"The best critics will tell you what it is they see in your photograph and leave it to you to decide whether or not what they see is a function of their unique vision or your success or failure in making the image you intended."
It seems to me that the key words are "making the image you intended".
Implying that the photographer should be very clear about his/her intentions:
(a). when shooting (creating) the image -- i.e. what is the purpose of the photographer when activating the shutter (e.g. is it intended to be a documentary photograph or an art work or both);
(b). when showing the image to a viewer -- e.g. is the photographer intending to move the viewer (e.g. war pictures) or enlighten the viewer (e.g. artistic lanscape);
(c). when choosing a class of viewer to show the image to -- e.g. is the work intented for a broad audience or a highly specialized audience.
Failure to be clear about one's intentions on any of these three points can lead to rather devastating critiques as I found out for myself on the occasion of a recent exhibition...
But most important, if you haven't clarified your intentions, you can't really benefit from the critic's comments, no matter how good (or bad), because you don't have a valid reference point to assess their appropriatedness.
Guy
