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Critiquing Nature Photos
Posted by
John Stuart-Clarke
,
15 April 2012
·
1,098 views
nature photography critique
I've been an active participant in nature photography forums for quite some time now and for most of it, I've been on the staff in one role or another. It won't surprise you to know that the staff can develop quite a strong bond and that we like a good natter. One of the things that forum staff discuss time and time again is the standard of critique being provided on their site.
For many, critique is a difficult topic to get your head around. When we launched WildPhotoForum, Kiri wrote an excellent guide on critiquing nature photos, which we maintain on our help page. It's a very good read and I encourage you all to do exactly that. It provides a good insight into the founders' views on the role of this community together with some helpful suggestions on how to give and receive critique.
One of my motives in founding WildPhotoForum was to provide a welcoming atmosphere for all nature photographers, irrespective of their ability or experience. In particular, I believe that we must provide encouragement to those photographers who struggle with the myriad complexities of nature photography, often in awe of their peers and at the same time, deeply dissatisfied with their own images. I'm very proud of the incredibly high standard of images that our members share here and I view it as an endorsement of the community spirit that we're building that they continue to do so, in ever greater numbers. But I am constantly vigilant against the risk of allowing this community to evolve into an elitist one, where only the best (whatever 'best' means) may share their work. So from time to time, I like to reflect on the reasons why I and my fellow staff operate this site.
Importantly, WildPhotoForum provides an opportunity for beginner and intermediate nature photographers to share their work alongside that of the quite gifted and brilliant seasoned photographers that we're privileged to be able to get to know and learn from here. But we can all learn something by rubbing shoulders with the wider, highly eclectic WildPhotoForum membership. Whether we are a professional or amateur photographer; confident, articulate or shy; an old hand or a 'newbie'; a regular competition winner; or like me, you just know what you like when we see it - there's always something new to learn about nature photography.
Critique is a valuable learning tool and it remains a core strength of our community that we provide critique honestly but sensitively. However, it will always be a challenge to fully balance and integrate the often quite different needs of a broad-based open membership such as ours. I encourage you all to continue to embrace this challenge so that our community remains welcoming, fresh, dynamic and active.
For many, critique is a difficult topic to get your head around. When we launched WildPhotoForum, Kiri wrote an excellent guide on critiquing nature photos, which we maintain on our help page. It's a very good read and I encourage you all to do exactly that. It provides a good insight into the founders' views on the role of this community together with some helpful suggestions on how to give and receive critique.
One of my motives in founding WildPhotoForum was to provide a welcoming atmosphere for all nature photographers, irrespective of their ability or experience. In particular, I believe that we must provide encouragement to those photographers who struggle with the myriad complexities of nature photography, often in awe of their peers and at the same time, deeply dissatisfied with their own images. I'm very proud of the incredibly high standard of images that our members share here and I view it as an endorsement of the community spirit that we're building that they continue to do so, in ever greater numbers. But I am constantly vigilant against the risk of allowing this community to evolve into an elitist one, where only the best (whatever 'best' means) may share their work. So from time to time, I like to reflect on the reasons why I and my fellow staff operate this site.
Importantly, WildPhotoForum provides an opportunity for beginner and intermediate nature photographers to share their work alongside that of the quite gifted and brilliant seasoned photographers that we're privileged to be able to get to know and learn from here. But we can all learn something by rubbing shoulders with the wider, highly eclectic WildPhotoForum membership. Whether we are a professional or amateur photographer; confident, articulate or shy; an old hand or a 'newbie'; a regular competition winner; or like me, you just know what you like when we see it - there's always something new to learn about nature photography.
Critique is a valuable learning tool and it remains a core strength of our community that we provide critique honestly but sensitively. However, it will always be a challenge to fully balance and integrate the often quite different needs of a broad-based open membership such as ours. I encourage you all to continue to embrace this challenge so that our community remains welcoming, fresh, dynamic and active.
