Photography Critiques

Because it uses the stark contrast of human flesh tone against a black background, the whiteness of both the arms and the baby's skin is almost translucent. The energy in the fingers is soft, like the sleeping child itself. The human skin is unmarked and clean, a factor also highlighted by the pitch dark behind them. The photo uses the rule of thirds, and while the baby as a whole subject is centered in the picture, its face is placed left of center, which draws the eye from left to right organically.

Then-candidate for the GOP presidential nomination, Newt Gingrich, prepares to talk on the Mike Huckabee show. I like that its scope has been extended to include the staff working behind him and the patron in the foreground. This double-portrait shows the audiences that Gingrich, Huckabee and the Tea Party movement claim to represent: the everyperson, embodied by an Iowan housewife grabbing fried chicken from the buffet. Also, the use of light and shadow could not have been better set up by a professional photographer. The organic, unaltered nature of the composition is what makes it good photojournalism and not just a pretty picture.

This photo is shot from exactly the angle that hides the layers of girls coming down the steps. If the photographer had stood up, or maybe crouched lower, the subjects would not be stacked upon each other. It looks like there are 50 girls on stage instead of 13. Also, the settings on the camera were not correct for the light and the skin looks washed out. Even though there is no black backdrop to provide contrast, there is obviously a stage set that would give perspective and character to the photo. The blob of dancers just take up too much space and there is too much going on to see any of it.

This photo does have people in it, which gives some perspective, but I think it is not impressive enough perspective. The train doesn't look that huge. Also, I cannot see what the train crashed into (what is that white wreckage?). The most grievous problem, however, is the way the truck door standing open dominates the foreground. It offers nothing to the composition, and blocks the view of the subject. If the photographer had moved to the other side of the truck, or moved closer, or just closed that door, the photo would have some compositional quality.