Nature Light Photo

Critique Can Hurt and Help – Final Thoughts

Do you like the grass in these rocks?

If you have been following me, you know that I got a very negative comment on one of my posts. You can read my responses here and here. The comment made me think about critique and it’s impact on the person being critiqued.

I think being a photographer is more than just taking pretty pictures. I think that we have a responsibility to help others with what they are doing and helping them look their best. It isn’t about being “better” than someone or making yourself seem more knowledgeable than another person. It is about becoming better by making others around you better.

Chris Becker does this better than anyone I know. His [b]school is all about helping others. He has set up the [b]school as a very friendly forum in which he helps photographers solve problems and in a manner that others can also help. He offers a “Study Hall” most every Thursday at 4pm Pacific time in which he has guests or talks about subjects that are important to photographers. He can be critical, but never in a way that makes you feel like you have been attacked or that it is something personal. Becker almost never talks about himself, but about what others are doing.

Scott Bourne is another person who I admire for the way they deal with critique. I have seen him in person critiquing images a couple of times and he is very positive in the way he gives his opinion. He points out the parts of the photo that impress him and then identifies the one thing that could be improved the most and suggests a way to improve it. and he almost always ended the critique with the statement similar to “Overall, I really like the picture.” or “Other than that, I think it’s a great image.”

Those are the two secrets about giving good, helpful critique. One, don’t make it personal or about you. If you are critiquing someone’s image, talk about the image not the person or what you have done. Two, when you are critiquing an image, be positive before you suggest ways to improve the image. And when you do make a suggestion about how to improve the image, also offer a solution about how to execute the improvement or suggestion.

Giving critique well is something that you should work on. By being able to critique a photo well, you can enhance your place in the photographic community as someone who is honest and helpful.

Lastly, remember that you opinion of the image is not shared by everyone. That is one of the things that makes photography and all art so unique. What is attractive to you is ugly to others and the other way around. Just because you don’t like some aspect of the image, doesn’t mean that others won’t find that particular feature a key part of the image. Lens flare would be a great example. Some people don’t like lens flare in any image. Others find lens flare adds to the feeling of “being there”. Neither is wrong.

The bottom line is that critique is necessary for an artist to improve, but the person giving the critique has to offer the critique in a way that does not attack the artist and also offers solutions to the problems with the image.

Please leave a comment and let me know what you think.

Critique Can Hurt and Help – Pt. 2

Wow..if these are the good photos, I’d hate to see the bad ones. I’ve read some of your blog from time to time and it seems that you talk a good game but cannot produce a decent photograph. Just because you have some fairly decent equipment (not the best) for the amateur, you still have to know how to use it.
In this blog entry you state about your lens only being sharp only on certain conditions..DUH!!
same thing with the importance in lighting..DUH!!
The 2 photos of Julia above only prove my case. the left one would make a decent 8X10 at best, if you would have moved the leaves out of her head for better framing.
The photo on the right has too many things bad with it to list. But I will say it is a good shot of the railing..very sharp and clear, while Julia’s face looks out of focus. That photo should be your next topic of cropping and composition…what is all that crap on the right side of the photo.
You’re like the old saying…those who can DO, those who can’t TEACH.
Stick to teaching

I got this comment on a post recently and wrote about it and how it affected me. I think there is another, more important lesson to be learned from “Jordan” and that is that criticism is an important part of the growing process as a photographer, but I think there is a proper way to do it.

I like criticism. I have offered my portfolio many times to several people whose opinion I consider valuable and listened to what they had to say. Honestly, it wasn’t always easy. I don’t think it is easy for anyone who is passionate about what they do to listen to criticism. We have our heart and soul vested in our work and we think it is good or we would not have put it out to be reviewed.

A negative comment is like someone saying “your work sucks and therefore you suck too”, but not if the comment is well phrased. “Jordan” was mean and spiteful. He made it personal and that is why it hurt.

A positive criticism would be something phrased like “I like the lighting, but I don’t think you need all of the material on the right side of the picture. Maybe a different crop would help it.”or “I like the pose, but I think you need to work on your focus. It seems that her face was not as sharp as it could be. You might want to check to see where the focus point is located when you take the shot or work on your technique.”

Those comments point out the positive and also explains the negative and offers a way to fix it. That is what criticism should do. It should let you know what you have done right and discuss areas that need improvement and offer a way to work on those areas. When you have been critiqued like that you usually feel like you have been energized

When you get constructive criticism, you should be willing to listen and learn from it. The person is trying to be helpful and offer advice, based on their experience, about how to improve your photography. If you ignore them or tell yourself that they are wrong because they told you that they found something they didn’t like in your image you are doing yourself and them a disservice. You are wasting their time and you are fooling yourself.

