A good photograph, from all I have read, studied, and learned from my own picture taking experience, has three things:
1. A subject or a theme.
2. The composition of the photograph emphasizes the subject.
3. The photograph is simple and uncluttered.
Subject - A photograph is a picture of something. There is a subject or theme to a good photograph. The photographer is communicating message or an emotion in the photograph. Here is an example:
This is not just a picture of a dog. It is a picture of a happy dog. The dog is smiling and the emotion of the photograph comes through. You would never look at this photograph and think this was a mean dog. So, a good photograph has a subject that conveys
an idea or an emotion to the viewer.
Emphasize the subject - Okay, we have chosen our subject. How can we make sure that the viewer also sees the subject and understands the message of the photograph. We need to draw the attention of the viewer to the subject of the photograph. There are several techniques to accomplish this which will be presented in several future issues of this newsletter. But, as a couple of examples, the photograph of the dog uses two techniques:
1. the subject is large in the picture
2. The background has been slightly blurred out using selective focus.
Simplify - Before you click the shutter on any scene, look at the foreground and background and make sure that there are no items that detract from the photograph. A peice of trash laying on the ground in the background of the dog photograph would have been very distracting. My basic rule of composition is that if something in the photograph doesn't add to the
composition, then it detracts.
In summary, then, when you go out to take photographs, whether they are of a family picnic, your vacation pictures, photographs of your child, or a sunset ask yourself these three questions:
1. What is my subject/theme?
2. How can I add emphasis so the viewer will respond to the subject?
3. Is there anything in the photograph that will distract the viewer from my subject?
