Critiquing Photographs for History of Photography
“You don't take a photograph, you make it.” ― Ansel Adams
Concepts and Quotes Take From: Criticizing Photographs by Terry Barrett
The following information is summarized from Terry Barrett's book, "Criticizing Photographs" and is to be used for educational purposes only. When citing this information, please use Terry Barrett as the source. I highly recommend photography students purchase this book.
About Art Criticism
Criticism in everyday language has negative connotations: it is used to refer to the act of making judgments, usually negative judgments.
Defining Criticism
-Criticism will not refer to the act of negative judgment
-Criticism is informed discourse about art to increase understanding and appreciation of art.
-Discourse includes talking and writing.
-Informed is an important qualifier that distinguishes criticism from mere talk and uninformed opinion about art.
-Criticism is a means toward the end of understanding and appreciating photographs.
Harry Broudy, philosopher and art educator says criticism should result in “enlightened cherishing” - a compound concept that combines thought (enlightened) with feeling (cherishing). He reminds us that both thought and feeling are necessary components that need to be combined to achieve understanding and appreciation.
Sources of Criticism
Photography classrooms, lecture halls, websites, exhibitions, and publications. Published criticism appears in books, exhibition catalogues, curator and artist statements, art magazines, photography magazines, websites, and the popular press.
According to Barrett, Weitz concluded that when critics criticize, they do one or more of four things: they describe, interpret, evaluate, and theorize about it.
-One of these four activities constitute criticism, and that evaluation is not a necessary part of criticism.
1. Describe- Description is a data gathering process, a listing of facts.
2. Interpret- whenever attention and discussion move beyond offering info. to matters of meaning.
3. Evaluate- is making judgments of artwork. Making statements of appraisal, stating how good it is or isn’t, and telling why.
4. Theorize- apply to art, its making, and its distribution and acceptance in society.
About Art Criticism
Criticism in everyday language has negative connotations: it is used to refer to the act of making judgments, usually negative judgments.
Defining Criticism
-Criticism will not refer to the act of negative judgment
-Criticism is informed discourse about art to increase understanding and appreciation of art.
-Discourse includes talking and writing.
-Informed is an important qualifier that distinguishes criticism from mere talk and uninformed opinion about art.
-Criticism is a means toward the end of understanding and appreciating photographs.
Harry Broudy, philosopher and art educator says criticism should result in “enlightened cherishing” - a compound concept that combines thought (enlightened) with feeling (cherishing). He reminds us that both thought and feeling are necessary components that need to be combined to achieve understanding and appreciation.
Sources of Criticism
Photography classrooms, lecture halls, websites, exhibitions, and publications. Published criticism appears in books, exhibition catalogues, curator and artist statements, art magazines, photography magazines, websites, and the popular press.
According to Barrett, Weitz concluded that when critics criticize, they do one or more of four things: they describe, interpret, evaluate, and theorize about it.
-One of these four activities constitute criticism, and that evaluation is not a necessary part of criticism.
1. Describe- Description is a data gathering process, a listing of facts.
2. Interpret- whenever attention and discussion move beyond offering info. to matters of meaning.
3. Evaluate- is making judgments of artwork. Making statements of appraisal, stating how good it is or isn’t, and telling why.
4. Theorize- apply to art, its making, and its distribution and acceptance in society.
“Photography, as a powerful medium of expression and communications, offers an infinite variety of perception, interpretation and execution” ― Ansel Adams
History of Photography Students- My 4 Steps to Critiquing a Photograph- by Mary Dew
Based on Information learned from Terry Barrett's book, here are my methods for using his 4 Steps:
1. Describe- It is a means of gathering basic information on which understanding is built. Use description to make many observations about what you see. Descriptive information includes statements about the photograph’s subject matter, medium, and form, and then more generally, including information about the photographer who made it and the process used. The content within the photograph, as well as the compositional techniques and visual elements used can be described as well. Should you need more experience and practice at visual literacy skills and learning the visual elements, please study from this great website: https://nuovo.com/basic-strategies-in-reading-photographs/.
2. Interpret- Use interpretation to discern if the purpose of the photograph is: to convey a message/meaning (window or mirror?), tell a visual story, evoke the viewer’s emotional response. Determine the style/type of photograph that you are looking at. (ex. snapshot, landscape, etc.). To further your discussions or writings, read the section below on the "Conceptual Approach" to help with interpretation.
