In the judge's chair: Photo tips for judging (part two)

By Anthony McKee | 18 February 2025

This is part two of a two part series on judging photography. You can see part one, from last week, here.

Don’t be a narrator

Some judges like to narrate every photo they are judging to their audience verbatim, and while this can be useful if the audience is struggling to see a tiny print, for the most part it is a waste of everyone’s time.

Instead of describing the obvious, describe the details people cannot see; the nuances, the subtleties in the light or the curious juxtapositions. Use your educated eye to inform an audience of the things they might not notice, good and bad.

Technical perfection isn’t everything

Many judges now expect to see technical excellence in almost every photograph, but not all processes deliver the rich colours and superb definition of a 45-megapixel sensor.

Some processes like pinhole cameras, infrared photos, Polaroids, high-speed films, tin-types and gum bichromate processes will never be vibrant and yet they do have their own unique charms.

What is important is that a judge can recognise the value of each process and be prepared to score an image on its aesthetic qualities and not just a technical response.

Capturing a beautiful subject on film does not guarantee you have created a winning photograph. As with wildlife and travel photography, what matters is what the photographer has contributed to the opportunity. This portrait by Dom Rui is a good example of the photographer looking beyond just another straight shot of a pretty face.

Ignore Beauty

One huge mistake many people make is to assume that because a subject is perfect, a photo of that subject will be perfect too. Wrong.

Yes, that might be a beautiful sunset or a pretty face, but that is inconsequential; what matters is what the photographer has contributed to the situation.

Have they made good use of light, composition, moment, styling and all those things that go into creating an award winning photograph? That is what we should be judging.

Remember, if a photographer is any good, they should be able to make any subject look amazing!

Most people could probably describe what is happening in this photograph by Indiana Kritikou, but as a judge, it's your job to describe the subtleties within the image, like the design, composition, lighting, tonal management and even the sense of moment.

What would the locals say?

Photographers often come back from overseas with photos of amazing landscapes, exotic animals and indigenous people, and for some reason we seem to reward for the effort they made in getting to these places (be it in economy or business class) rather than the quality of their images.

As with the previous point though, we shouldn’t really care about how beautiful a subject is, or how remote a mountain was, or how difficult it was to find the yeti; what really counts is what a photographer created with this opportunity.

One question that is always worth asking is, “how would a local rate the image?”.

Aussie judges wax lyrical over New Zealand’s snowy landscapes, but how would a Kiwi judge rate the same photograph?

Or how would an African or an Asian judge rate photographs of their kinfolk?

While it is ok for an audience to be wowed by exotic subjects, it is our job to judge the photography.

Some judges are fixated on “The Rules” of photography, so much so that they often dismiss images that don’t meet their criterium. But there are no rules in photography, and often the best images are created by people who realise this fact. This seascape by Theresa Lee breaks numerous rules; its soft and grainy and the main subject is in the middle of the frame, and yet as we study it most people will probably have an emotional connection with this image.

Be brave, and reward it

Photography has a lot in common with music and food; most of us get very comfortable listening to one particular genre of music or enjoying certain cuisines, but what happens when someone suddenly changes the music to New Age Christian Punk? Or mountain oysters on kale are served instead of your usual steak and chips?

Being a good judge means being able to objectively score any image that is put in front of you, even the photos you might not feel comfortable judging.

While you might not personally like a subject or the processes used to make the image, what matters is that you at least take the time to explore the image, find the narratives, ask yourself what the photographer has contributed to this opportunity and then score the image as fairly as you can.

Not every obscure image is going to be worthy of an award, but who knows; you might not appreciate it now but you might be judging the work of the next Max Dupain or Narelle Autio. ❂