For this episode of Critique the Community, we want to see your best simple but beautiful shots.
We will be choosing 20 images from the community's best minimalistic images. Like Mike Kelley's image above, your images do not need to fit any specific genre; rather, we will be looking for shots that are visually simple and stunning regardless of subject matter. Of those chosen to be part of the next critique, two entrants will win a free Fstoppers original tutorial. The first winner will be the person who receives the highest average community rating on their image and the second will be chosen at random.
You're invited to submit up to two of your best images that fit the topic. Once you do, use your arrow keys and numpad to click through the rest of the contestants' submissions and let us know which shots you think are the best. Please reference our rating guidelines below and feel free to leave friendly and helpful critiques of your own in the comments.
Some people have trouble understanding minimalism it seems :D
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Some of the photos I see... dear lord.
Talk about bad PR and terrible photos :D
What a mess and what kind of morale is that.
I see it daily on my Facebook group which is dedicated to landscape photography, rule #1 clearly only landscapes... guy asks to join and then posts a portrait... I simply remove and ban right ahead :D
Must be great fun being disparaging about other people's effort.
Sure.
I'll let you organize a contest for macro photography, and I'll enter my landscape images into it.
Bill, isn't the name of the this called "Critique the Community"? In my interpretation, that means it is a tool for the community to receive feedback on their work. That means it is open to all, and I would have to say mostly beginners. Any Pro knows what they are capable of creating. It is the beginner or ametetuer who are looking for advice on how to improve. Also, aren't you looking for exposure for your photos as well by posting to this thread? Why all the hate and negative comments towards people? We are all amateurs and beginners at some point in time. Imagine getting torn down by a Pro when you were just starting out? Probably kill your confidence, right?
If anyone is to be embarrassed or hurting their reputation, I would have to say it would be YOU with the way you have posted comments on this thread.
No one likes an elitist.
To the rest of the Community, keep shooting!
I guess common sense is no longer a thing nowadays.
Critique the community is the heading, however this critique thing has a THEME.
There already is a proper section for any kind of photo to be critiqued by the community, it's the normal area of the site where you upload your photo and it is seen by others in the new photos section and the popular photos if it is good enough to become popular.
Heck, if it is too good, it can also be granted an Editor's Pick and called "Photo of the day".
p.s.1. No, I'm not looking to promote my images through here, it isn't my intention, neither is the best way to do so.
I have my photos showcased and sold by galleries worldwide, no need for "photographers" to check them out.
p.s.2. Asking to be critiqued comes in two flavors you know.
Some people can't critique an image even if they find it terrible, yet to be popular and remain popular and gain "friends" and "followers" they act as if it was a great image.
And there are the others, the "elitists" as you call them, the honest people who give their opinion on your work honestly and with proper proof and hints.
Whether you take the critique and build upon it to make your photos better or ignore the critique and say to yourself "I'm a beast, I know best", it is up to you.
Bill, I still do not see your side of the argument. Minimalistic Photography IS pretty open to interpretation compared to any other style. Within Minimalism you can have landscapes, portraits, street, macro, etc. From my quick browse of this gallery, I would say 80% of the 400+ entries are "minimalistic". I may even be under estimating that figure. There really not many non-minimalistic entries. Now I am not saying all the photos that fall into catergory are 4 or 5 star. They still are Minimalistic.
If a few out of subject photos are really bunching up your panties, I feel sad for you. Your life must be miserable. Hope you have a better day today.
I'm glad you are taking it personally.
My life is freaking awesome, sorry to burst your bubble.
What is not awesome is your photography ( you had it coming ), and your interpretation of minimalism.
Ahh classic response. I win the argument and you attack me personally. Glad to know a 30 year old man still acts like a boy.
There is nothing left to say to you. Especially when you act the way you are, ignorant.
100%. This whole critique thing is just a mess with entries and community critiques.
361 entries so far... and less than 50 have understood the topic..
Is it they didn’t understand the topic, or is it a matter of minimalism means different things to different people.
To some it’s a photo with a tiny point of interest, to others could be a macro photo, such as taking something small and making it take over the frame.
To others it could be a basic portrait, with minimal lighting or minimal background or whatever the photographer interpreted minimalism to them as.
Maybe think outside the box.
I’m pretty sure the point of this really is to help everyone get better regardless of the genre they shoot.
Yeah, I agree with your comment. I tend to avoid this thread because it's usually people whining about the topic, process, insulting other's images, etc. I say, if you think you know better and can do it better, then start your own website and run it anyway you want.
Gary and Michael: Everything you both said is exactly what I was thinking. I thought Minimal equipment, and All they're doing is complaining, not helping. Kudos.
If you guys can't comprehend this simple text paragraph, I guess it's time for you to go back to school.
Really.
Key words:
MINIMALISTIC insert bold IMAGES.
Visually simple.
If you're still missing the point, here's a decent minimalistic image
https://cdn.fstoppers.com/styles/full/s3/photos/180838/06/7/48/1af8b8da7...
I think everyone understands your point and I don't see any comments from people who don't understand what minimalistic is. I am honestly struggling to understand the point of your comment in the first place. Everyone can't be as good as you and I'm surprised that someone who has written articles for Fstoppers would be making disparaging comments about other people's work. If you want to change things about "Critique the Community" then why don't you provide something a little more tangible, something more then just an attack on people's intelligence or their photographic abilities. Anyone can do that. Share some of your experiences with those who could use it or need it. Food for thought.
There's a simple reason why people who don't get the subject of this "competition" do not reply.
They don't care.
All they want is a chance to win a freebie and to spread their "work" so more people can view their profile.
You're probably right about that.
I‘d say leave it up to the judges to decide which pictures are minimal..they (most of the time :D) pick the ones, that fit the topic. And I don‘t see any highly rated images, that aren‘t minimal in some way so there‘s also no problem with that. The whole posting just to get exposure thing in my opinion is just stupid. Already amateur work will be rated even worse by a community of photographers and therefore will never lead to a bigger exposure. As fstoppers is growing you will always have people trying it, but they will die out over time.
"or is it a matter of minimalism means different things to different people"
thats not how it works.... A sunset is a sunset. It's just what it is. you cant make up your own definition of it.
Minimalistic is a style of photography. Thats what it is. plain and simple. You cant make up excuses as to why entries dont fit the theme.
I would say that this is due to three fundamental reasons. 1) The photo chosen as an example is not always the best one to show what the critique is all about. In fact, sometimes it is a very bad example. 2) The explanation that accompanies that photo is not always enough and clear. 3) There is no filter whatsoever for anyone to publish anything. That being said, I would not say this whole critique is a mess. It just needs to be improved.
Agree on item 3) but it seems that what you are saying with 1) and 2) that it also has something to do with your interpretation of the topic?
What I mean is that if you say that both the photo they picked combined with the description does not explain the topic well enough then doesn't that also have something to do with personal preference and interpretation? Just wondering :)
Still fully agree that some of the entries completely bypass the mark though.
Come with understanding...People have the right to make a mistake, people have the right to make bad photos. For this, criticism is necessary, which would explain the lost in their own creativity. :)
I'd encourage our community to use the comments to give each other feedback more, rather than just hit one of the stars and then next. This is a great opportunity to give each other both encouragement and constructive critique.
When are you going to post the video?