn and grow from them as a photographer. Now comes the really hard part: objectively critiquing your own work.
What makes this so difficult for many of us to do? The answer lies in the emotional connection that enters into the picture when we’re talking about our own photographs.
If you have followed along with me through this series and found the critiquing guidelines helpful you may download them at no charge as PDF documents HERE. I hope you find them useful on your photographic journey!
Guidelines for Critiquing Your Own Work
First: Time Is On Your Side
Do not even think of doing an extensive critique on your own images until at least three months have passed. Six months is even better. So, why the wait? By distancing yourself from the day you took the image you allow Emotional Tie No. 1 to fade. As creative people, we tend to sense things more than other people. We remember what happened the day we took the photograph…how beautiful the sun was…what we felt like when everything finally came together and we captured the perfect frame…the way the wind was blowing through our hair – you get the idea. By letting time pass, we distance ourselves from those vivid memories and we allow for a greater level of detachment. In spring, take a look at last autumn’s images – and I’m talking about prints if at all possible. In winter, look back on your images from last summer. You’ll be amazed at how different they look from when you last worked on them.
Second: Review your post-processing.
Open up the original work file in order to review your post-processing. Have you learned a better work flow since then? Can you clearly identify all the individual steps you took to take your image from point “A” to point “B”? Is there anything you would do differently now? Maybe use a newer action or add a different filter? Take a look at what you did and see if there’s anything you see now that you didn’t see then.
If you didn't save your work (shame upon your house!) then open the original file and process the image all over again, only this time use any new software, new post-processing tools or new workflow that you have at your disposal. How does the new image look compared to the original? Did it get better this time around? Congratulations…you just broke Emotional Tie No. 2. If you can take a second run at a good image and make it even better then you are learning and growing as an artist and photographer. Pat yourself on the back and mean it.
Third: Take a chance and put yourself out there.
Now it’s time to break down Emotional Tie No. 3. Consider compiling a half dozen of your favorite images and ask a fellow photographer whose work you admire to look them over and honestly critique them for you. (It’s a great idea to offer to do the same for them in return.) Before you look at what they have to say, though, you need to run through the checklists from “How to Critique 401 & 501 with an objective eye and see what you think about your own images strengths and weaknesses now that you have managed to wiggle free of Emotional Ties No. 1 & 2.
Next, return to the place where you initially uploaded the image onto the Internet and review those comments as well. Believe it or not, those people represent the average art buyer. They don’t so much care that your work is technically correct or artistically advanced as they care about how that photo will look hanging over their sofa. Their opinions do matter – but only from the standpoint of whether your image is likely to sell - and why.
The time has come; go ahead and read the critiques from the person you trusted with your work and look at what they have to say as an experienced photographer compared to the friends and family that liked the heck out of the images on Facebook and various photo forums. See the difference? See why you can’t always trust those well-meaning people who only want nothing more than to love and support you?
Finally, compare what you wrote about your images to the critiques of your photographer buddy. Let their comments settle in and really give them a chance to loosen up the way you look at your images. If you find a comment they made to be especially enlightening, then add that to your critique. What are they seeing that you aren't? What do they like that you never noticed before? What do you see that others are missing – and why? These are some of the most important questions you can ever ask concerning your art. If you can’t understand how others see and value your work then you are going to have trouble growing as an artist. If you like your work then that’s fantastic…but wouldn't it be nice to know the world sees your viewpoint the same way you see it? Wouldn't it be wonderful to know that after you poured all that time, money, and attention to detail into that image that other people immediately understood what you were saying to them through your art?
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