A good photograph should express the photographers intention by making sure the actual thing that is going to be photographed is associated with what the photographer is trying to convey emotionally. For example, if somebody told you to imagine a house, there may be an image that appears in your mind, perhaps the house that you live in. However, if we asked somebody else the same question they could picture an image that is completely different in every way possible. As a photographer, you have to know what kind of image you want to produce and what atmosphere you want to be shown in the picture beforehand. So then rather than simply making your objective to take a picture of a house, you can prepare it in more depth. Maybe you may think that you want to take a picture of an abandoned, creepy house on a gloomy October night with a dark backstory that you mentally wrote. Or you may want to show an image of a simple sweet cottage home in the mid-day sunlight, in the peaceful countryside. It all depends on how you want to express yourself and you need to know this before taking the picture.
A good photograph can communicate something that words cannot by hiding messages in the picture. Sometimes no matter how many words we use we just don't get the same sensation as if we was really there. But in photography you can see the story and then read it by using those hidden messages. All good photographs have a story behind them and what makes them good is that we can see this story by looking and inspecting the picture closely and asking questions to ourselves and not just judging them upon whether we find them visually appealing or not (although this does play a part in making a good photo, it isn't necessarily all that there is in an image.)
A good photograph will engage our attention by showing showing something that the person looking at the photo finds:
-unique
-interesting to the viewer
Being unique is the main reason that a photo or photographer stands out. Lets chose a landmark as an example, like the Taj Mahal. Can you imagine the amount of times that it has been photographed? That's why if you were to take a photograph it has to be different for it to stand out. You could try several things to do so. Perhaps you could try a different angle, time of day, weather condition, filter or position? Because why else would anybody be engaged by your photo of it? However, you do also have to make sure that when doing this the actual object that you want to photograph is interesting to your audience, but that one is quite obvious.
A photograph can make a person feel empathy or sadness in many ways. One thing that stands out when trying to make a photo associated with a certain emotion is the colours or filters used. Usually, a photo instantly becomes more sad when taken in black and white. This is because actual colours are more bright and vibrant which gives of a more positive energy in the picture. This is just one way among others such as isolation in the picture, facial expressions in the picture, an image of a sad event, darker colours or harsh contrast.
I think that a photograph can have different impacts on the viewer depending on whether or not they decide to show it as a single photo or a collection of photos. I think it really varies on the particular image but I will try and give a few points from both perspectives.
Showing a photo on its own can be beneficial because:
It can help the person looking at the photo to concentrate on that image only, so they can admire and ask questions about the photo and ask questions about it and generally just consider it in more depth. If it was in a collection, it is more likely that the photo will be payed less attention, therefore maybe not taking enough time to appreciate the photo.
Showing a photo in a collection can be beneficial because:
It can help the person looking at the photo because they can compare between the photos and use other photos to influence there opinion on the other photo(s) but this could be negative or positive. It can also set an atmosphere for all of the photos and help to flaunt and emphasise the photographers personal style.
A photographer can surely make the viewer ask questions. They should be able to make their audience question the story behind the photo, perhaps what it would be like to be where the photo was taken or maybe about the actual object, landscape or event being photographed. But really there is no limit to the questions that can be asked through photography, especially seeing as there are so many categories, areas and genres beyond just 'photography'.
Of course a photo should be well composed and have good lighting. Both these things can actually have a huge impact on the entire photograph, Because if you changed the composure of an image you could really change the whole photograph just by doing so. So, then if your photograph is well composed, it is obviously going to be positive and help to create a good photo. Additionally, lighting can completely change the meaning of a photograph. Just by changing the lighting in an image you could go from a dark gloomy setting to an uplifting bright, happy photograph.
There are obviously many elements that are important and play a role in photography. Five of these that are quite important to me are
The right moment
A clear emotion
Organisation and cleanliness
The colouring
Lighting
A good photograph can communicate something that words cannot by hiding messages in the picture. Sometimes no matter how many words we use we just don't get the same sensation as if we was really there. But in photography you can see the story and then read it by using those hidden messages. All good photographs have a story behind them and what makes them good is that we can see this story by looking and inspecting the picture closely and asking questions to ourselves and not just judging them upon whether we find them visually appealing or not (although this does play a part in making a good photo, it isn't necessarily all that there is in an image.)
A good photograph will engage our attention by showing showing something that the person looking at the photo finds:
-unique
-interesting to the viewer
Being unique is the main reason that a photo or photographer stands out. Lets chose a landmark as an example, like the Taj Mahal. Can you imagine the amount of times that it has been photographed? That's why if you were to take a photograph it has to be different for it to stand out. You could try several things to do so. Perhaps you could try a different angle, time of day, weather condition, filter or position? Because why else would anybody be engaged by your photo of it? However, you do also have to make sure that when doing this the actual object that you want to photograph is interesting to your audience, but that one is quite obvious.
A photograph can make a person feel empathy or sadness in many ways. One thing that stands out when trying to make a photo associated with a certain emotion is the colours or filters used. Usually, a photo instantly becomes more sad when taken in black and white. This is because actual colours are more bright and vibrant which gives of a more positive energy in the picture. This is just one way among others such as isolation in the picture, facial expressions in the picture, an image of a sad event, darker colours or harsh contrast.
I think that a photograph can have different impacts on the viewer depending on whether or not they decide to show it as a single photo or a collection of photos. I think it really varies on the particular image but I will try and give a few points from both perspectives.
Showing a photo on its own can be beneficial because:
It can help the person looking at the photo to concentrate on that image only, so they can admire and ask questions about the photo and ask questions about it and generally just consider it in more depth. If it was in a collection, it is more likely that the photo will be payed less attention, therefore maybe not taking enough time to appreciate the photo.
Showing a photo in a collection can be beneficial because:
It can help the person looking at the photo because they can compare between the photos and use other photos to influence there opinion on the other photo(s) but this could be negative or positive. It can also set an atmosphere for all of the photos and help to flaunt and emphasise the photographers personal style.
A photographer can surely make the viewer ask questions. They should be able to make their audience question the story behind the photo, perhaps what it would be like to be where the photo was taken or maybe about the actual object, landscape or event being photographed. But really there is no limit to the questions that can be asked through photography, especially seeing as there are so many categories, areas and genres beyond just 'photography'.
Of course a photo should be well composed and have good lighting. Both these things can actually have a huge impact on the entire photograph, Because if you changed the composure of an image you could really change the whole photograph just by doing so. So, then if your photograph is well composed, it is obviously going to be positive and help to create a good photo. Additionally, lighting can completely change the meaning of a photograph. Just by changing the lighting in an image you could go from a dark gloomy setting to an uplifting bright, happy photograph.
There are obviously many elements that are important and play a role in photography. Five of these that are quite important to me are
The right moment
A clear emotion
Organisation and cleanliness
The colouring
Lighting