Judging Photo Shows

A local women group is sponsoring a photo show for high school aspiring photographers. I have been asked to be a judge for this event. I accepted but now am scared to death of this responsibility. First, these are your aspiring artist, and I don't want to do them wrong. Second looming large issue is there in my book there are two types of photographers... those who seek technical perfection, and those who are story tellers/captures. And ideally both come to gather.

There are two general ways of judging, the American and the Danish... not sure what we will be using.

But considering these are youth/young adults, give me your guidance how you would approach these photographs. I don't want to be too harsh. Something very interesting to me... may not be to another, and visa versa. Hopefully there will be some clear stand out images, so it will be easy. That is my hope. Looking for advice how to address this... and do there your artist well.

Croasdail wrote in post #19477850
A local women group is sponsoring a photo show for high school aspiring photographers. I have been asked to be a judge for this event. I accepted but now am scared to death of this responsibility. First, these are your aspiring artist, and I don't want to do them wrong. Second looming large issue is there in my book there are two types of photographers... those who seek technical perfection, and those who are story tellers/captures. And ideally both come to gather.

There are two general ways of judging, the American and the Danish... not sure what we will be using.

But considering these are youth/young adults, give me your guidance how you would approach these photographs. I don't want to be too harsh. Something very interesting to me... may not be to another, and visa versa. Hopefully there will be some clear stand out images, so it will be easy. That is my hope. Looking for advice how to address this... and do there your artist well.

I have done judging for several international photo competitions and also regularly judge local club competitions. Sometimes the rules dictate priorities but not always. The hardest part is to separate yourself from your own personal genre. For example I don’t shoot street photography so in giving it fair feedback I have to make sure my personal bias does not come out.

When given freedom, here are a few thoughts:
- they asked you to judge, not a robot. That means priorities to what makes a strong photo can be your opinion.
- I put a lot of value on storytelling. If I don’t get why the person clicked the shutter, it will not score well.
- I look for gesture. Some element that draws me in.
- I next looks at composition. Are there elements that draw me in to the image. Do me eyes want to linger. If so why? Does the overall image feel balanced?
- After the above, I then think about technical elements like sharpness, border distraction, presentation. The exception is when it is technical terrible, I can’t help but see that first and it lowers my scoring immediately.

I hope these thoughts help but remember not all art is loved by everyone. You are the judge, use those priorities that are important to you in YOUR photography.

Thanks, much appreciated.

I've judged art shows in the past, and I agree with buddy, separate your preferences and biases from the image you're judging. I judge on whether it's cleverly and well done, the amount of skill involved in creating that art, and the uniqueness of that image. Sometimes it's a hard choice, especially with younger people who aren't constrained by societal norms. Whether I personally 'like' the subject is immaterial.

I judged a competition once which had a huge painting of... a cow. Beautifully done, executed in a manner that showed me they knew their subject and with a lovely unique presentation. It caught everyone's attention right away. So even though I know nothing about cows and have never regarded them as artistic material, being the horse snob that I am, lol, it was well worth getting first place. It was fine art at it's best. IMO anyway.

Have fun. You'll be amazed at some of the concepts they come up with.

I've never been a professional photographer, always just a hobby. Neither have I had any art training. I was asked to judge a local contest a few years ago. Sometimes a category presents an easy choice, other times there is really nothing worth calling the best.
The event was Watermelon Festival in small town Oklahoma. In the people category there was an absolutely beautiful forest scene with perfect lighting, sunshowers falling through the trees and illuminating a path. Two adults and a child in the upper 1/3 of the frame. I did not give it first place for one reason. The people were leaving the scene, and that bothered me. IMHO they should have been facing into the woods, not out of them. The photo I chose for first place was a farmer in a garden, good composition, harsh overhead sunlight. It wasn't as beautiful as the other, but it fit the theme of the festival better. If you've ever worked watermelons, it's always in harsh overhead, HOT sunlight.

In the Flower category there was a photo of a single yellow rose, very well lighted, no flaws that I could see. When I first saw it, I thought, "there's first place". Then I saw a photo of a backlit flower with the light shining through the somewhat transparent petals without being overblown. I chose it for first place, due to the fact that I felt it was the more technically difficult, at least as far as exposure goes.

Did I do right? I don't know. But no one came after me with a baseball bat!

I think it would be fun to judge. There are so many criteria one can apply.

How would I approach it? Well, I think anyone has a multi-pronged approach.

Technical is kind of formulaic but it's still valid:
- edges and corners, distractions, things that don't add detract.
- leading lines
- eye drawn to the bright/contrasty/skin/​focused areas.
- technically correct (for the intent) exposure and color. Black blacks, non-blown whites.
- sharp where needed
- not oversharpened
- straight, true


Artistic:
- why did you take the photo? Is it just a snapshot?
- does it grab me? Is it interesting? Unique perspective?
- would I want to hang it and see it over and over?
- is it cliche, or a creative take on the subject?
- use of subject position, repeating elements, reflections, framing, background, DOF
- good light, direction, not flat,

I'd want to do a few dry runs on a set or so of someone else's photos first, to get confident that I would have enough to say about each one.

Croasdail wrote in post #19477850
...
There are two general ways of judging, the American and the Danish...

care to expound on this? ive never heard of either method

The few Danish colleagues I have had over the years never shy away from being unapologetically direct. In my field it's brought refreshingly helpful objectivity some times, soul crushing reality check at others. Always honest without ill will. My guess is the judging style would follow suit.

GoFasterPB wrote in post #19502034
The few Danish colleagues I have had over the years never shy away from being unapologetically direct. In my field it's brought refreshingly helpful objectivity some times, soul crushing reality check at others. Always honest without ill will. My guess is the judging style would follow suit.

i was just curious because a) id never heard of it and b) my wife is from just outside Copenhagen Denmark...

thanks

American is giving first, second, third, best of show, etc. Only one in each category.

Danish is A, B, C, or maybe Excellent, Good, Average. Can be many in each category.

So why do American schools use Danish judging for grades?

Our club moved away from picking 1-2-3 winners. If you have several excellent photos, picking a winner is likely to be about the judge's preferences.