Summary of a Good Photograph

Evelyn Gibson was recently asked by the Centurion Camera Club to give a talk about good photography and good photography judging. Here is a short extract of the presentation that was given.

Summary of Good Photography 

The talk was based on the book "Looking at Photographs - A Personal View of Appraising and Judging Photographs" by Ken Holland, ARPS, DPAGB from the UK. The book can be found at http://www.blurb.com/b/2932165-looking-at-photographs.

This is part one of three parts.

A good judge does not pass judgement. He should regard judging as appraisal, assessment and analysis. In other words, judging should be evaluative and not critical.

A good judge should, where appropriate talk about the emotional side of a photograph, is it a pleasure to look at, is it depressing, is it moving, is it challenging, or even is it frightening?

This is not to say that the technical side of a photograph should be overlooked, poor technique can often ruin a potentially excellent picture.

• Be Helpful - this is where we need to be constructive.
• Be Fair - don't pull the photographer down.
• Be Informed - be aware of what the photographer was trying to convey.
• Be Interesting - try where possible to add humor to your comments.
• Be Unbiased - this is most important.
• Give three positive comments on each image.
• Use the sandwich method - A positive, perhaps two constructive comments followed by a positive comment.
• Keep your approach friendly, humorous, light-hearted and respectful.
• Don't waffle - Admit you don't know and rather asked your co-judges to help you.
• Rules are made to be broken - It doesn't always need a center of interest, etc. What does the image "say" to you?
• Remember that not all images need cropping.
• Avoid cliches - "I really like this image", etc.

Photography is very much (but not always) about the initial impact.

Always give the appearance that you enjoy judging the images in front of you.

Be confident in everything that you do.

Don't waffle and don't describe the picture in front of you when everyone can see it. Don't repeat yourself.

Don't lecture.

Be totally honest.

Don't attempt to say how a picture was taken.

Talk about the picture as though you were a "critical friend" of the photographer.

Speak with honesty and humility. None of us is God's give to photography, we all continue to learn from one another.

Keep an open mind. You may have strong feelings and opinions about something. This is not the place or time to air those.

Try not to let yourself become prejudiced by what you have seen before.

There may be similar images in the same competition by the same photographer. Judge the image in front of you.

Remember: It is a competition and therefore the best / strongest image in your opinion is the winner.

Please look out for part 2 that will be on "What judges are looking for in a good image?"