The essentials for a good photograph

As a photographer, it's incredibly important to know what makes a great photo. Just having a nice camera and good equipment is not enough to be able to stand out in this industry. Photography is a visual art and, as with most art forms, there are no hard and fast rules or formulas that guarantee a captivating image. However, there are a few key elements that often contribute to an image's impact and appeal.

Here are a few things that help take a "good" photo. Keep in mind, however, that it is possible to create a good or even great photo even if one or more of these elements are missing - there are legendary photos to prove it - but paying attention to them can help make it more likely that you will succeed in creating an attractive image.

A good photo is technically correct

No matter how much emphasis we place on the artistic language of photography, a good photographic work nowadays must first of all be technically correct. Here, technical correctness refers to correct focus, exposure, color, post-production, etc.

Many photographers tend to fall into two extremes: one extreme is focusing only on the technical quality of an image, constantly using magnifying glasses to study the quality of the image, obtaining works that are like industrial products coming off an assembly line, perfect but without vitality. The other extreme is setting the bar too high without having the necessary skills to do so. For example, photographers such as Henri Cartier-Bresson and Ansel Adams are often referred to as being unfamiliar with the times, lacking their own original idea and often stagnating at a beginner level in terms of technical ability.

Today, the development of hardware and software technology has left little excuse for obvious technical flaws. A three-year-old child, having received a few simple instructions, can take a technically and compositionally correct photo with a smartphone, on a par with that of a novice adult.

More and more technical errors occur in post-production, what today , regardless of one's opinion, is a fundamental photographic tool. To ignore it is to fall behind the times. Getting good results in post-production has become a basic skill that every photographer needs to master. With software technology that can easily handle these tasks with the click of a button, even glaring errors in post-production are becoming more and more unforgivable. Therefore, using "original" as an excuse not to learn post-production techniques is no longer a viable option.

The image below was taken in the fields of Palouse, Washington, with backlight and high contrast. Exposure bracketing was used to ensure that all areas of the image were neither overexposed nor underexposed. At the same time, focus stacking was used to make sure the image was sharp from the foreground all the way to the background. In post-production, several images were stitched together to get a technically correct image.

A good photo highlights a theme

A photograph is meant to convey the intention of the photographer and such language must have a theme. A messy composition is like a conversation in a busy market, making it difficult to concentrate. Therefore, the composition must be concise. However, simplicity is a means, not an end. A blank sheet of paper is certainly the simplest, but how much information can it hold? The purpose of simplicity is to eliminate distractions and highlight the theme.

There is a misconception about minimalism. Minimalist composition can quickly focus the reader's attention, but its disadvantage is that it often contains little information. Overuse of it leads to minimalist forms that leave readers with a lot of blank space and mere visual reactions rather than understanding a message.

Simplicity doesn't mean that the fewer elements in an image, the better. It just means that the more elements there are, the more information it contains, and the more orderly the composition must be, like soldiers in a military parade, not like merchants in a bazaar.

A good photo has impact

A good photograph should capture people's attention and leave a lasting impression. In an age teeming with beautiful images on the Internet, this is especially important. If not, our photos won't attract anyone's attention and can only be enjoyed by a small group of close friends. But how can we give more impact to our photographs? We have to use every trick we have: composition, light and shadow, color, moment, emotion, storytelling, and most of all, imagination.

A long-lasting impression, however, requires content. Simply capturing people's attention for a short moment isn't difficult, but after that moment, it will make people feel empty, maybe even a little cheated after they're done watching the play. It will give them the feeling that they have wasted their time and spoil their mood. Today, our screens are full of images with a cheap visual impact: oversaturated colors, dark and gloomy atmospheres, excessive vignetting and large areas of dead black with focused lights, etc.

By now, even some prizes can be won this way, in an era where one can enter a photo contest for just a few euros, as this is how club-level photo contests are judged. For example, the scoring criteria for the Photographic Society of America (PSA) are: three points for technique, three points for composition, and three points for impact. However, for truly excellent work, these three criteria are far from enough.

A good photo is creative

A good job comes from the photographer's creativity, it's not a simple imitation. Imitation can be a good learning tool but cannot be called creative work.

Today "creative" has become our slogan, often used to showcase our artistic vision, but few people delve into the true meaning of creative work. Indeed, if we analyze these two words separately, we can understand their mysteries: “creative” is a work that has no precedent and is the behavior of an artist; "work" is the act of repeating the work of the predecessors and is the behavior of a craftsman. Although a worker on an assembly line may be more skilled and have a lower defect rate than all of his colleagues, this is not creative, because the product creation process has already been completed before assembly.

We often elevate simple optimization processes to the height of creation: today the clouds are more beautiful than other images, the foreground I used is a rock unlike any other, my model's wrinkles are deeper, and so on. While these types of works may not repeat every detail of other images, the overall impression is still that of a simple imitation. The creation is a new idea, not a new and insignificant element in the picture. When we go out with our camera to photograph on the street, every shot has unique elements, but does that mean that every shot is a creative work? Obviously not.

Like the economic impact, creativity is also often devalued. Many of our creative ideas today are often just simple routines: finding a close-up for the Milky Way, looking for a mountain peak to complement the moon, adding a bird to the scenery with Photoshop, or a lonely tree with a pair of horses, etc. . Following a routine can never be creative, only the person who developed the routine is.

A good photo resonates

The language of photography is the exchange of information between the photographer and the viewer. As this is a communication, commonly understood language must be used; otherwise it's like talking to a brick wall. The most important commonality between photographer and viewer is our humanity. A good photographer will make full use of this common language of humanity to create resonance.

