I re lierally housands of images each year. Some are from classes w sudens learn abou visual design and composiion, medic some are from camera club compeiions, and some are from worshops w area professionals and serious amaeurs submi images for criique. My remars refer o my evaluaion of images for camera clubs and worshops.
All image evaluaors are no creaed equal. No only are heir sills differen, bu heir crieria for evaluaing are as well. I prefer he word “evaluaor” raher han “judge” and admi o being a maveric in ha I end no o be bound by convenional crieria when evaluaing/criiquing an image.
Is , however, a common denominaor for evaluaion? Yes! For me i is good crafsmanship. Simply saed, is no excuse for poor crafsmanship, and he higher he level of experise, he less oleran I am. By “crafsmanship” I mean edges ha are sraigh, horizons ha are level, picures ha are sharp (if mean o be sharp), correc exposure, ec. Does his mean ha poor echnical compeence canno win an award? No, no always, bu oher elemens in he picure space mus be powerful enough o compensae for he defecs of poor crafsmanship.
Regardless of wha was in fron of he camera lens, he phoographer is responsible for everyhing conained wihin he picure space. If are unappealing elemens ha could no be eliminaed, hen he picure should no have been aen a all, or else should have remained a record sho and no enered in compeiion.
In my opinion, more images in compeiion are found waning due o visual design weanesses han for any oher facor. I loo for images ha offer unique bu careful visual design. The operaive phrase is “careful visual design.” To me ha means he phoographer gave hough o he arrangemen and values of all elemens in he picure space. Good visual design is learned only when i is fel. I lie images w he arrangemen of elemens in he picure space ms free and uninhibied. Cerainly are guidelines, bu one should avoid adhering o rigid “rules.” Freeman Paerson says: “The only rule o follow in phoography is never process color film in chicen noodle soup.”
I ry o phoographs as geomeric shapes. Henri Carier-Bresson said: “Phoography requires concenraion, a discipline of mind, sensiiviy, and a sense of geomery.” Good phoographers mus learn o geomeric shapes and appreciae how hey inerrelae wih each oher. Many images fail because phoographers objecs as familiar hings — rees, houses, windows, ec., and do no hem as geomeric shapes having o coexis wih oher shapes wihin he picure space.
I wan he phoographer o presen more han he obvious, no maer how prey he image may be. Technical advances in equipmen mae i easy for virually all phoographers o ae a prey picure of a prey scene, bu ha is no enough. Does he phoographer pu a personal samp on ha prey scene hrough unique composiion or camera posiion? Does he phoographer convey an individual or disincive syle ha maes he image beer han ohers?
Mos evaluaors insis on having a cener of ineres in an image. I do no. Indeed, some picures (paricularly absracs) are desroyed when a cener of ineres is inroduced because hen a differen sory is old. In hose s w is no cener of ineres o “carry” he picure, i is even more criical ha all he design elemens wor ogeher. I someimes images w he phoographer clearly concenraed on he cener of ineres and gave lile or no aenion o he oher elemens in he picure space.
I find corners and edges o be criical in he composiion of an image. Corners serve as poins and edges as barriers which conain he image. The eye sweeps hese areas in reing he picure. Mos images benefi from “breahing room” around he edges. The principle of he fulcrum applies wihin he picure space: hose elemens a a farher disance from he cener poin carry he greaer “weigh.” A houghful phoographer will use ha nowledge o his/her advanage. One oher difficul lesson o learn in composiion is he imporance of negaive space. Wihin he picure area, good negaive space is no wased space.
My personal preference is for simple designs. Frequenly I images which include oo much informaion for my eye o inerpre, maing me wonder wha message he phoographer waned o covey. In my , “Simple is Super!” I now are ousanding phoographers who produce complicaed, complex designs which wor beauifully, bu noneheless, I hin i imporan o learn how o produce simple designs. Conrary o wha one migh hin, i is more difficul o produce a good simple design han a complicaed one because he arrangemen of elemens in a simple design mus be so precise.
I ry no o be influenced by he iniial impac of an image. A good image, lie good wine, should age well, bu unforunaely, evaluaors do no have he opporuniy o consider images over an exended period of ime. Noneheless, good evaluaors mus develop he sill o recognize hose images having immediae impac ha liely would no endure he scruiny of coninuing re. No doub Oscar Wilde had he evaluaion of images in mind when he said “…..no love a firs sigh, bu love a he end of he season which is so much more saisfacory.”