Hopefully the person giving the critique is being honest. Listen to them. They are probably not the only person who that particular thought about your image. If the purpose of you seeking critique is to improve, you need to be willing to be honest about your work also. They are seeing the image without the passion and emotional attachment that you have about the effort went into it.

They are telling you about the finished product. They don’t know the effort that it took to capture the moment. They don’t have the memories that are attached to the image. They are telling you about what they see and how it makes them feel.

And that is what photography is about.

Please leave a comment and let me know what you think.

Critique Can Hurt and Help – Thank You Jordan

Wow..if these are the good photos, I’d hate to see the bad ones. I’ve read some of your blog from time to time and it seems that you talk a good game but cannot produce a decent photograph. Just because you have some fairly decent equipment (not the best) for the amateur, you still have to know how to use it.
In this blog entry you state about your lens only being sharp only on certain conditions..DUH!!
same thing with the importance in lighting..DUH!!
The 2 photos of Julia above only prove my case. the left one would make a decent 8X10 at best, if you would have moved the leaves out of her head for better framing.
The photo on the right has too many things bad with it to list. But I will say it is a good shot of the railing..very sharp and clear, while Julia’s face looks out of focus. That photo should be your next topic of cropping and composition…what is all that crap on the right side of the photo.
You’re like the old saying…those who can DO, those who can’t TEACH.
Stick to teaching

That was the critique and comment on a recent post by someone named “Jordan” (I assume that the name is as fake as the email address “Jordan” left with the comment).  When I first read it, it hurt. A lot.

I didn’t post the comment because I thought it was mean spirited, but then I started to think. “Jordan” is right. The images aren’t that good and that’s why I am not a professional photographer. I’m not as good as I’d like to be and I’m still learning. I hope that I always will be learning.

“Jordan” is right, I have some good equipment and I am learning to use it. That is the purpose of the photo shoot; to learn how to use the equipment in a real life situation. Julia didn’t pay for the session, but she did get some images that she liked. No harm done and a win-win for both of us.

“Jordan” talks about me stating the obvious concerning lighting and lenses. Again, he is correct and those are some of the skills that I am working on improving. I am learning the limits of my equipment and how to use light (flash or ambient) to help capture the image in my mind.

I agree with “Jordan” about the pictures. They aren’t great. I don’t think that I agree with all of his reasons, but I am not elated with the images. But that wasn’t the point of posting them. This blog’s subtitle is “The Journey Through a Photographic Life”. My photographic life. The point of posting them is for me to verbalize what I have learned and document that journey.

Trust me, the first shoot was atrocious. Julia was pleased, but I wasn’t. I wouldn’t even post them in public. Posting the most recent images is my way of documenting my progress in photography and I am making progress. Also, by posting my images and discussing them in the blog, I am teaching. I am teaching readers the mistakes I made and lessons learned from those mistakes just as “Jordan” suggested.

I’ll be coming back to “Jordan’s” comment in the future because I think there are other lessons to be learned from it, but until then, I have reaffirmed that I am still learning and I still enjoy the process.

And for that “Jordan”, I thank you.

Please leave a comment and let me know what you think.

The [b]school

Chris Becker has been shooting wedding since he was 18. That was many years ago. He is now one of the preeminent rock-star wedding photographers in the industry. He speaks at local photo groups. He travels to speak to groups. And last month he was a platform speaker at WPPI.

Honestly, that should mean NOTHING to you. He is a person who does his job and does it well. His gift to the rest of the world is his knowledge and his willingness to share. About 18 months ago, he started an online community called the [b]school. The bracket-b-bracket is his logo for his photo business.

The first version of the [b]school was, in my opinion, a disaster. The interface was clunky, the site was slow. No, it wasn’t slow, it was SLOW! Like: click a link and then go out to eat dinner, watch a movie, and take a nap slow. I joined, but never used it. Last month, on 2/2/11, he rolled out [b]school 2.0. It is lightening fast and, best of all, it is a true online community.

This is not your mother’s online community. This is a group of photographers who are willing to share ideas, knowledge, tips, and inspiration with other photographers. I belong to other forums and communities. Some for photography, some for teaching, and others for camping and off-roading. NONE of them are like the [b]school.

First, the user interface is intuitive. You know exactly where to click and what to expect when you do. If you click on a link that is outside of the site, your browser will open a new window/tab for that site. But if you click on a link for inside the [b]school, the site takes you to that page. Most forums don’t do that and that makes navigation difficult.

