What to Expect from a Photo Critique with Scott Kelby

[@MixedApparitions]

Great episode. You can tell Scott Kelby is passionate about photography and equally passionate about teaching it. Every photographer should watch this episode.

[@BehindTheShot]

Thanks for watching, and oh yes. He lives for doing what he does. Scott is so good at it too.

[@snapsoon4302]

Fantastic interview. Scott is a genius. Love your show Behind The Shot. Very intuitive. Until next time.

[@BehindTheShot]

Thank you so much, and thanks for watching!

[@SmartphonePhotographyTraining]

Two of my absolute favourite and inspiring photography educators in one place. I have learned so much about composition from both of you. I actually watched this one twice Steve!

[@BehindTheShot]

Thanks so much! A really appreciate all of the support of the years.

[@kosowskj]

I’ve had my photos critiqued by Scott 4-5 times. The first time was pretty brutal but spot on. As a long time Kelby One member, I’ve learned sooo much from Scott and the KelbyOne crew. Oh and subsequent critiques went much better!

[@BehindTheShot]

Hey Jack, Yeah, it’s one of those things where the results are tangible, or visible, pretty quickly too. Thanks for watching.

[@dianes6562]

Awesome interview! Scott Kelby and Steve are both true professionals that want to help educate photographers at all levels!

[@BehindTheShot]

Thank you, Diane! Appreciate all the support.

[@mmellinger77]

Thoroughly enjoyed this one. If laughter really is the best medicine, this episode was good for my health! 😂

[@BehindTheShot]

Thank you, Melody! Hoping you’re great.

[@mariosupnet]

Hey Steve! Had to chime in on this episode. Totally enjoyed the conversation with the you and Scott. So many great tips in this episode. I can't agree more that a photo critique is an important "resource" for a photographer to learn from. I learned so much from my submission to the Image Critique episode and use the feedback from you, Don, and Chris in every shot I take now. I also value the critique that's given to other submissions because those too, are a learning experience. I encourage every photographer to get a photo critiqued as some point. There is so much to learn from other photographers regardless of your skill level. This episode sheds some light on what to expect and keeps the expectations real (as it should). You don't need thick skin to get feedback. You just have to be open to recommendations by other professionals from different genres. Excellent work!

[@BehindTheShot]

Mario! Hey man! You’re good I hope? That last bit is so good. “You don’t need a thick skin to get feedback”. So true. As always, thank you!

[@BarbaraStolar-g8b]

Scott should invite you on the Grid for one of his upcoming Blind Critique shows.

[@BehindTheShot]

Thanks, Barbara. If that were to ever happen it would be a huge honor. Thanks for watching.

[@dance2jam]

Enjoyed this far more than I thought I would (although I always enjoy hearing the two of you talk). Always very educational. The blind photo critiques make a lot of sense. The scenario you lay out is very true in dance as well. If you critique a particular dance a person does, they take it personally (just like a photo of theirs), when all you are trying to do is give your insight to make them better. At the end of the day, it is your insight and not gospel, but they did ask for it. Excellent advice with respect to putting your best images together in a portfolio. Doing that tonight.

[@BehindTheShot]

Great analogy, and it really applies to almost any creative expression. I tell everyone, even if you disagree with what someone says, as a critique, ask yourself…. “Are they seeing something I’m not?”.

[@BehindTheShot]

And thank you for watching!

[@dance2jam]

@@BehindTheShot Great insight and the discussion was filled with golden nuggets. Responding to this brings up a random corollary, and perhaps something you could ask Scott on a future show (if you remember). Your comment of "are they seeing something I'm not" jogged this thought. It's another aspect of creative genres. "How do I find my style?" - I'm sure you've heard this before. For me, it started in the opposite direction (and in dance). I've worked with some of the best dancers in the world. As they taught their technique for things, they would typically say "Don't dance like me. Be your own person, Develop your own style". Easy for them to say at that point. I've heard this a number of times in photography, but I know from my background as a musician and dancer - you find yourself eventually - by incorporating what you've learned, when you have learned "enough" - to step out on your own. So my question to you and Scott would be "What do you say, suggest, or recommend to people who ask "How do I find my style?". Again, thanks for the brilliant discussion and insights all the way through. You're always very prepared as an interviewer, and I, for one, appreciate it.

