What does it take to make a photograph ?

[Randy55]

Mods:Hopefully this question is in the right place, otherwise please move it to where it belongs.

I take lots of snapshots and some of them have good composition, some are taken at the right angle, some have the proper depth of field focus, some just seem to be right on the money but they are few and far between.
I have had focus issues with my point and shoot cameras especially with action shots many times spoiling an otherwise pretty good picture.
Recently I picked up a pretty nice DSLR so once i get it set up right my focusing problems should be far less of a problem and I will have one less excuse.
So what do you think people is it just putting all of the above together in one shot or am I missing something?
Comments please

 

[Craig G]

Picture the image in your head first. Having a rough idea in your head of what you want the viewer to see is a start. Before you start snapping away, take a few minutes to survey the scene. Look at the available light and use it, see if you need more. Adjust your aperture, wb and iso settings to suit the image already in your head. Look at your intended subjects, how fast are they moving. Adjust your shutter speed to suit the image in your head. Shooting moving subjects can simply be rhythmic. Timing them can get that perfect jump or kick.

Don't just start snapping shots with out a few practice shots to set the scene. Get your camera dialed in to match whats already in your head.

First.. survey the scene, Picture the picture
Second.. get your camera dialed in to closely match the picture
Third.. start shooting and make adjustments if need
Fourth..move around to find that right angle.

 

[DevilDogge]

Craig gave pretty good advice, but it all comes down to creativity and understanding how your camera works.

 

[KmH]

It's all about paying close attention to the details: camera/lens and settings, scene foreground/background and subject.

 

[gsgary]

Vision and the correct settings

 

[c.cloudwalker]

Craig gave pretty good advice, but it all comes down to creativity and understanding how your camera works.

+1

It's all about paying close attention to the details: camera/lens and settings, scene foreground/background and subject.

+1 also. Most photos I see on forums are undone by a lack of attention to details and when I point out a problem the answer is often "I didn't see that until you pointed it out"...

When you shoot on the run (photojournalism and sports come to mind) you can't always control everything but when you shoot landscapes or posed portraits or other such things, there is no excuse for not taking the time to pay attention to the details.

 

[Incognito]

Composition is so important. I dont know how many photos I see with bad comp... it especially drives me nuts when its just a bad crop or a pp crop could take the photo from blah to great.

This is something Im still working on... I have a hard time knowing when to skip the rule of thirds or when its ok to cut off an ear to "make" the photo.

 

[Randy55]

Great advice, thanks to all.