David Rathbone
@david_rathbone_photo25 Jul
Critique
What are your thoughts on having a dedicated critique section within the Framelines community? I’m not talking about the usual “That’s great!”, “Love it!”, or “Fantastic shot!” comments. I’m thinking of genuine, constructive critiques that cover things like: • What works well in the image and why. • What could be improved, and how. • What impact the photograph has on you as a viewer. I believe receiving thoughtful independent critique is one of the best ways to improve as a photographer. Just as importantly, writing a critique makes you slow down, really study an image, and think about why it succeeds or where it could be stronger. That process can be just as valuable for your own photography as receiving feedback on your own work. And remember it’s only someone’s opinion Would this be something you’d be interested in doing
I would be up for this. Although I think honest feedback works better when people are not anonymous or face to face.
But maybe here the community is more closed and respectful.
I say that cause on flicker I joined a group a while back where critique was pivotal and it was fairly harsh..
Maybe if the responses are guided, like your bullet points. At least to begin with. We don't want toxicity to sip in the community.
You are so right, many critique groups on Flickr and Facebook, lose there way especially as the groups grow larger and there is a wide difference in abilities. Maybe a small group of photographers is the way to go
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I'm not sure how successful a critique group would be. How many would engage and how many would be brave enough to offer constructive criticism, especially ideas about improvements without their comments being seen as potentially harsh or inviting disagreements in the discussions?
Also, constructive critique can be hard when we all might judge photography based on our own personal tastes, consciously or not.
Good points, A lot of people take criticism personally, even when it's meant to help. But honestly, if someone only wants to hear compliments, they probably shouldn't be asking for a critique. At the end of the day, a critique is just one person's opinion, you don't have to agree with it. That said, I totally agree that private feedback is usually best. Public groups can make people get defensive real fast."
Hi David, In my view, probably not 🙂. There are plenty of other places to get critiques . Why here?. Critiques give 'power' to the critic and can have an underlying message of superiority in knowlege and knowhow. This can be divisive. I will be interested to see others views on this issue?
Agreed, this isn’t the place for it imo.
Yes your probably right, let’s keep community as it is
Yeah not sure not sure. I wonder what the admins think.
At the end of the day, we post on the monthly assignments as well and people there vote accordingly.
Also street photogtaphy is very fluid. You can have an excellent photograph due to what you are showning (which is very much to taste).
But someone will think it is overexposed, or too grainy or this and that. Too many pitfalls.
I like the community as is to be honest and this could be a double edged sword.
I don’t think this is going anywhere, after further thought I don’t think this would be the right place for critique, I will probably put a group of photos together and pay for a critique, which is probably the best way to do this
I’m in one critique group and it’s a bit tetchy at times
Yeah I can imagine
Everyone is a critic! as they say..
It is always very hard to find a critique group with a good balance. I am a member of a few Facebook groups and they are either 'This is great, love it' or some of the most horrid responses ever. I wish I had an answer for you but I am definitely keen to obtain open and honest critique of my 'work'
For me, the large Facebook critique groups don’t really work The range of experience is so broad that you often end up with feedback from complete beginners at one end, or overly critical keyboard warriors at the other
I think the most valuable critique comes from people whose work you know and respect, and who understand the style of photography you’re trying to achieve, That doesn’t mean they always have to agree with you, but you know their comments come from experience and are intended to help you improve
I have an idea that may help. Ask AI to critique your images. I just did a quick one with the first photo I had to hand on my phone using Grok. See what you think..... https://x.com/i/grok/share/eb0b03b8187343e2b7ac40f1045e3723
Interesting. I’ve experimented a little with AI critique, and I think it’s a useful place to start. It can be very good at analysing composition, balance, light and other technical aspects of an image.
Where I’m less convinced is its ability to understand emotion, intent, or a photographer’s personal style. Those are often the qualities that make a photograph memorable, and they’re much harder for AI to judge.
I'm not against it but I've seen similar where it feels unnatural, forced critique.
People are encouraged to find something, whether there are points to mention or not, in order to try and be helpful. A bit camera cluby.
'its good but crop here', 'use rule of thirds', 'love it but go back to that once in lifetime moment that will never happen again but this time try standing a foot to the left'.
However, I believe that a portfolio check or a review of a set or a series of images can be very helpful.
Missed your reply before writing the same one basically :)
In general I think positive reinforcements (when done right) work better than negative, like the Framelines assignments videos.