3. Evaluate- Evaluate the technical and aesthetic choices by identifying images' strengths and weaknesses. Keep in mind evaluating the choices an artist/photographer makes, should be based on the original purpose or intention behind the creation. This is generally why I try and teach students to evaluate photographs based on their "success". Discussing if a photograph is "successful" or "unsuccessful" based on the creators intention, allows a bit more of an objective framework to our discussions and writing. To further your discussions or writings, read the section below on the "Technical and Aesthetic Approach" to help with evaluation.
4. Theorize- Discussing general principle of photography and relating them to categories of artist movements, discussing the times during which it was made, and the social atmosphere from which it emerged. This step is often the most neglected, but for a History of Photography course, probably one of the most important. This also tends to be one that is the most intimidating for students. I have often wondered why, and have thought it might have to do with a lack of knowledge or comfort ability when discussing history from a social, cultural and political context. This website breaks down each major historic period for photography and provides the political and social contexts for which the images during those times were made: http://www.luminous-lint.com/app/home/T3/. I highly recommend my History of Photography students use this site as a reference for their formal writing assignments.
Reactions to all types of art will vary on individual’s experiences, knowledge of subject and art, personalities, even current mood/state of mind, all of which is constantly in flux. As the process of photography has evolved, so have we humans.
The Value of Criticism in a Photo History Course
Analyzing photographs, engaging in discussions, writing about images increases our knowledge and appreciation of art, thereby also increasing our visual literacy skills. Much like making photographs, analyzing them requires a skill set that also needs to be developed over time and writing over time can reveal unexpected continuities, result in a new respect for one’s own capabilities, and provide practice in the discipline of solitude. This can help each of us learn, grow, and evaluate our own artwork more objectively. This learning experience will also allow students to analyze how photographs have impacted and will continue to impact the development of our society. Photo History is not just about learning names, dates, camera processes, etc. it’s about learning how to deconstruct an image, to look for its meaning and purpose, and to understand how certain images and photography as a medium has impacted our world by documenting our past, stimulating our present and impacting our future.
Photo major students...Consider reading these early influential academic writings on criticism and theory of photography:
Camera Lucida by Roland Barthe
On Photography by Susan Sontag
1. Describe- It is a means of gathering basic information on which understanding is built. Use description to make many observations about what you see. Descriptive information includes statements about the photograph’s subject matter, medium, and form, and then more generally, including information about the photographer who made it and the process used. The content within the photograph, as well as the compositional techniques and visual elements used can be described as well. Should you need more experience and practice at visual literacy skills and learning the visual elements, please study from this great website: https://nuovo.com/basic-strategies-in-reading-photographs/.
2. Interpret- Use interpretation to discern if the purpose of the photograph is: to convey a message/meaning (window or mirror?), tell a visual story, evoke the viewer’s emotional response. Determine the style/type of photograph that you are looking at. (ex. snapshot, landscape, etc.). To further your discussions or writings, read the section below on the "Conceptual Approach" to help with interpretation.
3. Evaluate- Evaluate the technical and aesthetic choices by identifying images' strengths and weaknesses. Keep in mind evaluating the choices an artist/photographer makes, should be based on the original purpose or intention behind the creation. This is generally why I try and teach students to evaluate photographs based on their "success". Discussing if a photograph is "successful" or "unsuccessful" based on the creators intention, allows a bit more of an objective framework to our discussions and writing. To further your discussions or writings, read the section below on the "Technical and Aesthetic Approach" to help with evaluation.
4. Theorize- Discussing general principle of photography and relating them to categories of artist movements, discussing the times during which it was made, and the social atmosphere from which it emerged. This step is often the most neglected, but for a History of Photography course, probably one of the most important. This also tends to be one that is the most intimidating for students. I have often wondered why, and have thought it might have to do with a lack of knowledge or comfort ability when discussing history from a social, cultural and political context. This website breaks down each major historic period for photography and provides the political and social contexts for which the images during those times were made: http://www.luminous-lint.com/app/home/T3/. I highly recommend my History of Photography students use this site as a reference for their formal writing assignments.
Reactions to all types of art will vary on individual’s experiences, knowledge of subject and art, personalities, even current mood/state of mind, all of which is constantly in flux. As the process of photography has evolved, so have we humans.
The Value of Criticism in a Photo History Course
Analyzing photographs, engaging in discussions, writing about images increases our knowledge and appreciation of art, thereby also increasing our visual literacy skills. Much like making photographs, analyzing them requires a skill set that also needs to be developed over time and writing over time can reveal unexpected continuities, result in a new respect for one’s own capabilities, and provide practice in the discipline of solitude. This can help each of us learn, grow, and evaluate our own artwork more objectively. This learning experience will also allow students to analyze how photographs have impacted and will continue to impact the development of our society. Photo History is not just about learning names, dates, camera processes, etc. it’s about learning how to deconstruct an image, to look for its meaning and purpose, and to understand how certain images and photography as a medium has impacted our world by documenting our past, stimulating our present and impacting our future.
