How to Give a Critique

Wow. Let’s just say if you go on the internet at all you will be bombarded by people improperly giving critique.  Critiquing can be so helpful and really aid you in growing as a creator.  It is absolutely necessary to put your work in front of those you trust to gain a new perspective on your work. I know this might be a sensitive topic for some so please allow me to gently offer some thoughts and rules to giving someone a critique.

1. Don’t give one unless the creator asks for one.

I feel like this is so obvious, but some people feel entitled to give their opinion without anyone actually asking for it.  If you are guilty of this it is completely understandable.  Once you’ve learned a new skill yourself, you want so desperately to pass it on to others.  So perhaps your critique comes from a good place.  However, you have the power as a critic to destroy that joy someone gets from creating.  Consider that with the weight it deserves.  Think of when you were just starting out, and how you were just trying to discover how things worked. Think of the fun you had from just the creative process!  Now think of a time when you shared your creation, and someone ripped it apart. How did you feel? Were you completely defeated? Was that critique offered taken in a constructive and helpful way or did you just want to give up.  It is so easy to dehumanize someone, especially on the internet. Remember that your words have power!

2.  The Feedback Sandwich

Look and think about what you want to say and check the tone in which you deliver this feedback.  Point out the positive things that you think were executed well.  If you can’t come up with anything positive, it’s best to just keep your mouth shut. If you don’t have anything nice to say then don’t say anything at all.  Most of the time you will be able to come up with something positive to say to encourage the creator.  Remember, you want to build them up, not tear them down.  Once you’ve offered some things you think they’ve executed well, then offer specific things they could have improved upon. Making it specific will give the creator something tangible to work on.  Improvement is actually possible at this point and you as the critic aren’t just being hateful.  Next, add something positive again and encourage them to keep working to be even better at their craft.  This will help your feedback to be well received and valued.

3. Check Your Motives

This is really a summary of the other two points.  It goes back to- are you being asked for a critique and is it your goal to help the other person or not?  It’s easy to be prideful when giving a critique.  It’s easy to elevate yourself over this other person who is asking you for your opinion.  It’s easy to tear someone else down to make yourself feel better.  Giving a critique should be helpful and not harmful.  If it is not your intent to be helpful, then it is best to refrain from offering your opinion.   

A Note About Receiving A Critique:

Now when you receive a critique it is easy to be hurt.  This is especially true if your expectations are not met. We as creators put our heart and soul into our art.  Before you react to your critique give it some time.  Just sit with it for a while.  Ask yourself why you are hurt? Was it personal?  Are you so emotionally attached to what you created that you cannot stand back from it and receive a critique?  If you cannot be objective, then you need to step away from it for a while.  Breaks are OK! The first few times you receive a critique are hard, but you do get used to it over time.  And both giving and receiving critique will help you hone your craft! So, get out there and find a group you trust.  Before you know it, you will be improving by leaps and bounds.

I hope you find this helpful!  I think there are some solid principles in here that you can apply to whatever your hobby (or your friend’s hobbies) might be.  Thanks for reading!       

How to take Back to School Photos

It’s that time of year! All the kids are going back to school. How are you going to document it this year?! Well, I have some tips and ideas for you here:

1.       Tradition

Do you have a first day of school tradition? If not, create one! Our tradition is taking a portrait in front of our driveway every year.  Some people hold a sign or chalk board, others do a front door picture.  Some make sure to get the photo outside of the school. Whatever your tradition is, make sure to stick to it! It is so good to see how your child grows over the years.  Tip: sometimes in that early morning it is pretty dark.  This would be a good time to use your off-camera flash set up!

2.       The Bus

This is a classic photo for going back to school! If your child rides the bus that moment that they get on is so important.  You will wish you had that documented if you miss it. Perhaps you drive your kids to school.  Then make sure you capture them piling into the car and waiting in the car drop off/pick up line.  Tip: this is the perfect time to use those primary colors that scream school!  Those are yellow (like the bus), red and blue. Or you can be super creative like Meg Bethard was: here.    

3.       Details

You cannot tell a story without details! Show the nervous hands waiting for the bus.  Show the backpacks and new pencils they so carefully picked out.  What was their favorite school supply to pick out?  This year be sure to capture those masks; it really documents the weird time we are in.  Maybe you’re homeschooling, or E-learning this year.  Make sure to photograph their learning environment, and many of these tips can still be used!  

4.       The Interview

This is a yearly tradition for us!  We do a quick interview the day or two before school starts and then I put their answers on the portrait I took of them that first school day. I always try to ask the same questions.  It is so fun to see their answers change as they change each year!  It helps me to mark what their interests are at that moment in time.  Somethings change while others stay the same.   I always ask these questions:

What is your favorite color?

What is your favorite book?

What is your favorite movie?

What is your favorite food?

What do you want to be when you grow up?

It is such a great tradition; I highly recommend you implementing it with your own family!

5.       The Preparations

There is a lot of preparations that are done before the school year begins.  Make sure to capture all these moments: the cereal they eat, the packing their lunches, brushing teeth and hair, the squirrelly energy that happens right before that first day begins at school.  These are all moments that help tell that first day of school story.  

These are just some ideas on how to remember the new school year.  I’d love to see and hear about your traditions! Feel free to contact me! Thanks for reading!

How to Can Peaches

If you didn’t already know, my family and I try our hands at gardening every year.  Some years are great, and other years we hardly get anything out of the garden.  We usually always have green beans. In addition to our garden we have a few fruit bearing trees. We have 2 cherry trees, and a couple apple trees, and we have 2 peach trees. Recently our tiny 3-year-old peach trees put on the most fruit we have ever seen in our lives.  They are contender peach trees.  Normally they put on just a few small flavorful peaches, however this year they went nuts!  We had piles of peaches! We ate some, gave some away, made peach preserves out of some and froze some.  It seemed all that effort hardly made a dent in the supply of peaches we had! 

So, I decided to can (or preserve) some.  We usually can something every year.  (Usually green beans).  So, this year canning peaches was a little different.  All together I canned about 14 quarts of peaches.  Everyone kind of has their own way of canning.  I just use the Ball Blue book of Preserving.

I used the raw pack method.  First you peel the peaches, and cut into halves or quarters, and pit. Then you’re supposed to treat the peaches to prevent darkening or browning.  To do this you add about 2 TBS of lemon juice concentrate for every 8-10 peaches and ½ teaspoon of sugar.  We had pretty small peaches, so it was closer to 10 for us, or about 4 cups worth. (FYI, the lemon juice, and peaches together smell awesome, or at least I think so!)  Next is packing the peaches into clean jars and making the syrup.  I used a medium syrup which was 3 & 1/4 Cups of sugar and 5 Cups of water.  You mix it together and heat it up until the sugar is dissolved.  Then ladle it over the peaches leaving about ½ inch head space.  If that is confusing refer to the diagram: here.  Remove the air bubbles.  I do this by shoving a wooden spoon in the jar all the way to the bottom. It is an important step, even though it doesn’t seem like it at the time.  Your jars will have trouble sealing if you skip this step.  Next clean the rim of the jars and place the lids and rings on them.  (Some lids require that you boil them.  The sure fit lids by Ball say to just wash and rinse them in warm water). The book says to process pints for 25 minutes and quarts for 30 minutes in a boiling- water canner.  I did this for two rounds, and then we still had peaches left over. Ha!

Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed this small detour from photography.