Photo Critique Club

notabitail · May 2, 2025

azurbanclucker said:
It's actually mentioned in the first post of almost all photography contests. We want people to take advantage of the experience of our pros.

I suppose I never noticed.

azurbanclucker · May 3, 2025

I'm going to pull the curtain back a bit on how I judge entries for photo contests. There's a lot of info here, so grab a drink.

Every photo starts with 10 points, from which I take deductions based loosely on the criteria below:

1. Focus

Is the subject in focus?

Is the image blurry?

Is the focal point dialed in on the head and eyes?

Does the subject have good Depth-of-field? (is it all in focus or does the focus go soft away from the central focal point)

(1-3 point deduction)

2. Lighting

Does the image have good lighting that helps define dark features or suits the mood of the image?

Is the image properly exposed? (not too dark or too light, not hazy or showing motion blur, etc...)

(1-3 point deduction)

3. Composition

Is the subject clearly the focal point of the image?

Is ALL of the subject included? (no missing feet or body parts)

Are there other objects in the image that may draw the eye away?

Is there sufficient space around the edges of the shot? (subject not pushing up against an edge awkwardly)

Is the background cluttered? (EX: wire fences, piles of stuff, other animals, etc...)

Is the horizon level (or at least rationally balanced to not distract from the image)

Is it a quick snapshot or was some thought put into framing and setup?

(1-3 point deduction)

4. Other technical

Is the image captured in the correct orientation (EX: Portrait, landscape, square crop, etc...)

Is the image of good enough quality to be judged fairly (not too small, not super low res and jagged, etc...)

Are there obvious signs of manipulation (filters, background blurring, etc...)

(1 point deduction)

5. Interest/feel (this one's subjective)

Is the image interesting? Does it invoke an emotional response? Does it make you go "Wow!"?

(1-2 point deduction)

As you can see, there are more than 10 points in deductions so technically an image can get a negative score from me. Doesn't happen, but it gives me the ability to tune my scoring when images are otherwise scoring the same and I have to pick one or the other. Generally speaking, strong contenders in BYC contests are scoring 7 or higher. and in the calendar contest, a 7 is amazing. We're all stingy on points there. If you want a winner, study up and take these criteria into consideration when creating your entries.

Other judges have different things they look for. Some are technically focused like I am, others look more at how a photo makes them feel and score based on their heart. There's not really a "wrong" way to judge these contests. We average all the scores to get a composite ranking, and at LEAST 6 judges participate in each contest judging to ensure we minimize individual scoring bias.

Anyhow, I hope you find this helpful and it gives you some ideas for taking amazing contest shots. Good luck all!

Lacy Duckwing · May 3, 2025

azurbanclucker said:
I'm going to pull the curtain back a bit on how I judge entries for photo contests. There's a lot of info here, so grab a drink.

Every photo starts with 10 points, from which I take deductions based loosely on the criteria below:

1. Focus

Is the subject in focus?
Is the image blurry?
Is the focal point dialed in on the head and eyes?
Does the subject have good Depth-of-field? (is it all in focus or does the focus go soft away from the central focal point)

(1-3 point deduction)

2. Lighting

Does the image have good lighting that helps define dark features or suits the mood of the image?
Is the image properly exposed? (not too dark or too light, not hazy or showing motion blur, etc...)

(1-3 point deduction)

3. Composition

Is the subject clearly the focal point of the image?
Is ALL of the subject included? (no missing feet or body parts)
Are there other objects in the image that may draw the eye away?
Is there sufficient space around the edges of the shot? (subject not pushing up against an edge awkwardly)
Is the background cluttered? (EX: wire fences, piles of stuff, other animals, etc...)
Is the horizon level (or at least rationally balanced to not distract from the image)
Is it a quick snapshot or was some thought put into framing and setup?

(1-3 point deduction)

4. Other technical

Is the image captured in the correct orientation (EX: Portrait, landscape, square crop, etc...)
Is the image of good enough quality to be judged fairly (not too small, not super low res and jagged, etc...)
Are there obvious signs of manipulation (filters, background blurring, etc...)

(1 point deduction)

5. Interest/feel (this one's subjective)

Is the image interesting? Does it invoke an emotional response? Does it make you go "Wow!"?

(1-2 point deduction)

As you can see, there are more than 10 points in deductions so technically an image can get a negative score from me. Doesn't happen, but it gives me the ability to tune my scoring when images are otherwise scoring the same and I have to pick one or the other. Generally speaking, strong contenders in BYC contests are scoring 7 or higher. and in the calendar contest, a 7 is amazing. We're all stingy on points there. If you want a winner, study up and take these criteria into consideration when creating your entries.

Other judges have different things they look for. Some are technically focused like I am, others look more at how a photo makes them feel and score based on their heart. There's not really a "wrong" way to judge these contests. We average all the scores to get a composite ranking, and at LEAST 6 judges participate in each contest judging to ensure we minimize individual scoring bias.

Anyhow, I hope you find this helpful and it gives you some ideas for taking amazing contest shots. Good luck all!

casportpony · May 4, 2025

How would you all crop this?

