A friendly donkey on Bonaire, with a question on his mind... in this case, I believe it is "do you have any food?"
I have received a number of emails about photo contests lately, and it brought to mind a problem I have with judging and critique of photographs. That problem is one of The Missing Question. Now of course contests aren’t meant to be constructive, but many photographs are judged in a similar fashion. The basic premise of a critique is an attempt to guide people on what they can improve upon. Others may just want some affirmation that they created something worthwhile the effort.
More often than not, the photograph is examined at face value and the judge offers their opinion of it based upon whatever background and experiences they may (or may not!) have. They may even apply some type of numerical score to an image if it is in some type of competition. This very process can be completely useless to the photographer on the other end. Why? Because of The Missing Question.
The Missing Question is one that asks “What was your goal with this image?” Note this is a different question than “what are you attempting to communicate” or “what’s your subject?” because those things often come through without explanation in a well composed image. However, it is impossible to know the goal of the photographer without asking first. The goal offers vital information that would help frame feedback in a constructive way. Were they out to improve on their use of backgrounds? Did they aim to imitate the work of a more well known photographer they admire? Were they simply trying to show what they found interesting about a special place? Is there a theme or project of other images involved? Were they simply trying to make a better image than their last?
I put forth that without knowing that goal, someone critiquing, giving feedback, or worse – assigning some arbitrary number in comparison with other images is not doing the photographer much good. In fact, it can be downright detrimental and crushing to the creative spirit. I don’t know of much worse than to have someone evaluate one of your images with preconceptions and opinions that are completely opposite of your own goals and intent. There are exceptions of course, if the person who is reviewing your work produces the type of work you aspire to produce, then their opinions may offer some constructive guidance.
So I think it is important to take feedback with a level of skepticism. Someone might suggest an improvement and a light bulb will go off in your head. In such a case, that’s great. In others, the missing question will probably lead to missing the point altogether.
About this photograph:
Bonaire happens to be known for its resident donkey population, and their life there isn’t always a pleasant one. They came to the island when they were used for labor back in the 17th century. When equipment modernized, the donkey was somewhat cast aside to fend for itself on the island. They have been victims of abuse and collisions with vehicles of careless drivers. A sanctuary exists there now in attempts to provide a safe haven for them, but many still roam the island outside the sanctuary, such as this one. If you care to donate to them, or learn more, you can visit donkeysanctuary.com. The image was made using my 24mm f1.4 lens, wide open at f1.4 because I wanted to capture the inquisitive nature of the donkey’s eyes.
Wonderful eyes in the donkey image.
Critique? The “tough love” approach is mean-spirited and unkind. There’s always something good and something to improve in any image. A useful critique has to hit both sides. And the person commenting needs to be open to ways of seeing and making images they may not agree with (IMO).
Judges? It’s just personal opinion. The person judging always had a point of view and preferences that may not fit with some people’s work, and resonate with others. That’s just the way it is.
Goals? I think you can understand someone’s work without knowing their goals explicitly. To turn it around, you could have a conversation with an artist and convince them of a different way of looking at their own work that they may not have thought of, or undervalued. Your project/purpose/goal may be important to someone else understanding what you’ve done, and it might not.
Good thoughts Tom! Thank you for contributing.
Love the donkey photo, Mark! Great character and composition!
The most hurtful and damaging comments/critiques I receive are from individuals telling me what they would have done if they had taken the image. I know it is a delicate line we walk when offering comments. Even as a commenter, I had one photographer respond negatively because my comment were not what they wanted. You suggest a good question, one I need to spend some time chewing over. Even asking ourselves the question, “What was your goal with this image?” would be a great prior to pressing our shutter. Thanks for another great post, Mark. One of the reason I visit your blog is because of your thoughts and not just your images. 🙂
First: Thanks for visiting my blog and commenting. 🙂
Second: Such a sad donkey. Most expressive ears. 🙁
Third: The question of what the photographer was trying to achieve is a good one. Perhaps I will try to mention that when posting on my blog as a way of helping the viewer understand the photo.
Mark, somewhat related…a question I wonder about when looking at a photographers work is who was the photographer making the photo for…themselves or others? This might give clues to their goals.
