Critique the Community
Print Worthy
Submit your best Print Worthy photos
Congratulations to the winners!
Congrats to all the winners from the March Print Worthy Critique the Community. You can see the finalists above as well as see every image featured in the video episode. If you want to check out all the amazing submissions, scroll down below the comments and you can even sort by the highest rated to see how our community rated the images.
Rules & Prizes
Welcome to the March Critique the Community! This month we want to see your most "Print Worthy" photographs, and the first place winner will receive a $1000 credit to print their photos through Lumaprints!
Rules
- Each photographer may submit up to three images.
- This month's contest features a pretty broad theme, therefore any type of photograph is acceptable. When thinking about "print worthy" images, we are imagining a single image printed large and making a statement within a room or space. Your images could be abstract or literal, fine art or a family memory, or simply an awesome photograph that demands being printed large.
- 10 Images will be chosen by Lee and Patrick for the video critique.
- Finally, every image submitted MUST HAVE some written commentary on how the image was created, what gear was used, why this photo would do well as a large print, and some of the challenges you faced when capturing the image. Any photo with a single sentence description will not be included.
Prizes
First Place - One lucky winner will receive a $1000 print credit to use through the print lab Lumaprints. Lumaprints is one of the top print labs in the US and they offer both traditional print lab services as well as customer drop shipping, client online store integration, and bulk order printing. Some of the most popular products they offer are Fine Art Paper Prints, Metal Prints, and Foam Mounted Prints, but they also offer framing for many of these traditional printing options too. This prize is valued at $1000
Second Place - The second place winner of this critique will receive a full copy of ACDSee's Photo Studio Ultimate 2026. This power photography editing suite gives photographers the ability to edit, cull, catalog, and retouch all of their images in one easy to use program. Packed with some of the latest Ai tools like Sky Replacement, Face Detect, Auto Selections, and Splotch Removal, Photo Studio Ultimate gives photographers state of the art editing tools that both save time and produce professional results. This prize is valued at $109.
Third Place - As always, our third place winner will receive their choice of any Fstoppers photography tutorial found in the Fstoppers Store. Our elaborate and exhaustive photography tutorials not only help photographers immediately start taking professional quality images, but most of our tutorials also share business and marketing techniques that can help make photography a full time income. With genres like Headshots, Landscapes, Architecture and Real Estate, Fashion, Macro, and Product Photography, there is something for every photographer no matter what genre you specialize in. This prize is valued at $299.
Good luck to everyone who enters and we look forward to seeing your best Print Worthy photographs!
Sun, 03/29/2026 - 23:30
This contest has ended.
250 people have cast a total of 14,983 votes on 508 entries from 237 participants
Contest Submissions
Click on the thumbnails below to comment and rate each image.
Click here to learn about the Fstoppers rating system and what each star value means.
80 Comments
Why?
Gerard, come on!... why not? ... what else were you expecting?
I would say the rating should still be if the photo belongs in your portfolio. Instead of this critique having a concise genre in which all the photos will fall into, they will just be images worthy of printing. But that doesn't mean if you don't like a particular image enough to go on your wall, then it shouldn't still be a solid or great image for that photographer's portfolio.
That may be the case for many of those who vote in this months contest. Well, at least to me, it seems like most of the pictures people have entered are getting a pretty low score, compared to what they might would have gotten with a different contest subject.
Nah, looks like there are some downvoters again ...
I voted tons of 4s and few 5s. I guess maybe seen like 2 snapshots.
But I've seen really nice photos (which I would definitely hang on my wall) votes as 1.x ...
Yeah, that may also be the case..
Good point...it does in a way prove that " Democratic voting " is not always democratic...
For me I have voted mostly 3/4s a couple 5s and some lower. I blame the contest title for the voting confusion for some. People saying you should vote as if it belongs in your portfolio but I think that is a problem because there are great images that are worthy of being in a portfolio, they are worthy of being printed for a book but just not for a wall.
I don't think you should rate the photos based if they are good enough to be on your wall. The whole rating system is based on if the image is good enough for your portfolio and therefore good enough to be viable in a commercial market.
