Home >> Hobbies >> Photography

How Do I Critique My Pictures?

Critiquing your own photography is an important step to improving the quality of your work. A good photographer is constantly looking for ways to improve the work he creates. If you do not do this, you run the risk of your images always looking the same. Keep a journal or small notepad with you so you can refer to the notes you made the next time you are out taking pictures.

Instructions

- 1
  View your pictures in a picture gallery on your computer to see them on the entire screen. Don't try to critique your pictures looking at thumbnails because details are lacking.
- 2
  Review the composition of your picture. A good beginning approach to composition in photography is the "Rule of Thirds." The basics of this rule is you break the image in nine equal boxes, like a "tic-tack-toe" box. The theory is to place your subject along the intersections of the lines either on the left or right side of the picture. Frame the subject off-center.
- 3
  See if the picture is properly exposed. Today's digital cameras have internal light meters that are very good at measuring the scene and selecting the correct exposure. But meters can be fooled. The most common mistake is taking pictures where there is an abundance of white in the picture. Whether it is snow, fog or in a hockey rink, even when your camera says it is exposed properly, your subject will be under exposed because of all the reflective light. As a photographer you must know this and adjust your camera's settings.
- 4
  Check your picture to see if you pressed the shutter release at the right time. This is commonly referred to as "The Decisive Moment." Coined by the French photography Henri Cartier-Bresson, this refers to the exact correct moment to take the picture to give your picture movement, action or emotion.
- 5
  Check to see if your photo has a pleasing depth of field. By adjusting your lens aperture, you change the depth of field in front and behind your subject. Many cameras have automatic mode yet you can change your aperture manually for the results you seek.
- 6
  Check to see if your photo is sharp. With speeding objects such as in motor sports, shoot with the fastest possible shutter speed to stop action and keep your subject sharp. Suggest speed and motion in your photo by panning -- following your subject -- as he's moving. This will blur the background. When shooting cascading water, experiment with a fast shutter speed and a slow shutter speed.

Photography