Of course when being paid to photograph something or if they are hoping to sell photos the photographer will try to shape an image that will meet the customers vision or have a positive impact. I’ve also known some photographer who make photos targeted toward the goal of trying to win a specific photo contest, looking at the qualities of previous winners as an indication of judgement metrics.
Certainly goals are more complex then simply an artistic endeavor.
Great post!
You’re right Earl, that takes the goal in an entirely different direction. I would think those producing for a specific commercial purpose aren’t submitting them for critique by a panel of judges. Of course, the client will likely critique them, but they are already aware of the goal! 🙂
You’re so right about this with the missing question, and it’s somewhat strange that no one actually reflects this rather obvious lack of information, when giving critique. Usually, I think people just tries to express how they would have made the photo, when criticising, not how you could have gotten closer to what you originally wanted. Really good post, Mark. (Cute donkey, too 🙂 )
Perhaps it is just natural human nature to offer how they would have done it instead? Thanks for your input here Ove, I appreciate it.
Great post, Mark. I always appreciate a critique giving suggestions on improvements of my photos and I automatically give such critiques to photos of others somehow expecting that they want it also. Even though I know that it may upset someone and it even happened some years ago when I started posting my photos on the web using local server for sharing photos. I was banned by one quite good photographer for giving him constructive critique. Still I’m giving a constructive critiques to others, sometimes it is appreciated but much more times I get no response at all so maybe it’s only a loss of my time. I never know. But thanks for bringing this thought on top.
The donkey photo is nice, f/1.4 really did it’s job I only wonder what was going on in his brain 🙂 I see something weird behind those eyes. Perhaps something evil? I don’t think it is a fear. But maybe I’m only thinking too much 😀
Hi Tomas, thank you for your comment. That’s pretty bad for someone to ban you just for offering your own opinion.
I am not sure I see the evil you refer to, except perhaps some fiendish way of tricking me out of some food. 🙂
The donkey looks sad to me, in spite of the those ears “flying” in different directions. I suspect that you are right about the question. Food would probably be the number one request from this fellow.
When I taught actors, I encountered dozens of actors who had been virtually brain-washed into believing that they could only improve if they had a teacher who leveled non-stop verbal abuse. Constant repetition had taught them to value condemnation of their work over answers on how to improve their craft. When given criticism that began with questions or offered encouragement to capitalize on promising moments in a piece of work, those actors became defensive and suspicious that I could not really help them because I wasn’t harping on how bad they were. Strange stuff. I wonder if some photographers similarly thrive on beating “beaten up” by critics?
You pose a good question Anita, I am not sure. Having watched American Idol over the years, it seems like many of the people auditioning could really use a kick in the pants sometimes. But it is quite easy to think that from the comfort of your living room chair, and you aren’t the one in front of the judges. 🙂 I think it depends on how much confidence you have in yourself and your work to begin with. If you are confident, you can take any harsh criticisms with a grain of salt, and use it or lose it. Otherwise, it could be quite discouraging.
I also detected some sadness – they live a pretty hard life.
Fun image. Good advice. I really dislike the whole camera club model and have spoken out about it before in regards to how it stifles a persons creativity. Their contests and challenges are designed to make people confirm to set standards.
I feel much the same way Roberta. There is a certain type of image that does well in many of them, and if that is the type of image you strive for, then great – there can be a lot to learn from. But I find it rather narrow focused and diversions from the “norm” usually are penalized in some way.
That’s a brilliant image – the donkey with his curious and inquisitive look really made me smile!
And thanks for the interesting article, I enjoyed reading it and couldn’t agree more with your thoughts about judging and reviewing photographs.
Thank you very much for stopping by Martina!
Excellent post, Mark. I am not a fan of contests for this very reason. What I see happen in contests … photos are judged based on the judges preferences. Now, his preferences might be completely opposite of mine. As for a goal, sometimes I wonder if I have a goal when I take the photo, other than it was something interesting to see and I took a photo of it. 🙂
Well, you certainly made your goal of capturing the inquisitiveness of this donkey. Sad that we cast aside / throw away living things when we finish with them. Thanks for the link.
I’m right there with ya Paul.
Sage advice and a photo of a cute donkey? what more could we ask for 🙂
Thanks Suzy!