THE THREE ELEMENTS OF A GOOD PHOTOGRAPH

[amira]

I’d like to take the opportunity to remind you of three key
factors that can give you a leading edge in taking and selling amazing
photographs.

** 1. Subject. This is the who, what, and where of your photograph. It
should be strong and clear, leaving no doubt about what your subject
is.

One way to get better at this is to get closer, filling your frame
with nothing but your subject, leaving no room for other distractions.
(If you’re using a point-and-shoot camera, be careful to stay within
your camera’s focusing distance... usually no closer than about three
to five feet from your subject.)

** 2. Composition. Learning the art of composition is not terribly
difficult -- it just takes some practice. If you’ve done any painting,
drawing, or other kinds of art, composition might be second nature for
you. If not, consider going to a local gallery or art museum to study
how the masters do it (think “Rule of Thirds”). You can work the
composition of your photographs just like master painters have for
centuries.

Placement of your subject in the frame makes all the difference to the
visual impact of your photo. If you remember nothing else about
composition, remember this: keep your subject (and your horizon line)
out of the center of your image.

** 3. Lighting. Photography is nothing without light. Study the light
around you, taking mental notes of how it looks. Is it bright? Flat
and dull? Does it glow? What do the shadows look like and where do
they come from? How do the people or the places around you look in
this light? As you get more familiar with light and its qualities,
these kinds of questions get easier to answer. Doing so will help
immensely with your photography as it informs the where and when of
your shots.

Also remember these two other important points about light: 1. The
pop-up flash on your camera is good for candid shots at a party... but
that’s about it. Open up your camera manual and find out how to turn
off your flash (remember how to turn it on again for that party), 2.
The best light of the day is early morning or late afternoon. Unless
you have plenty of cloud cover, avoid shooting in bright noonday sun.

 

[jwsciontc]

filling the entire frame with jsut the subject? no thanks

 

[tirediron]

One way to get better at this is to get closer, filling your frame with nothing but your subject, leaving no room for other distractions.

Sorry, but for most photography, i'm going to categorize this under 'bad advice'! You're right, the subject should be clear and prominent, and the image should be distraction free, but elements aside from the composition are often key to composition. Case in point:

Were the image nothing but the chair, I submit that it would be rather less interesting. Certainly there are times that filling the frame does work,but not as a rule.

Learning the art of composition is not terribly
difficult

Sorry, have to disagree here as well; learning the basic Theory of composition is not terribly difficult, the rule of thirds, the golden mean, etc, but the art of composition is something else entirely and is not so much learned as understood through practice.


-- it just takes some practice. If you’ve done any painting,
drawing, or other kinds of art, composition might be second nature for
you. If not, consider going to a local gallery or art museum to study
how the masters do it (think “Rule of Thirds”). You can work the
composition of your photographs just like master painters have for
centuries.

Placement of your subject in the frame makes all the difference to the visual impact of your photo. If you remember nothing else about composition, remember this: keep your subject (and your horizon line) out of the center of your image.


** 3. Lighting. Photography is nothing without light. Study the light
around you, taking mental notes of how it looks. Is it bright? Flat
and dull? Does it glow? What do the shadows look like and where do
they come from? How do the people or the places around you look in
this light? As you get more familiar with light and its qualities,
these kinds of questions get easier to answer. Doing so will help
immensely with your photography as it informs the where and when of
your shots.

Also remember these two other important points about light: 1. The
pop-up flash on your camera is good for candid shots at a party... but
that’s about it. Open up your camera manual and find out how to turn
off your flash (remember how to turn it on again for that party), 2.
The best light of the day is early morning or late afternoon. Unless
you have plenty of cloud cover, avoid shooting in bright noonday sun.

Generally speaking, this I agree with.

 

[stsinner]

Talk about coming out with guns blazing...Only the 7th post and already preaching... Yikes!!!

 

[Dionysus]

ya, definitely dont agree w/ the subject thing...and mastering composition is as hard as defining yourself and your style. It's not as easy as learning the theory, which is easy on paper...its a lot of "felt" cues, and instinct that only comes w/ experience and time.

 

[table1349]

Talk about coming out with guns blazing...Only the 7th post and already preaching... Yikes!!!

Well you know, that the trouble with youth these days, they are so very temerarious.

 

[LaFoto]

temerarious

Wow. Had to go look that one up!
That was a new one for me!

(Oh, erm ... I couldn't even be bothered to read all the "good advice" of the OP ... all I did was groan inwardly and ask myself who ever on the forums had asked for this piece of advice to begin with?)