Great minds and all that 🫡
I agree with your forced critique point
I think there’s a difference between offering an opinion and feeling obliged to find fault. Sometimes the most honest critique is simply explaining why an image works so well. Other times there may be suggestions that genuinely strengthen it.
I also agree reviewing a portfolio or a series of images often provides more value than critiquing a single photograph, because you get a much better sense of a photographer’s intent, consistency and style.
You're correct to highlight that critique is not criticism. It can highlight what went well.
I think the problem with this is that there would be too many photos to critique, and the feedback would be scant.
It is something we've been thinking about though, and I even built an 'open to critique' toggle in the profile settings which I didn't deploy, because I felt it wasn't a full solution to the problem.
Currently, I'm thinking about 'framelines groups' where you can group up with 5-10 people and critique eachothers projects, like a group workshop. You either invite people to your group, or mark your group as 'open' and allow anyone to join- making it truly social, and a cool way for members to mix.
Groups could even be based on locality, so you could have a group in London who even meetup for a photowalk.
What do you think?
That's a good idea. I heard somewhere of a group that print their photos and meet to pass them around, talk about them, give and receive feedback etc
It could be named the print and pint evening
I really like that idea. I think small, committed groups would produce much better critique than one large community thread.
With 5–10 people, you get to know each other’s work, style and aspirations, so the feedback becomes far more meaningful and considered, rather than a quick “great shot” before moving on.
I also like the idea of groups being based around location. Not only could members head out on photowalks together, but they could also meet up to discuss each other’s work in person. I think those face-to-face conversations lead to more thoughtful critiques than comments online.
To me, that feels much more personal than a typical Facebook critique group, and I think that’s where the real value lies building relationships with people whose opinions you trust and who understand the challenges of street photography
Love the idea! I think it would be a good way to avoid most of the issues mentioned in this comment section. Also, it would be a cool way to create IRL meetings to talk about it around a coffee.
Presumably there’s always the option to invite critique when posting in Dailies, no?
My only problem posting in Dailies is its all one big feed so the more people upload there your photo just gets pushed further and further down the list and most photos just end up with a few likes and not much else.
Yes, but I’m not sure you’ll get much beyond the usual “great shot”, “love this”, or similar comments and there’s nothing wrong with that, I just don’t think a busy community feed naturally lends itself to thoughtful critique
Meaningful feedback takes time, and I suspect most people will simply scroll on rather than stop and write a considered response
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This might be a controversial opinion, but because street is so random we don’t really have much control of the outcome of a specific photo, which means critique is not necessarily actionable in a context of one photo. Maybe a portfolio or specific project (as Shane mentioned) critique section. But then I’m not sure how many people would actually spend time writing feedback there.
I agree it wouldn’t be for everyone, and I don’t think every photo needs to be critiqued. But I do think there are photographers who genuinely want thoughtful feedback and are prepared to give it in return
Even with street photography being unpredictable, there are still things that can be discussed—composition, timing, framing, editing, sequencing, communication, emotion
The challenge isn’t whether critique has value, it’s creating the right environment for it.That’s why I like the idea of small groups, People who want that level of feedback can opt in, while everyone else can simply continue sharing and enjoying images as they do now
I would be happy to take part both in submitting photos and providing critique.
If the focus is on providing helpfully comments that's the key bit.
I agree. For me, the key is that the comments are constructive rather than simply complimentary. A good critique should be honest and balanced, but it doesn’t need to be sugar-coated.
You also have to be willing to accept opinions that differ from your own. I’ve seen critiques in some groups quickly turn into people defending or justifying their photo, rather than considering another perspective. Even if you don’t agree with every comment, it can still spark new ideas or make you look at your work differently.
Photography is highly subjective, so there often isn’t a right or wrong answer. The value of critique is in encouraging discussion and helping us all see beyond our own way of looking at an image.
I think Shane’s idea of small groups could be a good way to make that work. I can understand why some people would have reservations, but perhaps it’s something that could be trialled. Those who want to take part could opt in, while everyone else can continue using Framelines as they do now.
Like the idea but yea I agree with a lot of previous comments. A lot of the people I look up to seek out critique from people they admire. You’d be surprised at how generous your hero’s can be with their time. On the community note, where I live we have a print swap meetup once a month and it’s a good way to gauge how your work is doing. The FujiFilm store here also does critique after a photo walk. Nothing too serious but it’s a good toe dip. Just some examples I can think of 😊
Yeah, some excellent points, I particularly like the idea of meet ups for a print swap