Instead, I'd rate the photos based on how they hold up in the genre they represent and the theme just happens to also be "Print worthy". Sure, Lee and I will talk about if the particular selects would make better wall prints or portfolio pieces or social marketing, etc, but I wouldn't rate the image low because they fit in one category or another.
Your first sentence seems to contradict the theme of the contest. Rule #2: When thinking about "print worthy" images, we are imagining a single image printed large and making a statement within a room or space.
If not judged within the parameters of the contest rules, any picture for about any reason could win. Simply submit your favorite picture as if the theme of the contest means nothing. And that appears to be what's happening. Of course, any one person might favor almost any conceivable theme for wall art, but in my experience, the purchase of photography as large wall art follows general patterns.
People often buy recognizable subjects... those sort of cliché landscape scenes that photographers frequently despise. Conceptual art is a tough sell, despite galleries infatuation with weird and unusual themes. They might be worth an interesting conversation, but not very many people want disturbing images of blood and gore on their wall. Commercial art buyers for health care and hospitality projects say as much... conservative artwork without much of an agenda is better. Images which project peace and tranquility sell better for wall art. Simplicity and minimalist themes are more popular too. Large prints on a wall are probably not the best place for an image that asks to be studied in detail. Portraits and personal travel photos are generally only appreciated by the immediate family, and those most often appear as a group of smaller prints... not as a huge statement piece on a living room wall. Landscapes are probably the most common theme for wall art, and having a person in them guarantees that I'll never sell the photo. The reason most people buy a particular landscape is because the weather, clouds or lighting provide a level of drama that the buyer most likely never would have captured himself. Otherwise pretty boring stuff to many photographers. Interior designers select wall art almost always because of its complementary colors with other room furnishings. Abstract art, therefore, is high on their list. The subject of the art is not so important as the design of the space.
All of that is to say that I believe the rationale for picking winners of a wall art contest should be completely opposite that of most other contests. Most competitions reward highly unusual images. But just because it's really weird, unusual and thought-provoking, doesn't mean that I want to look at it on my wall every day. That's the key. Wall art is generally chosen because it's relatively relaxing and comfortable for a home environment. And unless you live by yourself, satisfying two or more people with what to put on the wall becomes most likely an even more conservative choice.
Yeah its a bit confusing but I think really there are two criteria to consider. First, the image needs to make sense printed large on a wall. Thats fairly subjective, as is all of photography, but that’s the first criteria for entering this contest.
Then the second criteria is how to vote for any given photo and that should be the same throughout all of these conests and the community: should it belong in your portfolio?
It’s the way we have always rated and judged these critique the community contests.
If it belongs to portfolio of the photographer who takes photos to be hang on the wall.
Because as Ed stated, there might be fantastic 5* photo, that no one will hang on their wall, which makes it not print worthy.
Hi Patrick and Lee,
I agree with the commenters. The rules of the contest - the purpose for which the image is used - determines the score. The same image might have a different score if used for a different purpose. I was hard on any image that I thought would not work when printed in a large format and used as a centerpiece image for a room or public space. Yes, it has to be an excellent image in either case, but the criteria are different for a portfolio image and an image specifically composed, cropped and formatted for use as a large format printed centerpiece. Cheers! Bob Henderson
Granted, "print worthy" could be anything since wall art is so subjective and personal. But I hear you saying, generally speaking, that portfolio worthy image quality takes precedence in voting over how well an image aligns with the theme of a contest. So you're essentially saying, Patrick, that a great black and white photo entered into a color contest deserves a 4 star or higher, even if it doesn't fit the theme. Some folks would appear to give it a 1 star. And that's the dilemma when voting that has never been clarified.
It probably doesn't matter with regard to the community scores since they're not the determining factor for which images are selected into the critique. But $1,000 prizes deserve some explanation as to how they fit the theme.
For example:
In the "landscape" contest of October, 2024, the top three winners were chosen, despite the fact that the landscape in each of those photos was secondary to the main subject... a Japanese temple, boats on a lake, and a castle with a hot air balloon overhead. The landscape was merely background in each of those photos. In the case of the boats, the landscape by itself was pretty bad. The boats justified the exposure, not the landscape. That seemed a bit odd to me. I can understand how they may have grabbed your attention, because making really unique landscape photos is a challenge. But introducing man-made elements as the main subject becomes more of a crutch than a model for great landscape photography. And there were numerous images submitted into that particular contest which had very little connection with landscapes... a city skyline, boats, bridges, lightning, etc. Did they still deserve a high score?
