Last Updated on 06/19/2011 by Chris Gampat
If you want to get your photographs critiqued, there are sites on the web to help you. Whether you are a professional, amateur, enthusiast, semi-pro, etc there are ways to find out how to improve the quality of your work. Many of them are free and great resources to help you. Here is a list of some of the best places on the web to help you get your photos critiqued.
Flickr
Flickr has certain groups that you can send your photos to for critique and constructive criticism. Similarly, you can always put in the description of your photos that you want critique. It’s a great place for photographers as we all are always commenting on each others’ photographs. Of course, you need to tag your photos correctly, submit them to groups and build up relations with other photographers for your work to get noticed. However, this really isn’t as hard as it sounds at all.
4Chan /p/ (some NSFW)
The birthplace of many of the internet’s memes and culture has a forum board called “Photography.” Photographers are very, very harsh here and rip each other apart essentially. However, they do give praise where it is due. You have to understand that lots of 4chan is centered around images, so images are looked at all day. There are specific ones that stand out though, and reading criticisms and receiving them can help you become a better photographer.
Digital Photography School
Every now and then, they come up with postings where they teach you how to shoot dog portraits or something else. Lots of photos are displayed here and within the comments, other users and readers display their photos. Lots of critique and helpful tips come here and no one is harsh to one another. DPS is where I go to often to explore new takes on photo related issues as well. It’s also a great place to read articles on tips, but so is the Phoblographer 😉
Using the #photography hash tag works wonders once you tweet photos like crazy. If you ask for criticism on them, you’ll surely get it. Keep tweeting and people will add you as a contact overtime. The great thing about the Twitter community is its versatility. Besides using it for photo critique, you can use it for lots more.
And while the photographer community isn’t very strong right now there, it sure is growing as more photographers learn that they need to supplement their website with a Twitter presence, Facebook presence and now even blogs.
Photo.Net
Photo.Net has lots of forums for critiquing and many of the best photographers go here. The level of work here is quite excellent and the knowledge provided and shared is invaluable. Different forums handle different types of work but either way people spends lots of time on Photo.net and it’s one of the most trusted resources for photography along with DPReview.
Blind Photographers
Blind Photographers is a community for visually impaired photographers to gather together, share experiences, blog about tips, share photos, etc. You can only join if you are visually impaired. Much of it is done through its Flickr group. Either way, it’s great to know that even the visually impaired ones can receive insight and criticism from the community.
What sites do you go to for critique? Let us know in the comments down below.