How To Critique Paintings And Photography – Photography101 – Rule Of Thirds - Critique

Critiquing on Photography101 is not intended to be a formal affair, but I think that learning the basics of art critique will help you to be more constructive in your comments. All art schools teach students how to critique the work of their peers and famous masters alike, and the following breakdown is what I learned in art school. It can be written in many different ways, but always has the four stages: Observation, Analysis, Interpretation and Evaluation.

1. Observation: - What do you see in the work?

1. Is it a photograph, a sculpture or a painting etc.?
2. What is the subject of the work?
3. What is the first thing you see in it? Why?
4. What colors do you see?
5. Do you see shapes?
6. What kind of lines can you see?
7. Do you see texture?
8. Is there space? How is it used?
9. Is it day or night? How do you know?
10. Does the work portray an overall mood?

2. Analysis: - Make a mental note of all the above qualities. How does the artist use them?

1. How is color used?
2. What effect does the color have on the work?
3. What is the effect of the medium used?
4. How are shapes used? How do they affect the work? How do they affect you?
5. How have lines been used in the work? How do they affect the work?
6. Is movement used? How?
7. If there is texture in the work, how is it used?
8. Is there balance? Emphasis? Contrast? etc.
9. How is light used? Is there light and shadow? Is there overall light?
10. Does light help to achieve the mood?

3.Interpretation: Interpret what you think the artist is trying to say in the work. Why did he/she create it?

1. Did the artist make a statement about the work? If so, what was it?
2. In your opinion, what does the statement mean?
3. What do you think the artist trying to convey? What is the main idea of the work?
4. Does it make you think about something else, remind you of something?
5. Does the artwork conjure up feelings? What kind of feelings?
6. Does the artwork convey anything else?
7. Why do you think the artist portrayed things the way he/she did?
8. Why do you think he created the work? Does it have a purpose?

4. Evaluation: After you observe, analyze and interpret the work, what is your judgment or evaluation of it? What do you personally think of the work? This is your own thoughts and feelings about the artwork. As such, your thoughts and feelings are neither right nor wrong.

1. Is it a beautiful art piece?
2. Does it make a statement of some sorts?
3. After going through the first steps, did your impression of the work change? Why?
4. How would you describe the work? Appealing? Boring? Well planned? Etc.
5. Does it have an affect on you? Would it have the same affect on others?
6. What is your overall impressions of the artwork? Are you inspired by it?
7. Did you learn anything from it and could you apply what you have learned to your own work?

So, with the knowledge you now have, please critique this image. It doesn't matter if you are a professional or an amateur. Your opinion counts! Learning to constructively critique artwork and photography helps you to think creatively, and in the end helps you to create better works yourself.

In the end, it all boils down to one thing - What do you think of it? So, with that in mind, does using The Rule of Thirds work for you in this image? Why or why not? What do you think this image portrays? Hint: It was not photographed to be a piece of art, but as a stock shot.

Image © Diane Macdonald. All Rights Reserved.

This is my own stock image and can be found on Getty Images

Camera Used: Canon EOS 5D
Lens: EF100mm f/2.8 Macro USM
Camera Settings: 1/125 sec; f/16; ISO 100
Software: Adobe Photoshop® and Adobe Camera Raw

Thanks for taking the time to read this! I appreciate it.

To find my blog posts, photography and designs on Steemit, please search on #dianemacphoto and to check out my art prints and stock images online, please visit my website.