Second, it has all of the features you would probably want in an online community. There are a variety of clubs, forum topics, and general discussion items. In addition to that, the school has a gallery for photographers to show off some of their work. Your home page has a wall that you and other students can post on similar to Facebook. Plus, you can customize the layout of widgets so that the information you want concerning the school is at your finger tips. This is a online community site done right.

Third, there is a “classroom” section that includes videos from Becker’s Study Hall sessions. Almost every thursday afternoon at 4pm Pacific time, he hosts an online webinar. He has guest speak and/or answers questions. The most recent classroom post was a taped discussion between himself and a potential couple who were thinking about hiring him. How many photographers would put themselves online, negotiating their services to real clients? None that I know of.

Finally, and most importantly, is the community itself. I have never been online where more people are willing to help what is essentially their competition solve problems.

If you have a question concerning some aspect of photography, running a photography business, or some other related subject, you will get an answer. Almost all of the answers include an explanation as to why the person responded like they did. A lot of the answers are contradictory, but that is good. The more information you get the better informed your decision can be.

I think the best part is that Mr. Becker is extremely active in the school himself. He responds to many of the posts and contributes a lot of the information posted. Most people would start a site like this and then sit back and let the money roll in while taking a hands off approach. I know of NO other forum hosts that are as active online and staying in touch as Becker is.

Are there some weak points? Yes. But they are so small and easy to overlook, they seem like nothing. And I’d like to see more resources for photographers other than wedding and portrait photographers. I think this could be a site for all photographers, not just the wedding and portrait industry, but I understand that right now, that is what the [b]school is geared toward.

The bottom line is that Chris Becker and the [b]school are what most other photographers just say they are doing. It is sharing and teaching online at it’s best. Through the [b]school, Becker is making other photographers better and successful. I am a member and I strongly urge you to join also.

It is a good thing.

Gary Crabbe – A Photographer with a New Idea

Gary Crabbe - Enlightened Images Photography

I have been following Gary Crabbe (@enlightphoto) on Twitter for some time. He shares good tweets which contain great images, ideas, and information. Gary seems like the type of guy who is willing to help other photographers and he is. And then I found out that he worked with one of my photographic heroes, Galen Rowell at Mountain Light Photography. (Click here for my review of Galen Rowell: A Retrospective)

I approached him about maybe mentoring me or working with me about taking my photography to the next level, which is getting published and/or selling some of my work. He returned my email quickly and pointed something I missed on his website, Enlightened Images Photography; he runs a consulting business for photographers.

I was flabbergasted. I think the concept of consulting for photography is genius. I know about workshops because they are everywhere. The problems with workshop are that they are usually geared toward people who only want to take better pictures, you have to fit your schedule around the dates of the workshop, there is usually travel involved (which takes more of your time), you are with a group of people who might not have the same goals as you do, and they can be expensive. As a result, I don’t participate in a workshops very often.

Gary offers what I think is the perfect solution for me and quite a few other photographers. Consulting. For $75 you get two, half-hour phone sessions. First, I think that being able to talk directly to someone in a one-on-one situation is ideal because I can answer very direct questions and get answers without wasting other people’s time. Second, you get to discuss what you need to work on, not something that just the instructor or the class has planned.  And finally, it works around your schedule.

I think this is a great way for photographers to help the community. The better photographers have a skill set that can be shared. I can’t think of a better way to share than in a personal, one-on-one phone call. While it may not lend itself to all area in photography, it can be used to help most people in most areas of their photograph. Images can be reviewed, shooting technique can be addressed, and other aspects of both the art and craft of photography, but also the business side can be dealt with, all in a convenient setting.

This is a service that I will be taking advantage in the very near future. If you are interested in improving, I recommend that you look into consulting with Gary Crabbe.

You can learn more about Gary here.
Click here to visit the Enlightened Images Photography website.
Click here to visit Gary Crabbe’s blog page.

The image at the top of the page is used courtesy of Gary Crabbe and is © Richard Simonds.

Please leave a comment and let me know what you think.

Learning at National Geographic

While doing some research for another post, I ran across a page on the National Geographic website. Honestly, I am not sure how I missed it in the past. It was on nothing but photography at NatGeo.

Everyone knows that National Geographic is the gold standard for photography. I don’t know a photographer who wouldn’t want to shoot for the magazine. The magazine is known for its photography. If they ask you to shoot for them, it means you are a good photographer. I think the most iconic portrait ever taken is the image of Afghan Girl which was taken by NatGeo photographer Steve McCurry. Honestly, who has not seen this image somewhere in their life?

