Spring Thoughts!

Updated: Aug 9, 2023

What Makes A Great Photo?

Spring and Summer are coming up fast, and many people will dust off their camera and start taking vacation pictures, family pictures, and nature photos among other things. So, what is a great photo? Well, that sounds simple, but beautify is in the eye of the beholder! Every human can look at the same photography and have a different opinion of it.

I have tried to break down photography into it's basic form and eliminated all the technical tax of Aperture, Shutter Speed, and ISO. You need light, Subjects, and Composition to create any photographs. These three elements work together to convey the story of your photo.

Without Light we cannot take a photo, it will just be black
We need a Subject or Subjects; something caught our eye to photograph
How you arrange the subject or subjects of your photography is your Composition

I found this great article from SPENCER COX that delves into Light, Subjects, and Composition:

Read Me

Obliviously, I am just scratching the surface with simple theory of photography, but next time you look at a photo check off these three items: Light Subject or Subjects Composition

Then, ask yourself how does the photo make you feel, does it tell, a story, and is it pleasant to the eye?

Now their are some schools of thought that each photo must be technically prefect. And by that I mean, Aperture, Shutter Speed, and ISO. In previous articles I went into depth on this subject. I have also talked about all the latest and greatest new camera equipment coming off the assembly line.

Technical expertise is valuable, as they say knowledge is power! The\ latest and greatest gear is a bonus, but is tis not going to guarantee success?

Another school of thought that has become popular it the digital photography era is Photo Editing

In other words, fix your mistakes in post production, and many peoples photos live and die with photo editing software. Again, Photo Editing Software was discussed in previous articles.

If you believe in Straight Out Of The Camera Images, then Photo Editing Software is not something you will need to lean about,

Like anything else in life you need to practice photography. When I started photography in the Film era, practice was costly as I had to pay for film developing to see my successes and failures. Now a days your successes and failures are on the screen on the back of your digital camera. Neither is better or worse it is just different. In fact, It is no longer a case of film versus digital. Today both mediums offer photographic choices.

I found this interesting video by Teo Crawford discussing "What Makes A Good Photograph?"

In photography it is all about personal taste discussing "What Makes A Good Phonograph?" image to image, or type of photography you are doing at the particular time. Let's face facts that commercial photography is far different street photography or sports photography.

Are these great photographs? They certainly are life changing!

These are stock images and are not owned by yahumpphotograph

Could it be the image of the John F. Kennedy assignation less then a second after he was shot on Friday, November 22, 1963, at 12:30 p.m. CST in Dallas, Texas, while riding in a presidential motorcade through Dealey Plaza ? One of the defining moments of the 20th century.

Quite possibly The Falling Man phone taken at 9/11 on September 11, 2001 by Associated Press photographer Richard Drew ? The photograph was taken at exactly 9:41:15 a.m. on the day of the attacks. The photograph was widely criticized after publication in international media on September 12, 2001, with readers labeling the image as "disturbing, cold-blooded, ghoulish, and sadistic". However, since its inception, the photo has gained acclamation for being a "touching work of art" and a "masterpiece in photojournalism". September 11, 2001 was a life changing day in American and World innocents.

How about two of the most famous women of the twenty century? Are they great photos?

These are stock images and are not owned by yahumpphotograph

Is it Marilyn Monroe wearing a white dress in the 1955 film The Seven Year Itch, directed by Billy Wilder ? It was created by costume designer William Travilla and worn in the movie's best-known scene. The image of it and her above a windy subway grating has been described as one of the most iconic of the 20th century.

Perhaps Farrah Fawcett icon red swimsuit poster? This poster shows a photograph of actress Farrah Fawcett taken by Bruce McBroom in 1976. It was commissioned by the Pro Arts poster company, which published it as a pin-up poster the same year. The iconic poster sold over 12 million copies, making it the best-selling poster of all time. Besides having the title of a best-seller, it is also considered the last pin-up poster ever shot.