Judging Photographs

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Originally Posted by inthedark

Okay, again I come at things from a different perspective, but I gotta question.

Do you ask your techs their opinions? If so, do you want them to be honest? If not, do you expect them to comment on the wonderfulness of your talent anyway?

I personally have chosen honesty which means I am usually so looking at the detail issues, that I forget to actually look at the images as whole.

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First question .... I don't have any techs. Do I ask those I associate with for their opinions? Uh... about what?
My answer would be the classic, "Yes, no, and sometimes". If I have a technical problem, certainly I would try every avenue possible to solve it, including asking someone, without hesitation.
If it is a matter of curiousity about how others respond to my work (happens occasionally) I don't think I'd out-and-out ask, but I'd try to subtly "worm" it out of them. Or maybe I would ask them directly. Depends.
If it is a matter of deep probing questions without answers - discussions of aesthetics, vision, impulses - what I will react to from some unknown stimulus in the future --- It would not be so much of a question as it would be provoking a discussion and LISTENING.

I too have chosen honesty. That doesn't mean super-pickiness. The - not ultimate - but something close, - appreciation of a photograph would be based on the over-all `macro' photograph as a whole. The details, proper focus, tonal scale, empiracal compositonal structure, are all interesting, but to de-construct a photograph and judge it by the bits and pieces is to me a terrible, gross DISHONESTY.

Now... *do* I expect - *would* I expect anyone to comment on the "wonderfulness" of my work? No, I don't. It would be closer to the truth if I emphasized that ....

It is great to connect with someone. I recently commented on an oil painting in a gallery" "Reminds me of the style of Waterhouse's `Death of Ophelia'. Not anything like a copy, but in some way, I `see' something like that here." Her reply, "Wow!! That is who I was thinking about when I painted that!!"

It is great when it happens ... but I do not "expect it - and that is not the motivatoin behind my work. I do it because I feel better when I do it than I do when I don't do it.
All else, the connections, the good comments, praise (gratefully accepted) is a plus - icing on the cake.

That's easy for me. I'm my own tech. I do try to be honest with myself and don't pat myself on the back very often. But someone else's opinion is always of value, depending on their agenda. As the article explains, many people have an agenda to push.

The judges may have a "personal" agenda but they are invariably safe within the confines of typical "good taste." Such agendas as an egotistical notion of individuality are usually about as novel and invigorating as the descision to mow your lawn side-to-side rather than front-to-back like your neighbors. Individual? Maybe, but still within the narrow standards defined by the Homeowners Association.

This of course is exactly why their opinions are useful for camera clubs, where no one really wants to get challenged too much in terms of their values, and where the underlying (and usually banal) values of the local community are to be strengthened, not stretched. It goes hand-in-hand with the definition of "club."

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Originally Posted by bjorke

Individual? Maybe, but still within the narrow standards defined by the Homeowners Association.
...camera clubs, where no one really wants to get challenged too much in terms of their values,...

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Well said. I agree.

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Originally Posted by bjorke

This of course is exactly why their opinions are useful for camera clubs, where no one really wants to get challenged too much in terms of their values, and where the underlying (and usually banal) values of the local community are to be strengthened, not stretched. It goes hand-in-hand with the definition of "club."

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This is also typical of internet sites where everyone "rates" the photos. Everyone becomes a "judge" and "clubs" develop within the site membership. IMO, that's why this site is working well - no ratings.

Yeah, I'm pretty much in the anti-ratings camp now too. Too often the highly rated stuff seems to fit a specific formula. But, once you have it figured out, it's easy to get high numbers (if you care about that). But then I've seen some of what I think is God-awful junk get raves, and to me it was still junk. Go figure.