For what it's worth, I believe that scoring should be prioritized based on meeting the theme first, followed by portfolio, composition and other technical qualities. In the case of a landscape contest, it would focus the attention on making better landscape photos, rather than deviating from the theme in order to grab the attention of the judges.
So are all these contests based on images that would do well in a commercial market? Myself and I'm sure others don't care about the commercial side of photography, but more the artistic side and creative side. Looking at most of the images in these contests, they seem like their an emphasis on commercial photography.
I've felt the same way, too.
Now that could be a reason for 1s and 2s. They don't fit the style which is pretty low, but it is what it is. The only other reason is jealousy, which is prevalent in the scene. With the rating system I read, I haven't seen lower than a three for over 95 percent of the images in the contest. The ones I do see rated the highest are commercial images that are pretty.
Some of them done millions of times by others. Makes more sense now.
I don't think "portfolio worthy" places an image into a strictly commercial category, Kevin. Artists of all types, whether focused on selling in a marketplace of any kind, or not, can benefit from curating their work.
Selecting a handful of your best images for a portfolio gives you a good idea of where you stand as an artist. Not just as a seller, but in terms of your overall strengths and weaknesses. By creating a small portfolio of 10 - 20 images, and adding to or subtracting from it over time, you will learn a lot about your photography. How am I improving? What do I hope to accomplish next? Portfolios provide clarity, even if no one else sees it.
Sorry Ed, but I didnt say anything about portfolio worthy images. I will say though, you dont have to have a portfolio to understand that images you took when you first started probably wont be as good 20 years later. I will also say that portfolios are mostly only used for commercial and editorial jobs these days.
Makes perfect sense.
I hope the button with "Highest rated" comes back. I think that, about everyone is interested in seeing how well or bad your own image did. It`s also about progressing in photography. If there is no listing in a competition, it takes away the exitement about what placement you ended up at.
It would be very strange if someone actually submitted a photo here that truly deserved the vote of 1. Everyone submitting photos here have a decent amount of skill, intention and ambition. No one here is submitting their worst photos, and even those might be better than the average snapshot. Voting 1 is just ridiculous.
From time to time someone (usually new) submits the snapshot from their cell phone. But it’s quite rare. Although voting 1 is quite common in these contests :D
I assume that panos are acceptable?
Absolutely! You could even submit a triptych if you wanted...just make it all in one image so we can see it.
Can we assume none of the photos have been used in more than one contest here?
Are we not allowed to?
I wouldn't assume anything. Yeah we probably won't pick an image that has been critiqued in the past, but there are a lot of images that have never been featured despite having been submitted before.
Man, this page has a lot of haters!!! I see images well deserving of a 4 / 5 star rating, get rated to a 2 star!! I would suggest @fstoppers to display the names of every vote underneath every photo, so we can see who these amazing 5* photographers who purposely downvote pics are. Its childish and annoying!
Actually we can. When I look at your profile I can see if you`ve like with more than 3 stars the photos. You have amazing photos!
I agree with this. Some jealous people
How is the winner chosen? i hope its not the one with the highest community votes as those seem to be rigged with fake voters.
No it's not. Lee and I go through all the images and pick our favorite 10 based on a ton of subjective criteria. We look at the highest rated images and many times those really are some of the best images and a few make the critique but we also pick based on things like what images would be fun to talk about, what images use obscure or challenging techniques, or have wild subject matter, or interesting post processing. The community has very little to do with our picking the images.
The 3 winners are then picked at the end of the critique after we look at all 10 and discuss them.
Awesome bro! Thanks for the clarification, this is my first contest i am taking part in as the theme fits my photoprahy style really well
That's what I like about contests that have blind judging, without the judges knowing the social scores or even who the artist/photographer is. It levels the playing field and takes away subconscious biases.
They said in their videos they sort by community scores and then start choosing, doubt they go to 1s and 2s :D
I understand the argument for the highest-scoring image taking the win—it’s a straightforward, democratic approach. But I don’t think great photography, or art in general, has ever been purely about consensus.
