Elements of the "Eye-Catching Picture"

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Okay,  I wrote yesterday that I  wanted to go from just "okay" pictures to taking eye-catching, "wow"pictures.  How does one do that?

I think you need to begin by looking at pictures that make you, yourself, go "wow" at and thinking about what make them "wow" for you.  

{Hmm...I was going to insert a picture here but have been unable to.  Sorry about that...I'll give a link}.

To see what I mean, take a look at the Nikonian finalists for the best photograph of 2008:
https://images.nikonians.org/galleries/showgallery.php/cat/10382.

I would be delighted to say any of these photographs had been taken by me, but none were.  Nevertheless, I can enjoy them and can learn from looking at them. However, as I look at this images analytically, I notice that all these photographs consistently show:

  1. simplicity--None of the images is cluttered
  2. strong lines
  3. strong, vibrant colors
  4. a strong composition
  5. dramatic and appropriate lighting.
I would also add that the pictures cause, in almost all cases, an emotional response.

Now, great photographs have also been taken in black and white.  For me, it seems that the "wow" black and white photographs, while not in color, seem to have a dramatic contrast between light and dark.

So there we have it--six easy rules for taking great pictures.  Did I say "easy"?

LL49Wat

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This page contains a single entry by ll49wat published on March 5, 2009 5:41 PM.

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