[@BehindTheShot]

Again, a great point. I usually answer the “how do I find my style” question, and I have heard it so many times, is that your style will come to you, or more accurately from within you, once you’ve reached a point of mindlessness. Something we refer to as Mushin in martial arts. When you reach a point of not thinking, and being able to just let the craft happen, your style emerges. Cheers!

[@dance2jam]

@@BehindTheShot Nice. I'll remember that (and I thought you had probably heard this phrase a lot. - Heck, I've already heard it a lot and I've only had a camera in my hands for a few years). Mushin' it is. Again, thanks for your insightfulness (and Scott's as well). Cheers back, and look forward to seeing you in a future episode - and who knows - maybe at Photoshop World 2024 ;-)

[@rebootnut]

On KelbyOne, there's a great interview with Kelby & McNally where they do a live critique of people in the audience at a coffee shop/bar. It's about 7 or 8 years old, but it's phenomenal. Everything that was talked about here is in there.

[@BehindTheShot]

Thanks for watching, Steve. I need to find that one. Haven’t seen it.

[@rebootnut]

@@BehindTheShot you’ll thoroughly enjoy it. I go back every once in a while & rewatch it. I grab a nugget of infra each time.

[@tatesue]

I really appreciated this show. So many good reminders in it! 2 points that stick in my mind were photos need “soul” and we as photographers never get to finish the course. I am excited to share this with my camera club and hope that they enjoy it half as much as I did 😊❤

[@BehindTheShot]

Thank you so much for watching, Tate! Where is your camera club?

[@tatesue]

@@BehindTheShot The Heartland! Paducah KY ❤️

[@BehindTheShot]

Bourbon country!

[@tatesue]

@@BehindTheShot We aren't that sophisticated here! We are very close to Southern Illinois and we are born and bred rednecks 😄 You would be more likely to find home brewed moonshine in these parts! Or at least a cheap beer, lol!

[@BehindTheShot]

Hahaha. Moonshine has its place too.

[@auzyosborne9401]

A great interview and very important to know about critiques. I may not be a great photographer but the critiques I received from this channel back when they were going on once a month really helped me. I'm still not great but I'd like to think I've become better. At the very least, the critiques showed me how to find the issues in my own photos. So, critiques definitely help.

[@BehindTheShot]

Hey Auzy! Yeah, some people are so afraid of a critique, but they are, in my opinion, one the best and fastest ways to improve. Appreciate the kind words man. ~ Steve

[@stevengotz]

I got to be on The Grid back in 2020 and blind critique photos with Scott. (Just before the pandemic closed everything down.) We agreed on almost 100% of the critiques. Not a shock to me since I learned to critique from watching Scott.

[@BehindTheShot]

Thanks for checking it out Steven.

[@stukenborgpodcast]

I still remember years ago watching Scott Kelby critique photography websites and images. I learned so much!!! Thank you both for this wonderful conversation! #behindtheshot #behindtheshottv #scottkelby #kelbyone #stukelistens

[@BehindTheShot]

Thank you for watching, Pam!

[@thescouser8629]

Great interview. Comments on impact reminded me of a personal light bulb moment. Was in Finland looking at a photographic exhibition. Hannu Hautala shoots wildlife using film. His work had noise, blur etc but tremendous impact and developed real emotion from the viewer. Down stairs were the photos of young photographers using the latest digital equipment- technically perfect but sterile, no impact. I’ve carried that learning with me for many years.

[@BehindTheShot]

That’s a perfect example! Plus, being able to see both, in the same place would be - as you describe - a lightbulb moment. Thanks for the kind comment, and for watching.

