Pixiq

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Criteria for Judging Experimental Photos

Full Tonal Range: While this rule can certainly be broken, most photos have more snap and more power when they contain a full range of tones from black to white. This is an old rule in photography, but it still applies even in the digital era.

Color: A photo should have a clear sense of color. There should be a palette of colors that work together with a range of saturation, along with subtle shading that gives the image both depth and dimension.

Clarity: While this factor seems contradictory to experimental photography, it is not. The various elements of a photo—even if they are blurry or in motion—should be clear.

Composition: An experimental image should have strong composition. When viewed at a distance or abstractly the composition should be balanced and effective.

Complex Subtlety: A good experimental photo should have depth, levels, shading, rhythms and interior geometry.

Appropriate Technique: The particular experimental technique should fit with the subject matter.

Dynamics: Instead of thinking of these pictures as still images, think of them as active compositions. Every active element affects the other elements and can create ripples, reverberations and interaction. With these compositions, look for energy, flow, rhythm, direction, tension and opposition.

Flexible Framing: In some compositions, people or objects might give the feeling of wanting to break out of the frame or move beyond the frame. In other compositions elements might appear to be crashing into the frame or intruding.

Make a Print: My favorite technique for judging my imagery is to make a print. I print my favorites, put them on the walls and live with them for a while. I see this work at odd hours, such as when I am half asleep or rushing out the door. If I get tired of one after a while, then it didn’t have much depth. If, six months later, I see things in an image I did not see before, that is a good photo.

But Is It Art?

While a number of critics will dismiss experimental photography out of hand, many of these same people admire Impressionist painters. However, one has to ask why the rather indistinct Impressionist paintings are great art but slow shutter speed photographs poor photography? In both cases, the overall lack of sharp detail is important because it expresses a larger idea—an impression of reality.