Photo major students...Consider reading these early influential academic writings on criticism and theory of photography:
Camera Lucida by Roland Barthe
On Photography by Susan Sontag
Ask yourself... Are you Taking photographs, or Making photographs? What is the difference?
The Technical Approach
For our critiquing purposes: when looking at your photographs, or the photographs of other’s, ask yourself these questions...
-Density/Brightness: Is the overall lightness of darkness of the print appropriate?
-Contrast: Does the contrast fit the mood?
-Tonal range: Is there a pure black, a paper white, and a range of grays in between? Is there good detail where it should be?
-Sharpness: Is the image in focus?
-Are the edges of the print sharp?
-Depth-of-Field/Shutter Speed: If using selective focus through depth-of-field or motion, was it successful or did it detract?
-Local Controls: Does the size of the image fit the subject?
-Does the print need burning (lightening specific areas of an image) and/or dodging (darkening specific areas of an image)?
-Density/Brightness: Is the overall lightness of darkness of the print appropriate?
-Contrast: Does the contrast fit the mood?
-Tonal range: Is there a pure black, a paper white, and a range of grays in between? Is there good detail where it should be?
-Sharpness: Is the image in focus?
-Are the edges of the print sharp?
-Depth-of-Field/Shutter Speed: If using selective focus through depth-of-field or motion, was it successful or did it detract?
-Local Controls: Does the size of the image fit the subject?
-Does the print need burning (lightening specific areas of an image) and/or dodging (darkening specific areas of an image)?
The Aesthetic Approach
For our critiquing purposes: when looking at your photographs, or the photographs of other’s, ask yourself these questions...
-Is the arrangement of the elements in the image pleasing or awkward?
-How is the overall framing? Could something have been excluded? Or are we dying to see more?
-What is the placement?
-Is the main subject centered, did the photographer make use of the Rule of 3rds, or make use of edge tension?
-Should either technique have been used alternatively to create emphasis or balance?
-Are there any uncomfortable or distracting mergers?
-What was the photographer’s point of view, angle, and distance from subject?
-Is it appropriate? Would changing it create a more interesting view?
-How are the lines presented?
-What path does your eye follow (eye-movement)?
-What attracts your eye the most?
-Does the lighting match the mood of the subject matter? Is the subject properly lit to fit the mood?
-Is the arrangement of the elements in the image pleasing or awkward?
-How is the overall framing? Could something have been excluded? Or are we dying to see more?
-What is the placement?
-Is the main subject centered, did the photographer make use of the Rule of 3rds, or make use of edge tension?
-Should either technique have been used alternatively to create emphasis or balance?
-Are there any uncomfortable or distracting mergers?
-What was the photographer’s point of view, angle, and distance from subject?
-Is it appropriate? Would changing it create a more interesting view?
-How are the lines presented?
-What path does your eye follow (eye-movement)?
-What attracts your eye the most?
-Does the lighting match the mood of the subject matter? Is the subject properly lit to fit the mood?
The Conceptual Approach
For our critiquing purposes: when looking at your photographs, or the photographs of other’s, ask yourself these questions...
-What response do I have when viewing the image?
-What is the mood of the photograph?
-Are there any ambiguities in the photograph? Do they further the interpretation?
-Is the photographer using a window, observing an outside world?
-Does the image reference an aspect of society or culture? If so, what is their view?
-Does the image make a historical reference? If so, what is it referencing?
-Or are we looking at a mirror, a reflection of the photographer’s self?
-Do you sense the photographer’s presence in the photograph?
-What is their interaction with the subject?
-Is the image a story/narrative?
-What meaning or purpose is created by their self-expression? Does it resonate with your own life? How has it influenced you?
-Does the photographer’s explanation of their work support the photograph or contradict it?
-What response do I have when viewing the image?
-What is the mood of the photograph?
-Are there any ambiguities in the photograph? Do they further the interpretation?
-Is the photographer using a window, observing an outside world?
-Does the image reference an aspect of society or culture? If so, what is their view?
-Does the image make a historical reference? If so, what is it referencing?
-Or are we looking at a mirror, a reflection of the photographer’s self?
-Do you sense the photographer’s presence in the photograph?
-What is their interaction with the subject?
-Is the image a story/narrative?
-What meaning or purpose is created by their self-expression? Does it resonate with your own life? How has it influenced you?
-Does the photographer’s explanation of their work support the photograph or contradict it?