Good points, Guy. Thank you.
Marilyn ----------------------------------------
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
