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Marilyn – The first thing I look for is impact. Like
it or not, the obligation of a juror at a show is to make snap judgments about
images, and images with impact stand out and grab the juror’s attention. But I also look for qualities in the image
that would make it wear well while hanging on the wall. Too many contest
images are all impact and no substance, and there are also some images that are
very decorative but that don’t attract attention. The best images have
to do both. I also look for some kind of intrinsic
value in the image. By this I mean either the ability to succinctly tell
a story (in the case of a journalistic image), or to convey the sense that the
maker was acutely sensitive to his surroundings and had the ability to see an
image that most people would just walk by. The converse of this intrinsic
value is that the image exists purely as an exercise in photographic technique. Finally, I look for technical quality that
is consistent with the theme/style of the image. I don’t have a
problem with grain in a journalistic image, but grain in a still life,
landscape or architecture image can be distracting. All images need to be
finished in a manner that indicates that the maker is proud of his work and
that he has respect for those who view it. The converse of this is
sloppy work that suggests that the maker doesn’t care how his work
appears. One thing that I never look for or try to
assess is composition. The reason for this is that “composition”
exists at two levels. On one level, it is an ingredient in both the
impact and intrinsic value of the image. Images with good impact and
intrinsic value tend to almost always be well composed, and composition is one
of the factors that lead to impact and intrinsic value. Therefore, if the
image succeeds in impact and intrinsic value, the composition is there. On another level, composition degenerates
into a set of mickey-mouse rules, and excessive adherence to formulas leads to
boring images. So in a lot of ways it’s like what
Justice Holmes said about porn – I don’t know what it is, but I
sure can recognize it when I see it. From: owner- For those of you who have ever acted as judges for
photography shows - would you be willing to share with me (so I can share with
my class) what you look for when judging photographs, please? What makes a ribbon winning photograph? Thank you in advance. Marilyn "Share your knowledge. It's a way to achieve
immortality." The Dalai Lama |