Afghan Girl taken by National Geographic photographer Steve McCurry

I knew that the magazine was a photographic icon, but I didn’t realize that the magazine had a whole section of their website dedicated just to photography. The page has different sections for different subjects. The subjects include Photo of the Day, Galleries, Wallpapers, Photo Tips, Photographers, Buy Prints, and Newsletter.

The Photo of the Day,  Galleries, and Wallpaper sections are full of images that can only inspire you. They have something for everyone. If you like nature, they have it. People? It’s there. History? Got it. I have already viewed several galleries and images in preparation for my upcoming Death Valley trip. I am looking for images that can inspire me about what scenes and subjects to capture while there. These two pages have been a huge help, especially the landscape and nature galleries.

The Photo Tips section is full of images and advice on how to be a better photographer and capture better images. It is broken into sections based on what type of image you are interested in shooting. While some of the tips are pretty generic, some of them are very good and all of them are accompanied by a great image.

The Buy Prints and Newsletter pages are fairly straight forward. You can buy prints of some of the Nat Geo images and sign-up for newsletters based on your interests. Although, even the Buy Print page has some good images to look at.

The page that interests me the most is the Photographer page. It has almost all of the photographers who have shot for National Geographic listed and you can read their bios, view their images, and even get tips from them. It is very interesting to read about photographers who have shot some of the images that have changed the way we think about the world and be able to do it all in one place. This section alone is worth a few hours of viewing.

If you are a photographer, you need to spend some time browsing through this site. You will learn and you will be inspired. And you will be humbled.

Showing Time in a Photograph

A good photograph tells a story. It makes you wonder what comes next or what just happened. The viewer should look at the image and ask a question. Sometimes this requires showing time in an picture. That is hard in a static image.

But you can extend that moment by using a longer shutter speed. By increasing the length that the shutter is open, anything moving in the frame becomes blurred. The blur gives the impression of movement in the image.

In the image below, I used a longer shutter speed to allow the rushing water to become soft and flowing, making the stream seem as if the viewer were actually there and that the water is really moving. I used a fairly slow shutter speed of 1/2 of a second at f16 and an ISO of 200.

Flowing Waters

Please feel free to use the form below to leave a comment and share your thoughts.

Is It Really A Photography Class? – Another Perspective

In all fairness, after I posted my final thoughts, I gave the professor a call and asked for his point of view. I thought we had a great talk and he had some very valid points.

He pointed out that he was teaching in an art department and that the goal was for artists to be able to produce works of art. There is NO doubt in my mind that black & white photography is a great form of art. Black & white forces the artist and the viewer to concentrate on the subject and not be distracted by the colors in the image. Black & white brings out the textures and details of an image.

He also pointed out the communal experience of a darkroom. In a large darkroom, it is possible for individuals to work together and collaborate on both technique and composition. The students get feedback on the image right away.

We also discussed the differences between an art program and a vocational ed program such as those found in a community college. In a vocational ed type of situation it is all about learning how to capture the image; the process. Art is not about the process, but more about the final product and is VERY communal. It takes the artist and the viewer to create a piece of art.

Finally, and probably most importantly, he said that he surveys every class and in every survey the overwhelming response is that students want to learn how to develop film and make prints in the darkroom. Honestly, I can’t argue with that. I got into photography because I loved watching the image rise out of the paper in the developer turning a blank sheet of white paper into something that I had created. It is a magical feeling when you create something with your own hands.

I would still argue that an artist is only as good as his skill with the tools he is using and a beginning class in any art medium should cover the mastery of those tools. I have said all along that film and other photographic mediums have a place in the classroom and should be introduced to students, but after they understand how use the tools to capture their vision.

I kind of consider this like photographic subjects; not everyone is going to like every subject. I like nature and landscape photography and others like street photography. That doesn’t mean that I don’t appreciate the effort and craft of a good street photography image. It just means that isn’t the type of images I want to look at and I don’t want to go out and make that kind of pictures.

The bottom line is that he is teaching the class and doing what he thinks is right for the students and the program. Being a teacher, I have to respect that. I don’t agree with it, but I respect it.

I found the instructor very open to discussion and more than willing to share his point of view while listening to mine. I hope I can maintain an open dialog with him in the future.

I welcome your comments and look forward to the discussion that could be created from these ideas.

Is It Really A Photography Class? – Final Thoughts

In my last three posts, I have been discussing a local university’s basic photography class and my opinion of the mandatory use of film in the class.

