Self-critiques

Everyone wants to improve their photography, to take better and better pictures. One of the best ways toward that goal is to learn to honestly self-critique your work. To identify what you did right and what you did wrong in any given photographic situation means your photography can only get better.

What follows is a check list of questions you can ask yourself about your work, and this should help you analyze the images. Art is in the eye of the beholder, of course, and people can differ on what makes any particular photo great . . . or not. But I think you’ll find this list of questions valuable because they force your attention on aspects of your pictures that you might not have considered previously.

1. Great subjects make great pictures, so did you photograph a subject that could be considered great, or at least very good? It could be the sweet face of a child or the weathered, lined face of someone very old. It could be a great landscape, a striking tree, a colorful insect, a graphic pattern of windows on a mirrored skyscraper, or a 19th century dilapidated school house (below). Great subjects are everywhere.

PERU PHOTO TOUR

Sept. 24 - Oct 4, 2021

2. Backgrounds are just as important as subjects in making a picture work. Is the background behind your subject busy, distracting, or unattractive? Does the background compete for attention with the subject, or does it complement the subject like in the shot of the green heron, above? Does your background have distracting highlights, graphic lines behind the subject that are not part of that subject, or are there important elements in your composition that should be sharper than they are?

3. Lighting can make or break a photo. Is the light in your shot too contrasty, unattractively mottled, or are there unattractive shadows? For outdoor images, did you use sunrise, sunset, or diffused light for the best outdoor outcomes? For indoor photography, did you use window light as in the portrait from Kazakhstan, right? Did you use off-camera flash for drama?

There are always exceptions in art and in photography but usually the lighting to avoid includes harsh, midday sunlight, on-camera flash, and shaded subjects with sunny backgrounds.

4. Composition is very important, so did you use the Rule of Thirds, leading lines, and/or framing? If you broke the ‘rules’ -- for example, your subject is centrally positioned in the frame -- does it work? Is the photo balanced well? Are the graphic designs of your compositions attractive, compelling, or artistic?

5. Depth of field is a crucial part of determining the success or failure of a picture. Do you have enough depth of field? Or too much? Should the subject be entirely sharp? Should the background be completely sharp or blurred attractively? 6. There are four things that are usually unattractive and should not be included as large foreground elements: dirt, gravel, cement, and asphalt. If your photo being critiqued has one or more of these four elements in the foreground, is it too dominant? Or, is there justification for the way you took the picture?

One of the exceptions to this guideline is the picture at the top of the next page. In this case, the asphalt highway is a dominant leading line and the main focus of the picture.

7. Noise is an unattractive aspect of digital images, so is there too much noise in an image? Noise is most obvious in the shadows, but upon magnification it can be seen in all areas of a picture. It is unavoidable if you were shooting in dark conditions and/or you needed a particularly high ISO to support a super fast shutter

or small lens aperture.

If noise is a problem, use Topaz DeNoise AI or Neat Image software to deal with it. Both are excellent although, depending on the picture, one may be a little better than the other.

The photo below of a snowy owl was taken at 20,000 ISO because the light was getting quite low and my settings were 1/3200 and f/11. I applied Topaz DeNoise AI, and now the photo looks like I used 200 or 400 ISO.

8. Body language is important in both humans and animals. Are your subjects standing, sitting, or moving in such a way that their torso and legs are positioned attractively? If human, are they sitting in a slouched manner that’s less than becoming? If animal or bird, is the turn of the head, the angle of the beak, the position of the tail or wings attractive?

9. Is the exposure right-on? If not, use the exposure slider in ACR or Lightroom to make it perfect. In Photoshop, use the pulldown menu command Image > adjustments > levels to make sure the highlights slider is pushed left to the beginning of the histogram. §

NAMIBIA PHOTO TOUR

May 22 - June 1, 2021

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ONLINE PHOTOSHOP TRAINING 4 Live Sessions Every Saturday Starting Nov. 14, 2020

b y J i m Z u c k e r m a n

Jim starts at the beginning, assuming you know nothing about Photoshop. With a screen sharing meeting using GoToMeeting software, Jim describes his workflow, how to set up your desktop for maximum efficiency, how he processes RAW files for visual impact, and then he goes over the most useful tools and commands in Photoshop. He then explains how to use layers, layer masks, and how to make precise selections for compositing images. This opens the door to instruction on replacing the sky, creating silhouettes, and fixing numerous problems in your pictures. Photoshop’s new features like Sky Replacement are also covered.

Jim also delves into blend modes, manipulating individual colors in your images, his favorite plugins, how to turn photos into paintings, and much more. Each session is two hours plus a 30 minute period for questions and answers. There is also time for critiques where you submit images to Jim and he gives you his professional feedback so the entire class can benefit.

Each session will be recorded, and you will receive the video file so you can go over the material at your leisure any time in the future. Click HERE for more information.