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12/02/2025 06:05:10 PM · #1 |
| What makes a photograph 'good' or 'great' or 'awesome' or whatever you want to call it when you think you have seen an amazing photograph? |
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12/02/2025 06:27:46 PM · #2 |
| If the image somehow makes me instantly curious, where I want to know more - that's when I know the image is great. |
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12/03/2025 08:07:11 AM · #3 |
Storytelling is the key. And that means without a title or description.
There are also pictures that are simply beautiful—eye candy, so to speak. These can also be great if the idea behind them is compelling. This also applies to staged scenes and conceptual photos.
But that's just my personal approach. |
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12/03/2025 10:16:58 AM · #4 |
Originally posted by KristjanUnnar:
If the image somehow makes me instantly curious, where I want to know more - that's when I know the image is great. |
I think 'peaking curiosity' is a good starting point. That's when a photograph starts to transcend a 'what you see is what you get' level of inspiration. Photographs that tread into this realm tend to suck me in. I'll find myself asking those internal questions of 'what's going on here?'
When you couple the peaked curiosity with striking an emotional chord at some level, the intensity of the photograph grows even more. |
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12/03/2025 11:08:12 AM · #5 |
I think context is key. But I tend to think this way about all art--not just photography. The interaction between artist and client/exhibitor and audience/viewer is rarely (if ever) something that is entirely within the artist's purview to manipulate and control. And no one party in that arrangement actually gets final say on what constitutes "good," let alone "great." It's not a question that can be answered in abstract, divorced from the context in which it is presented and received. So when someone asks me what makes a "good" photo, my instinct is always to immediately ask, "Good in what context?" If the only thing we're considering is what a viewer likes, well, that's fine. But unless that viewer is a paying client, I'm not sure I care so much about what they like as what I want to say. In that case, "good" might be something that accurately communicates something I want to express--keeping in mind that effective communication isn't just about how well I say it, but also how well I match the medium, the channel, the coding, and the message itself to the audience with which I'm trying to connect.
See how quickly this devolves into gloriously subjective nonsense? :-P
For my own two cents, I tend to gravitate towards photos that have something to say and which seem to say it in compelling ways. For me, that doesn't necessarily mean "original." But a "good" photo, speaking purely in terms of my own aesthetic preferences, is one that serviceably communicates its message with competence and minimal complications. A "great" photo would be one that arrests my attention and demands a response from me. But many photos that I would be willing to pay to own or use commercially are in the "good" category. Many I would call "great" I would be unwilling to own or use; I'd only be willing to view them in a gallery or pay to see them in a museum. If that makes any sense. |
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12/03/2025 03:34:19 PM · #6 |
Originally posted by kanaj:
See how quickly this devolves into gloriously subjective nonsense? :-P
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Absolutely.
I am fortunate enough not to have to worry about a 'client' or what someone else thinks about it. I guess I should have clarified my question a little more or framed it differently. I couldn't do most commercial photography outside of the journalism world. I did a good bit of that for quite a while.
Yes. It's always subjective. I don't find much objectivity in art, but I suppose there is a lot of that in commercial photography. My father was a commercial photographer. His eye for 'art' was horrible. But he could tell you everything you might ever want to know about how a camera works, how the image is formed, and how it is processed. He could show you the math related to how depth of field is calculated. He taught me all that stuff. I didn't know why it really mattered until later in life. A lot of it, to me, still doesn't matter, but the time spent doing it with him was the real prize.
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12/03/2025 08:37:04 PM · #7 |
Originally posted by jmsetzler:
... He taught me all that stuff. I didn't know why it really mattered until later in life. A lot of it, to me, still doesn't matter, but the time spent doing it with him was the real prize. |
Your insight touches my heart. Where is that often-requested thumbs-up button now that I need it? |
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12/03/2025 08:58:55 PM · #8 |
Originally posted by bob350:
Your insight touches my heart. Where is that often-requested thumbs-up button now that I need it? |
Indeed. I was thinking much the same. |
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