If anything, some of the most impactful images are the ones that divide opinion a bit—where not everyone immediately “gets it,” but it resonates deeply with certain viewers. A scoring system tends to reward broadly appealing work, not necessarily the most compelling or meaningful work.
I value having Patrick and Lee make the final call. Their role isn’t just to tally votes, it’s to interpret the work—considering storytelling, emotion, originality, and intent in a way a numerical score simply can’t. And i respect their creative process and their work and insight speaks for itself
We’ve all used this community for thoughtful critique and growth, and I think this is an extension of that. The highest-rated image might be the crowd favorite, but the most powerful image is often the one that stays with you—and that’s something a jury is better positioned to recognize.
The problem with using the highest score as the winner is that I can post a photo in the last minutes on the last day of the contest and tell someone to give it 5 stars. When the contest closes, I only have one vote but it's ranked higher than everyone else's who got a mixture of votes.
Personally, I think they should close the contest for submissions, but allow voting for one more week. That way, people have time to vote on the last minute entries as well. I also believe if someone gives a photo 1 star or 2 stars, they should only be able to cast that vote if they provide a written explanation to justify the lower rating.
There are a couple damn nice photos in, which I am sure will get high scores, its just a shame people dont follow rules about the it can't be one sentence and to make sure you tell a story about it lol haha
Well it's been interesting to say the least. Doing this for almost 50 years, and getting in these types of Facebook contests is disappointing, even for fun, they just get disappointing.
This is a tough crowd of voters. Ive seen some great photographs which are falling into the “needs work” category. Wonder how many people think they posted fours and fives, only to give twos and threes.
Yes that is for sure. When you have people in the contest voting, you are going to get lots of low scores like that. Same as others in groups and long time members who know and like one other. That is why some images get lots of votes from the jump. Now that I understand how it works here, I'll take a pass. Best of Luck
I agree...I'm shaking my head seeing "needs work" on some of these photos. I thought it was just me at first.
But the question really is "would you hang them all on you wall or you just like the technical aspect, but they are not your wall worthy".
I haven't seem many snapshots in the contest, but definitely seen plenty of photos I would not like to have on my wall. So giving 2 I rather give the author information what he/she chosen wrong photo for this topic.
If someone shows competence with a camera by showing they understand exposure, lighting, and composition, then I'll give them 3 stars even if the image isn't something I'd want on my wall, because that's what how I interpret the rating system. 4s are given to those that look like they would be marketable prints in something like a poster shop, again, even if I personally wouldn't buy one for my place. 5 stars are for works of art that stand apart from everyone else's submissions.
For me it has to first be an at least 'solid' (3) photo before I would consider it 'wall worthy', but there are a LOT of solid+ photos in here that are getting rated really low...to me at least.
My rating. Need to respect the contest first. Then I rate 3 and above based on the quality of the scene and technics used. The technic(s) used should always be in the description for transparency.
Some photos are really good photos but I wouldn't hang them on the wall, so automatically I give lower score keeping in mind the topic of the contest. I scored 4 and 5 for good photos and wall worthy ...
Hi Łukasz,
I like your comments.
Like most Fstoppers members, I have tens of thousands of images in my archive - but only a few hundred I would ever show to strangers. Of these best images, I have posted only a few that I like the very best on my portfolio page.
I have room in my house for no more than 9 or 10 framed 13" X 19" prints - the largest size my photo-printer can handle. It's also expensive! By the time you have a print professionally mounted and framed with UV resistant anti-reflection glass, you've spent several hundred dollars. My selection process is simple: Do I want to spend several hundred dollars framing an image for use hanging on the wall of my house? And, what image am I going to take down to replace with the new image? By this analysis I have 10,000 (or more) unworthy images and a couple of dozen that I rate high enough for printing.
In other words, I am harder on my own images than the Fstoppers community is being on the contest submissions.
I feel you. For me it's a bit easier. I have also few of my pictures printed, but they are ~12x8. It's still quite expensive to print them but not as much as bigger formats.
Although since I still get better every year I usually have better images to hang. Yet some are sentimental and are still on the wall. Which doesn't mean they will be print worthy for anyone else than me.