Good day, y'all!

Yesterday was a long day for me. I had lots of chores to catch up on at my studio and I took out a little too much time to post here on the forum- bad habits die hard! So...I went home, had a good meal with my lovely wife, played with our new cat, watched a little TV and got a good night's sleep. I am thinking more clearly this morning so I decided to post a few suggestions that may help answer the original question, or at least shed a little more light on the subject.

I felt badly about something. It's really too bad when a person asks a legitimate question and there are some logical answers but eventually things deteriorate into personal attacks, disparaging remarks about people's reading comprehension, off topic conversations about everything other than photography, let alone the subject at hand and a litany of nasty quips and snide remarks.

Lots of folks say that there is no way to “judge” art, there are no standards, it's all subjective, there are no rules, etc. I suppose there is nothing wrong with that philosophy but it certainly does not help anyone who is trying to learn photography, trying to improve their own work, attempting to learn about and set certain standards, aspire to professionalism in their craft or wanting to help others in their photography. Every art, science, craft, trade or profession has some certain basics, rules and standards that serve as guidelines. There are no rules or limitations on one's creativity, inventiveness, talent, and propensity for breaking or changing norms or rules but there should be some starting points, methodologies and standards to provide starting platforms.

Since we are talking about “PROFESSIONAL quality photographs”, lets look into how some working professionals set standards for themselves, their employees and others who are entering the profession. Let's see how the assess their own and each others work in an organized fashion.

In the United States and Canada, there are a number of national, international, state and provincial professional photographers associations. The award certain certifications and credentials to their members. Theses statuses are not easy to come by or attain, they are not automatically included with basic memberships. The statuses are credit based where certain points are based on educational participation, service to the organization, some require tests or examinations for qualification and the majority of points are awarded on the results of print competitions. Theses print competitions are where the standards factor in.

In theses competitions, a number of judges are impaneled. These judges are oftentimes recognized credentialed masters of photography who also need to complete a course in judging methodologies and rules. Believe me, the standards are high but not necessarily biased, stringent, overly orthodox, or restricted in terms of style, inventiveness, innovation or stuff that is truly “out of the box”! The judges are not a bunch old stodgy old guys and gals form ears gone by. Some are from the “old school” but the are usually very contemporary and up to date on modern trends and technologies. Sitting ion on an open judging is an education itself. There are many opinions and challenges. Many of y'all would be surprised and entertained! So...theses are seasoned pros judging the work of other pros. The know what works in the marketplace and the know about creativity and art as well as business.

Cutting to the chase, here are some of the criteria: Viewer impact and story telling content, composition, lighting or use of existing light, tonality and range, key and mood, composition, technical excellence (exposure, contrast, color balance, gray scale issues, perspective, image management, optical and distortion management or forced intentionally perspectives, sharp or selective focus), treatment, color harmony, print quality and general craftsmanship, presentation and finishing technique . Of course, theses are criteria that can be applied across the board to all kinds and categories of photography. There are more specific criteria for each category. In formal portraiture, posing, expression, retouching, and group placement factors in. Photojournalism, spot news and action sports photography have their own additional specifications. Commercial photography are sometimes broken into specific sub-categories such as still life, product, architectural, fashion, and industrial. Candid wedding photography, fashion photograph and many others each differ in their own way. There are unclassified and general categories as well.

When we consider “professional” standards, besides assessing the aesthetics and content on the images we also need to consider presentation and craftsmanship such as mounting, matting (if applicable) and surface finishing. We can't hand over a poorly presented print to a client. In many cases the mounting or centering of an image in a backing can effect its composition so the image is judged from stem to stern- the shooting the post processing and the finishing. Everything counts- does the editing, burning, dodging, or special effects blend in seamlessly or do they call attention to themselves? Does the surface finished kill delicate shadow detail? Are props and clothing harmonious with the subject to theme or are the distracting from the motif of the image? Will this product be accepted by a discerning client? Theses are questions that are asked when assessing the degree of “professionalism” in an image. This is where the standards are formed.
So...friends, none of this is carved in stone, you can take it or leave it, reject it or accept it or just study it and utilize the parts or concepts that you agree with. It's a stare in answering the OP's question. It is a behind the scenes view of how many successful professionals judge their own work and that of others. It embraces the fact that there is a client at the end of the line that must be satisfied with the photographers' efforts. The proof is in the tasting. Just attend a P.P.of A. or P.P.O.C. print exhibition or get a book of the P.P.of A. annual loan collection selections. There is some pretty impressive imagery out there!

I hope this helps- sincerely!