R2elk · May 4, 2025

casportpony said:
How would you all crop this?

Looks pretty good to me.

azurbanclucker · May 4, 2025

casportpony said:
View attachment 4114744
How would you all crop this?

I wouldn't.

1. It's just fine as it is.
2. The image is starting to lose definition as it is. If you crop it in much closer, it's going to get pixel-y.

Gill-b · May 5, 2025

casportpony said:
View attachment 4114744
How would you all crop this?

Hellooooo

If this were my picture, here is what I personally would do with it...

(Please bare with me as I find it difficult to explain myself.)

First, I would at least crop off the dark line on the left hand side of the picture; and then
Secondly, I would also at least straighten the image by the dark line to the right of, and that leads to, the fox (which is by 0.28 degrees);
...but I would go so far as to crop the whole image like this...

DSCN1170a.jpg

Gill-b
May 5, 2025
1

And here are my reasons for doing so...

DSCN1170b.jpg

Gill-b
May 5, 2025
1

Because of reading, we have trained our brains to first start looking at the top left-hand corner of a square surface - we are subconsciously automatically doing it. This picture is perfect to use this as an advantage, because the line of the branch draws the eye to the subject, so I have cropped the image to put that branch perfectly into the left-hand corner.
I then placed the bottom horizontal third line on the bottom of the wire-rope and to where the lines of the wire-rope "point" to the border of the crop (follow the lines of the wire-rope down to see what I am referring to). The rest of the bottom horizontal third line works out wonderfully; and the top horizontal third line falls nicely, although not onto the fox eyes but at least onto the middle of the fox forehead.
The middle of the picture marks the edge of the fox, which is also a good thing.
All while maintaining the original image's dimensional orientation.
(I also completely cropped off the distracting dark wire line on the right.)

If you have ever studied Art History and the Great painters of the Renaissance period, this will explain (and all make sense to) why these subtle aspects work so well.

Next...

I would do colour editing to enhance the pink in the fox ears and yet keep the green of the foreground plants while maintaining the morning or evening colour of light (hope this makes sense?)

DSCN1170c.jpg

Gill-b
May 5, 2025
1

Then I would remove the distracting pinkish-red paint marks on the wall and one or two other distracting marks...

DSCN1170d.jpg

Gill-b
May 5, 2025
1

So now we have this...

DSCN1170e.jpg

Gill-b
May 5, 2025
1

And finally I would add a very very slight Vignetting to put light focus on the fox...

DSCN1170f.jpg

Gill-b
May 5, 2025
1

I use to work in the print publishing industry where image definition matters for quality print work, but often the composition of an image can be more important than definition. I have come to realise that one can sacrifice some definition for visual appear and dynamic. Think of a painting by one of the Masters... when you look closely at it, you see messy paint and brush strokes. Stand back, and you see a glorious work of art.
Also consider that these days the majority of images are viewed on computer screens and definition does not count as much as first impressions.

My humble opinion... rather make your pictures as dynamic and interesting as possible with lines that capture the eye and draw attention to the subjects. Some of my most appreciated and interesting pictures were captured on old point-and-shoot cameras with grainy definition. For me it is not the camera you use or the resolution quality of your picture, but how you present your final image.

Brian, I am obviously going the opposite route to your sound advice, but my intention is not to be contentious. Rather, I hope to enlighten and inspire. Definition can be a creative trap - some members may get despondent as they may think they need professional equipment with high resolution capabilities to create good compositions and stunning pictures which is wholly not the case.
Please don't hate me.
:oops:

Lovely picture of a fox!
:love

Bawkbok · May 5, 2025

I would crop it vertically by shrinking in the left and right sides to make it a more narrow photo. Just my humble unprofessional opinion. What an adorable little fox.

Lacy Duckwing · May 5, 2025

casportpony said:
View attachment 4114744
How would you all crop this?

I think @Gill-b covered this pretty good, and I was thinking of the lighting myself. Because of the color of the fox and the background, the fox blends in too much. Either coming at it at a different angle (lower and possibly going to the right some) might have given you a better color or at least made the fox pop more. Going to that different angle might have helped with the branches that are in front of it too.

If you had this opportunity again with the same shot, more space to the right and less to the left would have been better. The fox isn't perfectly centered. On that crop though, that's more of my opinion. It's body is facing left, so space in front does best, but I feel like it would have been good to be centered as well, if it were possible.

casportpony · May 5, 2025

Lacy Duckwing said:
I think @Gill-b covered this pretty good, and I was thinking of the lighting myself. Because of the color of the fox and the background, the fox blends in too much. Either coming at it at a different angle (lower and possibly going to the right some) might have given you a better color or at least made the fox pop more. Going to that different angle might have helped with the branches that are in front of it too.

If you had this opportunity again with the same shot, more space to the right and less to the left would have been better. The fox isn't perfectly centered. On that crop though, that's more of my opinion. It's body is facing left, so space in front does best, but I feel like it would have been good to be centered as well, if it were possible.

Thanks, this is helpful. I was using the Nikon L830 and tried to get as close as possible, and it kept threatening to go back under the container.

These are the 12 that I took yesterday at 6:45pm: