Recipe For a GREAT photograph

zendianah · Apr 2, 2007

I hope this stirs up a nice discussion.

To me

A great photograph is piece of art. It captures the spirit of a subject and evokes emotion.

Alex_B · Apr 2, 2007

zendianah said:
It captures the spirit of a subject and evokes emotion.

Or it creates a spirit by the way it is captured. A spirit which might not have been there in the subject or which might be totally different from the subject.

By the way, this is not a recipe, it is more when you look back what you find in some good images ...

JC1220 · Apr 2, 2007

Truely great photographs, as for any great work, stand the test of time and have much more significance that goes way beyond a subject(s).

gmarquez · Apr 2, 2007

A great photograph stirs an emotional response...you see it, and immediately feel "wow, that's a great photograph".

zendianah · Apr 2, 2007

This is all helping VERY much. When I look at my photos I think .. Hmm borriing... Im learning to dig deep and be adventurous. My kids are my passion and thats who I am around 99% of the time. My 1 year old moves and wont sit still.. My 3 year old loves the camera so does my 9 year old.

gmarquez · Apr 2, 2007

zendianah said:
My 1 year old moves and wont sit still.. My 3 year old loves the camera so does my 9 year old.

Try taking photos of them while on your knees, on your stomach looking up, or even on your back looking straight up. Also, looking up at them while they are climbing a tree with the sun filtering through the leaves can yield a really great shot (both with and without flash). Pictures of kids tend to seem a bit mundane when shot from "adult standing" height, probably because we adults are used to that view. Spice is up a bit by trying different perspectives.

zendianah · Apr 3, 2007

gmarquez said:
Try taking photos of them while on your knees, on your stomach looking up, or even on your back looking straight up. Also, looking up at them while they are climbing a tree with the sun filtering through the leaves can yield a really great shot (both with and without flash). Pictures of kids tend to seem a bit mundane when shot from "adult standing" height, probably because we adults are used to that view. Spice is up a bit by trying different perspectives.

Thank you for that!! I clicked on your website. LOVELY sunsets.. Do you sell your work? I have to watch my one year old daughter . Every time she sees a camera her FAVORITE thing to do is poke the lens with her finger....

gmarquez · Apr 3, 2007

zendianah said:
I clicked on your website. LOVELY sunsets.. Do you sell your work?

Thanks. I will be attempting to sell large prints of them sometime in the future. Whether anyone actually buys them remains to be seen. :biggrin:

zendianah said:
I have to watch my one year old daughter . Every time she sees a camera her FAVORITE thing to do is poke the lens with her finger....

Yes, I know the feeling. Wait until they get old enough to try to AVOID you taking a picture of them (like my 8 year old). Luckily, my twins (5 years old) are both hams, and try to pose whenever I bring the camera out!

Torus34 · Apr 3, 2007

A good photograph has something to say.

A great photograph says something important.

Jeepr · Apr 3, 2007

I think great photographs are hard to plan. They depend a lot on understanding lighting. Processing can turn a good picture into a great picture.

Kristie · Apr 3, 2007

A GREAT photograph is one that's been untouched.

silentrunning · Apr 3, 2007

Some of the best pictures I've ever seen made me wish I were there- or glad that I wasn't.

Pixie42 · Apr 4, 2007

I think a great photo steals the soul of its subject.

gmarquez · Apr 4, 2007

Kristie said:
A GREAT photograph is one that's been untouched.

I *know* this has already been hashed and rehashed in other threads, buuuttt...

Most digital cameras make use of in camera hardware and software (firmware) to process the image data in multiple ways (demosaicing the Bayer pattern of the image sensors, adjustments to saturation and sharpening by the firmware, the anti-aliasing filter, the noise reduction algorithms, white balance correction, etc.). Therefore, if you want to be strict about "untouched", most if not all digital camera images would be "out".

Where do you draw the line with "untouched"?