What Makes A Good Photo?

[Bananaman]

Took this picture of my son whilst we were a little bit lost in Shoreditch and it really works for me;

 

 

What I want to know is, what did I do right to make this a good photo that I'm really proud of rather than just another picture of my boy?

 

All I've done is change it to black & white and everything was on auto on the camera.

 

If you like this photo then tell me why so that all of my pictures end up this way.

 

Ta, lots

Edited March 25, 2013 by Bananaman

[Wilbert Hickmann]

#1. The subject is in focus

#2. The subject is off centre and above the centreline

#3. Exposure is great

 

...just my opinion

[Tempus Fugit]

well, I would say that you took it with an Olympus E-PM1 with an M.Zuiko digital ED 14-42mm F3-5-5.6 II R lens shot at 14mm,

on auto exposure, creative slow speed mode, 1/160s F3.5 ISO200 and no flash.

 

[Bananaman]

#3. Exposure is great

...just my opinion

 

I get one and two but what is exposure? I keep everything on auto owing to the fact that I'm a bit of a numpty regarding photography terms. Is it because there was a bright light making my boy glow a bit compared to the background? Tis a dark art repeating a photo that you like. Hope I can repeat it again though.

 

I suppose my basic question is and in the simplest terms possible, what makes a good photo? I've had a play around with post processing and the camera has a built in HDR effect but this one was just a photo with everything on auto. If that makes sense.

Edited March 26, 2013 by Bananaman

[Domino]

.... but this one was just a photo with everything on auto. If that makes sense.

 

Makes a lot of sense; the best I have taken have been in auto (Canon 600) and months of trying to achieve similar by tweaking in manual have failed. It must be a nack I don't seem to have but don't need.

Great photo by the way

[Tempus Fugit]

if you wanted to blur the background more you could have gone onto aperture mode and set the lens wide open so the depth of field would be less and make the subject stand out more from the background (not sure what modes you have on that cam)

[ScotsAlan]

I would say a good photo is one you like.

 

Yup. I like this. It's what I call a "popper". The subject pops out at you.

 

What makes this photo cool is the "popping" is achieved by exposure and not depth of field that is the norm. I would say your lad's face is maybe just a tad over-exposed, with the background a tad under exposed. At least in this edited format anyway.

 

Focus is spot on.

 

Rule of thirds is playing a part too. The lad's head is on the upper third node. One third down, one third from the right.

 

The main thing for me tho: I think when someone looks at an image, you tend to look left to right. In this case the left of the photo is dull and boring, but at the bottom left the railing edge creates a path for the eye.. Sweep your eye left to right, from bottom to top, along the railing and your view climbs to your lads face. The eye pauses.... Then, still sweeping, you catch the clearly difined edge of his cardie that sweeps down to the bottom right.

 

 

It's a natural eye movement that gives a pleasing image, I think. A sort of up down as you sweep left to right.

 

A combination of excellent composition and a technically good photo. A shot in 5000 I would say.

 

Or a shot in 20000 for me :-)

 

Maybe try cropping it a bit more so the bottom of the railing is coming from exactly the bottom left corner and his cardie is exactly bottom right. That might look even better. Especially if you can do it in 3:2 proportions, with his head on the top third node.

 

Just my opinion like..... but you did ask :-)

 

Edit to add. I think the cardie helps too. It sort of envelopes the face and detaches it from the background.

 

The eye sort of goes left to right, up and down, then when it gets to the bottom right it catches the button line back to the face..... another pause and turn the page to the next one. Or do another left right sweep. Maybe a right to left sweep looking for other eye paths. Once the lazy attention is captured, the critical comes into play......

 

Great photo. Certainly caught my attention :-)

[Bananaman]

Here's the colour version, still prefer it in Black & White though.

 

[ScotsAlan]

I agree. bw is better.

[Langweilig]

Your image is fine as you've shot this portrait with the intention not to produce something like a passport or driving licence mugshot. I think you could crop the image slightly to get rid of the car with the headlights - it's a distraction. Also, crop a bit off the top as all you really have there is a bland, empty sky.

 

Although it's not evident in monochrome, the subject's eyes seem lifeless. Don't be afraid to use a bit of fill-in flash (yes you can use flash outdoors in daylight) to introduce a "catchlight" in the subject's eyes.

Edited October 27, 2013 by Langweilig

[Liberalis]

I know this reply is a bit late, but I have not been here in a while. What makes that a good photo ?

 

 

To me, its your boys face, any other expression and it wouldnt be as good, he looks frustrated (no doubt at being lost) and his smile shouts "Just get on with it"... It tells a story, and/or encourages an emotion to the viewer.

[Kopek]

V good portrait, wide angle, low background light makes your lad stand out.

 

Your camera prob has centre weighted or average exposure. Face recognition has probably exposed and focused on his face and the strong light from the top right has helped avoid the under exposure of the background.

 

Digital fotos are free, take lots and if your camera has 'bracketing' use it in low light shots.

[Bananaman]

Another that I'm happy about, took a while but that's the brill of digital cameras. Hope you like it.

 

 

[Kopek]

You're lucky to have such a good model! Usually it's v-signs, tongues and squints when you point a camera at someone!

 

Try putting your camera in multi shot mode, usually captioned as overlapping pages, while this image is really good, 3 or 5 shots in sequence may have given you an open eyed shot, particularly looking over his glasses which would have been a different nuance to his character.

[quilp]

This makes a good smudge. An eagle with a fox with rabbit in its mouth... Right place, right time.

"You don't take a photograph, you make a photograph." Ansel Adams.