[@thescouser8629]

@@BehindTheShot One final comment. When I judge club competitions you have 3 weeks to review images and on the day you have to give feedback. It is so easy to get into the technical aspects rather than the emotion of the image which is more difficult to communicate.. Unfortunately I thinks that to some extent judges drive this fascination of the technical

[@dbenedict357]

Smash that LIKE button people. Steve does some fantastic work here1

[@BehindTheShot]

Thank you so much!

[@clentonhenderson9647]

I love being critiqued.. it's a great way of learning new techniques and also genres within the photography world. You have to be a sponge when it comes to learning your craft whether your a notice or professional.

[@BehindTheShot]

Agree, Clenton. Thanks for watching.

[@larryjphotosjanssen8532]

Wondering if Scott ever asks for the original un modified photo and the one submitted. Great show guys! Thank you!

[@BehindTheShot]

Hey Larry! Thank you for watching. I’m not that he does that for the critique shows, but he also does a show on How Scott Would Edit Your Photo. For those he obviously starts with and unedited version. Love those.

[@Frank19747]

Great episode Steve.

[@BehindTheShot]

Thanks man! Appreciate you taking the time to watch.

[@andyv6127]

This was great. Thanks

[@BehindTheShot]

Thanks, Andy! Appreciate the kind words, and you taking the time to watch.

[@andyv6127]

@@BehindTheShot next project. Whittle my folder “my top 500 photos” to less than 50, and go from there. Just remembered, back in the day, the ordeal of “slide night”. I’m sure my photos have the same effect on people! The phrase “having an impact” when looking at my photos resonated.

[@BehindTheShot]

Feel exactly the same.

[@dbenedict357]

Oh my Dunning Krueger reference!!!! 16:10

[@BehindTheShot]

Scott dropping knowledge!

[@davideaton1416]

Hi Steve, as always great video. You mentioned the KelbyOne discount code during the episode, but when II tried to use it I received a “code has expired” error. I was just wondering if there was an up to date code? Thanks, and thanks for all you put into these videos, I’ve learned a lot!

[@BehindTheShot]

Hey David, I wasn’t aware the code had expired. Did you get the code Brazill25 from my site’s code page? If so I will ask Scott for a refresh on it. I’ll watch for any reply here. Update: I just tested it and yup. Expired. I’ll reach out about getting it renewed.

[@BehindTheShot]

David, Should work now. They renewed it today.

[@davideatonky]

@@BehindTheShot Thank you so much!

[@davideaton1416]

@@BehindTheShot Thank you!

[@adjake1]

Best chicken sandwich (unfortunately now closed) DBA’s at Dartmouth College Hanover NH visited a friend there in the 90’s it was phenomenal went back 10 years later, still phenomenal.

[@BehindTheShot]

Good to know!

[@dbenedict357]

Someone needs to get Scott a pork tenderloin from the Midwest.

[@BehindTheShot]

Agreed!

[@Butterflyeffect1975-d6b]

besides technical issues e.g composition, light, aperture and speed and even that with limit, You can only give your opinion on a picture of someone else, You can;'t tell him what is wrong because you are not him, Criticism is an arrogant word!!

[@BehindTheShot]

Criticism and critique are two different things, and there is more to a good critique than opinion. Having a trusted set of eyes critique your image can be immensely beneficial, as we don’t always see potential issues in our own work. Having someone point out ways an image, and the story it is telling, can be improved in a way to to better communicate to a viewer, to better control the viewer’s path through an image is a win. Finding out you that the story you thought your image was telling, because you were there, because you remember the sounds and smells, didn’t translate to a viewer is a benefit. These concepts of composition, dodge and burn, use of light, shadow and color, crop, and storytelling have been around for centuries, and are known to affect how we see art. Whats arrogant is believing that you can’t gain insight to improve your work by hearing input from someone qualified to do so. You, of course, can always chose to ignore any input, it is after all your creative voice, but to not be open to hearing the input isn’t the best way to grow as a creative.

[@Butterflyeffect1975-d6b]

full of nonsense