Steve Cole Photography

Are you a good photographer? How do you know?

Sure, we all have friends & family that never fail to provide adulation and praise for the photos we take but how accurate is that praise? In order to keep progressing and develop (no pun intended) as a photographer, this is a question we need to ask ourselves. But how are we to answer this question?

The internet provides one way for eliciting opinions about our photography. Photo sharing sites like Flickr, Smugmug, and Zenfolio offer the ability to post our photos for the world to comment but those comments are of praise, not critique. There are a number of photo related discussion boards on which you can participate but still boil down to digital pats on the back. Sites such as Naturescapes.net and NPN are slight exceptions to the rule since some well known photographers such as Guy Tal and Marc Adamus participate and offer constructive feedback.

There is a fundamental flaw with relying on critiques offered up in this manner. Simply put, the critique is provided on an image by image basis. Yes- you may take something away that will help you in the long run from a user’s feedback but often the comments are something like, “..I’d prefer a bit more detail in the shadows…” Does this really advance your photography? I’d argue not that much.

I’ve talked about what doesn’t work so well so what should you do? My recommendation is the portfolio review where you submit a set number of images to someone offering this type of review and then they provide you back a critique about your images (what works, what doesn’t, etc). I have been shooting with an SLR for close to 2 years now and so I’ve been interested in using this type of service to get a handle on my photography and identify any deficiencies that I may not have been aware of.

Who you choose to provide your review may be just as important as making the decision to pursue one. You should choose someone whose photography closely matches your type of photography. For example, someone who shoots portraits should seek out someone who also specializes in portraits since they best understand the subtleties of that field of photography. My love lies with landscapes and nature photography, and the Pacific Northwest is well represented with a large number of landscape and nature photographers. After some looking around, I decided to use the portfolio review service offered by Jon Cornforth, who is based out of the Seattle area. Jon has been shooting professionally for over 9 years and has been published many times (most recently gracing the covers of Backpacker Magazine, Alaska Airlines’ in-flight magazine, and Outdoor Photographer).

Why did I choose Jon? Well, for starters, I’ve followed him on Twitter and his blog for a while so I was familiar with his work and noticed some similarities. Second, I had the opportunity to meet him a few weeks ago when he gave a presentation to the Seattle area SmugMug user group. Jon came across as a very approachable and down to earth person with a genuine interest in helping others with their photography. After a brief exchange, we went through with the portfolio review. The service that Jon offers consists of a review of 20 photos followed up with a phone call to discuss his findings and answer any questions that you may have. Jon’s service currently runs $175 which may be a bit steep to some. I do believe, however, that you must invest and make a commitment to yourself if you are to grow and succeed.

Choosing my 20 photographs was a tough process. After I made my selections, I renamed the photos randomly to eliminate any bias (either personal or chronologic). Once that step was done, I also created “contact sheets” for my photos which included all the basic information about the photos such as aperture, shutter speed, etc. Shortly after receiving my CD of information, Jon contacted me and performed his image review. Once complete, Jon sent me an email which contained his overall impression of my submission. In addition to that, he sent an additional email for each photo that I submitted. These emails contained his impression and remarks, a copy of the original photo for reference, and finally a re-worked or cropped version of the original photo if that was appropriate.

The following day, Jon followed up with a phone call where we could discuss his review. During our call, we discussed the goals for my photography, color casts, and composition. During our conversation about color casts, Jon brought up Charles Cramer, another landscape photographer who’s known for his printing workshops but also takes phenomenal photographs. BTW, thank you Jon for the referral! His photography is awe-inspiring and I would definitely encourage everyone else to visit his website!

As we continued our conversation, Jon browsed through the images on my website and made a point of highlighting photos that he felt were examples of my better work. I did appreciate this since a portfolio review shouldn’t just be about what’s wrong; it should also show you what & when you’re doing things right. Our half hour call ended forty minutes after it started with some final words of encouragement and well wishes.

A portfolio review has given me a lot to think about. I’ll admit that some of Jon’s assessment was hard to hear but this honest feedback is what I wanted and needed. More importantly, Jon was able to identify some traits common to many of my photos that I’ll have to correct if I want to take my photography forward. This is major insight that I would NEVER get simply by posting my photos to forums on the internet. I would strongly encourage anyone who is serious about their photography to seek out a portfolio review. Your photography will benefit greatly.