Whether beginners or experts, most of us like to hear what others think about our photographs. Hopefully it’s good things, but is a portfolio review worth it?

Sometimes, reviewers and judges don’t understand what we’re photographing. I remember a judge criticising my photograph of a breaking wave because it had a light sheen on the top – the judge didn’t realise this was the spray from the breaking wave and the main point of the photograph? I didn’t blame him – he wasn’t a surfer and just didn’t understand what he was looking at.

This was photographed back in 2004, the very early days of digital. My complaint about the photo these days would be that the vignette is too strong, but back then, that wasn't the problem! You can just see a hint of water spray above the surfer - the light offshore wind fanning the wave as it breaks. This is what surfers and surf photographers love, but the judge mentioned wasn't a surfer and didn't realise this was actually an important part of the photograph. All judging and portfolio reviewing is subjective, so we shouldn't automatically take everything we're told as correct - it may just be a matter of opinion.

On another occasion, a print of mine from Iceland was being debated for a Gold Award over in New Zealand. One of the judges was just below Gold because he was concerned about a dark triangular area in the sky – it was holding him back. I hadn’t noticed this area before. It wasn’t bad editing because it was natural, but having seen it, I agreed with him and have subsequently adjusted the image. It was really useful to get another opinion.

When editing the photograph, I hadn't darkened the top right hand corner, so in my mind it was correct. However, the judge in New Zealand thought it looked odd - and I agreed with him (as you can see with the edit on the right). This was a great lesson for me: just because something in a photograph might be factually accurate, doesn't mean that it can't be improved.

And a portfolio review from me is really just an opinion. I have years of experience judging competitions and providing useful feedback, but at the end of the day, it is just my opinion. You might not agree with all my suggestions in a portfolio review, but photographers generally find them very useful and positive.