I have pointed out the following:

• The cost and expense of film.
• The instant feedback that digital provides.
• Use of the camera as a teaching tool.
• The stifling of creativity that can come with film.
• The fact that the future is digital.

Here is a copy of the course from page 102 in the online CSUSB catalog:

290. Photography I
Fundamentals of black and white photography including manual camera operation, black and white film developing and printing. Emphasis on composition, content and image-making for creative expression. Two hours lecture and six hours laboratory. Formerly ART 390. Materials fee required. (5 units)

According to the catalog, Photography I is the first class that a photography art student has to take to continue with photography at CSUSB and according to the description the emphasis is on composition, content and image making for creative expression.

This is the first photography class that a student takes in the art department and it should be geared toward making students better photographers. The first class in any subject should hook the students. It should make them want to take the next class and the next class and the next class.

When I teach biology, my purpose is not only to cover the subject matter, but to do it in a way that makes the kids want to learn more about the subject. I do that using whatever I can find that captures the imagination of the kids. That same passion should be found in ALL educational settings. Technology is one of the tools that is available to the university to do that with photography.

The history of any passion is important. To know where it comes from determines where it is headed. The history of an art allows the students to see what has been done so that they experiment with what was done and discover what hasn’t been done, making it their own. But you don’t have to know how to develop black & white film in order to learn photography. As a matter of fact, with today’s technology, black & white film hinders the process.

But if you’re going to teach B&W, why stop at “traditional”? Why not daguerreotype? Or calotype? Are you going to teach dodging and burning? NO. Why not? Because the teacher needs spend time teaching students how to develop film instead of how to master their camera.

Beginning students should learn how to capture their vision. They need to learn that if you change the aperture,  you change the depth of field and how that can be used to bring attention to your subject. They need to learn how to use the shutter speed to show time; slow speeds allow motion into the image and a fast shutter speed freezes the action and allows the viewer to see things that they can’t see with their naked eye.

Beginning students should be able to see the relationship between ISO, shutter speed, and aperture. They should learn how lowering one causes the other two change and you can change one and  determine which of the other you want to change and how it affects the image.

They need to learn how to use aperture priority and shutter priority and that each of those modes have advantages and limits. They need to learn how to frame a shot and why one composition works better than others. And they need to learn to see the light in the scene and how to capture the image that the see in their vision.

How are they supposed to do that when they are limited to 36 exposures that they have to focus on developing, printing, and then trying to remember what they did in camera that is different from the last shot? By using digital, they can get that feedback after each shot. They can compare shots with other students and examine EXIF data for ways to improve their images.

Finally, digital is the future. It has surpassed the quality of film a long time ago and film companies have either gone out of business or have stopped making many of the traditional films. Why? Because almost no one uses film any more.

I think that a beginning photography class at the university level has to embrace technology. It has to allow the students to learn with the best tools available at the time. Film is not it.

Again, I welcome your comments and thoughts.

Is It Really A Photography Class? Pt.3

In a previous post I described a situation at a local university where the photography teacher was requiring students in a beginning photography class to use B&W film. This thinking is wrong.

I have already listed two reasons that digital is better in the classroom:

• Expense.
• Instant feedback.

Here are three more reasons that the technology of digital photography is better used in a classroom than film.

• Teaching tool. If the instructor was really doing his job, he would be using a camera tethered to a computer/projector in the classroom to demonstrate how changes in the camera, lighting, model, etc. affect the final image. I saw this several times this year at WPPI. The speaker would set up the lights, model, camera and take a picture. Instantly, it would appear on the screen and he could point out the problems, make an adjustment or two, shoot another image, and we could see the results and why he made the changes. It was almost as good as working with the camera yourself. In a beginning photography class, how could an instructor NOT use such a tool?

• Creativity. Bill told me that he wanted to take a chance and try some different things for his final project, but was unwilling to do so because of the limitations of film. He couldn’t afford to make any mistakes because of the cost and time involved with film. He is right. With digital, he would be able to experiment, challenge himself, and further his photographic skills. He could try different situation, compositions, and techniques. But because he was limited to film, he took the easy way and just did the minimum to accomplish the task required for the assignment.

• Preparing students for the future. The future of photography is in digital. There is nothing wrong with film, but if students are going to learn for the future, and that is the purpose of education, they have to be able to shoot in digital. Film is fine in a an advanced class, but for preparing students for the future, it is wrong.

I will give my final thoughts on this in my next post, but until then I welcome your opinions and thoughts.