Good photography should tell a story, whether it's landscape or wildlife photography. What kind of story? A human story, even if there is no human in the picture. Stories related to humans can actually evoke resonance in viewers. As a result, the story told by the photographer becomes the story interpreted or imagined by the viewers. In this way, the vitality of the work lives on in the minds of the viewers.

Not only stories, but human beings are emotional beings too. Our work should convey emotion: things like joy, pain, or grief. One of the deepest emotions in human nature is love or the desire for love. By capturing the love, we can touch the hearts of the viewers and create a deep resonance.

A good photo is a candid presentation

Good photographic work must stand the test of time. There is an implicit agreement between photographers and viewers: photographs must be real, while paintings can be unreal. Violating this kind of implied agreement will make viewers feel inexplicably manipulated. We often use artistic reasons as a deception. While this is creatively understandable, and such works may win applause and even awards, works that have lasting vitality must be sincere.

Here I have used the word "sincere" instead of "real". Works can be an alteration of reality and Photoshop is the photographer's brush, giving us complete creative freedom. However, works that are altered realities belong to the realm of creative photography and should be clearly marked as such. Submitting a creative photography work to a landscape or nature photography competition/publication is not sincere, but submitting it to another competition as creative photography work is.

A good photo is a record of the moment

Photography emerged for history, exists for history and can become useless if separated from history. As we pursue the artistic and personal aspects of photography, we often stray from the original purpose of photography as a tool for recording reality. We step away from life, abandon experience and head straight for an imaginary paradise, trying to capture a sensational picture with minimal time and effort. At the same time, the instant gratification of the web pushes us to satisfy popular aesthetic tastes, to obtain immediate acclaim and consequent economic benefits.

Historical events are not limited to the human realm alone. Our natural world and the field of science and technology are writing new chapters every day and it is the responsibility of the photographer to capture and present them to the world. Our works will thus acquire historical value in accordance with historical events.

More than a decade ago, a landscape photographer on one of his many travels came across a never-before-photographed rock formation that resembled a dragon. He spent quite some time waiting for the ideal weather conditions that would best enhance the "dragon's" mood. A year later, he returned on an overcast day and captured the image he later titled "Tale of Dragon". However, when he returned again a year later, he found that the "dragon" had crumbled away from erosion and become part of the gully's natural history. his image serves as a reminder that there was once a "dragon" that lived in that rugged landscape.

We can criticize the artistic or technical quality of a historical record photograph, but we cannot deny that photography will always be somewhat handicapped in the area of pure artistic expression compared to painting, including computer-generated painting. Our photography will always be bound by the authenticity of the visuals and unable to convey creativity without restriction. But this is precisely the advantage of photography over painting and all other artistic means: recording reality, stopping time and transmitting it to viewers, leaving its marks on history.

Our era is not lacking in beautiful images, but in powerful historical images.

A good photo is well composed

Composition should always be the first thing you consider when taking a photo. Composition can actually make or break an image. There are some images that seem boring and mundane until you put them back together. Sometimes it's enough to look at the subject from a different angle. Try to get past them, for example far above the subject and shoot from above. Or crouch down and shoot straight up. Sometimes even changing the focal point of your image can make all the difference.

A good photo tells

This is a trait that I personally find important, even if not everyone does. I think the best images tell the story of the people who portray them. Now this could be some kind of artistic creation, which can be really cool, like creating a fairy-tale picture with people in costumes. But I usually look for something simpler. Like a first time dad is holding his son in his arms and there is that look of pure joy and exhilaration on his face. Or the sweet action of a little girl blowing flower petals from her hands. Or maybe it's a close-up of an elderly couple holding hands. Telling the story of the people in an image can add a whole new layer to the depth and overall meaning of your image.

A good photo excites

We often take pictures of faces. Every face is absolutely unique and so many emotions can be seen in just one person's face. Many, many images are those of faces. So capturing an image that shows pure joy between friends laughing at a joke or love on a woman's face as her man literally knocks her to the floor can create a much more dynamic image than a simple photograph of their faces. Of course, happiness isn't the only emotion you can convey. Sometimes pain, loneliness, thoughtfulness, calmness, peace, or relief can also make for an interesting photo. It's so rare to see images of people experiencing genuine emotion and I find that people tend to crave these types of images more because they are rare.

A good photo is in the detail

I find photos of a detail fascinating; they are often my favorite. We focus so much on portraits of people that sometimes it's fun to mix things up and even throw in a few shots of other details to remind us of the little things. Like, for example, a baby's feet held in his mother's hands. Kids grow up so fast; capturing these fleeting moments when they are so small can be one of the most cherished memories a parent could wish for. They often don't think of these kinds of images when they ask you to take pictures, but they almost always fall in love with these detail shots of their babies. These types of images are increasingly popular in all forms of photography, including ceremonial shooting. Many couples love photos that don't include their faces. This adds a whole new twist to traditional photography.

A good photo is well lit

Lighting is the last element, and probably one of the most important, because you only need light to create an image or create an atmosphere. Silhouetted or backlit images are very popular today as they are different from traditional portraiture. There's a variety of different interpretations of backlit images, and there are some pretty exciting and fun examples to peruse. There's also the fun and dramatic single light source lighting. This type of photography is fun for creating super moody dramatic shots with high contrast. However, you need to know exactly what you're doing and what you want to achieve for this style of lighting to work well with your subject.

Now you know all the elements that help create amazing images. I would say that there is nothing left for you to do but take your camera and run to shoot, paying attention to what I have suggested, without however forgetting that these are not rules carved in rock and that there are wonderful photos, which have made history of photography, even if they lacked one or more of these essential elements.