Professional Photo Critiques
There are many ways to get feed back on your images. One way is to join a camera club and submit your pictures in their regular competitions. Depending on the club - be prepared to have thick skin! I belonged a photo club for more then 10 years and was always amazed at the inappropriate comments that were made and anyone that belongs to a photo club knows what I mean. Some members found the comments discouraging and stopped submitting their work, some new members never came back. So much for promoting photography. In learning to get better in photography I often seek outt photographers whose work I respect and admird and aske them for feed back. I particulary appreciate when they could show me work that is much better. Unfortunately, not everyone has a mentor they can ask for advice hence this forum.
Other ways to get feed back is to take courses, or submit your photos to a variety of online forums that display your work - keep in mind most comments to your images are short and uninformative responses e.g. Wow, cool man, great shot! Another way to get feed back on your image is to enter a photo competitions and I encourage students to do this as much as possible. Many of them have become winners, but of course if you don't win you haven't really learned much. Keep in mind judges are humans and all have preferences and biases. Picking winning photographs is not easy, especially when there are many high caliber photos. If you have never judged a contest then you can't appreciate what a difficult job this can be. Photographers that win consistently know something about producing high quality images that have impact and you would be wise to pay attention to their work and why their images are successful.
In Brief - some of the ways you can improve and get feed back on your photographs are:
1. Enter Photo competitions - if your work regularly wins you are doing something right. Keep in mind local and club competititions are quite bit easier to win then nationwide or International competitions where your work may be compared to thousands of others. If you don't win and want to know why - study the winning photos and learn.
2. Submit your photos for publication. Getting published is not just about the quality of your photos it can also be about the quality of your writing and ability to choose the right target markets. If your work is regularly published you know what it takes to produce quality images and don't need any more feedback.
3. Seek advice from someone you respect like a photography teacher, or professinal photographer can be especially valuable. If you don't know some one like this search out local talent or you can submit your work for critique here. Workshops can also be useful if the offer photo critiques.
If you don't know someone that can give you professional feedback I would be happy to offer you a detailed critique of your photos. Because the process is time consuming I charge a nominal fee for this service (see below).
Please indicate your level of photography experience and knowledge: beginner, intermediate or advanced when you submit your photos.
Please note I am sometimes away on assignments, if you want to be sure I am available and can respond promptly you can email me first at rberdan@scienceandart.org. Please allow up to one week to receive your photo critique.
Single Photo Critique $30.00
Critique of 3 Photos $79.00
Once you pay, please attach your image(s) in an email to rberdan@scienceandart.org and I will confirm receipt of payment and indicate when I will get back to you. Images should be .jpg files no larger then I Megabyte each a good size is approx 1024 pixels wide all images should be 72 dpi.
Blank Critique Sheet (PDF)
Sample Critique (PDF) - fictional
REFERENCES:
Guidelines to Image review an essay about photo critiques (PDF)
Tips for Judging, Critiquing and Self-Assesssing Photos - checklist you can use to analyze your own photos (PDF)
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