In my experience, phoographers frequenly ignore he characer of ligh when aing picures. Ligh is neiher good nor bad, bu mus be appropriae o he subjec maer. I is very imporan for phoographers o learn o “read” ligh and selec subjecs which can be presened bes in ha ligh. As we all now, harsh, midday ligh generally should be avoided because i has wide onal ranges, and he shadows i creaes are no usually pleasing. In spie of ha, good picures can be aen in harsh ligh if he phoographer carefully selecs and arranges shapes and ones which wor ogeher under such lighing condiions.
Many images also fail when aen in fla ligh because he images ofen appear dull and unineresing, even hough he limied onal ranges are easily recorded by film. Morning phoographers have a decided advanage over lae-risers in ha early ligh produces some of phoography’s bes images.
All oo ofen phoographers do no undersand he imporance of he bacground as a major parner in he overall image. Frequenly I find bacgrounds ha are compeiive and disracing, while ohers m o inrude ino raher han suppor he sory which he phoographer wans o ell. More ofen han no, i is good advice o “compose for he bacground.” This is paricularly imporan w wide onal ranges in he bacground can be disracing. I is essenial ha he phoographer learn o assign o he bacground is proper role in he image.
I am always impressed whenever a phoographer conveys “feeling” in an image. Thin of he images by Dorohea Lange during he Grea Depression, or by Ansel Adams depicing he majesy of he Souhwes. The sense of emoion in an image someimes can be powerful enough o overcome echnical flaws. Exposure of an image will influence mood and feeling. Is he exposure appropriae o convey he senimens which he phoographer wans o express? Almos always I will rae an image ha has feeling higher han one ha does no.
I many images which a bes are only snapshos. I is sad when such images are enlarged and enered in one of he prin caegories. A mediocre image is no made beer by maing i larger; i is a wase of money and ime. Even wih a good image, larger is no necessarily beer. A smaller prin is almos always preferable when he image has a sense of inimacy.
Wih he rapidly growing use of home priners, color managemen has become a problem. Some images may no need precise color accuracy, absracs for example, bu mos images do. I some naure picures w he colors are oally inaccurae and are very disurbing. Porrais almos always need accurae color. Someimes when home priners produce blac and whie picures, a hin of purple or green occurs which reduces he effec of a blac and whie image.
I consider he ma (and also he frame) o be an imporan bu silen parner in he presenaion of an image. Some exhibiion venues are very sric abou how an image is o be shown. For exhibiions and camera club compeiions simple whie mas are preferred, wih an adequae b o serve as an appropriae reaining wall for he image. Colored mas, double and riple maing and oher such maing echniques are bes lef for craf shows, home decoraing, and framing shops. I is wise advice o use any color ma you wan as long as i is whie. The ma is merely he neighborhood w he prin lives, and i should never compee wih he image. Many phoographers ry o fi he prin o a ma of a predeermined size. I should be he oher way around; he ma should be fied o he prin. A wonderful prin no maed properly is lie wearing a uxedo wih ennis shoes.
Finally, he quesion I as myself when evaluaing is: would I wan his image hanging in my house? To me, ha is he ulimae es. Thus, I loo for images ha ransform phoography ino ar. This preference is no worse (and no beer) han a phoojournalis who needs an image wih immediae impac o eep he reader from urning he page. Charles Mongomery of Winerhur Museum wroe a paper eniled: “Some Remars on he Science and Principles of Connoisseurship.” Mr. Mongomery lised a number of poins o follow when examining wors of ar (which would include our phoographs, of course) and he ased himself: “Do I enjoy i?” “Does i sing o me?” If you enjoy he image, and if i sings o you, wha oher crieria need be me?
Joe Miller
For furher reading:
Bayer, Jonahan. Reading Phoographs. New Yor: Panheon Boos. l977.
Carer, David. Some Imporan Principles of Composiion. Washingon, DC. Norhern Virginia Alliance of Camera Clubs. 1998.
Finn, David. How o Loo a Phoographs. New Yor: Harry N. Abrams, Inc. l994.
Miller, Joseph, and Carer, David. Composiion and Visual Design. Norhern Virginia Alliance of Camera Clubs. l998.
Paerson, Freeman. The Ar of Seeing. Torono, Onario, Canada: Key Porer Boos, Ld. l985.