BobHartung Loc: Bettendorf, IA

I would not critique anyone who says they do not want a critque, but if they are silent on the subject they are fair game.

JohnSwanda Loc: San Francisco

If they are in the Photo Gallery, where critiques are not expected unless asked for, people shouldn't have to ask for no critiques. There are sections where they are expected.

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

That's right.

Cheese

“Excellent pic. Great composition, well exposed, great colors.”

“Out of focus, over saturated, too much noise.”

Both are critiques. Why is one okay and the other not?

Architect1776 Loc: In my mind

cmc4214 Loc: S.W. Pennsylvania

Those who do not want honest critique do not want to learn and improve... This does not mean that we have to agree with said critique.

camerapapi Loc: Miami, Fl.

There is nothing better to improve on one's photography than an honest critique from an experienced photographer.

rehess Loc: South Bend, Indiana, USA

I posted a photo of my daughter playing soccer. I got comments about the bench {which was crooked}. One person said the scene, including the girls’ skin, looked blue; another said the girls’ skin looked pink. It was early April. The bluish tone came from the season {read Grantland Rice’s piece that made him and the Notre Dame backfield famous}. The pinkish tone came from exercising in the cool weather.

Some comments are simply not helpful.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

Some have great difficulty staying on subject.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

In some cases, yes...... definitely.

dpullum Loc: Tampa Florida

Did Linda's "proper way to critique an image." Mean what were candy coating words for commenting on negatives? OR Did Linda mean proper standards of "good" photos, Composition, lighting, story"? OR Both?

I have given critiques on photos that were worth the analysis to save them, and it has generally been met with the huff-puff response or ignored in the sea non-thinking non-critical comments like of "nice shot" etc. I have learned to blame the lead judge of the Tampabay Camera Club who sits on my left shoulder and comments in my ear... quoting his condemnation of my early works there. As in the all images critiqued at the club, I have always consider UHH as a learning site.

The greatest "sin" I see in UHH photos is not cropping to the story and the use of simple tool such as straightening, and clone to rid of extraneous distracting items. Up to a point IQ is the mindset burned into us by the Camera manufacturers during the pixel race. With modern AI old 3 mpix photos can become up to date clean, sharp, hi resolution.

Choice of subject: Choice must have a reason or theme... how man bird photos need there be? What is the story?... Would one have a sub-category in UHH on Dog Feces? The cats face may be meaningful and a point of love to the photographer, but what if any thing do Fefe's smiling eyes have to say. The eye of a fly is something we never have seen because of the need of high magnification and specialized lighting. Check out the textbook should be quality that sippyjug104 gives us. Is verbal AI art formation a photo[?] ... that is a stretch beyond the lens and sensor.

Lighting: There have been many How-2 detailed setups. I have never seen a discussion of "Ray Analysis" a technique employed to determine where the lights were positioned. Lighting is critical... I was dismayed at the Jail Booking photos... some were so overexposed. If taking such photos hour after hour day after day how does one screw up, it is simple portrait photography like senior high-school year book photos.

Composition: Individual taste, aaaaa perhaps, but we are all pre-programmed by our culture. A book on "Free Will" suggests we are all programmed from our beginnings of perception and it is hard, or impossible to escape. In the west, we read a photo from lower left to upper right... influenced by how we read text from left to right. The photo is punctuated on the right and should not wander off without a period. I refer to the experts in Art and Psychology in what I consider a great {big and good} free text... oops, the server is down or removed.. but here are the works, articles and books, of John Suler Photographer and Psychologist.
https://www.johnsuler.com/
The Free book is at, I hope it is there but the server is down
http://truecenterpublishing.com/photopsy/article_index.htm
as suggested by me many times but also by st3v3 in:
https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-145462-1.html

larryepage Loc: North Texas area

The problem is that many critiques here are not meaningful help from experienced photographers. They are no more than reactions and opinions from inexperienced learners who are no more accomplished than the photographer who posted the image.

I am happy to receive comments and suggestions from people I know, understand and respect, even if their approach and oreferences do not match mine. But my interest in the opinion of an anonymous person whose background and level of expertise is unknown to me is somewhere between extremely limited and nonexistent. That's one of the reasons I don’t post images here very often.

rehess Loc: South Bend, Indiana, USA

and none of this should be done without knowing why the photo was taken. Sometimes a photo is not meant to ‘tell a story’, but to record a stuation, for example.

https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-780738-5.html

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

Life is like photography, it's easy until you start following all the rules explained on the internet.

Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

"Thanks again to John for his suggestion. I've been hearing dpullum's voice in my head the past couple of days: "Crop to the story!" Unfortunately, sometimes my stories are rambling "
https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-784342-2.html#14127073