Things to consider when looking at photos

Composition
- The arrangement of shapes, forms, colors, areas of light and dark, and other elements in a work of art.
- Framing/Cropping
A clear subject
Focus/depth of field
Angle
Light /lighting
Contrast
- the ratio of light to dark
Color
Point of emphasis
Point of view
- Literaly
- Figuratively
Line
Shape
Texture
Balance
Point of view
Motion
Perspective
Content
Emotion
Humor
Mood
Informative
Meaning
Something unique about the photo
Visually Interesting
Compelling
Tells a story/Narrative
Theme
Timing/The moment
Personal Relevance
The Subject/Interesting Subject
Juxtaposition
- the act of placing or positioning items in the image area of a photograph side by side or next to one another to illustrate some comparison.

One critique proceedure

Evaluate the piece technically:
All of these criteria are open to debate and interpretation.

Description
Describe the work without using value words such as "beautiful" or "ugly":

What do you see?
Describe the subject matter. What is it all about?
Is the work representative(has a recognizable subject) or is it more abstract(the subject is less recognizable or completely unrecognizable)?

Analysis
Describe how the work is organized as a complete composition:

Identify some of the similarities throughout the work (i.e., repetition of lines).
Identify some of the points of emphasis in the work.
If the work has subjects or characters, what are the relationships between or among them?
What effect does the framing of the work have - fragmenting the subject, isolating the subject, etc.
Is there some aspect of the design that makes it a compeling composition(pattern, repetition, etc.)

Interpretation
Describe how the work makes you think or feel:

Describe the expressive qualities you find in the work. What expressive language would you use to describe the qualities (i.e., tragic, ugly, funny)?
Does the work remind you of other things you have experienced (i.e., analogy or metaphor)?
How does the work relate to other ideas or events in the world and/or in your other studies?

Judgment or Evaluation
Present your opinion of the work's success or failure:

What qualities of the work make you feel it is a success or failure?
Compare it with similar works that you think are good or bad.
What criteria can you list to help others judge this work?
How original is the work? Why do you feel this work is original or not original?
Do you have an emotional reaction to the work/is it compelling for you?
If you had an option, Why did you pick this work?