What I look for in good photos
Recently, a close friend of mine has taken an interest in photography. They’ve been out on the streets, snapping shots, and occasionally sending me some of their results to review. They will send me a set of 2-3 photos, and ask me “which one is better?” When I state my preference, my friend always asks me to explain my choice. Why is one photo better than another?
It usually doesn’t take much thought to determine which photo I prefer, but I’ve had a tricky time justifying my selection in writing. Having given this topic some thought over the last few weeks, I thought it would be useful to write down a few of the qualities that separate good photos from average ones.
Repetition
A strong photo often has one or more repeating elements within the frame. This is often something so simple, it may not be noticeable at first glance. Lines crossing through the frame at a certain lean- perhaps the road markings and telephone wires mirror each other at converging angles. It may also be a recurring motif, squares or right angles or circles that appear in both the background and foreground. Of course, with fashion photography we often strive to include background elements that match the outfits worn by the subject, but this principle can be applied in subtle ways to all genres of photography.
Focus
A strong photo often has a single point of focus, and includes other elements that do not compete with this point. If the point of focus is a window, for example, the view beyond the window might be clean and simple, so as not to distract from the visual impact of the window itself. Less visually striking photos tend to have several competing subjects – a bit of food on the ground, a person in the window, a car on the street, a bird in the sky. I think many photographers are wary of using digital tools to remove these distracting elements, but this may be a necessary evil if they are not able to wait around for hours for the perfect, clean and clear shot.
Contrast
This may be a point of personal preference, but I find photos most striking when there are areas of light and shadow that are distinctly defined by the composition of the frame. A subject walking through a beam of light down an alleyway, a flower growing in the gap between two black fence-posts, an interesting shadow peeling down a bright concrete wall. These compositions are simple and easy to come across on a sunny day, but with the right framing they can be quite striking due to the presence of natural contrast. As a rule, I never take photos outside on an overcast day unless it is absolutely unavoidable.