I have been doing Photo Critiques on this blog in the past, but it’s starting to dawn on me that perhaps a blog isn’t quite the right way of doing these, so instead I’d like to start doing them on Flickr.

If you would like me to critique your photographs, here’s how to get on the list…

Follow these steps

1) Get a Flickr account (you should probably do this anyway, it’s free, and Flickr is awesome)

2) Upload 3 photos you’d like me to critique It’s important that you choose three photos, because it’s difficult to give systemic advice on a single photograph. Also, it may be worth not necessarily taking your 3 best photos, but do pick photos that you are proud of, but which you feel might be improved – and yet you don’t know how. NOTE: Nudity and similar themes is perfectly OK, but remember to mark your links with (NSFW) – I don’t want to get my readers in trouble at work or with kids just because they clicked on a wrong link

3) Check your Flickr settings Please ensure that you allow notes on your photos, as these make critiquing much easier for me. Also, the photos have to be of a reasonable size – I can’t critique thumbnails :) If you haven’t turned on notes, I’m afraid I won’t be able to do a critique.

4) Add a comment to this post where the URL leads to your Flickr stream. In the comment itself, please tell add a link to the 3 photos you’d like critiqued on Flickr

5) Pay to skip the queue (optional). You may have spotted that there’s a pretty long wait on these now – I simply don’t have the time to do them all as quickly as I like. If you would like to skip to the top of the queue, and receive your critique within a week – guaranteed – make a donation of $50 via PayPal.

What happens next?

As far as possible, I will follow the structure I’ve outlined in my Doing a Photo Critique article – it’s worth a read if you haven’t yet.

Finally, remember what I said in my ‘dealing with negative photo critiques‘ article – you may not like everything I have to say, but my intention is to help you become a better photographer. If you only want to hear that your photography work is ‘OMG AWESOME LOL’, then you’re not in the right place :)

Also, it’s worth nothing that despite of persistant rumours of the contrary, I’m only human, and I will only do critiques when I feel I can actually make a useful impact – sometimes I may do 3 people in an evening, other times I won’t do any for a while. Partially, it’s because I’m crazy busy with work some times, but sometimes, I’m just plain lazy – do forgive. If you’re desperate for me to critique you immediately, check out step 5 above to find out how you can skip to the top of the queue.

The boring bits

By following the steps above, you give me a non-exclusive license to use your 3 photos as illustration images to a photo critique, if your particular critique somehow works well as a separate article on Photocritic. I will not use your photos in any other circumstance without conferring with you first.

I will pick and choose which photographers to critique first – it’s not meant as an insult if yours sits there for a while while I pick off newer entries first – it may just be that I haven’t got much useful to say about your photos because they already are perfect, or perhaps I’m struggling to vocalise what I like / what I would improve about your particular photos. Don’t take it personally!

Photo: Portrait of Queen Elizabeth II by Photocritic.org on Flickr

Photo Critiques Competed so far

You don’t have to submit your own photographs for critique, of course, it’s entirely possible to learn huge amounts about photography by reading good critiques of other photographer’s work, so here, I’ve collected the criticisms and praise I’ve done on Flickr so far:

Oct 8 ’09: solofotones - Man with Paper, Street performer and Juntos
Oct 8 ’09: MondoUNC – Sweater Weather, The Virgins and Cupcake.
Oct 1 ’09: ooomidgetmanooo – Portrait 1 and Portrait 2
Oct 1 ’09: HoneyJar – Autumn Leaves, Como Lake from Bellagio and Tulips
Jul 7 ’09: HeraldK – Admiration, Shadows and Irish Coastal Road
May 25 ’09: Jacob Wighton – Ants!, Flight of the Birds and Sneaking!
May 1 ’09: Jack Makio – Ugandan Mother and Child, Dasiy and Plazma light
May 1 ’09: Jeff – The Remarkables and Milford Road
Apr 28 ’09: Jack Fussel – Speckled, Bar Bar Bana and Stunning.
Apr 27 ’09: MrSimbol – Manila by the bay, Business as Usual and High and Dry
Apr 26 ’09: Per – Heavy Lifting, Bench and Martin Luther King Memorial.
Apr 26 ’09: Ilan – (Final) Rest, Man and Together and Alone II
Apr 26 ’09: Mark – Holy Trinity Silhouette, The Long Drive Home and Autumn
Apr 25 ’09: Adricv – Jean-Claude, de Haiti, Puppet Shop and Moving Sculpture
Apr 25 ’09: Gary Kurtz – Photo 1, Photo 2 and Photo 3

There is also a hyper-exclusive invite-only Flickr group where you can see some of the photos I’ve critiqued, called, imaginatively, Critiqued by Photocritic.

Do you enjoy a smattering of random photography links? Well, squire, I welcome thee to join me on Twitter - Follow @Photocritic