 

[goodoneian]

** 1. Subject. This is the who, what, and where of your photograph. It
should be strong and clear, leaving no doubt about what your subject
is.

One way to get better at this is to get closer, filling your frame
with nothing but your subject, leaving no room for other distractions.
(If you’re using a point-and-shoot camera, be careful to stay within
your camera’s focusing distance... usually no closer than about three
to five feet from your subject.)

so according to you this is a well composed picture?

 

[LaFoto]

Heehee. You're funny, goodoneian!

 

[Battou]

I’d like to take the opportunity to remind you of three key
factors that can give you a leading edge in taking and selling amazing
photographs.

** 1. Subject. This is the who, what, and where of your photograph. It
should be strong and clear, leaving no doubt about what your subject
is.

One way to get better at this is to get closer, filling your frame
with nothing but your subject, leaving no room for other distractions.
(If you’re using a point-and-shoot camera, be careful to stay within
your camera’s focusing distance... usually no closer than about three
to five feet from your subject.)

Get closer to that, here is a suggestion, perhaps maybe learning how to use the Background distractions to guide the viewer to the subject.

Placement of your subject in the frame makes all the difference to the
visual impact of your photo. If you remember nothing else about
composition, remember this: keep your subject (and your horizon line)
out of the center of your image.

Our of the center what....Gee, I guess these are instant failures, and this one too

Also remember these two other important points about light: 1. The
pop-up flash on your camera is good for candid shots at a party... but
that’s about it.

This Photo taken by TPF user Efergoh used a pop up flash....shame on him

2.The best light of the day is early morning or late afternoon. Unless
you have plenty of cloud cover, avoid shooting in bright noonday sun.

A handful of shots from under the mid day sun...these are no good
http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=133077
http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=138995
http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=126226
http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=136824


Wow...I am such a failure, I should just put my camera down.

 

[Overread]

*is unsure how to comment to this thread*
On the one side debate about composition, improving photography and different methods used is something worthwhile and something that (I don't think) we talk about enough - at least not in depth in threads of their own - though we do get quite a bit of talk round photos posted on the site.

On the other side preaching has started this off to a bad start - and now people are getting defencive. The post is rather out and bang in its style and does not promote discussion of the elements presented, but I think that or more individual tips/advice was intended.
The overall problem is that whilst generalisations can be made, once you start putting it into practise some people change their tune*, whilst others point out that difference styles and subjects warrent different compositional elements to best show them.
come on people we can still turn this thread around!
*ps for better work with the popup flash I have found that toiletpaper or tissue paper (white of course) when held in front of the flash can diffuse the light and helps to lessen the harsh impact of the popup - worked well for my macro before I moved up to bigger flashers. (err flashes)

 

[Battou]

come on people we can still turn this thread around!

Sadly I do not believe this is going to be possible, atleast not wile the thread title is in caps lock and you know what they say about caps lock

 

[ksmattfish]

The OP seems like good advice to me. You nay-sayers are just pissed because they didn't dwell on the glory of film or 4-figure DSLRs/lenses.

What's the smiley for a razzzzzzzzzzzzzberry?

 

[LaFoto]

I was having similar thoughts about this very thread that Overread is expressing, i.e. that in general it is NOT bad to know something about those "conventions" (making use of a word I am borrowing off Hertz's) we have all come to accept (with some only subconsciously, though) as those that make images more pleasing to look at than others.

Too many jump into the frame without any previous knowledge of these "conventions", and not even having made themselves aware of the fact that the "conventions" are there and our way of viewing things has been "trained" on them by our socialisation. They just say "what I like is what counts", thus closing their mind to any kind of learning, while I feel that awareness of these "conventions" (some also call them "rules" like in "Rules of Thirds" or so) is the necessary foundation to any sort of creating images. Be it canvasses in oil, watercolours, or also photos. And only when you firmly stand on that foundation can you say, hey, let's "jump", in other words: let me creatively play with these conventions, let me be against them, let me try something outside our normal viewing conventions.

So in that respect I feel that yes, it is not wrong to know about these things.

However ... to be lectured by a newbie to the forums on all this, without having ever asked her to do so, and to be "invited" to the thread with the help of a title in capital letters only (which does "sound" quite a bit like "shouting" to many!) is a tad off-putting... The reaction by the other members was to be expected...

 

[Jeff Canes]

Wow. Had to go look that one up!
That was a new one for me!---

me too